"It's not meat, it tastes like meat buns." Song Rumeng closed her eyes, took a sniff, and said with certainty, "This is the taste of the big meat buns from state-run restaurants."
A state-run restaurant? That was a place he'd practically touched the door of, let alone eaten inside. Uncle Song asked, his face full of curiosity, "How did you smell it?"
"All I can smell is the smell of meat, but all you can smell is the smell of big meat buns."
"Aren't our noses different?"
"The noses are all the same, and the smells are all the same too." Song Rumeng scoffed, laughing at her father's ignorance for asking such a stupid question.
"I can smell that it's a big meat bun from a state-run restaurant because I've eaten it many times and I remember the taste of the big meat bun."
Uncle Song was leaning on a hoe with one hand and rubbing the tip of his nose with the back of his other hand. Hearing his daughter's words, his eyes widened in disbelief as he asked, "What did you say?"
"Have you eaten at state-run restaurants many times with those big meat buns?"
He has never eaten at a state-run restaurant, but his daughter has eaten there many times. Where can he complain to her?
“We don’t always eat big meat buns; there are also times when we eat regular meals. The food at state-run restaurants is a bit expensive, but it’s delicious,” Song Rumeng replied.
"Especially the braised pork belly, the tender and soft kind is the best, and the braised chicken with mushrooms is also delicious, so fragrant..."
"You even ate braised pork and mushroom chicken at a state-run restaurant?" Uncle Song interrupted his daughter, angrily questioning, "Tell me, where did you get the money and ration coupons to go to a state-run restaurant?"
“Yes…yes…” Her brow twitched suddenly, and Song Rumeng hurriedly replied, “Song Yueying took me to eat, and Song Yueying paid for both the money and the tickets.”
She was afraid that if she answered too late, her father would suspect that she had stolen money and tickets from home.
What Song Rumeng didn't say was that Song Yueying paid for everything, whether it was eating at state-run restaurants or buying things at supply and marketing cooperatives.
"So it was Yueying who took you there!" Uncle Song's anger vanished instantly. As long as it wasn't money stolen from the family to squander, he had no objection.
"Yes, she's the one who took me there," Song Rumeng nodded.
Uncle Song sighed dramatically, "Speaking of which, Yueying is a pitiful child. Her husband died and she was forced to return to the village by her in-laws. It's not easy for her."
“Even if she has some money, life is not easy, not to mention she has a mentally ill mother to take care of.”
"You're Yueying's cousin, and you're close to her, so please help her if you can!"
“Our Song family is small to begin with, so we should be even more united and help each other. Yueying is a filial and grateful child. If you treat her well, she will definitely treat you well in return.”
Song Rumeng was very clever; she didn't need to exert herself to understand her father's implied meaning. She earnestly assured him, "I know, Dad, don't worry."
Seeing that his daughter understood what he meant, Uncle Song nodded in satisfaction.
After Song Yueying's husband died, he left her a very generous compensation. Her daughter was close to Song Yueying and often took advantage of her, and he occasionally benefited from her treatment as well.
The aroma of meat grew stronger in the air. Uncle Song swallowed hard and asked, "Mengmeng, what do those big meat buns from the state-run restaurant taste like?"
"It smells delicious, it tastes great." After thinking for a moment, Song Rumeng added, "Once you eat one, you want a second, and once you eat a second, you want a third..."
"In short, I will never forget the taste after eating the big meat bun."
This was the best answer Song Rumeng could think of at the moment.
Wang Muxiang came out of the kitchen just in time to hear Song Rumeng's words. She smiled and praised, "My daughter is amazing. She can tell it's meat buns just by smelling them."
"It's still the meat buns from the state-run restaurant."
“Of course.” Song Rumeng’s smug smile deepened.
Every time she went to the county with Song Yueying, she would find various excuses to get Song Yueying to take her to the state-run restaurant for a meal. That fool Song Yueying never refused her.
She was in charge of ordering her favorite dishes, while Song Yueying was in charge of paying for the tickets.
"My Mengmeng is the best-behaved." Wang Muxiang praised her daughter while putting down Song Yueying, "Unlike that little slut, ingrate, unfilial brat."
"She's always loafing around at home, never doing a single bit of work in the fields. All she does is squander money. The little money her husband earned with his life will be wasted sooner or later."
"God is so unfair, all the good things go to that slut mother and daughter."
Uncle Song and Song Rumeng nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Song Rumeng's smug smile froze. No wonder she had felt something was off these past few days; now she finally understood what it was.
These last few times she went to the county, Song Yueying didn't ask her to come along.
A sudden panic gripped her, and a bad premonition welled up from the depths of her heart. Song Rumeng threw the vegetable seedlings in her hand on the ground and strode towards Wang Muxiang.
"Mengmeng, what's wrong?" Wang Muxiang asked, puzzled, as her daughter walked towards her.
"Mom, Mom." Grabbing Wang Muxiang's wrist, Song Rumeng asked anxiously, "Did Song Yueying go to the county again today?"
Not noticing her daughter's urgency, Wang Muxiang subconsciously replied, "What does it matter to me whether that little slut goes to the county or not? I'm not responsible for watching over her."
"I'm so busy with my own things every day, where would I find the time to..."
"Mom, answer my question properly." Song Rumeng interrupted Wang Muxiang's complaint and asked again, "Did Song Yueying go to the county again today?"
"Don't worry! Let me think about it carefully." Wang Muxiang noticed her daughter's anxiety, thought for a moment, and then nodded.
"That's right, she should have gone to the county today."
"You saw it with your own eyes?" Song Rumeng asked again.
“I didn’t see it with my own eyes,” Wang Muxiang shook her head, “but other people in the village saw it. Song Yueying is not the kind of person who would hide something, so it’s normal for her to be seen.”
"The villagers also said that she left with a man in the morning, and they were heading towards the county."
"As expected! She really didn't ask me to come along anymore." Releasing her grip on Wang Muxiang's hand, Song Rumeng took a step back and looked down at her newly reattached fingers.
Thinking about Song Yueying's unusual behavior these past few days, Song Rumeng felt a surge of anger. Damn it, damn it, why didn't that idiot Song Yueying ask her to go to the county with her?
Could Song Yueying have discovered something?
Impossible. Song Yueying is so stupid, how could she possibly discover anything?
"Oh right, Mom just said that Song Yueying went to the county with a man." Song Rumeng seemed to have grasped something crucial, and her spirits suddenly lifted.
"Mom, hasn't Cousin Lai Cai come to our house in a long time?" Before Wang Muxiang could answer, Song Rumeng ran into the kitchen and quickly washed her hands.
When she came out of the kitchen, she was holding a bunch of slightly larger vegetable seedlings.
Seeing the vegetable seedlings in her daughter's hand, Wang Muxiang asked in confusion, "What are you doing with the vegetable seedlings that I specially picked out to stir-fry?"
Song Rumeng didn't answer, but just smiled mysteriously and went out.
"Hey..." Wang Muxiang wanted to call out to her again, but was stopped by Uncle Song, who had appeared beside her at some point. She asked angrily, "Why are you stopping me?"
"Of course I don't want you to ruin my daughter's plans." Uncle Song rolled his eyes at her, then pointed to the kitchen next door, where the delicious aroma was wafting from. He asked with a smile, "Don't you want some big meat buns?"
Smelling the irresistible aroma of the large meat buns, Wang Muxiang honestly said, "Yes, I want to, but..."
"If you want it, don't hesitate. Just wait for your daughter to bring you back big meat buns." After saying that, Uncle Song hummed a little tune and went back to work in the vegetable garden.
Thinking that he would soon be able to eat big meat buns at the state-run restaurant, he worked even harder.
Wang Muxiang wasn't happy at all; instead, she was worried. That little vixen Song Yueying seemed to have changed completely lately, and no longer listened to her Mengmeng.
Mengmeng took the vegetable seedlings and went to exchange them for large meat buns. She was worried that if she didn't get the meat buns back, her daughter would be taken advantage of by Song Yueying.
The more Wang Muxiang thought about it, the more uneasy she became. "No, I have to go and check on it."
"You come back here right now!" Uncle Song scolded her. "What are you going to look at? Don't end up holding your daughter back instead of helping her."
"Have you finished making dinner? If you have, come and plant the seedlings. If not, go back to the kitchen and make dinner."
Wang Muxiang said with a worried look, "Haven't you noticed that Song Yueying seems like a different person lately? She's no longer obedient and even broke Mengmeng's finger."
“If Mengmeng goes to her now, I’m worried that Mengmeng will get hurt.”
"What loss? Is your daughter the type to suffer losses?" Uncle Song wasn't worried at all. "Besides, Song Yueying looks normal, but she's actually an idiot."
"If she changes again, what kind of person can she become?"
Song Yueying died and received the compensation that men usually receive, but she spent it all on her daughter. What else could she be but a fool?
Yes, Song Yueying is a fool; she's no match for her daughter. Wang Muxiang, successfully brainwashed by Uncle Song, sullenly returned to the kitchen to continue cooking.
As Song Rumeng opened the courtyard gate, she saw Aunt Xu's courtyard gate diagonally opposite. A small figure sat on the threshold stone, happily munching on a cornbread.
The child is Aunt Xu's grandson, and his name is Xu Mu.
Hearing the door open, Xu Mu looked up and saw Song Rumeng coming out. He swallowed the cornbread in his mouth and greeted her with a smile, "Sister Mengmeng, where are you going?"
Song Rumeng waved the vegetable seedlings in her hand and said with a smile, "I transplanted more vegetable seedlings at home than I can eat. I'm going to give some to my cousin."
"Sister Mengmeng, you're so kind," Xu Mu praised sincerely.
Everyone loves to hear praise, and Song Rumeng was no exception. She stopped and asked the child with a smile, "Xu Mu, you said Sister Mengmeng is good, but what's so good about me?"
“Anywhere is fine,” Xu Mu replied, grinning sheepishly.
The child's answer was simple, but Song Rumeng was very dissatisfied with it and instantly lost the desire to tease him.
To maintain her usual gentle image, Song Rumeng still asked, "Xu Mu, why are you sitting at the door eating cornbread?"
"It's comfortable at the entrance." Although Xu Mu was young, he was still concerned about his image. He certainly wouldn't say that even if he couldn't afford meat, he would still enjoy the aroma of meat while eating cornbread.
Song Rumeng knew he was lying, but she didn't investigate further; she had more important things to do.
I walked to the gate of the neighboring courtyard and knocked on the door.
After waiting for a while, no one came to open the door. Song Rumeng frowned and raised her hand to knock a few more times.
After waiting a while longer, still no one came to open the door, and Song Rumeng became a little angry. Remembering the purpose of her visit, she gritted her teeth and endured it again and again.
Finally suppressing her anger, Song Rumeng raised her hand and knocked on the door, calling out loudly, "Second Aunt, Cousin, open the door! Second Aunt, Cousin, are you home?"
Her response was still silence.
Xu Mu, who was eating cornbread at the door across the street, couldn't stand it anymore and came over to kindly advise Song Rumeng, "Sister Mengmeng, you've been knocking on the door for so long, but no one has come to open it."
"I think my aunt and eldest sister are probably not home."
"Impossible, they must be at home." Song Rumeng gritted her teeth and glared at the door, her fierce eyes turning into flames, as if she wanted to burn a hole in the door.
He's not home. How could the kitchen possibly smell of big meat buns when he's not home?
Don't think she doesn't know; Song Yueying is deliberately refusing to open the door for her. If she won't open the door, she'll keep knocking, hoping to attract all the neighbors.
She's just letting everyone see what kind of person Song Yueying really is.
Xu Mu was about to say something more when his aunt called out, "Mu Mu, where have you been? Come back quickly."
"Grandma, I'm here." Xu Mu called out to his grandmother, then said to Song Rumeng, "Sister Mengmeng, my grandma is calling me home, I'm going back now!"
At this moment, Song Rumeng was so angry that Song Yueying wouldn't open the door for her that she didn't have time to listen to what Xu Mu was saying.
Xu Mu, sensing the situation, stopped talking to her and turned to run towards his door.
As soon as he stepped into the yard, Aunt Xu pulled him towards the house. As they walked, she asked, "I told you to sit at the door and eat some cornbread, why did you go outside?"
"Grandma, I didn't run around!" Xu Mu first declared that he hadn't disobeyed, and then explained, "Sister Mengmeng said that she couldn't finish eating all the vegetable seedlings at home, so she gave some to Big Sister."
"She knocked on the door, but no one answered. She knocked for a long time, but still no one came to open the door."
“I couldn’t stand it, so I went over to remind Sister Mengmeng that her aunt and eldest sister might not be home. Sister Mengmeng didn’t believe me and said they were definitely home.”
Xu Mu was still young and didn't understand Song Rumeng's wishful thinking, but she did understand that Aunt Xu's expression was somewhat unpleasant.
It wasn't because of what her grandson said, but because she herself had misjudged him. Before, when I looked at Song Rumeng, I thought she was wonderful in every way—gentle, kind, and with a pleasant voice.
It wasn't until she saw Song Rumeng go crazy that she realized she had misjudged her.
"Grandma, what's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Seeing her grandmother's pale face, Xu Mu felt a little uneasy.
Startled, Aunt Xu stopped in her tracks, quickly composed herself, and gave her grandson a kind smile, reaching out to pat his head.
"Good girl, you're not wrong." Aunt Xu's smile faded, because when she thought about what Song Rumeng had done, she felt like there was something wrong with her eyes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com