Yang Chunhua was cooking outside. She threw rice into the pot, then threw in a few pieces of sweet potato with a dark expression. The little money her son gave her, plus the little she had to contribute herself, meant that the family's meals were getting worse every day.
These past two days, everyone's been talking about food that's gone bland. Chen Wei has told his mother many times, but Yang Chunhua always complains with a bitter face, saying that she has it tough and that her son's meager income is only enough for the family to eat this kind of food.
Anyway, she wouldn't change no matter what she said. After losing his temper a few times, Chen Wei had no choice but to secretly buy some food for himself and his son.
The money I gave my mother was only enough for food. No matter how stingy she was, she couldn't get more than a few cents. I might as well just let her be. Anyway, my son and I could secretly add extra food to our meals.
As the year draws to a close, the food everyone in the building is eating is getting better every day, and the aroma of meat wafting through the air is gradually becoming stronger.
Everyone's cooking areas were right next to each other, so it was impossible to keep anyone's cooking a secret. When the neighbors craned their necks to look into Yang Chunhua's pot, they would see, "Oh dear, all she's doing late at night is stir-frying a plate of cabbage, without a drop of oil."
Yang Chunhua's face was as black as charcoal, so no one dared to tease her. They just shrugged and quietly tossed the meat in their pots a little higher to let the aroma waft out more.
"Oh, Sihu's mom, where did you get this cured meat? My rice is soaked in the aroma of your cured meat, I guess I won't need any other dishes tonight."
"I secretly got this from someone in the countryside. I only managed to get this little bit. My son and daughter-in-law are back today, so I quickly took it out and cooked it for them."
Yang Chunhua had no desire to listen to their boasting. She stoked the fire in the pot even more, wanting to finish cooking the meal quickly and take it home. The aroma of the meat was making her mouth water, and she looked down on the food she was eating. Soon, she heard the people next to her change the subject.
"...She really is back. I heard that some people have seen her."
"The old couple from the Guan family must have known for a long time. I heard they've been waiting at the door for the past two days."
"...This time?"
The group huddled together whispering, when suddenly they glanced at Yang Chunhua, who was squatting there adding firewood to the stove.
The group of people who were still talking lowered their voices, unaware that Yang Chunhua had very sharp ears. The Guan family? There are several families with the surname Guan around here, and they are deliberately making it so mysterious, just to prevent her from seeing them. It must be her former in-laws.
Hearing from their conversation that her former daughter-in-law had returned from Northeast China, Yang Chunhua stood up and lifted the pot lid. The rice in the pot wasn't ready yet, but she quickly put the lid back on, added more firewood to the stove, and then immediately turned around and went back into the house.
With her gone, the people outside no longer needed to lower their voices.
"I don't think Xiao Guan should come back. It won't be good if she does. The Chen family will definitely come looking for her."
“Go ahead and look for her. Xiao Guan isn’t the kind of person who’s soft-hearted. She was so determined to divorce Chen Wei back then. Besides, I’m here after all. Think about it, which mother would feel comfortable leaving such a young child here to be raised by her and her child?”
These two used to be completely hands-off parents; one didn't care about anything at home, and the other was always thinking about going out to play cards. They didn't worry about the child at all. Now they've brought Xiaosheng back, and they haven't really taken care of him these past few days, just feeding him.
These days, I've been running around playing with older kids, and no one at home is watching over me. I always come home very late.
To be honest, if Yang Chunhua and Chen Wei continue to indulge him like this, and if one of those children becomes a bad one, he could easily lead the young man astray. However, as outsiders, they cannot say these things in front of him.
We don't know how Chen Wei will talk to Xiao Guan. We're afraid they'll deliberately make things difficult for him. Sigh, everyone sighed.
Who would have thought that Xiao Guan had left and her eldest son had secretly run off to the Northeast? Everyone thought she would completely sever ties with the Chen family, but Chen Wei still managed to find her. That kid is really unlucky.
"...Do you think Xiao Guan can take me away?"
Actually, everyone hoped that Xiao Guan could come and take the child away, but they also knew in their hearts that this time it would probably be difficult.
Everyone could see that Chen Wei had clearly taken a lot more care of the child since he came back this time. Even Yang Chunhua, who had been scolded by her son so many times, was now reluctantly taking care of her grandson. Although she was taking care of him so-so, it was still a huge improvement compared to before.
After all, these are Xiaosheng's father and grandmother. In addition, Chen Wei has improved a lot, and one of the two children has already gone with Guan Lian, so it would be normal for this one to go with the Chen family.
When Yang Chunhua returned to the room and opened the door, she saw Chen Junsheng standing in front of a drawer, his mouth bulging as if he was eating something. He clearly didn't expect his grandmother to come in at this time, so he quickly pushed the drawer back.
"……Milk?"
Because his mouth was stuffed with something and his speech was somewhat unclear, Yang Chunhua originally wanted to ask him something, but her face suddenly darkened.
"What are you eating?"
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