It had to be said that Li Chuchu's mouth was exactly what Shen Yanshan liked. With just a couple of words, she had him completely smitten, and he was as docile as a puppy. "I'll come back earlier next time. I also want to see you earlier. If I'm not back in the future, you can eat first. Don't wait up so late."
Li Chuchu made a simple move,
and Shen Yanshan spilled out all his sincere feelings.
Looking at his eager puppy - like eyes, Li Chuchu teasingly said with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "Okay, since you've said so, I won't wait for you next time."
Shen Yanshan: …
Why did it feel like something was off?
But he had no objections. Anyway, he would come back early to have dinner with his wife.
Just as they were having dinner,
suddenly there came a series of scolding sounds from outside. "You still want to fight with your younger brother for food? You shameless good - for - nothing girl! I'm going to punish you to go hungry for a whole day today!"
This voice was unfamiliar to Li Chuchu. At first, she thought it was just a passer - by walking through the alley. But the woman's voice kept on shouting at the door, which made people feel irritated and seriously affected their meal.
She had no choice but to get up and take a look.
Shen Yanshan got up and followed her.
Li Chuchu had never seen the woman who was scolding, but she did recognize the child being scolded.
Wasn't this Fang Ting?
She was the little girl who had been at the same table when they had dinner at Luo Yingshu's place.
However, this family was quite low - key. Li Chuchu only knew that Fang Ting had a younger brother. She had heard from Sister Ge that this family preferred sons over daughters, and this was the first time she had seen the family members with her own eyes.
Hearing the scolding, Luo Yingshu impatiently stomped out of the house. "What are you shouting about at this late hour? It's so noisy!"
The woman who was scolding Fang Ting, who had a high - cheekbone and low - nose bridge, a rather harsh - looking face, was initially startled by the voice. But when she saw it was Luo Yingshu, her expression immediately turned disdainful. "Oh, someone who doesn't know better might think this is your territory. I'm scolding my own daughter. What does it matter to you? Humph, a spinster no one wants."
The last sentence immediately enraged Luo Yingshu. She quickened her steps, rolled up her sleeves and was about to fight. "What are you talking nonsense about! I'll tear your mouth apart!"
The woman was no pushover either. It seemed that the two were about to go all out against each other. When the neighbors saw them getting into a fight, they quickly came over to stop them. "Come on, come on. We're all neighbors. Don't fight anymore."
Grandma Li couldn't help but say to her, "Zhu Ping, why are you scolding the child in the middle of the night?"
Zhu Ping sneered. "Don't you know what this little bitch has done! Yangyang is sick, so I bought half a jin of meat today to nourish him. But before the meat even got on the table, this little bitch grabbed a piece and stuffed it into her own mouth. She's lazy and gluttonous at such a young age. Don't you think she deserves a good lesson?"
She casually stroked the head of Yangyang beside her and said proudly, "Fortunately, our Yangyang is smart. Otherwise, I would have been kept in the dark by this little bitch."
The chubby little boy standing beside her hid behind his mother, only showing his eyes and staring at his elder sister. Fang Ting's face was so red that she was about to cry. "No... that piece of meat fell on the ground. My younger brother said he didn't want it, so I ate it..."
Yangyang shrank his head, carefully looked up at his mother. Seeing that his mother only scolded his elder sister, his expression immediately became complacent again, and his eyes towards his elder sister seemed to be showing off.
"Just because it fell on the ground you don't want it? Who told you that? I think you deliberately dropped the meat on the ground. And you're wasting food? I'll beat you to death when we get back!" Zhu Ping glared angrily at her daughter.
Li Chuchu frowned deeply as she listened.
This wasn't just preference for sons over daughters. It was treating the daughter like an enemy, wasn't it?
Several neighbors also couldn't bear to watch, but after all, it was a family matter, so no one dared to speak up. Only Luo Yingshu, who had been offended by her just now, spoke up. "Oh, after living here for so long, I didn't know your son was being groomed to inherit the throne!"
Such words were not to be said lightly.
If it was really taken seriously, it would be a ideological problem, and one would be taken for ideological education. Although Zhu Ping thought so in her heart, she didn't dare to admit it. She could only glare at Luo Yingshu angrily and mutter in a low voice, "Humph, you're already divorced. Who are you showing off to?"
This made Luo Yingshu so angry that she was about to fight with her again.
Aunt Wang had gone back to visit her relatives today, so there was no one to stop the fight. Li Chuchu was afraid that Luo Yingshu would act impulsively and make the situation worse, so she quickly grabbed her and comforted her in a soft voice, "Don't argue with her. They can't even spare a piece of meat for their daughter. How can they compare with you?" While comforting Luo Yingshu, she also subtly mocked Zhu Ping on the other side.
Li Chuchu knew where Luo Yingshu's weakness was. Sure enough, Luo Yingshu was immediately comforted. She looked proud. "Humph, yes, I'm too lazy to argue with you."
Zhu Ping also saw Li Chuchu. She remembered there was such a person in the yard. She did things quite strangely, and neither she nor her husband had a proper job. Their family must be poor. But the way she was dressed was uniquely beautiful in the yard, and she was even wearing a pair of delicate little leather shoes.
Last time when Zhu Ping passed by a shoe store, she saw a pair of similar leather shoes. The price was enough to buy more than ten jin of meat. Who would have the spare money to buy that?
She really didn't know how to live a thrifty life.
It was still good to be a woman like herself, taking good care of her husband and son and running the family in an orderly manner. Thinking of this, she felt a sudden surge of confidence. "You can say whatever you want. This is the rule in our family!"
Yangyang felt bored and pulled at his mother's clothes. "Mom, I'm hungry."
When her son was hungry, it was a matter of great importance. Zhu Ping didn't want to entangle with these neighbors anymore. "Okay, okay. Let's go back and eat. Fang Ting, you're punished to stay outside tonight and not allowed to enter the house. You can come in after your younger brother has finished eating."
She led Yangyang and turned away, leaving Fang Ting behind. In the crowd, Fang Ting stood there pitifully, looking left and right, clutching the corner of her clothes, not knowing what to do.
Grandma Li felt sorry for her, but there were so many mouths to feed in her family, and she had nothing to give this little girl.
Most of the families in this yard were in the same situation.
Luo Yingshu felt sorry for the little girl and scolded, "Your mother is really not a good person. She'd rather fatten up her son than let you have an extra bite. Come on, go to my place. Have dinner at our place."
Fang Ting hesitated for a moment but still withdrew her hand and didn't dare to move, afraid that her mother would scold her when she got back.
Luo Yingshu didn't know what to do with the little girl.
Everyone sighed, feeling helpless.
Li Chuchu said nothing and went back. During the meal, Shen Yanshan noticed that she picked out a few pieces of spare ribs and some food and put them in an enamel bowl separately.
He watched her go out with the bowl for a while.
When she came back, her hands were empty.