Chapter 84

Chapter 84

"Do you think they deserve to eat eggs?" Zhao Guifen felt heartache about the chickens at home. They could only afford to keep two chickens now, and these produced two eggs a day, which she saved to exchange for money. The thought of giving those eggs to the eldest son and his wife was almost unbearable.

Zhao Guifen felt heartache, and Wang Shoucheng felt even more heartache.

He could not bear to consume the eggs by himself; occasionally, he would bestow them upon his second son or Old Fifth, merely to ensure the sons' obedience and to unite their hearts with his own.

Give them to the eldest? It made him feel uncomfortable all over!

That eldest son, who should have been dead long ago, didn't deserve to eat the family's eggs.

But...

If they gave him eggs, anyone looking for a child wouldn't suspect Wang Qinghe.

After all, who would give eggs to an adopted child?

In this way, not only would their reputation remain intact, but it would also avoid any trouble.

Wang Shoucheng was tempted.

The searchers wouldn't stay forever. Once they confirmed that the child they were looking for wasn't the eldest, they wouldn't need to give him any more eggs and could simply kick him and his wife out.

Once this matter was resolved, everything could return to normal.

Wang Shoucheng calculated in his mind and decided it could work.

"Old lady, don't get too worked up. What the eldest daughter-in-law said is true. In recent years, Qinghe has indeed had it tough. Back then, the second son was in school, and the third and fourth sons weren't doing well with their work. We relied on Qinghe to get by.

Now that things are better, we should compensate him a bit.

Let's settle this. From now on, we'll boil two eggs for him every day."

Wang Shoucheng, suppressing his heartache, agreed to the arrangement.

Zhao Cuihua felt like she had seen a ghost!

These were her eggs!

The others were also unhappy, but they couldn't come up with any objections since what was said was true.

"Dad, Big Brother contributed to the family, but my wife and I also contribute." Wang Qingqi wasn't pleased when he heard about the eggs. His wife kept stepping on him, clearly angry as well.

Why should he be left out of this good deal?

"What? Does your Big Brother also want a job in the city?" Wang Shoucheng asked his youngest son impatiently. This youngest son always brought up the worst topics at the wrong times, causing him distress!

What wouldn't he get after these few days?

He hadn't been stingy with good things for his youngest son, so why was he still so short-sighted?

Wang Qingqi immediately fell silent.

He was the most pampered in the family, partly because he was good at flattering.

He knew exactly how to handle his parents. Seeing his father's impatience, he knew saying more would bring no benefits, only trouble.

Seeing his silence, Wang Shoucheng snorted, "Old Second, divide the meat among everyone."

This pig leg weighed nearly thirty pounds, and after removing the bones, it was divided into six portions.

Adding the three pounds of meat, Bai Xiuxiu and the others received around five pounds of meat.

The bones were also divided into a portion.

Zhao Cuihua, holding the basin of meat, couldn't stop smiling. Her luck had really turned around recently—first the money, now the meat. She could even send some back to her natal family!

She planned to cook some tonight, save some to send to her natal family, and make the rest into dried meat.

"Big Sister, let me help cook the meat for you? I'll mark each portion and ensure I don't take any of yours." Zhao Cuihua approached Bai Xiuxiu, looking at the basin held by Wang Qinghe, trying to curry favor.

Hearing this offer, Bai Xiuxiu immediately handed over the meat. "That would be great."

"Don't worry, Big Brother and Big Sister, go back and rest. I'll call you when it's time to eat. By the way, are you cooking all of this?" Zhao Cuihua looked at the large amount of meat, unsure.

"Just cook two pounds, and make the rest into dried meat." Bai Xiuxiu figured one meal should be enough for the family.

"I'll do it right away."

As Zhao Cuihua was about to leave,

"Third Daughter-in-Law, can you cook ours too?" Chen Fang saw Zhao Cuihua taking Bai Xiuxiu's meat and quickly called out.

"Sure, but you have to give me some benefit." Zhao Cuihua agreed readily.

Hearing this, Chen Fang knew there would be no freebies, so she took a piece of meat about half a palm size from her basin. "Will this do? Cook this piece and make the rest into dried meat."

"Alright, wait for dinner." With that, Zhao Cuihua took the meat into the kitchen.

Zhao Guifen watched enviously, missing the old days when she could decide everything without giving anything in return.

Back then, she controlled everything in the household, deciding how much food everyone got.

With so much meat, if it were hers...

Zhao Guifen dared not imagine how many things she could accomplish!

"Old man, what about ours?" Zhao Guifen was also feeling a bit greedy.

"All of it should be sent to the child's uncle. Only when Lao Er and Lao Wu get better will our days improve." Wang Shoucheng was counting on his youngest son.

His youngest son had married a wife with great fortune; their future would definitely be bright.

What did he care about this little bit of meat?

"We need to think long-term. This time, we must bring back good news." Wang Shoucheng stared at his wife, starting to doubt the whole thing after so many trips of gift-giving.

They couldn't keep sending gifts without any results.

"Rest assured, I'm going with them this time. I don't believe it either." Zhao Guifen also felt her family was being unreasonable.

"Mum, can I go along too?" Zhou Jiaojiao found her mother-in-law untrustworthy.

They had been spending money on her mother-in-law's family for a while now and hadn't seen any benefits.

She had already sacrificed enough for this job!

"What would you do there?" Zhao Guifen was unhappy.

If Lao Wu's wife went, her family would have to cook an extra meal.

"Mum, my family is coming back tomorrow. I want to go with you to see Uncle and buy something for my family on the way back. My elder brother is in the city, and Qingqi and I will be going there too. We'll need to visit each other more often."

Zhou Jiaojiao made up an excuse.

Zhao Guifen frowned but didn't say anything.

Wang Shoucheng thought for a moment: "I think it's fine. Let Lao Wu's wife come along tomorrow."

It took nearly two hours to divide the meat before they finally sat down to eat.

Zhao Cuihua brought Bai Xiuxiu their portion of the meat: "Elder Brother and Sister, the meat is cooked. Come and get it. Mum and Dad said to eat in your own room tonight."

She called out loudly on purpose, trying not to laugh.

Inside, Bai Xiuxiu heard the decision and smiled.

Was this a lesson learned from the fish incident?

"I'll go get it." Wang Qinghe got up to fetch the meat.

Inside, Bai Xiuxiu set up the small table, thinking about going to the city tomorrow to buy some steamed buns and putting them in the space.

When Wang Qinghe returned, he brought four wheat straw cakes.

Zhao Cuihua was a good cook, and the meat was tender and fragrant.

They sat down to eat.

In the main room,

Wang Shoucheng and his wife, along with Lao Er and Lao Wu's families, silently ate the wheat straw cakes. The pickles on the table, paired with the smell of the meat outside, tasted particularly bitter.

"Old Wang, I heard that someone in the city is looking for a child. I heard it was from twenty years ago, during the famine, in the same area. Are you home? I want to ask about the details and see if I can help."

Outside, someone entered the courtyard, and this shout almost scared the soul out of Wang Shoucheng!