Chapter 44 Here Comes the Aunt

Chapter 44: Auntie Arrives

Fu Tinghua told Su He to go take care of other things while he took care of plucking the chicken feathers.

Su He didn’t hesitate and immediately went to get the other dishes ready.

By the time she finished cooking the rice and preparing the ingredients, Fu Tinghua had already started chopping the chicken.

Seeing that he was nearly done, Su He heated oil in the wok and began stir-frying the chicken.

This was a farm-raised chicken, fat and juicy, large and well-fed.

Su He had bought it for just over four yuan (about $0.50).

Four yuan might not sound like much, but after all, Su He had to sell over a hundred fried glutinous rice cakes at her stall just to earn just over twenty yuan.

In any case, the money she made from her last trip to town had already been spent.

The smell of chicken soon filled the kitchen.

Anyone passing by Su He’s house at that moment must’ve known she was cooking chicken.

The two children were digging in the mud in a nearby field when Niu Niu suddenly asked, “Brother, what’s that delicious smell?”

They’d never tasted chicken before—Su He had never made it for them.

“I don’t know, but Mom said she’s making chicken for us today,” Zai Zai replied, licking his lips eagerly.

The brother and sister looked at each other, washed their hands and feet in the field’s ditch, and then rushed home.

At that moment, Fu Tinghua was stoking the fire, watching as Su He skillfully stir-fried the chicken with mushrooms. The tasty-looking dish made even him look forward to lunch.

Soon, the mushroom chicken was ready. Just as Su He was scooping it onto a plate, the two children ran into the kitchen.

Their eyes fixed on the dish in Su He’s hands, they gulped.

“Mom, Mom, can we eat now?” Zai Zai asked.

“Almost! Mom just needs to whip up some greens,” Su He replied before quickly adding a spoonful of oil to the wok and starting on the vegetables.

Unlike most people of this era, she wasn’t stingy with oil, which made her dishes much tastier than most.

Kids needed some fat for proper nutrition, after all. Besides, the oil from her hidden stash wasn’t expensive.

Zai Zai and Niu Niu obediently sat on stools, watching Su He cook as they waited for the meal.

When Su He announced, “Dinner’s ready!” the two eagerly offered to help serve the rice.

Fu Tinghua handed them bowls but didn’t serve them, saying instead, “Only take what you’ll finish.”

The children dutifully filled their bowls halfway, and Zai Zai added, “I’ll serve Mom’s rice too.”

Fu Tinghua: “...” He was right there—why wasn’t he offered the same courtesy?

Hearing this, Su He chuckled. “Thank you, Zai Zai, but Mom can serve herself. You two go ahead and eat.”

Knowing the kids were eager for the chicken, she urged them to start without her.

Niu Niu picked up a small chicken leg and asked, "Mom, can I eat the chicken leg?"

"Yes, Daddy cut up some big chicken legs—saved them all for you two," Su He replied with a smile.

"Wow, Daddy’s the best!" Niu Niu exclaimed exaggeratedly.

Fu Tinghua couldn’t help but glance at Su He—she was the one who had just reminded him to save the chicken legs for the kids.

She’d really changed—for the better.

Chicken legs were something kids loved, and of course, Su He would save them for her little ones.

"Mom, these mushrooms are really good too. Are they the ones we picked ourselves?" Zai Zai asked.

"This is mushroom chicken."

Su He sat down as well, and the four of them began eating together.

As they were finishing up, Niu Niu suddenly asked, "Mom, will there be chicken for dinner tonight?"

It was so good—she wanted it again tonight.

Su He was about to reply that half a chicken was left and they could cook it if they wanted.

But suddenly, a voice called out from the living room, shouting, "Ting Hua, Ting Hua!"

Fu Tinghua, who was nearly done eating, set down his chopsticks and went out to check. It turned out to be his aunt, Chen Shufen.

"Auntie, what are you doing here?" Fu Tinghua asked in surprise.

"Oh, you rascal, you came back without telling me! I just heard this morning that you were back, so I thought I’d come see you," Chen Shufen said with a smile.

Though she claimed she came to see Fu Tinghua, she showed up empty-handed—just here to gawk?

"Well, I only got back yesterday afternoon. It was pretty late, so I didn’t want to disturb you," Fu Tinghua replied politely.

"Oh my, it’s been a while since I last saw you, and you’ve gotten even handsomer! But why are you living in such a dump? Your mother really shouldn’t have split you off and sent you to this old place," Chen Shufen said disdainfully, throwing shade in the process.

"It works for us," Fu Tinghua said with a smile.

"Works? It’s all run-down," Chen Shufen retorted rudely, not picking up on his tone.

But Fu Tinghua clearly knew what his aunt was like, so he didn’t bother arguing further.

"By the way, were you having a meal?" Chen Shufen took a sniff, catching a whiff of something delicious.

"Grandma, I smell chicken!" her chunky grandson, whom she had brought along, chimed in.

"Come on, let’s go take a look."

Barging right in, Chen Shufen led her grandson straight into the kitchen.

Su He glanced at the nearly empty chicken plate and quickly stood up, saying, "Oh, Auntie is here? Have you eaten? We were just having a meal."

Chen Shufen glanced at the plate of mushroom chicken on the table—barely any meat left.

But seeing how much oil was used and how fragrant it looked, she couldn’t help but swallow hard.

"Oh, scraps left," Chen Shufen said, making a fuss.

"Yeah, we hardly ever get to eat chicken in our household. Now that Ting Hua is back, we had to scrape together something so he could have meat.

The kids have never had chicken before, so they polished it right off.

There isn’t much left on the table. I’ll grab some greens from the garden and whip up another dish for you," Su He sighed.

No matter how much she disliked this aunt-in-law, she was still their elder, and it wouldn’t be right to openly show displeasure.

Honestly, in both lifetimes combined, Su He had never met someone as shameless as Chen Shufen.

Hearing that Su He was going to cook greens for them, Chen Shufen scoffed and rolled her eyes, thinking to herself, *Who doesn’t have greens at home?*

"No need, we won’t eat. We have greens at our own place."

Oh, perfect—saved me the hassle of feeding them.

"Oh, sure. Auntie’s family is rolling in it compared to ours. I bet my nephew gets to eat chicken often, right? He’s packed on even more pounds since I last saw him," Su He remarked with thinly veiled sarcasm.