Yang Xiaogu took a bite of the fresh meat and wood ear mushrooms, and her eyes lit up – so delicious!
At this time of year, Qingshan Town doesn't hold a market for three to five days after the Lunar New Year, so there are very few goods on the streets, and almost no fresh produce. The meat that Yang Wanwan served was clearly fresh, which was quite rare.
The taste of fresh meat is quite different from that of meat bought on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month.
Hu Youjin and Hu Youkai praised Sister Wanwan's cooking as delicious!
The second dish was put into the pot; it was a meatball soup.
Just as the first dish was finished, the poached meatballs were served, and everyone praised them again, saying they were delicious and generously portioned.
The third bowl was braised pork with smoked bamboo shoots, which had been cooked in advance and only needed to be reheated. This dish tastes better the more it's cooked, so it was quickly devoured after being served.
The fourth dish is pig's trotters with kelp, which was also made yesterday. Just heat it up, sprinkle some chili, scallions, and garlic on top, and it's ready to serve.
The fifth dish was raw rooster meat, which took quite a while to be served, a full twenty minutes. Fortunately, there was also smoked bamboo shoots and pig's trotter and kelp soup available for everyone, so the timing was just right.
The sixth dish was stir-fried smoked meat. The smoked meat, made at home, was stir-fried with chili peppers and celery. It had a unique flavor and was excellent with rice or as a snack with drinks.
The seventh dish was boiled fresh fish. The fresh grass carp was cooked to order and served immediately. It was very spicy and flavorful. The children ate so much that they poured all the broth into their rice bowls.
The eighth bowl was boiled blood sausage, which was presented very beautifully, with just the right amount of spiciness and umami.
By this point, they were full, and there were only two or three bowls left on each table, with almost all the food inside.
Yang Xiaogu and her two children enjoyed their meal immensely. The biggest difference between Yang Wanwan's family's dishes and those of other families was that they were fresh and contained few seasonings.
Many people slaughter chickens, buy meat, and cook fish before the Lunar New Year, but Yang Wanwan's family cooks everything fresh, using carefully selected ingredients that are delicious and flavorful.
Hu Youkai, in particular, kept saying, "Sister Wanwan, I want to stay at your house for a few more days! My mom hasn't cooked such delicious food in a long time!"
Yang Wanwan said, "Youkai can stay as long as he wants."
Yang Xiaogu looked somewhat downcast, which Yang Wanwan noticed.
Hu Youjin hurriedly said, "Youkai, really! You're staying at Sister Wanwan's place, what can you do to help her?"
Hu Youkai said with a grin, "I'll help with the fire and washing the vegetables!"
Everyone chatted and laughed, and lunchtime passed by in no time.
Yang Xiaogu said she was a little sleepy and went upstairs to sleep.
After tidying up the tables, chairs, and dishes, Yang Wanwan and her brother, along with Hu Youjin and her brother, chatted in the restaurant.
There was a brazier under the dining table, filled with charcoal, and five people were playing cards.
It was a rare moment of leisure in the year, and Shang Tao was so excited that he kept chattering away, spitting out sunflower seed shells with great enthusiasm, and slamming the cards in his hand with a loud "swish, swish, swish".
Inspired by him, the five of them had a great time.
After playing for a while, Yang Wanwan asked Hu Youjin, "Youjin, did your parents have a fight?"
Hu Youjin and Hu Youkai exchanged a glance before Hu Youkai said, "Yeah, Wanwan, you noticed? My dad and mom argue every day, and I don't want to stay at home anymore. I want to transfer to your school this semester and live with you, okay?"
Yang Wanwan said, "If you're willing, why not? But what you're saying doesn't count. Tell me, what's wrong with your parents?"
Hu Youjin sighed: "My dad got entangled with a woman. My mom was already in poor health, and with this incident, she was sick for several months and had difficulty getting out of bed. Youkai also hasn't been able to eat a normal meal much."
I see.
It seems that only something like this could make the usually straightforward, outspoken, and cheerful Yang Xiaogu so preoccupied and unable to come and support Yang Wanwan and her brother.
"To what extent have they reached?"
“Sigh, my dad is rarely home anymore. He and that woman are living together in the county town.”
"Who is that woman?"
"She's from the county town, and she's the daughter of an official. She's run some businesses, and I heard they're quite successful; she's very wealthy."
"So, what exactly does your dad want? Has he and your aunt gotten a divorce?"
“Of course they’re making a scene! Even my grandma is joining in, demanding that my mom and dad divorce. My mom refuses, and my grandma is giving my brother and me the cold shoulder. Also, that woman is pregnant. One day I was at school, and when I came home I heard that the woman had come to my house and was acting all high and mighty in front of my mom, which made my mom cry for a long time.”
Why doesn't Auntie want a divorce?
“My mom said that if we get divorced, people will talk about me and my brother, and we won’t be able to hold our heads up in front of others.”
So what do you think?
“I don’t care anymore. If they get divorced, they can get divorced; if they don’t, they can’t. But my grandma said that if they get divorced, I will go with my mom, and my brother will go with my dad. My brother is a boy, so he has to stay with the Hu family. My mom definitely doesn’t want my brother and me to be separated.”
"If you and your brother hadn't separated, would your aunt have gotten a divorce?"
“Wanwan, you know, my mom is planning for me to go to high school and then go to university. If my parents divorce, my mom won't be able to support both my brother and me through school, and I'll definitely have to drop out. But I'd rather she divorce, and I won't go to university; I'll just go and work. I used to think my dad was the same as everyone else's dad, but now I'm disgusted just looking at him. He doesn't realize that his face is like a dog's, wagging his tail and fawning over that woman. It's utterly disgusting!”
Hu Youjin was well protected by Yang Xiaogu. Although she was rather naive, she had excellent grades and was always among the top three in her grade. She had a good chance of getting into a good high school and university.
Speaking of this, Yang Wanwan suddenly remembered that in her previous life, Hu Youjin went to high school, but did not go to university. It seemed that her college entrance examination results were not good enough and she did not get into university.
That incident must have been a huge blow to Hu Youjin. Yang Wanwan later wrote to her, and Hu Youjin's reply was very simple, not saying much. Even in those few words, it was clear she wasn't in a good mood.
Later, Yang Wanwan went to the capital, and some things became unclear.
Although Hu Aimin is at fault, if Yang Xiaogu were to divorce Hu Aimin and go to court, she might not be able to win custody of both her son and daughter, nor receive compensation from the party at fault.
The other party has money and power behind them, and Yang Xiaogu, a woman, has no chance of winning the lawsuit.
Furthermore, even if she won the fight, Hu Aimin wouldn't pay her, and Yang Xiaogu would be powerless to do anything about it.
Don't you see, all sorts of deadbeats are running around everywhere, and not only are they deadbeats, they also make all sorts of threats.
Even in a more legally sound era twenty years from now, if we can't do anything about these people, what can we do about them in this era?
Therefore, if Yang Xiaogu chooses to pursue legal action, she is basically doomed to lose.
This is one of the reasons why Yang Xiaogu was unwilling to get a divorce.
As for whether Yang Xiaogu still has feelings for Hu Aimin, Yang Wanwan has no idea.
Twenty years from now, there will be plenty of women who can tolerate and continue living with their husbands' infidelity, let alone rural women in this era.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com