Chapter 248 Aunt's Consolation
Zhang Lan made wild vegetable and corn porridge for dinner, but she didn't have time to cook the fish.
The next day, before dawn, everyone was still lying in the courtyard when they smelled the aroma of fish.
Zhang Lan got up early in the morning and started preparing. She chopped the fish into small pieces to make soup, and steamed cornbread and wild vegetable buns in small clumps on a steamer rack.
With a large family, and many of them working, Zhang Lan's sons ate too much. She could only afford to buy grade C flour, and only during holidays like Chinese New Year could she afford to buy white flour for dumplings and steamed buns.
The Lin brothers, Jianshe and Heping, were also big eaters. Then Song Lubai arrived. Zhang Lan wanted the whole family to be well-fed, so she could only steam wild vegetable buns and added a lot of water to the fish soup.
Normally, the boys wouldn't get up until dawn, but today, smelling the meat, they all jumped out of bed very quickly.
Using the fish soup, two steamers of cornbread were made. Impatient, Changsheng said, "Grandma, the fish has all dissolved from stewing. What are we going to eat?"
After all the steamed cornbread was finished, Zhang Lan took out the steamer rack and added another ladle of water to the pot to continue stewing the fish.
She stared blankly and said, "Don't you even know how many people are in our family? The fish is just right after it's stewed until it's soft, and all the meat is in the soup. Just drink the soup."
The pot was big enough, filled with soup, and the lichen looked light and airy inside.
Zhang Lan received a bunch of valuables from Chang Guangtao last night, and she was going to return them to Song Lubai.
Song Lubai naturally refused.
She left behind quite a few things; her aunt had been kind to her, and she was willing to give her things.
When it was time to eat, Zhang Lan, who held the power to distribute food in the family, first ladled out a bowl of thick soup for Song Lubai.
The fish was indeed stewed until it was broken up, but there were still some large pieces, which Zhang Lansheng gave to Song Lubai.
Chang Zhenzhen was speechless. She pouted and said indignantly, "Who is your biological daughter? How can you be so biased? You give all the good things to Song Lubai. I've never seen you treat your own daughter like this before."
Chang Zhong said, "Lu Bai has only been back for a few days, and you're already arguing about this? What kind of ambition do you have?"
Chang Zhenzhen turned to Song Lubai and asked, "That's right, I haven't asked you how many days you'll be back?"
Song Lubai put a piece of meat into her bowl and said, "I've already bought the tickets for the day after tomorrow."
She doesn't want to go back to the city these past few days.
Lin Jianshe said, "Sister, I want to go there with you."
Lin Heping pouted and said, "My brother-in-law and mom told us to go there together, but mom didn't want to."
Zhang Lan said, "Leaving one's hometown is not an easy decision to make. Fortunately, that guy surnamed Lu was arrested, otherwise there would have been more trouble."
Song Lubai didn't mention what had happened in the past two days, but recalling Niu Lili's comments about "the son of a murderer" yesterday, she felt somewhat worried about her two younger brothers' future.
Adults would say that, let alone some ignorant children. Who could stand being called "the son of a murderer" every day?
The fish soup was salty and savory, and tasted even better with vinegar added. Early in the morning, Song Lubai broke out in a sweat after drinking it.
The large pot of fish soup was devoured by the whole family.
Everyone who was supposed to go to work had left, and Song Lubai lay on a chair in the yard, basking in the sun.
The Lin brothers, Jianshe and Heping, surrounded her and asked her about Wei Yang.
Hearing the two brothers mention Wei Yang's dealing with Lu Jianxi, Song Lubai thought to herself that Wei Yang was quite good at downplaying the seriousness of the matter.
In her dream, Lu Jianxi relentlessly pursued her, and he would smile shamelessly at everything she said. The early part of the dream had no resemblance to him in reality.
In reality, he is arrogant, ruthless, heartless, and vindictive. The version of him in the early dreams was definitely a disguise.
She wondered, if she hadn't gone to Xinjiang, would Lu Jianxi have continued to pretend for many years, just like in her dream? Would her mother and Lin Dahai have been spared his torment?
It's true that karma is cyclical; whoever is destined to suffer retribution will not escape it.
"Sis, when are you bringing your husband back with you?"
Song Lubai asked, "Do you two like him that much?"
The two brothers nodded. "My brother-in-law is tall and capable, and he even brought us things. He's such a nice guy."
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but Song Lubai swallowed them back, and her heart hardened.
She still couldn't face her mother.
She told herself that things would be alright once she left.
When Zhang Lan returned at noon, she asked, "You're leaving the day after tomorrow, when are you planning to go home?"
Song Lubai said lazily, "What, Auntie, you don't want to see me?"
Zhang Lan said, "Your mother is all alone at home now. You're leaving the day after tomorrow, and we don't know when you'll be back. Why don't you stay home a couple more days?"
Song Lubai said, "I just missed you and wanted to stay here a few more days."
Zhang Lan was all smiles after being coaxed.
Chang Zhenzhen said, "You're such a sycophant."
The next day at noon, when Zhang Lan noticed that Song Lubai hadn't returned yet, she realized something was wrong.
Zhang Lan called the person to the tree outside the yard and asked, "What happened between you and your mother? Did you have a fight?"
No way, they haven't seen each other for a year, how could they possibly argue when they finally meet?
Song Lubai recounted how Lu Jianxi buried Lin Dahai alive, how they raided the tenement building at night, and how Lin Dahai beat Lu Jianxi into a pulp.
Zhang Lan was stunned.
"Lin Dahai killed someone, he'll be executed, right? Oh dear, this is terrible. Why was he so impulsive? How will the Jianshe brothers survive now?"
Song Lubai continued, "The day before yesterday, my mother got into a fight with Aunt Niu next door because Aunt Niu said that the Jianshe brothers had a murderer as their father."
Zhang Lan looked her over and asked, "What's it to you? Why don't you want to go home?"
Song Lubai said, "After Mom came home from the fight, she blamed me, saying I shouldn't have taken the hammer out."
Zhang Lan said "Hey," patted Song Lubai on the back, and said, "I thought something was wrong, but it's nothing. She was just angry, she definitely didn't mean it, don't take it to heart."
Song Lubai shook her head, "I just feel that she's not as good to me as she is to the Jianshe brothers. She's too biased."
Everything in the dream made sense, and she would never treat her mother as her biological mother again.
Zhang Lan said, "When you were one year old, you were so thin you were just skin and bones. You were often sick back then, and you would get so high that you would become delirious. The village's barefoot doctor couldn't do anything about you, and the wicked Song family left you to fend for yourself. It was your mother who carried you for dozens of miles to the health center. She may have been biased, but she never cheated you. Why are you still angry with her over such a small matter?"
For Song Lubai, these things were not the same as what her aunt was talking about.
She was constantly thinking about her mother, which is why she rushed back after having that dream, only to be dealt a heavy blow by it.
At this moment, she would rather her mother had never been kind to her, so that she could be indifferent and heartless towards her.
Zhang Lan advised, "Why think so much? Listen to me, hurry up and take the car back. Let's leave the Jianshe brothers here for now."
Song Lubai said, "You just don't want me to eat your family's food."
Zhang Lan laughed and scolded, "You heartless bastard, next time you come back, bring your partner along, and I'll cook you something delicious."
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