Chapter 36 Treat him as an outsider
The meal was served quickly, and Shen Cuifen kept her word and didn't invite Lu Weidong and the others to eat at all.
She placed the cured pork and stir-fried eggs with chives in the middle, and then served three bowls of rice, each bowl containing more than the last.
She sat down first and tapped the rim of her bowl with her chopsticks.
Lu Xiuye and her partner exchanged a glance, then slowly moved to the table and sat down with their heads down.
Lu Xiuye held her rice bowl tightly, not daring to move her chopsticks.
They knew their father was sitting in the main room, but they hadn't been invited to eat because of the door separating them.
This has never happened before.
Even when we argue, we still eat together.
The current situation clearly indicates a commitment to a complete Cold War.
Their hands were shaking as they picked up food.
Shen Cuifen, however, was quite unceremonious, putting a large piece of cured meat into each person's bowl.
"Eat up! You'll need the energy to get things done!"
Her movements as she picked up the food were swift and efficient; the cured pork was glossy and thick, and it trembled slightly as it landed in the sisters' bowls.
She picked up a large piece herself and put it directly into her mouth, her cheeks immediately puffing out.
"Get down to business???"
The two sisters almost choked.
Lu Xiuye had just taken a bite of cured meat when she heard this and almost spat it out.
She quickly covered her mouth, her eyes wide open.
Lu Xiuwei also stopped eating and looked at her mother in shock.
The same thought popped into their minds at the same time.
Is Mom really going to rush out and fight Dad?
This is no small matter; if it escalates, even the village chief will have to intervene.
Is Mom going to treat fighting as an after-dinner pastime?
Lu Xiuye felt flustered and forgot to put down the rice spoon in her hand.
She remembered the last time a couple in the village got into a fight, which escalated to the point of going to the police station, and they were even put on a blacklist as a warning to others.
If their own family members were on the list, how would the sisters ever face anyone again?
She secretly glanced at Shen Cuifen.
Seeing her chewing on cured meat with a blank expression, it was impossible to tell whether she was joking or serious.
Shen Cuifen took a big bite of the cured pork; the fat wasn't greasy, and the lean meat was chewy.
She nodded as she chewed.
"It's time to get to work!"
She swallowed the meat in her mouth and picked up the bowl to drink a sip of soup.
As the hot soup slid down her throat, she felt warm all over.
She put down the bowl and wiped her mouth.
Lu Weidong sat in the main room, smelling the aroma of cured pork and stir-fried eggs with chives, and was already starving.
He sat on a bench with his hands on his knees, his eyes fixed on the kitchen.
He swallowed several times, his stomach growling loudly.
He wanted to stand up and walk over.
But I couldn't bring myself to do it, so I could only sit there awkwardly.
To be honest, he was on the verge of a breakdown after eating Grandma Sheng's cooking for three days in a row.
The rice was either too salty or undercooked, and the stir-fried dishes always had a burnt taste.
Grandma Sheng ate with relish, while he had to force himself to swallow.
What hurts the most is that she always puts food on his plate, smiling and saying, "Eat more," to which he can only nod in response.
He missed Shen Cuifen's braised pork and her pickled cowpeas.
Since Shen Cuifen entered the Lu family, no one has ever taken care of the kitchen.
She is the best cook in the family.
She learned the cooking skills from her mother; she has a good grasp of the heat and the saltiness.
She calculates the exact amount of food for every meal, never too much or too little, and never leaves any food at the bottom of the pot.
She also knew what Lu Weidong liked to eat, that Lu Xiuye was a picky eater, and that Lu Xiuwei liked sour flavors.
They even have a clear plan for what kind of feed the pigs will eat.
Even if they get a fever and fall ill, they still have to get up and cook.
Grandma Sheng hadn't been to the kitchen in over twenty years.
She established rules from the day she married into the family.
The kitchen is a place for servants; how could she, a respectable woman, do such rough work?
Even during her postpartum confinement, Shen Cuifen had to prepare meals for the whole family all by herself.
She was weak after giving birth and could barely walk.
But she still had to pick up the baby to breastfeed and take the pot off the stove at the same time.
Several children's diapers were piled up in the basin.
While the rice was still cooking, she squatted down by the well and scrubbed it.
The cold water stung her fingers, causing them to turn red and crack, but she gritted her teeth and remained silent.
Her lower back aches year-round, and she has difficulty even turning over in bed at night.
Other women can sit in the yard and chat with their neighbors.
Shen Cuifen did not have those days.
Her time is completely filled with housework, and she has to take a break to catch her breath.
She has to soothe the crying child; she has to listen to the picky elderly; she gets scolded if the food is too salty or too bland.
She has to take care of anyone in the family who has a headache or fever.
But she fell ill, and no one cared.
He sat there smoking a pipe, the tobacco emitting grayish-white smoke after it was lit.
The smell of smoke filled the room, mixed with the aroma of food wafting in from outside the window.
There was no one at the kitchen door, and no one came to call him for dinner.
"That's strange. The aroma is wafting out. I've already stir-fried the cured pork and the eggs, but why hasn't anyone come to call me?"
Lu Weidong grew impatient waiting and kept muttering to himself.
He tapped the pipe on the sole of his shoe and refilled it with tobacco.
The savory aroma of cured pork wafted into his nose, making him increasingly agitated.
The stir-frying had long since stopped; it should have been time to set the table for dinner.
But no one invited him, so he couldn't go in and eat by himself.
After looking around several times, I finally saw Lu Xiuwei carrying a bucket of pig feed and walking towards the backyard.
She was wearing a faded blue cotton shirt, with her trousers rolled up to her calves, and the swill in the bucket was sloshing around.
Lu Weidong stared at her back, noticing that she walked at a leisurely pace, seemingly not in a hurry at all.
He couldn't sit still any longer, so he got up and walked towards the back.
Lu Xiuwei was feeding the pigs. Hearing the noise, the pigs in the pen grunted and came closer to the edge of the pen.
She poured the food from the bucket into the trough, and the pigs immediately started rooting around for it.
Hearing footsteps, she turned around and saw Lu Weidong. She called out "Dad" and then went back to her work.
She put the bucket aside and casually scraped the remaining residue into the trough.
Lu Weidong circled around for a few moments, but seeing that his daughter ignored him, he had no choice but to clear his throat.
"Guizhen, is dinner ready?"
He stood outside the pigpen, one hand resting on the wooden fence, his eyes fixed on his daughter's face.
Lu Xiuwei looked up. "It's done."
She wiped her hands, straightened up, and answered.
"I'm done eating."
Lu Weidong snapped, "Why didn't you come and call me when I was done? Didn't you know I'd been starving all day?"
His voice suddenly rose, and his face turned bright red.
He hasn't had a hot meal since morning, just waiting for this one.
As a result, the whole family ate it, and no one notified him.
What's this?
Do you treat him like an outsider?
Smelling a foul stench from the pigsty, he turned around and walked away in anger.
He didn't believe that Shen Cuifen would still be able to hit someone today!
"Mom! Dinner's ready!"
Lu Weidong looked up and saw Old Lady Sheng standing under the eaves, and shouted at the top of his lungs.
Grandma Sheng slowly placed the pot lid on the small stool and walked unhurriedly toward the kitchen.
The pot lid landed on the stool with a "thud".
Her cloth shoes left shallow marks on the muddy ground.
She never goes into the kitchen on her own initiative.
Unless someone invites them, they will not eat, even if the food has gone cold in the pot.
She only agrees to go out for every meal if someone treats her to one; she really treats herself like a pampered princess.
The family members were already used to these rules.
She sits still, so others have to run errands.
If she doesn't eat, no one else can start eating first.
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