Qin Xiaoyu ignored them, squatted down and picked up what she could. Hanhan saw that there were still peanuts covered in mud on the ground, and couldn't bear to part with them, so she reached out to pick them up.
"No, we don't eat dirty food." Qin Xiaoyu stopped him and pulled his hand to walk into the house.
"He's so arrogant!" Grandma Hanhan was angry, but she didn't dare to show it and could only watch them go into the house.
Qin Xiaoyu was preparing lunch in the kitchen and offered candy to Hanhan and her younger sister. The two children hadn't had candy in a long time, and their eyes crinkled with laughter.
"Is it sweet?" Qin Xiaoyu teased Hanhan while she went inside to get the salt.
"Sweet," he said shyly. He walked to Qin Xiaoyu's side, stood on tiptoe, and put a piece of candy into her mouth. Qin Xiaoyu suddenly felt very happy.
What are men? They're all heartless jerks! She'd been hurt once already; who could she trust anymore? Maybe skipping marriage altogether and just becoming a mother was a good option. She could raise her two children well. Qin Xiaoyu realized she was starting to accept reality.
Qin Xiaoyu learned to cook at a very young age, and today she put in extra effort, stir-frying simple dishes until they smelled delicious. She made scrambled eggs with tomatoes and eggplant with sauce. She didn't have the skill to steam rice on the stove, and it would be too slow to do so, so she just cooked a pot of noodles.
The three of them ate until they were stuffed and lay contentedly on the kang (a heated brick bed). Wasn't this a good life?
"We've finished eating. I was thinking of inviting you over to eat too." The old lady pushed open the door and came in. Qin Xiaoyu had just seen that she had already washed the pots and pans, and even though she knew it was because she had bought some goodies, she was too lazy to pay attention.
"Is there something you need, Auntie?" Qin Xiaoyu deliberately picked up the white envelope from yesterday from the table. All the money inside had been taken out, and the envelope was much thinner. She folded it back and forth in her hand, just to show it to someone.
"I was thinking, when you said you were going to Wenzhi's workplace tomorrow, should we bring Tang Long along too?" The old lady's words were quite tactful; she had already made the succession plan a done deal.
"Let's talk about this later. Let's have a meeting after dinner tonight." Qin Xiaoyu had already sorted out her thoughts.
"What? A meeting? Why? Who's calling the meeting?" The old woman panicked and asked in a flurry of questions.
"We'll find out when the time comes. I need to give these two mud-covered little monkeys a bath. We'll talk about it later." Qin Xiaoyu had just boiled two thermos flasks of water and didn't have time to chat with her.
Upon hearing that it was time to take a bath, Hanhan quickly got down to help, fetched a plastic basin and placed it in the middle of the floor, then found a towel and handed over soap. The old woman, feeling dizzy from their fussing, and realizing she couldn't get any information out of them, reluctantly left.
The morning had been overcast, but now the sun was shining brightly. Qin Xiaoyu took the opportunity to tear up the bedding and soak it, sheets and all, in a basin. Hanhan was too small to wash it herself, so she could only wring out the sheets with her tiny hands.
Usually, everyone rushes to do laundry on weekends, and the yard is overflowing with clothes hanging up. But today, for some reason, not a single piece is hanging. Qin Xiaoyu was just feeling happy when she suddenly saw her sister-in-law's door open. She came out carrying a quilt and immediately hung it on the line. Zhou Hu followed behind, also carrying a quilt; apparently, he was just there to reserve space.
Qin Xiaoyu wasn't in a hurry. She washed the sheets, carried them out, pushed the blanket aside a little, and hung the wet sheets up. The sheets, still dripping wet from being wrung out, were soaked in water, and her sister-in-law came running out, shivering.
"Are you blind?! The quilts are drying in the sun, and your sheets are still dripping wet!" the sister-in-law scolded, pointing at Qin Xiaoyu's nose.
"You see me washing the sheets and you put the blankets out to dry? Are you blind? You're just being immoral!" Qin Xiaoyu retorted.
"What's all the noise about? The old lady is taking a nap!" The old lady came out again. The sister-in-law was terrified of her, so she could only go back with her blanket and sulk.
Qin Xiaoyu didn't appreciate it. She knew that her aunt was protecting her now only because she needed her help. Once the succession was over, she would be back to her original position.
As dusk fell, the Tang family members gradually returned.
Autumn is dry and windy, with little sunshine, but the sheets are mostly dry. Qin Xiaoyu gathered everything up, intending to put everything back the way it was. A delicious aroma wafted from the upper room, reminding her that it was dinnertime. Just then, she heard noises from the kitchen; Hanhan had restarted the stove fire, reheating the leftovers from lunch.
Before Qin Xiaoyu could finish making the quilt, Hanhan had already set the dining table. He had made a pot of dumpling soup, which tasted very delicious.
"Hanhan's cooking is really good," Qin Xiaoyu couldn't help but praise. Hanhan lowered her head shyly.
"I'm going to a meeting upstairs in a bit. You can stay home with your sister."
"Mm." Hanhan nodded.
While Hanhan was washing the dishes, Qin Xiaoyu changed her clothes. The clothes were found in the kang (heated brick bed) – a white polyester top with small blue flowers and dark blue polyester trousers, probably old belongings from when the host was a young girl. They fit her perfectly. She had sent the brother and sister to play in the yard that afternoon, and then washed herself inside. While washing her hair, she spent a long time combing it, finally managing to tidy up her messy, bird's-nest-like hair. Isn't it said that people with weak constitutions have less hair? This one, however, had thick, black hair, twice as much as she originally had. She styled her hair into a bun, looking much more refreshed.
I pulled a fountain pen from the drawer; it was already dry. It was only after Hanhan handed me a pencil stub that the situation was resolved. There were a few sheets of paper, yellowed but usable.
She took a deep breath, stepped out the door; it was time for battle.
The old woman relayed her message. After dinner, everyone stayed in the main room, chatting and waiting for Qin Xiaoyu's arrival. When she saw her come in, she was taken aback. Her appearance was completely different from the frail and slovenly woman she usually was; she seemed like a different person.
"Auntie, please invite my parents-in-law as well." Qin Xiaoyu glanced around the room; her aunt's family was all there.
"Why did you call them over?" The old woman's face became uneasy upon hearing this.
“Call him over here. This matter concerns Wenzhi. Wenzhi is their own flesh and blood, isn’t he?” Qin Xiaoyu said neither humbly nor arrogantly. The old woman had no way to refute him, so she could only give Zhou Wenxuan a look, and he quickly got up and went out.
A short while later, Hanhan's grandparents came in, greeted the lady first, and then sat down suspiciously, staring at Qin Xiaoyu, wondering what she was up to.
"I've gathered you all here today to discuss the funeral arrangements for my son, Wenzhi." Qin Xiaoyu deliberately emphasized the words "my son" to assert her authority.
"Wenzhi has been gone for a while now. He's gone, and you've all seen how miserable we three are. We barely have enough to eat, and the kids get scolded even when they go out to eat. They're not even ten years old combined, how much can they possibly eat? They're still your Tang family's flesh and blood! Have you no conscience?" Qin Xiaoyu didn't mince words, immediately exposing their shortcomings. It was true, but bringing it up openly felt like a slap in the face. Grandpa Hanhan, though still somewhat virtuous, was afraid of his wife and usually didn't dare speak up. Now, his face flushed, and he lowered his head deeply, avoiding Qin Xiaoyu's gaze.
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