"Can't you praise me? I only like the dumplings I made to look good."
"Yes, yes, you wrapped it beautifully."
"They're just giving me the runaround."
"You brat, you're really hard to please."
Zhang Hongmei jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed) to avoid the old lady's slap and ran out laughing.
The old lady sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), looked at her great-grandson's puzzled expression, shook her head, and remained silent. Let her selfish desires end here.
"Auntie, let me help you make dumplings. It's too tiring for you and my grandma to do it all."
“Great! My daughter and son aren’t around, and I always feel so hungry when I see you.”
Zhang Hongmei smiled but didn't reply. How should one respond to that?
Today's dumplings are filled with dried radish, no meat. But these days, it's already a great treat to be able to eat dumplings at home.
This filling makes the dumplings easy to wrap, with less moisture, and you can even make large fillings.
Zhang Hongmei's dumplings are actually very pretty; they're small and exquisite, just like gold ingots.
When the dumplings were served, the family of six, plus Zhang Hongmei, were served a large bowl of dumplings each, along with minced garlic and vinegar.
"Hongmei, eat quickly." Liu Aimin's wife warmly took care of Zhang Hongmei, pushing the garlic and vinegar towards her.
"Auntie, I can't eat this big bowl. I'll go get another bowl to eat it from."
"I ate them all."
"I really can't eat this much." Zhang Hongmei went out and got an empty bowl, then put a few dumplings into it.
Seeing everyone else starting to eat, Zhang Hongmei also picked up a piece and put it in her mouth. To be honest, it wasn't very tasty, but compared to the food in the cafeteria, it was delicious.
He lied and said, "It's so delicious! I haven't had such a good meal in ages."
"If you like it, then eat more. Look at you, eating like you're eating cat food. Otherwise, why are you only growing taller but not gaining weight?"
Zhang Hongmei is most satisfied with her height, having grown more than 40 centimeters in the past year. This is related to her genes and also to the milk she drinks regularly.
"I have a small appetite, and I feel uncomfortable if I eat too much."
“I can tell you have a small appetite too. You always share your food with Shi Tou and San Ya when you get your meals.”
"Yes, I can't eat that much either. They're both growing, so they need to eat more to grow faster."
At this table, only the mother and daughter were chatting, while everyone else listened.
Finally home. This was Zhang Hongmei's first time eating at someone else's house since she came into this world. Li Cuihua tried to persuade her to go, but she couldn't find an excuse not to go to the old lady's house.
That evening, Liu Aimin sat on the old lady's kang (a heated brick bed) and said, "Grandma, I know and agree with your idea, but it still depends on them."
"I know, just keep it to yourself, don't tell your wife or Jingze."
"I see."
The next morning, on her way to the livestock shed, Zhang Hongmei was startled to hear a sharp cry.
The general direction was towards Liu Maocai's house, so I quickened my pace.
Before I even reached the door, I heard, "Third brother, your sister didn't come back tonight, go and look for her."
"Mom, who does Ximei usually hang out with? Where does she like to go?"
"She usually stays at home and doesn't interact much with the girls in the village."
"Then where do you want me to look?"
"A bunch of damned ingrates! Aren't you worried at all that your sister hasn't come back? How can you face me? How can you face your dead father?"
"If you don't even know who she's close to, how are we supposed to find her?" the eldest son, Liu Maolin, asked his mother helplessly.
"If I knew, would I need you ungrateful wretches?"
"Then let's go ask if anyone saw Ximei yesterday. A living person can't just stay away all night for no reason, she's not a man."
After Liu Maocai finished speaking, everyone felt that he made sense, so they went off separately to ask him questions.
Zhang Hongmei felt it wouldn't be appropriate for her to go in now, so she turned and left.
It wasn't until Zhang Hongmei returned in the afternoon and finished her meal that she heard some news.
The news has spread throughout the village that someone saw Liu Ximei leave the village yesterday, heading towards the township.
This is really bad; Liu Daya's past has been brought up again.
Liu Maocai had no choice but to walk to the village to inquire, but there was no news at all; it was as if Liu Ximei had vanished into thin air.
Liu Wangshi kept crying and making a fuss. Liu Maocai was a little better off than his two older brothers, since he didn't live with his mother. The other two brothers, on the other hand, were living in dire straits.
No matter how chaotic things were at home, Liu Ximei was terrified. But she dared not make a move. She glanced at the refined and elegant man beside her, filled with rage.
Touching her belly, she realized her wish was truly impossible to fulfill. She had originally planned to use the baby in her womb to surround Liu Sheng and marry her, but how had things come to this?
Was this man arranged by Liu Sheng's shrewish wife? Yes, it must be her. Now he wanted nothing more than to eat her flesh and drink her blood. This was his way of ensuring his eternal damnation.
Zhou Wenxuan glanced at Liu Ximei beside him, his heart filled with disgust and loathing. This woman was shameless; she was no match for Daya at all.
If it weren't for Daya insisting that I take her back, I wouldn't have liked her no matter what.
Zhou Wenxuan heard about Liu Ximei from Daya and learned that this woman had seduced a married man.
The reason he was able to get her out so easily was because he caught her and that man in the act. He made them sign a document, forcing her to come with him.
That man was a coward too; he was so scared he peed himself. He was even worse than this woman.
Zhou Wenxuan exchanged a glance with his third brother, who was not far away, and then closed his eyes. He really hated the woman's lecherous look at him; she was a fickle woman.
People are contradictory. Zhou Wenxuan and his four sworn brothers can live together with Da Ya, but he sees her as promiscuous just because she has an affair with another man.
From another perspective, Daya is actually quite happy; at least this beastly man still has genuine feelings for her.
Liu Ximei also traveled for almost two months before getting off the bus, by which time her pregnancy was already showing.
Zhou Wenxuan's sworn brother would take the train to the station every two days to check on them, waiting for Zhou Wenxuan and the others to return.
Today, seeing them get out of the car, I hurriedly drove over. Liu Ximei was pulled into the car by Zhou Wenxuan, and we didn't arrive until dark. When I saw Liu Daya walking out the door, I understood everything.
It wasn't Liu Sheng's wife who schemed against him at all; it was this bitch.
She no longer cared about the baby in her belly and rushed forward to slap Da Ya. The two of them started fighting without saying a word.
Seeing that Er Ya was about to suffer, Zhou Wenxuan immediately grabbed Liu Ximei and said, "If you behave yourself, we can find you an honest family. If you keep causing trouble, don't blame Da Ya and me for being ruthless."
Liu Ximei sat on the ground and wailed, "Liu Daya, you bitch! You've already fallen so low, why are you still trying to harm me?"
"I'm depraved? I'm not as shameless as you, knowing full well that he has a wife and children, yet still shamelessly seducing him."
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