Chapter 115 Li Hongjuan is back
Zhong Chengfa was cooking at home, while Zhong Hongqing watched longingly from the side.
Seeing that his father had made another pot of blackened food, his face immediately scrunched up in a bitter expression.
"Dad, Grandma and the others' cooking smells so good, why is your cooking so awful?"
Zhong Hongqing felt wronged: "It tastes this bad every day!"
Zhong Chengfa felt even more aggrieved: "It's already good enough that I, a grown man, can cook! And you've become picky!"
"If you don't want to eat, go back to your grandma's house! Do you think your grandma's house will give you any food?"
Zhong Hongqing immediately fell silent.
He still remembers those few days at his grandmother's house, all the good food at home went to his cousins, and he didn't get a single bite!
Not only that, he often doesn't get enough to eat!
At home, even though Dad's cooking is terrible, at least I can still eat my fill, right?
Just then, a cautious voice suddenly rang out from outside the courtyard.
"Chengfa? Chengfa? Are you home?"
Zhong Hongqing was stunned for a moment, then jumped up excitedly: "It's Mom! It's Mom's voice!"
Zhong Chengfa was also stunned. Before he could react, Zhong Hongqing hurriedly ran to the gate of the courtyard.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw his mother standing outside.
As soon as Li Hongjuan saw Zhong Hongqing, her eyes reddened, and she quickly came over and hugged him.
"Oh dear, my Hongqing has really suffered... how come he's lost so much weight?"
Zhong Hongqing missed her too, and burst into tears, crying, "Mommy! I miss you so much..."
While wiping away her tears, Li Hongjuan secretly glanced in Zhong Chengfa's direction.
When she came back, she almost thought she had gone to the wrong place, because the old courtyard now had a wall that separated the front and back yards.
Now, only their family and Zhong Chengyi's house are in the front yard, while Zhong Chengren and Zhang Chunxue's family has been moved to the back yard.
She only knew that Zhang Chunxue had separated from the family, but she didn't expect that even the courtyard wall had been repaired.
Zhong Chengfa walked over with a spatula in his hand. Seeing Li Hongjuan's current haggard and thin appearance, he couldn't help but mock her: "Oh, what brings you here? You're not here to ask me for money for food, are you?"
"I don't have any money to give you right now!"
Li Hongjuan's face immediately turned bright red: "Chengfa, what are you saying?"
"Now that I'm back, why would I ask you for money for food?"
Zhong Chengfa snorted coldly: "Didn't you side with your family and say that you wouldn't come back with me if I didn't give you money for food?"
"Why are you back before I've even paid?"
"Could it be that you ate too much at your parents' house and they kicked you out again?"
He drawled, "Oh—and your money-grubbing sister-in-law... I just don't understand, I didn't give them any money, so why did they let you go?"
Li Hongjuan explained hesitantly, "I...I don't know either, it's just that my sister-in-law suddenly asked me to come back today..."
Zhong Chengfa suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Your family wouldn't be asking you to come back and steal my money, and then take it back to them, would they?"
Upon hearing this, Li Hongjuan immediately became anxious: "How could I possibly do such a thing?"
She looked at Zhong Chengfa and cautiously began, "I'm back now, aren't I? From now on, we'll live our own lives..."
She put down Zhong Hongqing and quickly took the spatula from Zhong Chengfa's hand: "Let me do it, let me do it..."
After seeing what was in the pot, her face darkened: "What kind of rubbish are you cooking?"
Zhong Chengfa was a little embarrassed: "It's just... multigrain noodles..."
"Why did the multigrain noodles turn this color?" Li Hongjuan asked incredulously. "Is this what you usually eat?"
Zhong Chengfa was getting annoyed: "As long as we don't starve, it's none of your business!"
Sensing the impatience in his tone, Li Hongjuan didn't dare to ask any further and quickly changed the subject: "Um... why has our yard become like this? Why are you cooking here?"
"If it rains, the pot will be full of soup!"
Zhong Chengfa said irritably, "How can you even light a fire when it's raining?"
His makeshift kitchen is simply a stove built against the wall, without even a roof over it to shelter from the rain.
Li Hongjuan couldn't help but speak again: "You still haven't told me how the house has become like this!"
"Isn't it clear?" Zhong Chengfa said even more irritably. "After the family split up, my stepmother divided the yard. My third brother and I will live in the front yard, and my mother and the others will live in the back yard!"
Upon hearing this, Li Hongjuan immediately became indignant: "Why is the second son's house next to Mom's?"
Zhong Chengfa scoffed, "Second brother? The second brother doesn't even have a house anymore! He divorced his sister-in-law, and Mom decided to give the house to Yuanyuan."
Upon hearing this, Li Hongjuan was stunned at first, then screamed, "What? Mom actually gave the house to that girl Zhong Yuanyuan? Has she gone mad?"
Her voice was so loud that Zhong Chengfa reached out and covered her mouth.
"Keep your voice down! If Mom hears you, you'll be in big trouble!"
Li Hongjuan was also somewhat intimidated by Zhang Chunxue, and immediately shut her mouth upon hearing this.
But she felt very uncomfortable about it, so she lowered her voice and said, "Why did Mom give the house to Zhong Yuanyuan? She's just a money-losing brat!"
"Even if someone were to give it to someone, it should be Hongqing! He's Mom's eldest grandson!"
Upon hearing this, Zhong Chengfa's face immediately turned sarcastic: "Eldest grandson? Do you think Mom likes this eldest grandson? Mom prefers Xiaoxiao and Yuanyuan!"
"Mom used to dote on this eldest grandson, but because of what you did, Mom doesn't even like Hongqing anymore!"
"You know how good Mom was to Hongqing before!"
He got angrier and angrier as he spoke: "How could you be so greedy? My second sister-in-law was sick and needed fish soup to recover, but you insisted on giving it all to her and didn't leave her any! If I were Mom, I would be angry too!"
Li Hongjuan flinched, still somewhat indignant: "In the end, it's just a little fish soup, isn't it? Besides, I'm just angry that Mom is biased..."
"Zhou Mingli just has a high fever, she's not dying! Why should she get fish soup? We can't even get a taste!"
Seeing that he showed no remorse whatsoever, Zhong Chengfa became even angrier: "How dare you say that! If you want fish soup, why don't you go catch some fish yourself? Do you just have to crave that one bite?"
He couldn't help but shout, "You still don't think you were wrong! You still think it's just a bowl of fish soup, don't you?!"
Upon seeing this, Li Hongjuan was immediately startled and quickly explained, "I was just angry at the time... but now I know I was wrong..."
She smiled apologetically, "I really know I was wrong, Chengfa, please don't be angry..."
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