Yesterday, her eldest son had told her that his wife would be discharged from the hospital today and mentioned that lunch should be lavish to celebrate her recovery and return home.
At that time, Old Lady Leng felt extremely displeased. What kind of situation was it for a mother-in-law to have to fuss over the younger generation?
Last time when Leng Mei was discharged, Sun Xiaojuan had handled everything herself.
To spite Tang Lin and her daughter, Old Lady Leng got up early in the morning and took half a pound of brown sugar to visit her daughter and her newborn grandson.
As a result, she dawdled back to the city and arrived well past noon. She deliberately ate a bowl of noodles at a restaurant before heading home.
At the entrance of the Family Compound, she happened to run into Sun Xiaojuan, who was carrying a vegetable basket on her way home.
Although Old Lady Leng wanted to spite Tang Lin and her daughter, she hadn’t specifically instructed Sun Xiaojuan on what to do.
“Second daughter-in-law, are you just back from buying groceries?” Old Lady Leng suppressed her shock and glanced at the wilted vegetables in the basket she was carrying.
“Mom, how are his aunt and the child? They must be doing well during the confinement period, right?”
Running into Old Lady Leng here didn’t surprise Sun Xiaojuan. She had long known that Old Lady Leng deliberately went to visit relatives just to embarrass Tang Lin. She was merely following suit.
“They’re both doing well. Why are you back so late from buying groceries?”
“I don’t know what happened today, but the farmers’ market was especially crowded. I stood in line for hours just to buy these few vegetables—it nearly exhausted me.” Sun Xiaojuan complained, even rubbing her leg for effect.
Old Lady Leng: “…”
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law walked home with a tacit understanding.
Just as they reached the second floor, Aunt Li came out of the water room carrying a basin of bowls.
When Aunt Li saw the two of them, she hurried over and grabbed Sun Xiaojuan. “Where did you two go this morning?”
“My mom went to visit his aunt, and I—”
Aunt Li didn’t seem genuinely interested in where they had been.
Before Sun Xiaojuan could finish explaining, Aunt Li pointed toward the Leng Family’s home. “Yongkang brought Tang Lin home this morning. At noon, the aroma of meat from your house nearly drove all the neighbors crazy with envy. Many children were throwing tantrums, demanding to eat meat.”
“Meat?”
Old Lady Leng’s heart sank, and she thought to herself, “This is bad.”
Aunt Li nodded. “Yes, that meat fragrance really did us neighbors in. Everyone’s lunch tasted bland, and my grandson only ate half a pancake before losing his appetite. Old Lady Leng, do you have any extra meat at your place? How about I trade you for some? Otherwise, my grandson will throw another fit tonight.”
At that moment, Old Lady Leng had no mind to deal with Li Daniu—Aunt Li’s full maiden name was Li Daniu.
Over the years, the younger generation in the Family Compound had grown accustomed to calling her Aunt Li, and only her peers still used her given name.
Old Lady Leng rushed back home in a hurry, disregarding everything else, and dashed straight into the kitchen to check the preserved meat she had hung there.
But the dark wall was completely empty.
“Eldest daughter-in-law!”
Old Lady Leng’s heart felt as though it were bleeding. The meat she had saved for so long was gone. Seeing the leftover food on the table, her blood pressure skyrocketed.
Tang Lin had already eaten her fill. When Old Lady Leng burst in, she watched everything with indifference. “Mom, my ears aren’t deaf. There’s no need to shout so loudly—it’s quite frightening.”
Leng Mei watched as Leng Hui seemed to treat Old Lady Leng’s fury as nothing but air, still leisurely picking up meat to eat. While admiring her composure, she quickly snatched another piece of meat and stuffed it into her mouth before putting down her chopsticks.
Seeing the people seated around the table ignoring her as if she were invisible, Old Lady Leng was so enraged that her face turned crimson. She raised her hand, intending to flip the table over.
But noticing there was still some meat left in the bowls on the table, she ultimately restrained herself.
Instead, she turned and slammed the table, demanding, “Who told you to cook all my preserved meat? Who gave you the right?”
Leng Yongkang, feeling guilty, rubbed his nose and cleared his throat. “Ahem, Mom—”
Meeting Old Lady Leng’s furious gaze, the spineless Leng Yongkang faltered mid-sentence.
Leng Hui swallowed her last mouthful of rice, wiped her mouth, and said, “Grandma, we’re just eating a piece of meat. Is it really necessary for you to make such a scene here?”
Hearing that she dared to call her outburst a “scene” after consuming such a large chunk of her carefully preserved meat, Old Lady Leng’s anger surged. She raised her hand to slap Leng Hui across the face.
Leng Yongkang, witnessing this, grew anxious and rushed to intervene.
Leng Mei secretly rejoiced.
Sun Xiaojuan, eyeing the few remaining pieces of meat on the table, felt her heart bleed with regret. She wished Old Lady Leng would teach Leng Hui a harsh lesson.
Among them all, Tang Lin was likely the calmest.
Old Lady Leng’s slap did not land on Leng Hui’s face as intended. Instead, Leng Hui caught her hand and pressed it firmly onto the table.
Old Lady Leng tried to pull her hand back, straining with all her might, but Leng Hui’s grip remained unyielding.
“Let go!”
Leng Hui released her hand as requested, clapped her hands, and took a step back. “At your age, still so hot-tempered—how unbecoming. Dad, you should advise your mother more often. With her old bones, she’s acting like a hot-headed youth. Anyone who didn’t know better would think she’s a martial arts expert.”
Old Lady Leng trembled with rage. She realized that in this household now, she could no longer bully Tang Lin and her daughter as she pleased.
She couldn’t win in a fight.
She couldn’t win in an argument.
The nonchalant attitude of Tang Lin and her daughter was like punching cotton—all the frustration ended up boiling inside her.
“Aiyo, a granddaughter daring to lay hands on her grandmother! I don’t want to live anymore! What’s the point of living? You unfilial descendants, aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning on a rainy day?”
Old Lady Leng plopped down on the floor and began throwing a tantrum.
Her dramatic, rising and falling tones left both Tang Lin and her daughter momentarily stunned.
Sun Xiaojuan, having long felt like she’d missed out on a fortune after seeing the leftover meat in the dishes and the few remaining Qingming Jiao Ba in the basin, chimed in, “You’re too much, too much! Taking advantage of Mom and me being away to feast alone—do you even respect your elders?”
Leng Yongkang hurried forward to help Old Lady Leng up, genuinely afraid the commotion would spread throughout the entire Family Compound.
It was too shameful.
Seeing her eldest son flustered, Old Lady Leng had no intention of backing down. She wouldn’t quit until she’d turned everything upside down.
If she didn’t put them in their place this time, she’d have no say in this household going forward.
In Old Lady Leng’s mind, the authority of the head of the family was not to be challenged.
“Don’t touch me, you so-called filial son! You good-for-nothing! You can’t even control your own wife and child, standing by while they bully me! What use are you to me? Heavens above, send down a bolt of lightning! Strike this unfilial son dead! The world can’t tolerate this!”
Tang Lin and Leng Hui, having survived the apocalypse, had never encountered an old woman who behaved like this. In the apocalypse, resources were seized by whoever had the ability—if you lacked skill, even the highest authority had to lie low.
To them, Old Lady Leng’s current behavior was nothing but that of a shameless scoundrel.
Leng Mei looked down on Old Lady Leng and Sun Xiaojuan for failing to grasp the main issue. Taking the preserved meat hanging openly in the kitchen was one thing, but Leng Hui daring to pick the lock again was unforgivable.
She pushed the remaining Jiao Ba in the basin toward Sun Xiaojuan. “Mom, there are a few Jiao Ba left. You must be hungry since you didn’t eat lunch. Have them quickly.”
Sun Xiaojuan finally snapped to attention. “Where did these come from?”
Leng Mei glanced at Leng Hui, then shot a look at Old Lady Leng, who was throwing a tantrum on the floor. “Sister made lunch, and it tasted pretty good. Just eat and don’t worry about where it came from.”
At these words, Old Lady Leng abruptly stopped her wailing, like a hen whose neck had been wrung.
She and Sun Xiaojuan simultaneously glanced under their own beds.
Damn!
The newly bought lock was gone again.
Without a doubt, the rice flour in the box had been completely used up.
“Heaven strike you dead! You lazy, greedy little wretch! Every decent thing in this house gets ruined by you! If this keeps up, you might as well kill me!”
“Stop crying!”
Leng Hui had intended to watch the drama coldly, but Old Lady Leng’s shrill voice was giving her a headache.
“If you don’t want to live, then go die. Don’t wail here like you’re mourning—it’s bad luck!”
Old Lady Leng’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “You… you unfilial brat! You disrespect your elders! May you die a miserable death!”
Leng Hui couldn’t be bothered to argue. “My mom earns the highest salary in this family. She contributes the most, so she has the right to eat. If any of you have a problem with that, keep it to yourselves. If you’re not satisfied, why don’t you try earning as much as she does every month?”
“Besides, this apartment was allocated to her by her work unit. If you have any pride, you can move out and stop mooching off her. You enjoy all the benefits my mom provides in every aspect of life, yet you still put on airs as elders and try to control her. You want to have your cake and eat it too—where’s your shame? You’re like prostitutes putting up chastity arches—that’s exactly what you are!”
With today’s outburst, Leng Hui had effectively stripped the Leng Family of their hypocritical masks and ground them into the floor.
Looking at Old Lady Leng’s tearful face, Sun Xiaojuan and Leng Yongkang’s suppressed anger, and Leng Mei’s resentment, Leng Hui finally felt a sense of triumph.
She wasn’t the original owner—she wouldn’t be pushed around so easily.
Tang Lin added, “From now on, if anyone in this family causes trouble and annoys me, I’ll just have the work unit take back this apartment. Hui Hui and I can always rent a place outside. My salary is more than enough to support both of us.”
Unable to control Tang Lin and her daughter, Old Lady Leng grew frantic and turned her anger toward Leng Yongkang. “Look at what you married! I told you she wasn’t the kind of woman to build a life with, but you wouldn’t listen. Now look—this family is falling apart!”
Tang Lin retorted, “It should have fallen apart long ago. The sooner it breaks up, the sooner we’re free.”
“Shut up!”
Leng Yongkang, heart aching to see his old mother disheveled and bullied, lost his temper at Tang Lin’s relentless attitude.
“How have you become so sharp-tongued and mean? You can’t even show basic respect for the elderly and care for the young. She’s still your elder—can’t you just let it go?”
“No! If she doesn’t treat me like a human being, why should I treat her as an elder?” Tang Lin’s face was icy.
Truthfully, she was tired of this family’s internal strife. Having traveled from the apocalypse, all she wanted was to live a quiet, peaceful life with Leng Hui.
All this daily chaos and drama exhausted her.
“You—” Leng Yongkang was seething with rage, charging forward with a raised hand to teach Tang Lin a lesson.
Having survived years in the apocalypse, how could Tang Lin let a weakling like Leng Yongkang harm her? She was just about to lift her leg and kick him back.
But Leng Hui stepped in front of Tang Lin, like a young wolf protecting its mother, pointing at him and threatening, “Just try laying a hand on my mom!”
Seeing the father and daughter at a standoff, Sun Xiaojuan grabbed Leng Yongkang, who was still trying to rush forward.
“Big brother, let’s talk this out calmly. No one should resort to violence. Once it starts, it’s hard to stop, and we’ll just become a laughingstock for outsiders.”
“Second sister-in-law, don’t stop him! That ungrateful wretch deserves a beating! Hit her hard!”
Having torn off all pretenses today, Old Lady Leng harbored deep hatred for Tang Lin and Leng Hui, no longer willing to maintain even the most basic pretense of familial respect.
Sun Xiaojuan, annoyed that Old Lady Leng was adding fuel to the fire, snapped, “Mom, can you please say less? Do you really want to tear this family apart?”
If Tang Lin were truly provoked today and went to their workplace to have the leadership reclaim their housing, the whole family would end up sleeping on the streets.
Old Lady Leng sensed the blame in Sun Xiaojuan’s words, clutching her chest, feeling so upset she could barely breathe.
“Whoa, are you guys staging a full-on brawl here?” Jiang Jingtao exclaimed as soon as he entered, startled by the tense scene among the Leng family.
Leng Hui pushed aside Leng Yongkang, who was blocking her way, and frowned, “What are you doing here?”
With an outsider present, Leng Yongkang felt too embarrassed to continue the argument and helped Old Lady Leng up from the ground.
Jiang Jingtao lifted the net bag in his hand and waved it in front of them. “My mom heard that Aunt Tang was discharged from the hospital today, so she asked me to bring some nutritional supplements to help her recover.”
Only then did the Leng family notice the contents of Jiang Jingtao’s net bag.
Inside were Malt Extract, milk candies, canned oranges, and a pack of brown sugar.
Jiang Jingtao, quick on the uptake, took out a can of oranges and handed it to Old Lady Leng, who looked pale. “Grandma Leng, you seem unwell—maybe it’s low blood sugar. Have a can to sweeten your mood.”
Not wanting to offend someone offering kindness, Old Lady Leng forced an awkward smile. “Whose child are you?”
“Grandma Leng, my surname is Jiang.”
“Oh, you’re a good kid.” Remembering he was here to visit Tang Lin, her smile faded slightly. She handed the can back to Leng Yongkang. “Open this for me.”
Jiang Jingtao turned to Leng Hui with an ingratiating smile, then greeted Tang Lin and Leng Yongkang. “Aunt Tang, Uncle Leng.”
Tang Lin nodded at him. “I’m fine now. Your mom really went to too much trouble buying all these supplements.”
“Before I came, my mom asked me to apologize. We should have visited you in the hospital earlier, but the neighborhood committee has been swamped with trivial matters lately. She sent me in her place—please understand.”
Leng Hui stared at Jiang Jingtao in astonishment, as if she didn’t recognize him. Usually careless and irreverent, today he seemed like a different person—polite, well-mannered, and tactful.
How rare!
“Your mom is very thoughtful. Once I’ve fully recovered, I’ll invite her over to catch up.”
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Jiang Jingtao, Tang Lin nudged Leng Hui, signaling her not to just stand there but to fetch a glass of water for Jiang Jingtao.
Jiang Jingtao smiled politely, and his gaze inadvertently met Leng Mei’s, who had been sitting quietly to the side without saying a word. “Uh, hello.”
Leng Mei suppressed her inner shock, slightly curved the corners of her lips, and returned a faint smile.
A few days ago, when she fell from the train, perhaps due to hitting her head, she woke up to find herself with memories of an additional lifetime.
In other words, she had been reborn.
If she hadn’t seen Jiang Jingtao today, she would have almost forgotten about this person.
Jiang Jingtao came from a cadre family. His mother was the director of the neighborhood committee and later entered the municipal government, steadily climbing the ranks until she moved to the provincial level. His father was the deputy director of a textile factory, who later ventured into business, accumulating initial capital that eventually flourished under Jiang Jingtao’s management.
As for Jiang Jingtao himself, although he never became the richest person in the country, he ranked among the top three in the province in his later years.
In her previous life, she hadn’t paid much attention to him in the early stages. By the time Jiang Jingtao had risen to such heights, he was no longer someone she could casually interact with.
“Here, have some water.”
Leng Hui shoved an enamel cup into Jiang Jingtao’s hand, simultaneously cutting short Leng Mei’s reminiscence.
Two chapters combined~
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