The next day, before lunch, Zhou Xiaoyun and Ling Dapeng brought their son to the gate of the General's Mansion.
Knowing that these were the general's son, daughter-in-law, and grandson, the guards of the general's mansion naturally let them pass, but they also informed Lingyunzhou in advance.
Ling Yunzhou was very suspicious of the unfilial son's intentions in coming at this hour.
"Someone, convey my orders." After a moment's thought, Ling Yunzhou immediately summoned someone to his side. After giving some instructions, Ling Dapeng, his wife, and their child also arrived.
"Father, I've brought my wife and child to see you." Ling Dapeng greeted Ling Yunzhou respectfully.
"Daughter-in-law Zhou greets Father," Zhou Xiaoyun said in return.
Ling Yunzhou remained calm and said indifferently, "You're here. Let's start cooking. It's almost time to eat. Better to be lucky than early. Let's eat together!"
Ling Dapeng's face lit up with joy. His wife was truly amazing; coming over at this hour meant they could have a good meal and save the family money.
"Thank you, Dad!" Ling Dapeng said immediately. "Dad, we've separated the family. Xiaoyun, the child, and I are living separately now."
At this point, Ling Yunzhou felt a surge of anger, but he remained calm and said, "I already know about this. You're both married now, so it's true that you should separate and live separately. But why didn't your older brother separate, while you did first?"
How was he supposed to answer that? Ling Dapeng scratched his head awkwardly, unsure of how to respond.
"Grandpa, Grandpa!" Ling Zhi spoke up at the right moment, which eased Ling Yunzhou's expression and made him stop asking about Ling Dapeng's family division.
"Zhi'er, sweetie, is there anything you want to eat?"
"Meat, eggs!" Ling Rui clapped his little hands and said in a childish voice. After repeating it once, he even slapped the table, "I want meat, I want eggs, eat, eat..."
"Zhi'er!" Zhou Xiaoyun immediately hugged the child, her face contorted with worry. "Father, the food at home has been a bit bland lately. I was thinking that Dapeng has a hard time supporting the family, so I tried to save money wherever possible. I'm sorry you had to laugh at me."
"It's good that you think that way. It just so happens that I've been thinking about the hard times of the past recently, and I've already instructed the servants to remind us of the bitter past and eat some of the old porridge, cornbread, and wild vegetables these days."
Ling Yunzhou, with an expression of approval towards Zhou Xiaoyun, slowly said, "Zhi'er, there's no meat or eggs here with Grandpa today. Dapeng, as a grown man, it's your responsibility to support your family. You need to work even harder in the future so that your wife and children can live a good life."
Ling Dapeng was startled. This... seemed different from what they had expected. He subconsciously glanced at Zhou Xiaoyun.
“Father, I…I will.” Ling Dapeng replied weakly.
"I know you're going to work as a waiter at a restaurant. How much does your mother pay you?" Ling Yunzhou asked deliberately.
“Ten taels. Mother said ten taels a month, and at the end of the year, depending on the restaurant’s profits, she will give double or triple the year-end bonus,” Ling Dapeng replied truthfully.
Ling Yunzhou nodded and said, "That's not bad. Back then, your father joined the army and started from the lowest rank of soldier. The border was bitterly cold, and we ate hard, dry steamed buns. You had ten taels of silver a month. If you didn't squander it, you wouldn't have any problem with food and clothing."
“Father is right. We’ve also lived through hard times, so we cherish every grain of rice we have now.” Zhou Xiaoyun immediately said in a twisted way, “It’s a pity that Zhi’er is still young, and I’m pregnant with another one. If it weren’t for this, I would also go to work, even if the wages are less.”
“No need for that,” Ling Yunzhou said. “You are a woman with children, so naturally your primary responsibility is to raise them. Not everyone has your mother’s ability to raise two sons all by herself.”
Zhou Xiaoyun was speechless and could only lower her head and remain silent.
"General, your meal is here," the steward said, stepping forward with several servants carrying plates behind him.
"Knowing you were coming, I had them make extra," Ling Yunzhou said to his son and daughter-in-law. "Bring it all up."
A bowl of grayish-brown, mushy soup was served, and Ling Dapeng couldn't help but frown. What was this?!
A plate of hard, dry cornbread arrived, along with a large pile of pickled vegetables.
"Eat up, this is a soup made from ashes and herbs. We were poor back then, so it was good enough to have something like this to eat," Ling Yunzhou said, taking the first bite.
Since Dad has already started eating, they can't just say they won't eat!
"Wife, let me serve you some." Ling Dapeng reluctantly served Zhou Xiaoyun a bowl of soup.
Zhou Xiaoyun was heartbroken. This stuff was probably meant for pigs. But she could only force herself to accept it, suppressing her disgust.
"Zhi'er, come on, it's time to eat." Zhou Xiaoyun couldn't eat, so she picked up the bowl and fed the child.
The one-and-a-half-year-old child could ask for things, but that was something Zhou Xiaoyun had taught him. When his mother fed him, the child ate.
"Look, Zhi'er has eaten it all. This child is truly worthy of having the blood of the Ling family; he has learned to endure hardship since he was a child."
Looking at Ling Zhi's appearance, Ling Yunzhou couldn't help but praise him.
"Wah~" As soon as he finished speaking, Ling Zhi, who had tasted the bitterness, spat it out and burst into tears.
Zhou Xiaoyun also felt nauseous for no reason. Her morning sickness had stopped, but seeing all this food on the table today made her want to vomit again.
"Ugh~" Zhou Xiaoyun covered her mouth and turned her head away to dry heave, her face looking rather pale.
Ling Yunzhou frowned. This child was still young and reacted very directly, but this daughter-in-law…
"Wife, what's wrong?" Ling Dapeng immediately asked with concern.
Zhou Xiaoyun wiped her mouth and said apologetically to Ling Yunzhou, "Dad, I'm sorry, the baby in my belly suddenly kicked me."
“You’re pregnant, so these things might not be suitable for you. How about this, I’ll have someone make you a bowl of wild vegetable porridge,” Ling Yunzhou said. “Go and rest in the flower hall for a while. Someone, bring my little grandson over and let the head nanny feed him.”
"Yes, General." As soon as Ling Yunzhou finished speaking, a servant immediately responded.
Before Zhou Xiaoyun could say anything more, a nanny came to help her to the flower hall, and her son was also picked up.
"Wife, son..." Ling Dapeng was a little confused. What... what is going on?
"Sit down and eat!" Ling Yunzhou shouted. "What's wrong? You've lived through the days of eating chaff and drinking thin gruel, and now you can't even reminisce about the past?"
Ling Dapeng immediately shrank back; his father, the Great General, was too intimidating.
"Dad, I'll eat, I'll eat right away." The porridge was bitter and burnt, even worse than the soup he had eaten yesterday.
Ling Dapeng picked up a cornbread bun, took a bite, and immediately felt a pain in his teeth. "Dad, it's so hard!"
"It's because you have bad teeth," Ling Yunzhou said disdainfully. "I remember this time last year, you were still in Lingjia Village, weren't you? Did you eat better then than you do now?"
Ling Dapeng lowered his head even further; at that time, hunger was the most common occurrence.
"Dad, I'll eat, I'll eat, okay?" Ling Dapeng said with a mournful face. They shouldn't have come!
Before long, Zhou Xiaoyun, who had just finished drinking the wild vegetable porridge, also had a bitter face. The wild vegetable porridge, which had no oil at all, was not as good as the one she ate at home!
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