Since Li Cuihua had already spoken, these people could only grit their teeth and accept it. They figured they might as well just consider it as them taking the money to a restaurant.
As it turned out, they had underestimated Li Cuihua. When they arrived with their families, determined to get their money back, it turned out they had underestimated her.
Li Cuihua and her husband, all smiles, brought out a plate of wild vegetables mixed with cornbread, a bowl of thin wild vegetable and rice porridge so watery you could see your reflection in it, and a plate of green vegetables with a few bits of meat—it looked incredibly meager.
Everyone looked at the food and could hardly believe their eyes. In the village, even the poorest families would try their best to put together eight large bowls for a celebration, with at least fish and pork. This was the first time they had ever seen such a feast at Lin Shitou's house.
The people sitting around the table looked at each other, none of them willing to be the first to pick up their chopsticks. Li Cuihua warmly urged them, "Eat up, don't be shy, make sure you eat your fill, after all you gave money as a gift."
She really had the nerve to say that. Seeing her smug look, everyone still forced themselves to eat. Anyway, if you didn't eat, you wouldn't get your money back. Looking at Li Cuihua's expression, she was probably hoping to disgust them and drive them away so she could save some more cornbread.
He hastily finished his meal, leaving only a few bites of vegetables on the plate. He then ate the cornbread with the vegetable sauce, patted his stomach, and felt that he was not even half full. Recalling the meat-filled steamed buns that his second brother's family had made the night before, his mouth watered, and he felt even more disgusted with the behavior of Li Cuihua and her husband.
Lin Jianguo wasn't full either, and he regretted giving five yuan as a gift. Given his and his wife's behavior, the money was a complete waste. Er Ya clutched her stomach and said, "Dad, I'm still not full."
Li Cuihua's cooking was terrible; it was bland and lacked oil and salt. Luckily, Jiang's mother didn't come. Pregnant women shouldn't attend such occasions for fear of offending the pregnant woman.
Lin Jianguo patted Er Ya's head, too embarrassed to say that he hadn't eaten enough himself, but coaxed her, saying, "When we get home, your mother will cook you something delicious."
Er Ya nodded, then, remembering that Lin Xiao hadn't eaten yet, she seized the opportunity to sneak into the kitchen and steal a steamed bun without anyone noticing. This heartless man, feeding them cornbread while his own family eats white flour buns, doesn't he worry about choking?
When they got inside, Lin Xiao was still in the same position, his tear stains dried. Er Ya handed him a steamed bun: "Brother Lin Xiao, eat something, or your body won't be able to take it."
Lin Xiao silently shook his head.
Er Ya got anxious: "You haven't eaten for several meals. If you ruin your health, will Grandpa Lin come back?"
Lin Xiao said in a hoarse voice, "Er Ya, I can't eat. When I think about how long Grandpa was hungry when he passed away, I feel so sad that I can't swallow anything."
Er Ya said earnestly, "If you don't eat or drink, you'll only make those who care about you worry. Do you want Grandpa Lin to leave in peace? When it's time to bury him, with your body that hasn't eaten or drunk anything for the past two days, will you be able to send him off?"
Lin Xiao shifted his body, but remained silent for a long time. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Er Ya broke the steamed bun into small pieces and put them in his mouth. Lin Xiao cried silently as he swallowed the bun. In this way, Er Ya fed him a bite, and he ate a bite. In a short while, the whole steamed bun was gone.
After everyone finished eating, they quickly finished their tasks. The group placed Grandpa Lin, who was dressed neatly, into the coffin they had bought. Considering the money, the coffin Lin Shitou bought was of decent quality. As they walked towards the field, Li Cuihua kept grumbling that it was too expensive and scolded Lin Shitou for being so rich yet so stingy.
After the coffin was covered with soil, Lin Xiao cried his heart out and almost fainted. Lin Jianguo forcibly carried him home.
Throughout the entire process, Lin Shitou and his wife did not shed a single tear. Li Cuihua kept grumbling that this was too expensive and that shouldn't have been bought, as if she had forgotten that all the money belonged to Lin Xiaohua, and that the couple hadn't spent a single penny of their own money.
That evening, the couple sat on the bed, counting the remaining money, chuckling occasionally. They never expected to get so much money from a dead person. Of the fifty yuan Lin Xiao gave them, they still had thirty yuan left. Adding the money they received as gifts that day, they had a total of forty-two yuan and fifty cents. It was a pity that the old woman died so young, otherwise they could have made another fortune.
He counted the few dozen yuan several times before solemnly placing it at the bottom of the drawer, and began to imagine what he should buy with this huge sum of money.
Lost in their excitement, they didn't notice a pair of eyes staring intently at them from outside the window. Only after seeing where they had put the money did they climb over the wall and leave.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking and the roosters had not yet crowed, the peaceful village was awakened by a burst of cursing. A woman, hands on her hips, walked by, cursing as she went:
"Which damned bastard is it? You gave birth to a son without a mother, you heartless scoundrel, stealing money from my family. Be careful, you might not live to spend the money you're carrying."
A string of vicious curses, each different, poured from her mouth. Someone was drawn by her voice and opened the door to ask her what had happened.
Li Cuihua stopped in her tracks, her eyes swollen from crying. She choked out, "I don't know who it was that ransacked our house in the middle of the night and stole all our money. If I find out who it was, I'll curse them and their descendants to suffer a terrible death."
The tears she shed this time were quite real. She wiped them off haphazardly, and they mixed with the ash on her face, leaving streaks of black and gray. Combined with her wide-open mouth and wailing, she looked incredibly ugly.
The person who was questioning them had also eaten at their house yesterday. When he heard Li Cuihua say that her money had been stolen, he cursed inwardly, "Serves her right. I wonder who it was, but they did something good."
She pretended to comfort Li Cuihua for a few words, and just as Li Cuihua was about to open up to her, she suddenly said, "I have to go back to cook, Xiaobao's mother, I can't talk to you anymore, otherwise the old man will scold me when he gets up."
The courtyard gate slammed shut with a loud bang.
Li Cuihua, who had so much to say but hadn't yet, had to suppress her anger and started cursing the heartless thief in the village again.
"If you dare steal my money, I curse you to be childless and your whole family to die, and to beg on the streets until you have no money to eat."
After resting for a while, he cursed, "If anyone steals money from my family, you can just return it without saying a word, otherwise I'll curse you every day."
To be continued!
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