Chapter 80: Delivering Food

The next day, only Shen Ruoqing, Old Lady Ji, and a few children were at home. Everyone else went to dig kudzu roots. Cui Zhaodi and Du's family members came.

"My dear relatives, where is my daughter?" Cui Zhaodi asked while looking at the people in the room. She felt that her daughter was not there and that the Shen family was too perfunctory towards her, so she just poured a glass of boiled water to entertain the guest.

"I went to dig wild vegetables. So, are the in-laws coming to return the sweet potatoes?" Old Mrs. Ji asked deliberately.

Cui Zhaodi's face changed. "My dear, I haven't told you yet. Those sweet potatoes were eaten up in a few days. We are embarrassed to keep asking you for money. We survived the winter with tree bark and other things. In the spring, we ate wild vegetable cakes and looked forward to the summer harvest. But we didn't expect that the black-hearted businessman from Country X would sell us seeds that were just empty shells. How can we survive?"

Zeng, Du's eldest sister-in-law, also said, "Aunt Shen, you are far-sighted and told us to store more food. But we don't have much money at home. We don't have any extra money to buy food. This black-hearted businessman from Country X has really hurt us!"

Old Lady Ji drank a glass of water and said, "Yes, this year is not easy for everyone. We have to wait for the final settlement of the rice yield. The higher-ups should know about our situation and won't let us be so sad. More or less, the relief grain should be available."

Cui Zhaodi and Zeng looked at each other, and Cui Zhaodi spoke first: "My dear, I won't beat around the bush. My family is really struggling to make ends meet. I would like to borrow 300 kilograms of grain, just coarse grains."

Zeng said, "Aunt Shen, we really regret not listening to you, but you know our situation. We really can't afford to buy food. See how much you can give to help us get through this difficult time."

Old Lady Ji spread her hands and said, "I specifically asked my daughter-in-law to go back to her parents' home and tell you to prepare more. Now that you've come to my house, what can I do? We don't have any extra food at home. Mother-in-law, you saw what happened to our family last time. We have done our best to lend you so many sweet potatoes."

"After all, Aunt Shen has a way. I have known for a long time that she is a capable person. She must have stockpiled food. Our two families are really in trouble, otherwise it would be difficult to come to their house." Zeng looked embarrassed.

"My dear relatives, you can't just ignore the life and death of our family. I married my daughter to your family, and she gave birth to three big fat boys for your family. My little grandson is a person with great blessings as the experts said. I don't want the 300 kilograms of fine grains, I only want coarse grains." Cui Zhaodi looked like Old Lady Ji had taken advantage of her.

"Three hundred kilograms of food? Why don't you go and rob it? You want three hundred kilograms of food just by opening your mouth? If I give it to you, our Shen family will be left starving." Old Mrs. Ji couldn't keep her composure anymore and said directly.

"My dear relative, don't lie to me. You knew that there would be a food shortage at this time, so you must have prepared a lot of food. You are telling me this now, but you are treating me as an outsider instead of a relative." Cui Zhaodi's face also darkened.

Old Mrs. Ji stood up and said, "I knew you wouldn't believe me. Come on, I'll take you to our cellar."

Unexpectedly, Cui Zhaodi didn't buy it: "My dear, don't try to fool me with this. Who knows where you hid the grain?"

Old Lady Ji's face darkened. "Believe it or not, if it doesn't work, you can report me. I said there is no food, and that means there is no food! Since you think I am lying to you, we won't continue chatting. Please go back."

Zeng was anxious: "Aunt Shen, I didn't say I didn't believe you. This is what Aunt Cui said, it's none of my business!"

Cui Zhaodi glared at Zeng and said, "Didn't we agree that I would play the good guy and you the bad guy? Why are you leaving me like this?"

Shen Ruoqing watched the internal conflict between the two families with great interest. It seemed that these two people would not get any good at the hands of Old Lady Ji.

In the end, both of them returned empty-handed.

After the two men left, Old Mrs. Ji packed up her things and took out some food.

"My dear, wait for your third brother to come back and ask him to take us to your grandmother's house." Old Mrs. Ji was picking up the food. Grandpa Ji and Old Mrs. Wang couldn't eat much, so she decided to bring two hundred kilograms of cornmeal. The old couple were old and had difficulty swallowing coarse grains. After thinking about it, she added ten kilograms of white flour. These ten kilograms of white flour would be considered her filial piety.

Shen Ruoqing came to Liushu Village on a tractor.

It was a rare sight to see a tractor in the village, and adults and children all gathered around to see it. Although their Liushu Village also had a tractor, the team leader usually treated it like a treasure.

When they saw it was Old Lady Ji, some people who knew her quickly went to inform Grandma Ji and Grandpa Ji.

Old Lady Ji felt the envious gazes of the people around her, and she couldn't help but straighten her back. Suddenly, she felt like she was returning home in glory.

"Hongying is back."

"Or a tractor?"

"It seems that Hongying is living a good life in Dashitou Village. Although she lost her husband, she has a son now, which makes things different. The one driving the tractor seems to be her son, right?"

"Why did you come back at this time? This is Xiangxi, right? You can drive a tractor now? You've really made it." Ji Liangzhu tapped his pipe.

Shen Xiangxi parked the car on the side of the road, carrying the food, and entered the Ji family's yard with Old Lady Ji and Shen Ruqing.

The Ji family was having dinner at this time. When Old Mrs. Ji saw that they were eating black flour steamed buns and two plates of wild vegetables.

"Is this what we eat at home?" said Old Mrs. Ji.

"If not this, what to eat? If you were going to come back, why didn't you come earlier? Why did you come so late today?" Old Mrs. Wang had a wooden face. Ji Liangzhu asked his eldest grandson's wife to prepare three more pairs of chopsticks.

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"I'm not eating here. I'll go back after delivering the food." Old Mrs. Ji waved her hand, and Shen Xiangxi also moved all the food over at this time.

"I've informed you before, asking you to stock up more food. Okay, I won't say anything. These two bags of food are loaned to Hongxun, and the ten kilograms of flour in them are my gift to you two as a filial piety." Old Mrs. Ji looked a little uncomfortable. This was the first time she had volunteered to deliver food.

Feng went forward to check, wow, there was so much cornmeal.

“It’s cornmeal.”

"Where did you get so much food?" asked Mrs. Wang.

Feng's face immediately lit up with smiles: "Sister-in-law, you haven't eaten yet, I'll ask my daughter-in-law to fry some eggs, sister-in-law, please stay and eat."

"Don't worry about where I get the food from. Just remember to return it to me later. It's getting late and I have to go home for dinner." Old Lady Ji waved her hand and took Shen Ruoqing back. She didn't want to eat these wild vegetables and black flour buns.

"Don't go. Who said we were going to lend you some food? Take the food back." Old Mrs. Wang said, but Old Mrs. Ji didn't care about her mother at all and just left.

Finally, it was Ji Liangzhu who spoke up: "Move the food in."

(End of this chapter)