Chapter 61 Are they coming to beg for money?
The aroma from the courtyard filled the area with the smell of roasted meat, prompting neighbors to come out and inquire who had prepared a delicious lunch. The fragrance was incredibly enticing.
When they finally spotted Lin Changning's courtyard, many of the women had already returned to their own courtyards. A few others circled around the gate a few times, looked at the people inside, and then went back inside.
Before long, a bunch of little devils were sprawled out in front of the courtyard gate, leaving Lin Changning helpless...
Meat was a rare treat, and since she was a centurion, the adults naturally wouldn't feel comfortable eating there. The women probably saw the children in the yard. The adults couldn't come in, but the children were fine. Looking at the group of little devils lying outside the door, Lin Changning was speechless.
Sister-in-law Hu rolled her eyes so hard they almost reached the sky: "I'm too embarrassed to say anything about some families. When the adults can't come over, they send their kids to guard the door. Do you think everyone doesn't know what they're thinking, trying to take advantage of us? Liu Lang, you sit here. I'll go and chase them away. They don't usually visit, but now they send their kids over to take advantage of us. How shameless of them!"
Lin Changning was both amused and exasperated. After pressing Hu's sister-in-law down, he comforted her, "Sister-in-law, don't worry. She's just a child. I'll take care of her."
After saying that, he went inside to get a pair of scissors, took two skewers of meat, cut them into small pieces and placed them on oil paper. It was definitely not feasible to put them all in, as it would be annoying to have a bunch of snotty-nosed, dirty kids lying at the door like that. So he simply divided them into small pieces and let them divide them themselves.
Lin Changning, with a group of children glowing green under his eyes, handed out the wrapped meat: "Take it and share it, don't just stand around at my door..."
The oldest child took the oil paper package and, along with the other children, cheered and chattered their thanks before running off to share it.
Lin Changning returned to the courtyard and continued eating meat with the flatbread. The meat was grilled and smelled delicious. Everyone barely had time to talk as they wolfed down the meat skewers.
Hu Xiaowu's mouth was dripping with oil, and he almost grabbed another skewer before he had even finished the first one. His wife glared at him and said, "You're a reincarnated starving ghost! Eat slowly!"
Startled by his mother, Hu Xiaowu slowed down his movements. Qi An'an took the skewer that Hu Xiaowu was about to grab and began to eat it contentedly.
Hu Xiaowu, unable to speak due to his mother's domineering presence, took the meat skewer he wanted and instead ate it with a pout.
Lin Changning ate about two pounds of meat. She's growing, and when she suddenly tasted some flavorful meat, she couldn't resist eating until she was quite full. The children also ate until their bellies were round.
Seeing that there were still five or six meat skewers left in the bowl, the group of children slowed down their eating pace. Juro, on the other hand, ate politely from beginning to end, even urging them to stop eating too quickly.
"Don't eat too quickly, it will hurt your spleen and stomach. I'll make some digestive tea for the party later. Sisters-in-law, you can drink it before you go back."
Suddenly, another commotion arose at the doorway. It was another group of chattering children. They still wanted more meat after they had finished sharing it. A few of the younger ones swarmed around, and once someone started, the other children followed suit.
They completely blocked Lin Changning's house, leaving Lin Changning speechless as he looked at the group of little kids at the door.
Aunt Hu naturally saw it too. Her eyebrows shot up and her temper flared up. She sized up Liu Lang and thought he was a young man who was thin-skinned and easy to talk to. She thought he was a bunch of opportunists who had taken advantage of the situation. They had only eaten a few bites of meat and were already eyeing it. She didn't believe that the little kids could come back after they had all run away.
Liu Lang is a centurion, after all. Without an adult's permission, what child would dare to be so tactless? Blocking someone's door and begging for meat! A bunch of shallow-minded fools, eagerly asking for trouble!
Lin Changning knew that Hu's wife was about to scold someone when he saw her face change.
Life is tough these days. Everyone is short of food and clothing, and meat is a rare treat, maybe once a year. If anyone has any meat at all, they hide it away and eat it slowly.
There weren't any bad people among the neighbors, but everyone was frugal, trying to save every penny. Her family had meat, and there were children in the yard. The adults couldn't come over, but they didn't care about the children. They called someone over to watch over them. If the person was thin-skinned, they would give some food to share with the children. If they weren't happy, they wouldn't argue with the children.
They're not really that bad; they're just petty country folk who like to take advantage of others.
Hu's wife pressed Lin Changning down and said in a rather sharp tone, "Sixth Brother, sit down. I'll go. They're a bunch of opportunists. I'll just scold them a bit."
Lin Changning wanted to say something, but was glared at by Sister-in-law Hu, so he swallowed his words and sat down to watch Sister-in-law Hu make her point.
Sister Hu stood at the door with her hands on her hips, yelling, "What are you all looking at? What are you all looking at? Didn't you cook for the kids? You're always blocking people's doorways just because you can smell the food!"
When others are having a hard time, you don't lend a hand, but when there's meat at home, you swarm around like flies. Just eat a little and have a taste, how can you expect them to feed your little brat?
"If you send your kids over to beg for meat the moment you smell it, what, can't you afford to feed them?! We're usually so stingy we won't even lend you a saw, how dare you let your four or five little brats come groveling for meat! They all act like they're born of a mother but have no one to raise them!"
After yelling and cursing, Sister Hu glared at the group of trembling children at the door and shouted, "What are you looking at! Did your mother die? Go back to your own homes and ask your mothers for meat instead of begging at the door! Go home now!"
The little children at the door scattered in a flash, and Lin Changning could even hear a few faint sobs.
"Pfft, hahaha, sister-in-law is awesome!"
Unable to contain himself, Lin Changning burst into laughter.
When Aunt Hu came back and sat down, she said in an annoyed tone, "And you, Liu Lang, you're so good-natured! If you ask me, it's all because you're spoiled! Whenever there are any pastries or snacks in the house, the kids gather around and you give them to them. They're just taking advantage of you because they think you're easy to talk to! And you're still laughing here!"
Lin Changning scratched her head, feeling a little embarrassed. Indeed, when she occasionally received some snacks and meat, little children would always gather around the door. She couldn't just eat them all herself, so she would often share some with the children.
Lin Changning cupped his hands in apology, "Good sister-in-law, please don't scold me, please don't scold me. I know you mean well, I won't do it again next time."
Hearing this, Sister Hu became embarrassed: "Alright, I think we've eaten enough. Xiao Wu and Xiao Ya, get up and help your Uncle Lin clean up. I'll go and marinate the meat for you later."
Looking at the remaining meat skewers in the bowl, Lin Changning knew that Sister Hu had woken up the child because she was worried that there wouldn't be enough for the two of them. Not wanting to take advantage of the situation, he took the meat skewers and stuffed them into Sister Hu's hand: "Sister-in-law, don't rush, take the meat home, and Brother Hu can have a taste when he gets back tonight."
Sister-in-law Hu smiled and declined, "We still have the meat you gave us at home, how could we let him down? Coming here for dinner today is already a bargain for him, how can you eat and take things at the same time? You're trying to embarrass your sister-in-law to death! Sit down, Liu Lang, I'll go get some meat for you. Don't try to stuff anything into my mouth, or I won't dare to associate with you anymore."
Since Sister-in-law Hu had said so much, Lin Changning naturally couldn't give her any more.
In the afternoon, Aunt Hu helped marinate the meat, while Lin Changning taught the children to read. Qi An's foundation was significantly better than Xiao Wu and Xiao Ya's. Lin Changning asked and learned that he had already finished learning the Three Character Classic, the Hundred Family Surnames, and the Thousand Character Classic. He was also learning elementary school and the Analects.
Since the three people were not progressing at the same pace, Lin Changning recited the "Memorial to the Throne" (出师表).
As they played and studied, it got dark. Night fell, and the moon was already in the sky. Knowing that Qi had not yet arrived, Lin Changning took Qi An to sit in the courtyard and lay down on the bamboo rocking chairs to enjoy the cool breeze.
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