Chapter 88: The Greedy Old Lady Lu

After they were taken home, Lu Yongfu asked the children to come back for dinner.

When they left, both families brought food. When they arrived at the door, Shen Jiale saw some garlic sprouts sticking out of Lu Mingqi's food bag.

He said, "Brother, if Dad asks about it later, just say that the garlic sprouts were bought."

Lu Mingqi said, "I just wanted my parents and grandma to have a taste of the new food."

Zhou Min took a look and regretted not reminding her husband that they had kept the garlic sprouts secret from their father-in-law. They were afraid that they would be discovered, so they built a very low greenhouse.

But since they had already brought them, it was not easy to take them back.

Liang Qiaoli was also a little surprised to see her son bring the garlic sprouts.

Sure enough, Lu Yongfu saw it and asked what it was.

Zhou Min said, "Dad, this is garlic sprouts. I have no appetite, so Mingqi bought them for me to whet my appetite."

"Is that so? I've never seen this kind of vegetable before. It must be very expensive. Why did you bring it here? Just keep it at home and eat it yourself."

Lu Mingqi followed his wife's words and said, "Xiao Min asked me to give it to my parents to taste."

Lu Yongfu was very happy to hear this.

When the dish was cooked, Lu Yongfu brought the garlic sprouts to Zhou Min.

At the dinner table, Mrs. Lu looked at the garlic sprouts on the plate and fell into memories. She said, "I ate garlic sprouts when I was a child. In a blink of an eye, my life is about to end. I didn't expect that I would have the opportunity to eat them again. Third brother, bring them to me."

The whole family looked at the two of them. Lu Yongfu put some in the old lady's bowl and said, "Mingqi's wife is pregnant and has no appetite. Put it in front of her so that she can eat more."

When she heard the news that Zhou Min was pregnant, Mrs. Lu's face was not happy. She put her chopsticks on the table.

"I'm old and useless. People are beginning to dislike me."

Lu Yongfu quickly explained, "Mom, I definitely don't mean that." He glanced at Zhou Min in embarrassment.

Zhou Min didn't say anything and brought the garlic sprouts to Mrs. Lu.

But old lady Lu was in a bad mood. She stood up and wanted to go back to her room and refused to eat.

Lu Yongfu and Lu Mingqi came over to persuade her, and only then did they reluctantly let old lady Lu return to her seat.

Liang Qiaoli also fried cabbage and tofu. When eating, old lady Lu could eat it with garlic sprouts. Zhou Min was too embarrassed to pick up her chopsticks.

Lu Mingqi comforted her with his eyes, saying that there was plenty at home anyway, so this meal was not a big deal.

Liang Qiaoli watched this scene and worried about the next month.

This old lady was not an easy person to deal with. I was afraid that she would make trouble. I would forget it.

Anyway, I had been living like this for so many years. The eldest daughter-in-law was pregnant, and she could not let her get angry.

The younger daughter-in-law was not pregnant yet, and she was afraid that the old lady would say something unpleasant, which made her feel uncomfortable.

After dinner, she said to the two young couples, "Don't come over this month. If you need anything, ask Bailing to call me. Don't send any good things to me. Keep them for yourself."

...

In the following days, neither of the brothers went to the old house.

Old Mrs. Lu stayed at her youngest son's house for a few days. The food was ordinary, and she thought of the garlic sprouts from last time.

She talked to Lu Yongfu twice in a roundabout way, but Lu Yongfu didn't understand what she meant without her eldest brother to remind him.

Liang Qiaoli understood, but pretended not to understand.

On this day, the meal was ready, and Lu Yongfu went to call her mother to eat. Old Mrs. Lu was lying on the bed groaning and saying that she had no appetite.

Lu Yongfu took it seriously: "Then you should rest, and eat when you are hungry."

Even when Lu Yongfu went to work, Mrs. Lu did not get up to eat.

At night, she still said she had no appetite. Lu Yongfu suspected that his mother was sick and prepared to take her to the hospital for a checkup the next day.

That night, Lu Yongfu ate all the food to avoid wasting it.

Mrs. Lu was hungry for two meals and did not sleep well that night.

The next morning, Lu Yongfu did not care about eating, and rode Lu Mingfeng's bicycle to take his mother to the town to see a doctor.

Old Mrs. Lu was so hungry that she couldn't stand it any longer: "No, I'm old now, so I won't waste money. I'll just have to bear it. Bring me a bowl of porridge first."

Liang Qiaoli brought the porridge to Old Mrs. Lu. Seeing that his mother could drink the porridge again, Lu Yongfu said happily: "Mom, you have an appetite now, that's great, we can save money on going to the hospital."

Old Mrs. Lu said: "Since we have saved money on going to the hospital, go buy some garlic sprouts."

Lu Yongfu immediately agreed and asked Zhou Min. Zhou Min said that she asked a relative to bring it, and the price was 50 cents per pound. When

Lu Yongfu heard the price, he thought it was almost as much as pork.

So he rode his bike to the town to buy half a pound of meat, and cut half of it for Zhou Min when he came back.

Zhou Min felt embarrassed.

She thought she would give her parents-in-law some compensation after Mrs. Lu left.

Mrs. Lu waited for a long time and saw her youngest son bringing back a little pork. She asked him why he bought garlic sprouts.

Lu Yongfu said, "Garlic sprouts are too expensive. They are almost as expensive as meat. No matter how delicious they are, they are just vegetarian dishes. I bought some pork. Let's make dumplings today."

Mrs. Lu was so angry that she burst into tears, "I raised you to such a big age, and you just wanted to eat a bite of garlic sprouts. You can't satisfy me. What's the point of me living? Old Lu, come and take me away!"

Mrs. Lu's crying startled the people around her. Liu Xiaocui ran over first and asked if she was not given food at Lu Yongfu's house.

Lu Yongan also came to accuse Lu Yongfu of abusing his mother.

Lu Yongfu felt very wronged: "I bought meat for my mother to eat. If this is considered abuse, I hope someone abuses me every day."

Seeing that Lu Yongfu did buy meat, Lu Yongan didn't know what to say. He just thought that his mother was old and confused.

Liang Qiaoli packed dumplings and asked old lady Lu to come over to eat, but old lady Lu still refused to eat.

Liang Qiaoli said: "Mom, if you don't eat it, I will send it to Mingqi's wife to eat. She needs to supplement nutrition now."

Lu Yongfu also said that he would go to send it.

Old lady Lu was so scared that she got out of bed and ate immediately.

In the days that followed, although Mrs. Lu wanted to eat garlic sprouts, she did not dare to threaten Lu Yongfu with not eating, and she was at peace for a few days.

However, she was always thinking about the garlic sprouts.

...

One day, while Lu Yongfu and his wife went to work, Mrs. Lu went to Lu Mingqi's house with a cane.

Zhou Min stayed at home because she was pregnant and there were garlic sprouts at home that needed to be taken care of.

The wall of her house also enclosed the two uncovered foundations, and she also built a greenhouse of the same size as Shen Jiale's.

The output of the two families is similar, but the growth cycle of her garlic sprouts is longer than that of Shen Jiale, and the harvest will be delayed by a week.

Zhou Min was envious, but not jealous at all. She knew that people should not be too greedy, otherwise they will lose more than they gain.

Hearing the knock on the door, Zhou Min asked who was inside.

"Mingqi daughter-in-law, it's me."

Hearing the voice of Mrs. Lu, Zhou Min didn't want to open the door. The greenhouse in the yard must not be seen by others, let alone Mrs. Lu.

She asked Shen Jiale if she had to keep it a secret forever.

Shen Jiale said that they could keep it a secret for as long as they could, because the greenhouse would be dismantled in the spring, and they would only make enough money for one winter.

If they couldn't keep it a secret any longer, they would think of other ways.

Mrs. Lu couldn't wait for Zhou Min to open the door for her, so she picked up her cane and banged on the door.

Zhou Min didn't open the door even if she banged on it. Anyway, the old lady didn't have much strength, and the door couldn't be broken.