Chapter 119 Being a Stepmother is Hard "Auntie, I want to go home."...
"Sister Kapok, can I really not stay at your house forever? I can pay you."
"No, you can't. Keep shelling your beans. I've already called your family."
"Also, you should call me Auntie."
"Okay..." Wu Cong sat on a small stool in the living room with his head drooping, watching TV while peeling beans in his bowl.
The layout of Chen Mian's home is similar to that of his original home.
The stairs, the chandelier, the sofa, the bright kitchen—everything felt so familiar.
But he has already moved out of his home and has been living on a farm in the countryside for a whole year.
Chen Mian was lying on the sofa, cuddling her calico cat and watching TV. The long-awaited "Princess Pearl" had finally started airing, and she was determined to watch it carefully.
"Sister, look at my hands and face, they've gotten rougher."
Wu Cong held out his hand in front of Chen Mian's eyes, trying to get her attention. "I really don't want to continue living with my grandma anymore."
Grandma really didn't care about his studies; she would give him money to buy whatever he wanted to eat. But after living like this for a long time, he always felt very empty.
I have a father, a stepmother, and a younger sister, but why do I feel like I have no family now?
Chen Mian sighed, "Wu Cong, you're a big kid now. You should understand that many things can't be accomplished by just thinking about them."
"I'm just an outsider, I can't interfere in your family matters."
The calico cat moved with light, graceful steps from one end of the sofa to the other, its dark green eyes shining like jewels as it stared at the two-legged creature it had never seen before.
Wu Cong's eyes were drawn to the cat. "Sister, your kitten is so pretty. Can I touch it?"
"Ask her if she's willing."
"Mimi, would you like me to pet you?" Wu Cong tiptoed closer to the calico cat and tentatively extended a finger.
The calico cat gave the foolish human a haughty look, then jumped off the sofa and walked away.
Wu Cong was even more disappointed, his eyes reddening, his fingers tearing at the hem of his clothes, "Why won't even a cat talk to me..."
Seeing his dejected appearance, Chen Mian got up and picked up a half-shelled edamame from the coffee table. "You're only a few years old, yet you're so sentimental."
She reached out and ruffled Wu Cong's hair a few times. "Don't think about it too much. You'll be fine when you grow up."
Wu Cong slumped onto the sofa, rubbed his eyes, and asked in a tearful voice, "But when will I be able to grow up?"
Chen Mian pondered for a few seconds, "When you're no longer bothered by these little things, then."
"Tell me what you want to eat? I'll make it for you."
Upon hearing Chen Mian's words, Wu Cong rubbed his empty stomach; he hadn't eaten all day.
"Chive and egg pancake, thank you, Sister Kapok. You're the only one who's still willing to be kind to me now."
Wu Cong murmured to himself, "I wish you were my mother."
Chen Mian bent down and pinched the flesh on his face, her eyes sharp. "Wu Cong, this is the last time I'm emphasizing this to you. If I dare to hear you say that again, you'll be in trouble with your dad."
“Li Hongmei is my best friend in this life. Based on my understanding of her, she would never have a single bad thought about you, nor would she ever treat you badly in any way.”
Wu Cong: "I'm sorry, I won't say it again."
Seeing that Wu Cong had honestly apologized, Chen Mian withdrew her hand and instead poked Wu Cong's forehead with her index finger, "Tell me the truth, why are you unwilling to accept her?"
"Even when she was heavily pregnant, she insisted on cooking for you every day, three dishes and a soup. Did she feed it all to the dog?"
“If you don’t want to call her Mom, that’s fine, we can understand. Hongmei even said before that it’s okay if you keep calling her Auntie.”
Chen Mian: "She's an idiot, and your dad pretends to be an idiot at home. But what about you? What are you?"
"You came here alone today, what do you want to achieve? You don't want to live with your grandmother in the countryside, you want to live in the city, but you can't get along peacefully with your stepmother, so what do you want to do?"
Wu Cong was stunned by the barrage of questions and stammered, unable to speak.
"I don't need your immediate answer. Think about it yourself. I'm going to cook."
Chen Mian went into the kitchen to knead dough. She hadn't had chive and egg pancakes for a while, and Hongmei liked them too.
She planned to make more so that she could take a few back to Hongmei later.
The chives in the refrigerator were fresh; she had just brought them back from home at noon.
As the weather cools down, the farm's greenhouses are open for business again. With restaurant business this year, there's no fear of wasting any vegetables we grow.
A few days ago, when Ji Yu went to a hot pot restaurant to buy hot pot base, she also took the opportunity to promote her own greenhouse vegetables.
"Ding-dong—"
"Who is it? Wu Cong, go open the door for me! My hands are still covered in flour."
Wu Cong, wearing slippers several sizes too big, ran out to open the door.
"Ah... Auntie, you've come."
Upon seeing the person who arrived, his face flushed red, and he stammered a greeting.
"Didn't my dad come?"
"Your dad went on a business trip out of town."
"Oh—" Wu Cong slowly lowered his head.
Li Hongmei carried her daughter in one arm and picked up several paper bags from the ground with the other, then went inside as if she knew the way well.
"Kapok, come and see what good things I brought you. These are some new clothes that recently arrived at the store. They look really elegant on you."
"Where are you? You didn't even come out to meet me."
Li Hongmei placed her daughter on the shoe cabinet and then opened the cabinet to change into a pair of pink slippers.
Wu Cong stood there blankly behind her, not knowing what to do.
The little girl sitting on the shoe cabinet wasn't shy at all. She was wearing a yellow sweater and denim overalls, and had a small red hair clip in her soft hair.
Her dark, bright eyes darted around, staring intently at the unfamiliar older brother.
"Ah..." She reached out and grabbed her mother's hair, pointing in Wu Cong's direction, "Aww..."
Li Hongmei: "Do you want to play with your brother?"
"Ah...ya, ya..." The little girl struggled to get down from the shoe cabinet, "Mimi..."
“Okay, go play with Mimi. Wait a minute while I take your shoes off.” Li Hongmei grabbed the little girl’s arm and pressed her against the shoe cabinet.
Hearing the commotion outside, Chen Mian washed the dough off her hands and came out of the kitchen. "No need to take off Minmin's shoes. The heating hasn't been turned on yet these past two days, and she'll easily catch a cold if she takes them off."
"Besides, she's only a few months old and can't even walk yet."
Li Hongmei looked very proud, and she got excited when talking about her daughter: "You don't know this, do you? Our Minmin can already crawl, and she can even stand up while holding onto the sofa."
"Really? You're already that amazing! Come on, let your godmother give you a kiss."
Chen Mian shook the water droplets off her hands, picked up the little girl in her arms, and weighed her in her arms. "Oh, you've been eating well lately, you've gained weight again."
The little girl wasn't scared at all when someone else held her; her eyes sparkled, and she even leaned over and kissed Chen Mian, covering her face with drool, giggling...
Chen Mian smiled and returned the kiss; the child was just too adorable.
Li Hongmei pretended to complain, "This child has only recently learned to be affectionate. He will kiss anyone who holds him and he is not afraid of strangers at all."
"It's a good thing that she's not afraid of strangers. It means that our Minmin is naturally brave, right?"
Chen Mian carried Wu Min to the sofa and sat her down between her legs.
Seeing that Wu Cong was still "standing as punishment" to the side, she waved him over to come and see his sister.
“Look how cute your little sister is,” Chen Mian said, pointing at Wu Cong. “Look, baby, this is your brother.”
Li Hongmei leaned back on the sofa, rubbing her lower back. Her bare face betrayed her exhaustion. "Since you like it so much, I'll give it to you to keep for a few days."
"Sure, I happen to have some free time recently." Chen Mian pinched the little girl's chubby arms and legs, teasing her, "Minmin, how about living with your godmother from now on?"
Wu Min couldn't understand what her godmother was saying, so she picked up her toes and stuffed them into her mouth.
"Where's Aunt Liu who used to always be with you? Why didn't she come with us?"
Seeing Li Hongmei's exhausted face, Chen Mian asked with heartache.
"She went to serve at someone else's house."
"So who will help you take care of the child now?"
Li Hongmei chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Who else could it be? It's myself."
Since Aunt Liu left, she bought a rope and carries the child on her back while cooking.
Or you could hold the child in one arm and do the accounting with the other.
Minmin is only seven months old and still needs to be breastfed. During the day, she takes her to the store with her, but sometimes at night she's too tired and feeds her until she falls asleep.
Chen Mian looked at her friend with heartache, "How can this be? Your own body hasn't fully recovered yet."
"What about Wu Wei? Doesn't he care about you either?"
“What can a grown man like him do? Aunt Liu was supposed to stay home and take care of her, but as soon as he left, my mother-in-law started causing trouble.”
Li Hongmei mimicked her mother-in-law's tone and expression, "We're not landlords who need to hire nannies to take care of us all the time. I had three or four children back then, and I raised them all by myself. During my postpartum period, I still had to cook and do laundry for the whole family."
“You young people these days can’t endure any hardship. My son is out running around every day, and all the little money he earns is wasted by you two. My poor grandson, he still lives with me in the countryside and has never even seen a nanny.”
Hearing these familiar words, Wu Cong lowered his head further and further. His grandmother loved to ramble on about these things when she had nothing to do, and sometimes even said some more unpleasant things.
Chen Mian was so angry she gritted her teeth. "So after she kicked the nanny out, did she come and take care of you herself?"
“Of course not. Even if she comes, she’ll make me wait on her.” Li Hongmei was furious when she talked about this. “When my husband is home, she puts on a good act, saying that she’s here to take care of me and the children.”
"Wu Cong, is your grandma usually good to you?" Li Hongmei turned her head and asked. "If she dares to treat you badly, just tell your aunt, and your aunt will go and talk to your dad about her."
She is a mother herself, so she can accept being criticized by her mother-in-law; she has her own judgment.
Wu Cong is still young and has always lived with his grandmother, so she doesn't usually interfere much. Today was a rare opportunity, so she said a few more words.
Hearing Li Hongmei's words of concern, and recalling his previous attitude, Wu Cong sobbed with red eyes, "Auntie, I want to go home."
He raised his hand to wipe away the tears from the corner of his eyes. "I will be good, and I can also help you take care of your sister."
"I know I was wrong. Please don't send me to the countryside to stay with Grandma, okay..."
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