"Brother Chen, you haven't had breakfast yet, have you? I made this myself."
The woman seemed embarrassed to look him in the eye. After saying that, she immediately pushed an aluminum lunchbox into his arms and ran away.
Chen Wei held the still-warm aluminum lunchbox, watching her retreating figure until she disappeared from sight, still gazing at her with a broad smile on his face.
I already told her to sleep in at home in the morning and not to bother making him breakfast, but this lunchbox is still piping hot, so he probably got up very early.
He stood there for a long time before slowly walking into the factory. His colleagues found it strange that he was carrying a lunchbox. Why didn't he eat breakfast at home before coming over? It would have saved him the trouble of washing another lunchbox.
"You're just making a pointless, unnecessary effort. Let me see what's in your lunchbox. You brought it all the way from home to the factory; it's probably freezing cold by now."
After saying that, she quickly snatched the lunchbox from his hand. Chen Wei's mind was not on the lunchbox at all. He only realized what was happening after the lunchbox was taken away and immediately reached out to grab it back.
Why is there an egg fried in the pancake?
The monthly egg ration is fixed. For families like theirs with elderly parents and young children, eggs are usually given to others. Sometimes they don't even get a whole fried egg for a whole month.
And this kid actually ate a fried egg first thing in the morning?
Moreover, the pancakes looked golden and crispy, making my mouth water. They even came with some leafy greens, which is a rare combination. But it did make the pancakes look less greasy.
Chen Wei immediately snatched the lunchbox back, slammed the lid shut to prevent the others from seeing, and his face darkened. His colleagues were puzzled.
Logically speaking, he should be the one with the worst life among these people. Everyone knows that his wife divorced him, and he only has his mother and child at home, and his mother doesn't care about anything.
But who would have thought that this kid would have such a delicious breakfast so early in the morning? No one would believe he made it himself.
"Where did it come from?"
"I see you can't finish it all by yourself, so hurry up and take it out so everyone can have a taste."
After saying that, he reached out to take it from him, but Chen Wei immediately took a few steps back and said, "Get lost, get lost, if you want to eat, go home and make it yourself."
After saying that, he took the lunchbox as if it were a precious treasure and slipped to the back. He found a corner, carefully opened it, and frowned and sighed when he saw the breakfast inside.
She has it tough enough as it is, so why is she making him such a lavish breakfast?
No, she has to stop working tomorrow.
His colleagues frowned one by one. "Wait, when did he become so stingy?"
"Where did he get that lunchbox?"
Some colleagues have noticed his unusual behavior these past few days. He shaved his beard, cut his hair, and washed his clothes clean, as if he had suddenly separated himself from this group of slovenly men.
"...Could it be that she's found a boyfriend?"
Everyone looked at each other, gritting their teeth. They used to secretly laugh at him for running away from his wife, but they never expected that he would find another one so quickly.
Yang Chunhua waited patiently for her son to come home from get off work and immediately served him his meal.
"Mom specially cut a piece of pork belly today, and these green vegetables are also very tender."
The pork belly was fried until it smelled deliciously oily. Countless times, the children in the stairwell would pretend to walk by casually, but Yang Chunhua acted as if she didn't see them at all.
There's not enough meat for our own family, so there's no way we'd share it with anyone else.
The rice was steamed until it was fragrant and soft. She didn't know how many times she had swallowed her saliva before finally waiting for her son to come home. She immediately called for dinner.
Chen Wei glanced at it and said, "Mom, I'm not eating, you guys eat."
Upon hearing that his father was not eating, Chen Junsheng, who was sitting at the table, could no longer hold back. He immediately reached out with his chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat, and stuffed it into his mouth before Yang Chunhua could even say anything to him.
"Why aren't you eating? It's not easy for the family to cook meat. Didn't you say before that the family hadn't eaten meat in a long time?"
Mom went to the butcher shop early, just to pick out the pork belly.
"It's just a piece of pork belly. Okay, you guys eat it."
After Chen Wei finished speaking, he took the washbasin and went outside to take a shower, leaving Yang Chunhua, who seemed to want to say something but couldn't, staring blankly at the plate of pork belly on the table.
"It's just a piece of pork belly? A pound of pork costs 80 cents outside, and you need meat coupons to buy it," he said casually.
At this moment, more and more things began to go wrong in Yang Chunhua's mind. It was already springtime, but the water was still cold. Her son had been washing clothes and taking a bath every day for the past few days.
Even his beard looked strange; he'd shaved it countless times. Something was off.
Chen Junsheng ate several mouthfuls of food, his mouth greasy. He thought his grandmother would scold him, but she just stood there without saying a word.
Startled, he quickly put down his chopsticks and dared not pick up any more. He ate several more bites of vegetables before cautiously raising his eyes to look at her.
"Milk?"
Yang Chunhua didn't answer or eat; she just sat at the table waiting for her son to come home.
Chen Wei had been washing clothes outside, and when he came back, the food on the table was already cold. He thought they should have finished eating long ago, but he didn't expect his mother to still be sitting there.
"Mom, you don't have an appetite?"
Yang Chunhua clenched her fists. "Shouldn't our son have been given 15 yuan this month? You only gave him 12, and now you still want 3 yuan?"
Chen Wei didn't say anything. He first put the basin down and then took a towel to dry his hair until Yang Chunhua was getting impatient.
"Mom, 12 yuan is enough for our family's meals, and we'll keep using this amount from now on."
Upon hearing this, Yang Chunhua immediately stood up. Hadn't the price already increased by 5 yuan? How come it's suddenly decreased again?
"son--"
"Alright, Mom, I used to give Guan Lian 10 yuan a month and she was able to feed all of us. What's wrong with you giving 12 yuan to support three people?"
You're a generation older than her, surely you can manage a basic life, right?
"..."
Yang Chunhua's words were stuck in his throat. How could this be the same? Guan Lian also had a salary, and she used her own salary to support her children. Where would an old woman like her get money?
Just when I finally had a little more money in my pocket, I wiped it all out in one fell swoop.
Chen Wei was already getting ready for bed, clearly not intending to bring up the matter again. Yang Chunhua endured it for a long time, but in the end, she could only suppress it.
She now relies on her son for money; if he gets angry and stops giving her money, she'll starve.
However, I still couldn't sleep that night, tossing and turning in bed, and I had a bad feeling.
The next morning, Chen Wei stood in front of the mirror for a while, combing his hair and straightening his collar before going out. Just like the day before, he didn't eat breakfast.
Yang Chunhua kept staring at him with narrowed eyes until he left, then she beckoned the young man over.
"Don't go to school today. Follow your dad secretly without letting him see you. Tell me what happens when you get back."
Upon hearing this, Chen Junsheng grabbed his breakfast, stuffed it into his mouth, and immediately ran out.
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