Since the words had already been said, Qin Xiangru couldn’t refuse.
She took out 2.5 yuan and placed it in Liu Meiling’s palm, feeling inexplicably stifled inside.
“Alright, finish eating and go home early.”
Liu Meiling plopped down on the chair, ordered two more bowls of rice, set aside the one that had fallen on the ground, and replaced it with a clean one for Qian Feng.
“Eat.”
Qian Feng gave a soft “mm,” his nose stinging slightly.
When he was little, Qin Xiangru had already stopped feeding them.
The worst winter, he had slept back in his hometown beside the dog at the doorway.
Truthfully, he didn’t mind food that had fallen on the ground—it was still cleaner than what he had snatched from a dog’s mouth.
But for some reason, he didn’t want to refuse this clean bowl of rice.
Qin Xiangru’s expression shifted. “Sister-in-law, those two bastards don’t need to eat—”
Bang!
The bowl in Liu Meiling’s hand slammed heavily onto the table.
It was clear—if she said one more word, Liu Meiling might slap her too.
“Mom! How can you be like this!”
Li Baoqing stomped her foot, tears streaming down. Even her father couldn’t control her mother anymore—what was she supposed to do in the future?
She shot Qian Mianmian a vicious glare and ran off crying.
Qin Xiangru didn’t dare speak again and stood there frozen. Liu Meiling continued eating without even lifting her head, ordering:
“Eldest, take your father home.”
Li Baoguo, who had been about to slip away, froze. Resigned, he helped his father up.
Anyway, his father had already agreed to the bride price. If he sent him home now, he could earn some goodwill when the old man woke up—no loss there.
Once everyone left, the three of them finally ate in peace.
The siblings were so thin that Liu Meiling felt a bit guilty. If they hadn’t been born from her womb, they wouldn’t have suffered like this.
She finally understood why Qin Xiangru treated Mianmian just as badly—Mianmian probably wasn’t her biological child either. The only question was: who had she been switched with?
“Eat more.”
She picked up more meat and placed it into their bowls. “How old are you this year, Mianmian?”
Qian Mianmian’s cheeks were puffed with rice as she mumbled, “Nineteen.”
Nineteen?
Liu Meiling froze. Mianmian was so thin and small, she looked no older than fourteen or fifteen.
Nineteen…
Tears welled in Liu Meiling’s eyes. She turned away and wiped them, pretending nothing was wrong.
“You’re in your final year of high school, right? You should go back to school tomorrow. I’ll bring you breakfast in the morning.”
She didn’t know what to feel—whether to thank fate that her biological child hadn’t turned out badly, or laugh at how she had been fooled her entire previous life.
Final year… nineteen years old…
So the children she had loved the most in her past life weren’t even her own.
Qian Mianmian was about to refuse—she still had to collect cardboard in the morning—but when she met her brother’s calm yet stubborn gaze, she swallowed her words.
“…Okay. Thank you, Auntie.”
Her brother was already so tired.
She couldn’t burden him anymore.
0928 was deeply moved, crying in Liu Meiling’s mind for a full minute before smugly saying, “I’m not crying! My eyes just got blown by the wind!”
Liu Meiling: …Do you even have eyes?
But she didn’t expose it.
After returning home, Liu Meiling didn’t go into the eldest son’s room. Instead, she directly threw Li Mingliang out and spread bedding for the three of them on the heated kang in the east room.
Once she locked the bedroom door, everything finally became peaceful.
The next morning—
Liu Meiling cracked three eggs into flour, adding salt and pepper.
Having lived another life, she had no intention of treating herself harshly. In her previous life, she couldn’t even bear to eat eggs, always splitting them among the children.
After having grandchildren, she had even less say in anything. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she last tasted fragrant egg pancakes.
One bite—and her whole body relaxed in satisfaction.
“Mom, let me do it?”
Bao Mei washed her face and rolled up her sleeves. Liu Meiling handed her the spatula without hesitation.
Based on her previous life—raising ungrateful children while exhausting herself into illness—she was more than happy to let them work.
If the young ones didn’t do it, the old one would be worked to death.
The third son wandered into the kitchen, drawn by the smell of egg pancakes. Without fear of heat, he grabbed a piece fresh from the pan and stuffed it into his mouth.
In less than a second, he was burned badly, hopping around, but still refused to spit it out, chewing it painfully before swallowing.
Liu Meiling couldn’t bear to watch.
She kicked him and told him to go wash his face.
Then she ordered him to go to the backyard and pick some bok choy.
The third son responded vaguely and went off with toothpaste foam still in his mouth.
The “backyard” was really just a patch of land behind the latrine. To save money, Liu Meiling grew vegetables there every year.
“Mom, is this okay?”
The third son came back with a bundle. Liu Meiling took one look and became furious—the vegetables were unevenly torn, half leaves missing, half roots gone.
Heart aching, she grabbed her slipper and started hitting him: “You useless thing! All you know is eat! Your hands—what are they even for? You can’t even pick vegetables properly! I’ll beat you to death!”
Li Baohuai dropped the vegetables and ran. Liu Meiling stomped anxiously, quickly putting her shoe back on and picking up the vegetables.
Qian Mianmian held back laughter and stepped forward. “Auntie, I’ll do it.”
Liu Meiling handed her the vegetables, then chased the third son again and gave him another beating.
“Ow, Mom! I’m sorry! It’s my first time picking vegetables! Stop hitting me—you’re pulling my hair out!”
After a few more hits, Liu Meiling finally stopped.
When she returned to the kitchen, she saw that Qian Mianmian had already washed and chopped the vegetables neatly, chatting and laughing with Bao Mei.
Her anger instantly disappeared. Children… they really are debts.
She sighed, her eyes slightly moist. She kept saying she wouldn’t care—but she still couldn’t harden her heart.
..
Once the food was ready, Qian Feng came out after washing up. Having had a rare good sleep, he didn’t idle around and immediately went to get bowls and chopsticks.
The family gradually gathered around the table.
The eldest son reached out to grab food immediately—but Liu Meiling smacked his hand with chopsticks.
“This month’s meal fee.”
Reluctantly, Li Baoguo handed over 15 yuan. Only then did Liu Meiling allow him to stay.
Once she figured out Qian Feng and Mianmian’s situation, it wouldn’t be too late to kick him out.
Since he could earn money now, she might as well collect some “interest.”
Seeing this, Li Baojia took out 3.5 yuan from his pocket. “Mom, is this enough?”
Liu Meiling accepted it without hesitation.
Li Baoqing sat with a cold face, as if the world owed her money. Bao Mei ate quietly without a word.
Li Mingliang sat expressionless, waiting for Liu Meiling to serve him food. After a while, he couldn’t help but ask:
“Where’s my meal?”
“Your meal? Did you pay? This food—I grew the vegetables, I bought the flour, and the eggs came from my chickens. What right do you have to eat my food?”
Li Mingliang finally couldn’t hold it in. He slammed the table angrily:
“Liu Meiling, what exactly are you trying to do?!”