Chen An beckoned and said in an unquestionable tone, "Come sit down and eat with us."
How can you feed yourself while letting your child go hungry?
Zhang Shaowen was caught between a rock and a hard place, stammering, "This food is too good. I've already received my wages, so I can't eat anymore."
Anyway, he'll be going home soon, and he only eats two meals a day at home anyway, so he's not starving.
Cheng Yue smiled and urged, "Wages are wages, and meals are meals. I've already made a portion for you, so come and eat with us. After we finish eating, let's hurry home."
How much food can a child eat? She's not so stingy as to not care about other people's meals. Anyway, her family has to eat, so it's just a matter of adding more chopsticks.
Chen Lin pressed Zhang Shaowen into a seat and chuckled, "Let's eat together!"
Chen Lin used to be laughed at for being a fool, and he never dared to talk to anyone, so he didn't have many friends in the village.
After spending half a day with Zhang Shaowen, they had become quite familiar with each other. Besides, Zhang Shaowen had defended him when Chen Gen scolded him.
Chen Lin has already considered Zhang Shaowen a friend.
Chen Tong and Chen Ning proudly said, "Brother Shaowen, my mother's cooking is amazing! You can't find such skill anywhere else. You should try it!"
Zhang Shaowen swallowed hard. How could he not know that Aunt Cheng Yue's cooking was delicious?
He had eaten the chicken that Aunt Cheng Yue brought over at first, and he had also tasted the braised food that his grandfather brought back later.
Even Dad and Second Uncle said how delicious Aunt Cheng Yue's scallion pancakes, egg soup, and he luo noodles were.
Cheng Yue smiled indulgently at the two girls, "Showing off!"
He then served Zhang Shaowen a bowl of rice, saying, "Here, take it. It's all home-style cooking. Eat up."
Minced pork with eggplant, loofah and egg soup, cold tofu skin salad, stir-fried wood ear mushrooms with pork, and stir-fried bok choy with pork cracklings were indeed home-style dishes in Cheng Yue's eyes.
"Thank you, thank you, Auntie!"
Zhang Shaowen held the white rice in his hands, his heart trembling. Aunt Cheng Yue called this a home-cooked meal?
Who eats plain rice with meat as their everyday dish?
Chen Lin was eating so heartily that he was afraid of making too much noise swallowing. Oh well, he decided not to be coy and just eat whatever everyone offered.
One bite and his eyes lit up, and even the bad mood that Chen Gen had just stirred up was swept away.
Zhang Shaowen took a deep breath to suppress the urge to eat voraciously.
His mother often said, "A half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home. With such good food, if he can't control his appetite, how much money will he eat?"
Chen Lin slurped his food down, already having a second bowl of rice, while Zhang Shaowen was still holding his bowl, chewing slowly.
Cheng Yue knew he was just being reserved, so she scooped a spoonful of rice into his bowl, and Zhang Shaowen almost burst into tears.
However, the next moment he felt even more like bursting into tears, because Chen Lin comforted him, "Brother Shaowen, eat more, you won't be sad if you eat your fill."
Chen Gen has called me an idiot since I was little, but I'm not stupid, so everything he says is a lie. He said you're a thief, but that's definitely on purpose. None of us will believe him, so don't worry about him!
Zhang Shaowen's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the bowl. He quickly looked at everyone, fearing he would be misunderstood, and hurriedly explained, "I'm really not a thief, I didn't steal anything..."
Chen An and Cheng Yue exchanged a glance. What Chen Gen said? What of it is true?
They knew what Zhang Shaowen was like, but they didn't know why Chen Gen said that.
Could it be that he dropped out of school because of this?
If Zhang Shaowen hadn't told them, they wouldn't have known about it. Now that they know, they can't just ignore it, lest the child feel misunderstood and upset.
Cheng Yue asked with concern, "Shaowen, we all believe you, but why did Chen Gen say that? What happened before? Can you tell us?"
Seeing that everyone looked at him with concern and didn't doubt or look down on him, Zhang Shaowen felt extremely wronged.
He had never told his family about this; he had kept it to himself for a long time.
He always thought that he would forget about it over time, but this matter was still like a thorn stuck in his heart, to the point that he felt afraid whenever he saw Chen Gen.
But now that he's working with Aunt Cheng Yue, he has to be completely honest and clean; he can't let Chen Gen ruin him again.
Zhang Shaowen put down his chopsticks and bit his lip, saying, "I really didn't steal anything. Chen Gen framed me."
We studied together back then, and Chen Gen often bullied me. I thought we were from the same village, so I could tolerate it and didn't want to argue with him.
But ever since my teacher started praising my intelligence, he has become even more difficult to me, and has even joined with others to bully, mock, and speak ill of me.
Later, Chen Gen told his teacher that he had lost a writing brush and insisted on searching for each one. His teacher had no choice but to comply.
Finally, the calligraphy brush was indeed found, right under the futon where I was sitting. Chen Gen cried and made a scene, saying he wanted me to drop out of school and that if I didn't, he would take it to the authorities.
No one believed my explanation, and the teacher was very disappointed in me. Fearing that I would damage the school's reputation, I had no choice but to drop out.
On the day I dropped out of school, Chen Gen found me, and that's when I realized that he had deliberately framed me!
He told me he just couldn't stand that I was more capable than him. Even though my grandfather was the village head, we were still just peasants.
He even warned me that if I dared to say anything out of line, he would make my grandfather lose his position as village head and make my whole family lose face.
After Zhang Shaowen finished speaking, he started to cry, and Chen Lin, Chen Tong, and Chen Ning also shed tears.
They felt wronged just listening to it, let alone Zhang Shaowen who had kept it all bottled up inside for so many years.
Chen An's face was grim. "I always thought Chen Gen was just spoiled and didn't know any better. I never expected him to do something like this!"
The thought that Chen Gen was his nephew made him feel ashamed. Fortunately, the family had separated, and now they were just waiting to sever ties. Otherwise, who knows what this scoundrel might do and implicate his three children.
Cheng Yue was both angry and heartbroken after hearing this, because she felt the same way.
She was also bullied by her classmates when she was a child because of her good grades. Even though she dared to fight back, it only prevented the bullies from becoming more arrogant.
Although she was not physically bullied, the psychological bullying she suffered from being slandered and isolated was far more terrifying.
When she was little, she couldn't understand why everyone bullied her.
It wasn't until I grew up that I realized that some people can't stand seeing others do better than them; if they're jealous of you, they'll try to destroy you.
Zhang Shaowen's continued silence only made Chen Gen think he was easy to bully, no wonder he became even more aggressive.
Chen Gen is such a scoundrel, he's really an eye-opener. Not only did he orchestrate and frame others, but he also knows how to threaten people with what they care about most.
The village head's family is kind and fair. If this matter were to escalate, it would only damage their reputation. No wonder Zhang Shaowen dared not tell his family.
When did good character become a reason for bad people to manipulate you? How ridiculous!
Chen Lin said bitterly, "He's too evil! Brother Shaowen, we all believe in you. Don't worry, Chen Gen will definitely get his comeuppance!"
While Cheng Yue and the others were gently comforting Zhang Shaowen, Chen Gen returned to the academy and was spewing veiled insults about Cheng Ji Braised Food.
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