The sound of banging on the door startled Aunt Xu and Xu Mu. They turned around at the same time and saw Song Rumeng's back as she pounded on the door through the open gate.
Aunt Xu's face immediately darkened; this Song Rumeng truly had no shame.
Feeling a tug on her hem, Aunt Xu looked down and saw her grandson's little hand gripping the hem of her dress.
"What's wrong?" Aunt Xu bent down to look him in the eye. Xu Mu glanced outside and asked softly, "Grandma, do you think Aunt and Big Sister are home?"
Aunt Xu nodded, "Of course it's at home, otherwise why would the smell of meat waft out?"
"Sister Mengmeng knocked on the door for so long, why didn't Auntie and Big Sister come to open it? Didn't they hear us?" Xu Mu couldn't figure out this question.
"I heard it, but I don't want to open the door for her." Aunt Xu smiled with a hint of schadenfreude. Not opening the door for Song Rumeng must have been Song Yueying's idea.
Zhao Dongxue never imagined such a way to prank someone.
Everyone said Zhao Dongxue was crazy, and she had personally witnessed her having a few episodes. But in reality, Zhao Dongxue had a very gentle personality and a simple mind.
"Why don't Auntie and Big Sister want to open the door?" Xu Mu asked, displaying his spirit of asking questions whenever he didn't understand.
That's a good question. Aunt Xu thought for a moment, then asked instead of answering, "Mumu, when you asked Song Rumeng where she went, what did she say to you?"
"Sister Rumeng said that she couldn't finish eating all the vegetable seedlings at home, so she sent some to the eldest sister," Xu Mu replied truthfully.
"We can't finish all the vegetable seedlings." Aunt Xu snorted and said disdainfully, "She wanted to trade the vegetable seedlings for someone's meat, but they wouldn't open the door for her, which means they didn't want to trade with her."
Because they lived nearby, Aunt Xu had seen Song Rumeng doing this kind of thing more than once. She hadn't thought much of it before, but now, thinking about it, she just wanted to curse her again: shameless!
“No…no.” Xu Mu shook his head and said, “Sister Ru Meng only said she was giving the eldest sister vegetable seedlings, she didn’t…she didn’t say she was going to use the seedlings to exchange for the eldest sister’s meat.”
"You silly boy, you're not going to grow a head." Aunt Xu raised her hand and slapped her grandson on the head, saying with exasperation, "I've explained it to you so clearly, and you still don't understand."
"There are only a few seedlings, not enough for our own family to eat, how come they can't finish them?"
"Also, she never delivers it earlier or later than usual. She always delivers it when the aroma of meat is wafting from someone's house, just when they're delivering some worthless vegetable seedlings."
"She wasn't there to deliver vegetable seedlings; she was there to steal someone's meat."
Xu Mu looked at his grandmother with a half-understanding expression, his eyes widening slowly, his little mouth forming an "o" shape.
Judging from his expression, Aunt Xu knew he had figured it out. "Don't be surprised or find it strange. This is exactly what Song Rumeng was planning."
Her grandson is actually very smart; he understands things very quickly. She will send him to school next year when he turns eight.
"Sister Rumeng, how could you do this?" Xu Mu pouted, feeling very unhappy.
“She’s always been like this, we just didn’t realize it.” Aunt Xu knew that she wouldn’t understand if she told her grandson too much, so she reached out and pulled him into her arms, giving him a heartfelt reminder.
"Mumu! When we judge a person, we can't just look at her appearance or listen to what she says; we have to look at what she does."
If it weren't for what happened that day, she would still think that Song Rumeng was a genuine, gentle, and kind girl.
If she hadn't helped deliver Xiao Wang's baby, she would still think Song Yueying was a scheming and hypocritical girl.
In fact, she had the two girls reversed!
The truly gentle and kind one is Song Yueying, while the one who says one thing but means another is Song Rumeng.
Little Xu Mu, nestled in his grandmother's arms, heard but didn't understand. He gently pulled away from his grandmother's embrace and asked with a puzzled look, "Why, Grandma?"
“Because what the eyes see and the ears hear may not be true.” Aunt Xu gently tugged at her grandson’s ear. “Only personal feelings are true.”
Xu Mu quickly covered his ears, still not understanding, but this time he didn't want to ask.
He felt that his grandmother kept saying things he couldn't understand today, and if he asked her again, he knew he wouldn't understand her answers either.
Aunt Xu straightened up and said, "Looking at your silly face, I know you didn't understand. Oh well, you're still young, it's normal that you don't understand. You'll understand when you grow up."
Xu Mu didn't want to care about what would happen when he grew up, because he was thinking about something else that was very important.
Xu Mu blinked at Aunt Xu and said, "Grandma, today I went to play with Brother Wuyue, and Brother Wuyue secretly told me that they were going to the mountain to find herbs."
"The herbs we found were sent to the eldest sister's house, and she accepted them all."
Aunt Xu was taken aback. "Doctor Song is collecting herbs. I've never heard of that."
She had never heard of it, but her grandson knew about it, and she couldn't quite describe how she felt.
"Brother May said that the eldest sister forbade us to tell anyone, and only a few of us friends know about this. Nobody else knows." Xu Mu looked at his grandmother with bright eyes.
"Grandma, I want to go to the mountain with Brother Wuyue and the others to find herbs tomorrow."
Aunt Xu was taken aback. "You also want to go up the mountain to find medicinal herbs?"
"I want to." Xu Mu nodded heavily.
Seeing her grandson's determined little face, Aunt Xu knew he wasn't just saying it casually. After thinking for a moment, she said seriously, "Mumu, if you want to play with Wuyue and the others, Grandma doesn't object."
"But if you want to go into the mountains to find herbs, that's definitely not an option."
“In May, they are the older children, used to running around in the mountains. They can distinguish danger and know where there is danger and where they should not go.”
“You are still too young to understand danger, and there are dangers everywhere in the mountains. Grandma does not agree to let you go to the mountains with them.”
Xu Mu didn't quite understand the beginning of what was said, but he understood the last sentence. His grandmother didn't agree to him going to the mountains with May and the others to find medicinal herbs.
Seeing her grandson's disappointed face, Aunt Xu gave him an idea, "You can't go into the mountains, but you can find herbs on the ridges and in the fields."
"Find the herbs and send them to Doctor Song. Whether she accepts them or not is up to her."
"Also, before you go out to find herbs tomorrow, go and tell Doctor Song first. Make sure to make it clear that you are not going to the mountains to find herbs, but to look for them in the fields."
Looking up at his grandmother, Xu Mu asked in confusion, "Aren't medicinal herbs only found in the mountains?"
“Of course not,” Aunt Xu said with a smile, explaining to her simple-minded grandson. “Herbal herbs grow everywhere; it just depends on whether you recognize them or not.”
“Okay, I’ll listen to Grandma.” Xu Mu clapped her hands happily.
Seeing her grandson happy, Aunt Xu was happy too.
In the other courtyard.
Song's mother and Song Yueying sat in the main room eating steamed buns and drinking egg and wild vegetable soup.
The loud banging on the courtyard gate didn't affect Song Yueying's appetite in the slightest. She was holding a plump, white steamed bun and enjoying it with small, delicious bites.
On the table was a half-full bowl of steaming egg and wild vegetable soup.
Song Yueying could ignore the knocking on the door, but her mother could not.
She glanced outside every now and then, her face full of worry, and even the big steamed bun in her hand didn't taste good anymore.
Seeing her daughter enjoying her food, she hesitated several times, wanting to ask but afraid of disturbing her daughter's meal. In the end, her daughter prevailed, and she lowered her head to eat her bun.
After eating a large steamed bun and a bowl of egg and wild vegetable soup, Song Yueying was full.
With a satisfied look on his face, he put down his bowl and said to his mother, "Mom, you continue eating. I'll go sit outside for a while."
"Little Shadow, don't go out yet." Song's mother said hurriedly, "Song Rumeng has been knocking on the door for so long, she must be very angry now, extremely angry."
"If you go out now, she'll definitely yell at you."
"If you really want to go out, wait for me a bit. I'll go out with you after I finish eating."
After saying that, Song's mother ate the steamed buns in big bites.
Song Yueying sighed, realizing that her mother always put her daughter first, but the original owner of this body didn't know how to appreciate it. She was often instigated by Song Rumeng and would either beat or scold her mother.
Now that she has traveled through time, she cherishes this opportunity. "Please enjoy your meal. When I said 'go out,' I meant sitting at the stone table in the courtyard for a while, not going outside."
The light in the room was getting dimmer and dimmer. She still had a little bit of the German instruction manual left to translate and had to finish it before dark.
"Okay, you can go now." Hearing that she was not going outside the yard, but inside, Song's mother felt relieved.
Song Yueying turned and walked out of the main room. She had seen her mother's struggle the whole time. She pretended not to see it, just to see if her mother would ask her.
As a result, she didn't ask anything.
Outside the courtyard gate.
Time ticked by, and Song Rumeng's hands ached and went numb from pounding on the door. The vegetable seedlings she had brought out to give away had long since been thrown on the ground and trampled to pieces.
She shook her hand and threatened fiercely, "Song Yueying, you have completely angered me today. From today onwards, I, Song Rumeng, am no longer your cousin."
"If you ever run into trouble in the future, don't expect me to stand up for you again."
"Song Yueying, from now on we are no longer sisters. All that kindness I showed you before, all that I thought of you."
"I even thought of sending you some of the vegetable seedlings I transplanted at home."
"You won't even open the door for me! You're ungrateful, you heartless wretch! Song Yueying, open the door! Open the door right now and come out to apologize to me!"
She was turned away and still couldn't see reality. She still wanted Song Rumeng to go out and apologize to her? Dream on! Song Yueying listened to Song Rumeng's rant in the courtyard, unmoved.
The door next door opened, and Wang Muxiang came out. "Mengmeng, come back quickly. Don't knock anymore. That ingrate Song Yueying won't open the door for you."
"Mom, don't worry about it." Song Rumeng glanced back at Wang Muxiang. "If Song Yueying dares not to open the door for me, I'll smash it down."
Wang Muxiang looked around and saw that not a single neighbor came out, not even Aunt Xu from across the street, who loved to join in the fun.
My daughter's efforts are destined to be in vain today.
Suppressing her anger, Wang Muxiang approached Song Rumeng, grasped her wrist, and gently advised her, "Mengmeng, stop knocking, come home with Mom!"
"Mom, I'm not reconciled. I was so good to her, so very good. How could she do this to me?" Song Rumeng's voice was choked with sobs as she finished speaking.
It was like pent-up grievances about to burst forth.
Seeing her daughter so aggrieved, Wang Muxiang's anger was almost uncontrollable, and she wanted to smash the courtyard gate in front of her.
Remembering the man's words of advice before she left, she held back.
Wang Muxiang gently patted Song Rumeng's back and said, "It's alright, it's alright, good child. This time, you've finally realized that some people really don't deserve your kindness."
"Mom..." Song Rumeng hugged Wang Muxiang and cried loudly.
She cried not only because she was angry with Song Yueying, but also because the meat buns were getting less and less flavorful.
She banged on the door for ages, worked tirelessly, and cursed for ages, only to smell the aroma of meat buns. She was furious! Furious to the point of gritting her teeth, and even more so, she hated Song Yueying's heartlessness.
"Alright, alright, stop crying, don't feel wronged! Come back with Mom!" Wang Muxiang's eyes were spitting fire with anger, but she was still saying things she didn't mean.
"These experiences serve as a lesson; I shouldn't be so open and honest with people in the future."
Song Rumeng and Wang Muxiang returned to the courtyard, and the door diagonally opposite opened again. Aunt Xu poked her head out, spat fiercely, and then casually closed the door.
"Grandma, what are you doing?" came the voice of her grandson from behind.
Aunt Xu was startled. "Oh dear, you unlucky child, why did you come out with me? You scared your grandma half to death! Go back, go back, hurry back."
Xu Mu was sent back home by his grandmother.
Aunt Xu looked at the door of Song Yueying's house across the street and sighed.
That's the downside of living close by; you can smell what the other two families are eating.
Song Yueying's family is having meat today, and her little grandson is drooling with envy. He comes to ask his grandmother for some meat, but where would they get meat from?
The child was disappointed, but he didn't make any more noise. Aunt Xu was heartbroken. After thinking for a moment, she opened the courtyard gate and let him smell the aroma of meat.
Therefore, watching Song Rumeng's good show was worthwhile.
Back home, Song Rumeng and Wang Muxiang kept cursing Song Yueying and her daughter.
"Stop arguing, what's the use of cursing now?" Uncle Song scolded in a low voice. He was working in the yard and could hear everything that was happening outside clearly.
“How is it useless? I feel better after I scold them,” Wang Muxiang retorted.
Song Rumeng had utterly humiliated herself today, and she was filled with both hatred and rage. She wished she could skin Song Yueying alive, tear her apart, drink her blood, and eat her flesh.
"Mengmeng, what exactly happened to Song Yueying?" Uncle Song asked.
Song Rumeng said angrily, "How would I know what that slut was up to today? She made me lose face so badly today, I won't let her get away with this."
"Don't say such harsh words. Think carefully about what you did to upset her and make her act like this." Uncle Song had a longer-term perspective than she did.
"If you still want to get benefits from her, it's best not to break ties with her."
"Am I the one who should break ties with her?" Song Rumeng said, "It's clearly her, she's the one who suddenly turned into this freak, and she won't listen to me anymore."
“You all saw it that day, she even broke my finger.”
“She used to listen to you like a log, but today she won’t even open the door for you,” Uncle Song said. “That’s why I’m telling you to think carefully about why she has become like this.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com