Chapter 21 You want me to apologize? I won't!
As dusk approached, Old Man Su returned.
He hummed a little tune with his hands behind his back, and tried to push the door open to go inside, only to find that Li Banxia had locked the door from the inside.
"Li Banxia, why are you locking the door?"
Old Su raised his hand and knocked loudly on the door, "Open the door quickly!"
“I’ve put your straw mat and pillow in the room where the second and third brothers live. From today onwards, you’ll sleep with them.”
Old Man Su, "..."
"You think I want to sleep with you? Look at yourself, how fat have you gotten? Your waist is as thick as a bucket, and your thighs are as thick as elephant legs..."
"Bang!"
Li Banxia grabbed his large tea mug and slammed it against the door, yelling, "Get out!"
Old Su snorted, took two steps inside, and lifted the mosquito net at the door of the second and third sons' rooms to go in.
Li Banxia's face was pale as she looked down at the fat on her waist.
After giving birth to her youngest daughter, Su Hongmei, her weight never went down; she was half again as fat as before she got married.
In her past life, she always thought that being a little chubby was a blessing, so she didn't put much effort into herself.
As a result, after she turned fifty, her health deteriorated day by day.
Li Banxia took her pulse by touching her wrist with her other hand and discovered that the underlying health problems that had accumulated from her previous life until her death were now manifesting. She couldn't help but sigh.
In her past life, she took care of everyone, but failed to take care of herself.
She's only forty-three now, so why not start now?
Li Banxia wrote herself a prescription and planned to go to her workplace tomorrow to get the medicine and take good care of herself.
Listening to the white noise of the fan spinning overhead, Li Banxia fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, I was woken up by the squeaking sound of the water pump.
Li Banxia opened the door and saw Su Hongmei washing her face with water, then burying her head in the basin and gulping down several mouthfuls of water.
"Hongmei, what are you doing?"
Old Su stretched and came out of his second and third sons' rooms. He saw his youngest daughter drinking water and asked in surprise.
Su Hongmei looked up and saw Li Banxia first, then paused for a moment.
Then, she pouted and gave a soft hum, quickly turning her head to look at Old Man Su, and said aggrievedly, "Dad, I'm hungry."
"Hungry?"
Old Su was momentarily stunned. Then, remembering that his youngest daughter had been punished by Li Banxia for saying something wrong and hadn't eaten anything all day yesterday, his brows furrowed instantly, and he glanced at Li Banxia.
"Do you want to starve your daughter to death?!"
Li Banxia ignored him and went straight to the kitchen.
Su Hongmei's eyes were filled with disappointment.
The eldest son and his wife had already gotten up. The eldest son's wife was chopping vegetables, and the eldest son was carrying an aluminum pot to the side. The young couple heard the commotion in the yard and looked towards the door.
Upon seeing Li Banxia, both of them smiled. "Mom, you're up. Breakfast will be ready soon."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work."
Li Banxia glanced around and realized there was nothing for her to do, so she took a basin and went out to get water to wash up.
After she finished getting ready, Su Lao Er and Su Lao San also got up. One of the brothers pumped water and the other reached out to catch the water and splashed it directly on their faces. They also rinsed their hair with water before brushing their teeth.
Breakfast consisted of steamed white flour buns, millet and pumpkin porridge, a dish of pickled vegetable shreds, a dish of pickled chili peppers, a plate of scrambled eggs with scallions, and a plate of stir-fried potato shreds.
Su Hongmei's mouth watered, and she stared longingly at Old Man Su.
Old Man Su originally wanted to pretend he couldn't see her, but he accidentally made eye contact with his youngest daughter. When he awkwardly looked away, he caught a glimpse of Li Banxia.
A brilliant idea flashed into his mind: he decided to play the good guy and act as a loving father to his daughter, which would be perfect for sowing discord between Li Banxia and her daughter.
"You must be starving!" Old Su asked with a pained expression.
Su Hongmei nodded repeatedly, her lips pouting and her eyes red-rimmed.
Old Su coughed lightly, "Wait here, I'll go get you some food."
Su Hongmei nodded even more vigorously.
"Thank you, Dad!"
After saying that, he stared at the steamed bun and the egg, swallowing hard.
Waaah, she had never thought that scallion eggs and steamed buns were so delicious, she really wanted to eat them.
Old Su walked with his hands behind his back to the square table under the flower stand. He reached out to grab a steamed bun, but Li Banxia shoved it away with her chopsticks.
'hiss'
Old Su pulled his hand away with a headache, glared at her, and said, "Li Banxia, what are you doing?"
"There's none for you. If you want to eat, go to the widow's house. Didn't you enjoy your meal yesterday? You can eat at their house from now on." Li Banxia glanced over, her eyes cool.
He glanced past Old Man Su and saw Su Hongmei still swallowing her saliva.
"...No one is allowed to give Su Hongmei any food until she realizes her mistake, admits it, and apologizes."
Su Hongmei looked at Li Banxia in disbelief, but Li Banxia had already looked away and picked up a piece of scallion and egg with her chopsticks and ate it.
Su Hongmei swallowed hard again and shouted, "Fine, I won't eat! You want me to apologize? I won't! Go ahead and not let me eat, starve me to death!"
She rushed back into the house, slung her schoolbag over her shoulder, and ran out of the courtyard.
The eldest son, Su, looked at Li Banxia with some concern. "Mom, my little sister hasn't eaten all day, so maybe..."
"She won't starve to death if she doesn't eat for a day or two, so don't worry about it."
Li Banxia frowned and glanced at him sideways, "Just eat your food."
Seeing that he hadn't stirred up any trouble, yet Li Banxia had only made things worse for her and her daughter, Old Man Su felt a strange sense of vengeful pleasure.
"You'll regret it when she gets sick from hunger," Old Man Su chuckled twice at Li Banxia.
Li Banxia ignored him.
Old Su frowned, about to say something, when his stomach suddenly rumbled; he was hungry.
Although he ate a pancake and drank a bowl of porridge at Tao Hua's house yesterday, the pancake, like Tao Hua herself, was too delicate. He wasn't full at all and was too embarrassed to ask for more.
Peach Blossom and her widowed mother had a hard life; if he ate one more bite, they would have one less bite to eat.
He thought he should eat more this morning to make up for it, but Li Banxia was still angry and refused to let him eat.
"Li Banxia, are you ever going to stop?! This is my home too, why won't you let me eat?!"
Li Banxia glanced at him and said, "Because this food was bought with my and my husband's money, and because you haven't brought a single penny home all these years, Su Youfu, you don't think I was joking when I said I wanted you to make up for all the money you've spent outside all these years, do you?"
"What do you mean?" Old Su frowned even more.
"Literally, you can only eat if you bring back money. If you don't have money... you'll have to go out and find your own food from now on."
After saying this, Li Banxia called to Su Laoda, "Remember to bring a meat dish when you come back tonight. I'll stir-fry some greens, make steamed meat and eggs, and we'll make steamed sweet potato rice."
"Okay, okay, okay." Upon hearing that there was meat, Su Laosan nodded with a grin.
Li Banxia glanced at him and said, "After you finish eating, lock the gate and go out to find a job. Don't be lazy at home. If I find out you haven't gone out to look for a job, I'll break your legs."
Su Laosan shrank his neck.
She forced a smile. "Mom, you know a lot of people, why don't you introduce me to someone?"
Are you sure?
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