OBS Chapter 1064: The Weeping Old Lady
Chapter 1064: The Weeping Old Lady
Chapter 1064: The Weeping Old Lady
The gate of the courtyard had just been opened when Huang Ling happened to come out of the kitchen.
"Song Ying is back. Is Haozi okay?"
Qin Hao shook his head: "Don't worry, Aunt Huang, I'm fine."
Huang Ling glanced towards the inner room, walked up to Qin Hao and said in a low voice: "Haozi, something happened at Aunt Huang's house last night, and she couldn't leave..."
Song Ying was about to ask when she heard an old voice coming from the inner room: "A Ling, I'm thirsty and need some water."
"Mom, I'll be right there."
Huang Ling ran in hurriedly.
Qin Hao suddenly realized: "It should be Aunt Huang's mother-in-law who is here."
Song Ying was a little confused: "Hasn't Sister Ling's mother-in-law always lived with Teacher Zhuang's brother?"
When Huang Ling came out of the inner room again, Song Ying finally understood what had happened. Zhuang Chaoying's mother had accidentally broken her leg some time ago, and his younger brothers and sisters had called Zhuang Chaoying and Huang Ling over, saying that they had to go to work and couldn't take care of the elderly.
They said they were discussing it, but in fact they just wanted to pass this burden to Zhuang Chaoying and Huang Ling.
Zhuang Chaoying was a filial child, so naturally he did whatever his parents said. However, Huang Ling was not as easy to talk to as before, so the old lady suggested that Zhuang Xiaoting go over to take care of her, saying that children have light sleepers and she could just pour her some water and hold the spittoon at night.
Hearing this, Song Ying got angry and scolded, "This is what people say. Xiaoting also has to go to school during the day. The adults can't handle it, so they let a child who is less than ten years old take over. Teacher Zhuang's brother also has two children, why don't they let them take care of the old lady? There is no such thing as partiality, right?"
Qin Hao analyzed: "Because only in this way can Aunt Huang be persuaded to submit and take the old lady over to serve her."
Song Ying was stunned and Huang Ling's face darkened. She only figured out this relationship after she brought the old lady back. The old lady knew that she wanted Huang Ling to take her home, and she would definitely not agree easily. But she knew that Huang Ling loved her children the most, so she suggested asking Zhuang Xiaoting to take care of her. Huang Ling had no choice but to agree to the old lady's request.
"This old lady is so partial, and Teacher Zhuang has no opinion at all?" Song Ying was indignant.
Huang Ling said nothing. Even though she was very dissatisfied, she still had to save some face for Zhuang Chaoying.
Qin Hao didn't care so much and sneered, "When my father was here, our family was in the same situation. Although he knew that my father and grandmother were partial, he was still devoted to respecting the elderly and caring for his younger brother. Little did he know that his unreserved dedication was what he should do in the eyes of my father and grandmother and my second uncle and aunt. If he didn't do well enough in any aspect, he would be scolded for being selfish."
"How can there be such parents in the world?" Song Ying hugged Qin Hao with heartache.
Huang Ling smiled bitterly and said, "Haozi is right. Chaoying told me that when he was young, he would eat less and let his brother eat more. His parents would praise him for being sensible. As time went by, he felt that he should be hungry. I can no longer count on him, but my bottom line is that I can't affect Tunan and Xiaoting. If anyone dares to let them eat less, I will make their whole family unable to eat!"
"Sister Ling, you have suffered so much." Song Ying held Huang Ling's hand, her eyes red.
Huang Ling wiped her tears and said, "Okay, let's not talk about me anymore. Haozi, you haven't had breakfast yet, I'll cook you a bowl of noodles."
"No need, Sister Ling. I'll make some buns for Haozi."
Originally, Song Ying was just planning to get some steamed buns, but suddenly a huge sum of money came into her, and she always felt that the steamed buns were not worthy of the championship won by Qin Hao.
"Baozi? Did you buy meat?"
“It’s not too late to buy it now.”
After Song Ying finished speaking, she pulled Qin Hao into the house, first found a place to put the 1800 yuan, then found the meat coupons, picked up the vegetable basket and prepared to go buy vegetables.
"It just so happens that your Uncle Lin and Lin Dongzhe are not here today, so let's have a good meal of steamed buns."
Qin Hao was happy. Huang Ling was the kind of person who would give everything for her children and would always give the children first any good things. But Song Ying was different. Although she would also give for her husband and children, when she encountered something delicious or fun, the first thing she thought of was to make herself happy.
"Aunt Song, I'll go with you."
"Okay, I'll call your school later and we won't go to school today."
Afterwards, Qin Hao and Song Ying went to the farmers' market.
While queuing to buy meat, Song Ying said to Qin Hao, "Normally the supply of meat is sufficient, but during festivals like Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival, you have to queue up in the middle of the night, otherwise you won't be able to buy any."
"Wouldn't it be nice to just buy a refrigerator?"
Qin Hao's words stunned Song Ying.
"A refrigerator costs thousands of dollars, and refrigerator tickets are hard to get."
Qin Hao leaned close to Song Ying's ear and whispered, "Aunt Song, the money is readily available. As for the refrigerator ticket, Uncle Lin's factory makes compressors, right? It shouldn't be difficult to get a refrigerator ticket, right?"
"No, how can I use your money..."
Before Song Ying could finish her words, Qin Hao said, "Aunt Song, money is earned to be spent. The key is to see whether it is worth spending. With a refrigerator, we can stock up on meat in advance and no longer have to queue up in the middle of the night. In addition, we can also freeze popsicles in the summer and don't have to spend money to buy them. This can save a lot of money in the summer."
Song Ying was tempted, but still a little hesitant: "No, I still can't use your money..."
Qin Hao struck while the iron was hot and said with a straight face: "Aunt Song, I have already regarded you as my family in my heart. If you have calculated everything with me so clearly, then you don't regard me as your own."
"Well... okay, I'll ask your Uncle Lin if he can get some refrigerator tickets later. But you can consider this money as a loan to us. We'll pay it back to you when we have enough money. Otherwise, I won't use this money."
Seeing Song Ying's firm attitude, Qin Hao had no choice but to give in: "Okay, then consider it as a loan to you."
After buying the meat, Qin Hao and Song Ying returned to the courtyard and started making buns. Qin Hao kneaded the dough and Song Ying chopped the meat. With their division of labor and cooperation, the unique aroma of meat buns soon wafted through the courtyard.
This made Old Lady Zhuang in the inner room very jealous.
"Ling'er, whose family is steaming meat buns? They smell so good."
Huang Ling knew the old lady's character and said casually, "I don't know. Mom, your legs and feet are not good, but your nose is quite sensitive."
The old lady's face darkened: "I just broke my leg, not my nose."
After a while, the aroma became stronger and stronger. The old lady was so greedy that her saliva was almost watering, and she called Huang Ling again.
"Ling'er, why do I smell this fragrance coming from your yard?"
Huang Ling's mouth twitched. This old lady's nose was really sensitive, but she was not willing to ask Song Ying for buns on behalf of this old lady.
"Mom, our room is facing the wind vent, so the fragrance must be drifting over from the yard."
The old lady licked her lips and said, "Ling'er, the doctor said that I'm old and I broke my leg, so I need to supplement my nutrition. See if anyone is steaming buns and get some. This way I can get better faster."
"Mom, this is not a good idea. No one has surplus food these days. Maybe she has saved for a long time to get these few meat coupons. What will others think if I go to her house at this time?" Huang Ling said and walked out of the door without paying attention to the old lady's shouting.
The old lady was so angry that her eyes widened, but she could do nothing about it.
The steamer in the kitchen was emitting steam. Song Ying lifted the lid of the steamer and took out a large meat bun. She tore it open and saw that the meat filling was oozing with oil. She took a bite herself and gave half to Qin Hao.
"Try it and see if it's done."
"Yeah, it's cooked. It's delicious."
After getting Qin Hao's affirmation, Song Ying fetched a basin of clean water, dipped her hand in the water, then took the meat buns out of the steamer and placed them on the plate.
Just when Song Ying was about to take a plate to the next room, she was stopped by Qin Hao.
"Aunt Song, let's ask Aunt Huang to come in and eat together."
Song Ying slapped her forehead and said, "I almost forgot about that old woman."
As he said that, he pulled Huang Ling, who was washing clothes, into the kitchen.
"I don't need it. You guys eat it. The old lady has a keen nose. Let her smell it later..."
Before Huang Ling could finish her words, Song Ying had already stuffed a bun into her mouth.
"So what if she smelled it? She can't fight with you now because she has difficulty walking. She has to beg you. Besides, I can give my steamed buns to anyone who wants to eat them. If the old woman wants to eat them, let her beg me herself. Why should you, Sister Ling, bear this favor?"
Huang Ling was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes. Song Ying was afraid that she would be embarrassed, so she patted the back of her hand and changed the subject: "Sister Ling, you don't need to be too polite to that old woman. This kind of person is what Haozi said, they will push their luck. The nicer you treat her, the more likely she will stay at your house."
"Well, you're right."
“Are the buns delicious?”
"It's delicious. I haven't eaten buns with so much stuffing in a long time."
"Anyway, I've used up all my meat coupons this month, so I might as well eat to my heart's content."
Song Ying then stuffed a big meat bun into each of Qin Hao and Huang Ling's mouths, "Eat, let's eat as much as we can today."
After eating three big meat buns, Huang Ling waved her hands repeatedly to indicate that she couldn't eat anymore. Then she stood in the yard for a long time to let the air get rid of the smell, and then went into the house to clean up. However, the old lady still smelled it.
"Ling'er, did you eat the meat buns?"
Huang Ling flatly denied it: "Mom, there's not even a pound of meat at home, how can I make meat buns?"
"No, come closer to me, this smell is definitely that of meat buns."
"Mom, I don't have time to argue with you. I have a lot of chores to do at home, and I have to go to the afternoon shift soon."
Huang Ling said perfunctorily.
The old lady was displeased and said in a sarcastic tone, "I am so old and useless that people dislike me. I can't even have a meat bun if I want to."
This time Huang Ling simply ignored her. After cleaning the house, she went to cook some light porridge with pickles, which she called a nice dish.
"Mom, the doctor said that you need to rest well and eat more light food."
The old lady was so angry that she almost died, but unfortunately Zhuang Chaoying was not at home, so there was no one to make the decision for her and she could only sulk.
It was finally six o'clock in the afternoon when Zhuang Chaoying got off work, and Zhuang Tunan and Zhuang Xiaoting also went home. They were just about to sue Huang Ling severely when they heard Lin Dongzhe's cheers coming from the yard.
"Wow, these meat buns smell so good..."
The old lady now completely exploded and started scolding Zhuang Chaoying.
"You are such a rude daughter-in-law. The neighbors clearly made steamed buns this morning. I broke my leg, so I asked your wife to make some for me to try, but she lied to me and said there were no steamed buns. She ended up eating her own way and left me, an old woman, here. It's a pity that I am old and useless, and yet you despise me. What's the point of living? It's better to die..."
Zhuang Chaoying was scolded so badly that he couldn't even raise his head. He came to the yard with a dark face and just happened to see Song Ying inviting Zhuang Tunan and Zhuang Xiaoting to eat buns, and he immediately scolded them.
"You're back now, why don't you hurry up and do your homework? What are you eating? What's so good about a meat bun?"
Zhuang Tunan was stunned for a moment, while Zhuang Xiaoting was so scared that she burst into tears.
Song Ying's face looked a little unhappy. She was about to speak up to defend Zhuang Tunan and his sister, but Qin Hao spoke first.
"Teacher Zhuang was scolded by the old lady, so there's no need to vent her anger on Tunan and Xiaoting, right?"
Zhuang Chaoying was exposed and felt a little embarrassed.
"This is our family matter, it has nothing to do with you."
Qin Hao sneered, "This yard is a public area. Aunt Song invited Tunan and Xiaoting to eat buns. They are our guests. You yelled at our guests without knowing right from wrong, but said it was your family affair. Since Teacher Zhuang wants to make such a clear distinction, will Tunan still come to our house to watch English lectures in the future? When Aunt Huang changes shifts in the future, will she still let Tunan and Xiaoting come to our house for dinner?"
Zhuang Chaoying was speechless for a moment. Since this concerned Zhuang Tunan's studies, he could only hold back his anger.
"Since you can treat Tunan and Xiaoting to meat buns, why can't you give some to our old lady? Did Huang Ling not allow you to take some?"
Zhuang Xiaoting stood up immediately: "Of course not, Mom would never do that."
Qin Hao glanced at Zhuang Chaoying.
"Teacher Zhuang, don't you find this funny? It's our freedom to give our buns to whom and not to whom. Has your old lady ever done us any favors? Why should we give the buns that our whole family has saved up for a month to your old lady?"
Lin Dongzhe agreed: "Brother Hao is right. Why can't Xiaoting eat buns? Xiaoting, eat more."
Zhuang Chaoying was extremely angry, but he couldn't argue with Qin Hao. Looking at Zhuang Tunan and Zhuang Xiaoting who were at a loss as to what to do with the buns in their hands, he finally softened his heart and didn't force them anymore. He went to the kitchen to cook alone.
Song Ying secretly gave Qin Hao a thumbs up. She had long been fed up with Zhuang Chaoying always siding with the family and treating Huang Ling as an outsider. However, there were some things that she, as an adult, could not say for fear of backfire.
While having dinner, the courtyard was shrouded in a strange atmosphere.
Zhuang Chaoying and the old lady ate white rice cooked like porridge, pickles and a dish of burnt vegetables. There was no meat at all. The old lady ate so much that the wrinkles on her forehead were so thick that they could kill a fly.
"Chaoying, this is not a solution. When will Huang Ling switch to the morning shift?"
Zhuang Chaoying said with a dark face: "Mom, there is still half a month before the next shift change."
"Can't Huang Ling be swapped with a colleague? An elderly person at home fell and got hurt, how can she not come back to take care of him?"