Leng Yongkang returned home from the hospital to find everyone already asleep.
Returning so late, he didn’t dare make much noise. Without even washing up, he went straight to bed.
The next day, he was awakened by a child’s crying.
“The child is still young. Why are you so angry early in the morning? Why hit him?”
Old Lady Leng came in from outside, smoothing her hair as she pulled her young grandson in front of her to comfort him, while simultaneously scolding her second daughter-in-law, Sun Xiaojuan.
Sun Xiaojuan wiped some oil in the pan and deftly used the spatula to scoop up the egg that her young son had dropped on the ground, shell and all. After picking off the shell, she put the egg back in the pan to fry slowly.
“Mom, it’s not that I wanted to hit him first thing in the morning, but he dropped the egg on the floor. Don’t you think he deserves to be taught a lesson?”
After hearing the whole story, Old Lady Leng couldn’t side entirely with her grandson. She gently patted his bottom a few times. “You silly child, do you know how many eggs our family gets in a month? Our three jobs only exchange for one jin of eggs per month, and today you broke one. Your mother wasn’t wrong to hit you.”
The seven- or eight-year-old child didn’t mind being spanked. Although snot bubbles were forming on his face, he felt delighted inside at the thought of eating an egg in the morning.
Leng Yongkang came back from washing up outside and had just sat down at the table when Sun Xiaojuan enthusiastically served him a bowl of sorghum porridge. “Elder brother, don’t be late for work later. Eat quickly.”
Leng Yongkang was slightly taken aback, unable to understand why Sun Xiaojuan was being so attentive to him, her brother-in-law, today.
But he didn’t dwell on things he didn’t understand. He nodded politely, sat down, and began eating the porridge.
Sun Xiaojuan pushed the pickled radish strips on the table toward him. “Elder brother, don’t just eat porridge. Have some side dishes too. After breakfast, you can go to work without worry. I’ll take meals to the hospital.”
While serving porridge might not have raised suspicions, this additional attentiveness made even Old Lady Leng sense something odd, let alone the person directly involved.
Leng Yongkang glanced at Leng Yongxing, who was focused on eating his porridge, and thanked Sun Xiaojuan. “Then I’ll trouble you with this, sister-in-law.”
“It’s all family business. No trouble at all. Since I don’t have to go to work, I’m just at home helping with cooking. It’s what I should do.”
Then Sun Xiaojuan changed the subject. “It’s just that sister-in-law is pitiful. After undergoing major surgery yesterday, not only did her body suffer, but she can’t work. I wonder if her unit’s leadership will have any issues with that.”
Her words successfully led everyone to ponder more than they should.
She seized the opportunity to ask, “Elder brother, do you think sister-in-law’s unit leadership might give her a hard time or even fire her?”
Old Lady Leng stared strangely at Sun Xiaojuan, not missing any expression on her face.
“No, I helped her request leave yesterday. Once the leave is approved, it should be fine.” Leng Yongkang didn’t think much of it.
Sun Xiaojuan frowned slightly, still wearing a worried expression. “Although leave was requested, resting for three to five days might be manageable. But sister-in-law just had major surgery—I heard they even removed half her spleen. She’ll probably need to stay in the hospital for half a month. Moreover, after being discharged, she’ll need to rest at home for a while. With all this time off…”
Before she could finish, Old Lady Leng shuddered with sudden realization—her second daughter-in-law was eyeing the eldest daughter-in-law’s job.
However, she didn’t care which daughter-in-law took the position. The crucial point was not to delay earning money for the family.
No one knew how long the eldest daughter-in-law’s recovery would take, and each day of absence meant a day’s lost wages. If the second daughter-in-law filled in for her, it would be different.
The factory wages couldn’t be withheld for even a single day.
“Yongkang, Xiaojuan is right. Why not let Xiaojuan take over your wife’s shift while she recuperates? With her covering the shifts, your wife can rest at home without worry. If she doesn’t recover properly after organ surgery, it could lead to complications later.”
Sun Xiaojuan nodded with a chuckle. “Yes, Mom is right. If she doesn’t heal well, it could leave lasting health issues.”
Seeing Old Lady Leng’s support, Leng Yongkang agreed without much thought. “Alright, I’ll ask Xiaolin about it at the hospital after work. If she has no objections, my sister-in-law can cover the shifts for a while.”
Sun Xiaojuan and Leng Yongxing exchanged a silent, triumphant glance—things were falling into place.
“Good, it’s settled then.”
“What’s settled?” Leng Hui had just stepped inside and caught the tail end of the conversation. Based on her impression, these people were surely up to no good.
“Hui Hui, you’re back. How is your mom at the hospital?” Sun Xiaojuan was startled by Leng Hui’s sudden appearance.
But after noting Leng Hui’s unchanged expression, she smoothly changed the subject. “Have you had breakfast?”
Leng Hui glanced at Old Lady Leng and snorted. “You didn’t give me any ration coupons or money. Where was I supposed to eat?”
Recalling Leng Hui’s behavior yesterday, Old Lady Leng shot her a glare and snapped before Sun Xiaojuan could respond, “If you wanted to eat here, you should’ve said so. We didn’t prepare any food for you. Make your own if you’re hungry.”
Sun Xiaojuan glanced at her mother-in-law. She had heard a bit about what happened at the hospital yesterday and wouldn’t undermine the old woman for Leng Hui’s sake.
So, she politely said, “We measured out the breakfast portions this morning. I thought you’d eaten at the hospital. Since you haven’t, you’ll have to make something yourself. I need to go to the farmers’ market soon to buy groceries—if I’m late, the fresh produce will be gone.”
Leng Hui scanned the breakfast on the table: each person had a bowl of sorghum porridge and a dish of pickled radish strips, while Leng Feng, the youngest, also had a fried egg in his bowl.
“Why does Leng Feng get a special treat today? Is he the only child in the house who gets an egg?”
Old Lady Leng glared at her. “What ‘special treat’? Are you, a grown girl, trying to snatch food from a child?”
Afraid of misunderstanding, Sun Xiaojuan explained with a smile, “We only get a few eggs each month—we can’t afford to fry them for him. This morning, the boy broke an egg, and it would’ve been a waste not to cook it.”
Leng Yongkang, having finished his porridge, unusually added an explanation. “The egg fell on the ground, so your aunt had no choice but to fry it.”
Aside from Old Lady Leng and Leng Yongkang, the others found it strange how picky Leng Hui was being today.
Hearing that the egg had been scraped off the floor, Leng Hui shot a meaningful look at Leng Feng, who was focused on eating his egg.
But the boy proved utterly ungrateful, crying out with his mouth full, “Mom, there’s sand in the egg!”
Sun Xiaojuan, upon hearing this, had no time to spare for Leng Hui. She snapped irritably, “If there’s food, can’t it shut your mouth? If there’s sand, why not spit it out? Are you an idiot?”
“I won’t spit it out!” Leng Feng shook his head.
Leng Hui watched him chew and swallow it down, her lips twitching slightly.
Leng Yongkang and Leng Yongxing, the two brothers, set down their bowls and headed out to work. Sun Xiaojuan picked up a basket and went out to buy groceries.
Old Lady Leng patted the shoulder of her second son’s daughter, Leng Mei, and the grandmother and granddaughter went out together to deliver the matchboxes they had assembled, taking the opportunity to bring back more matchboxes to continue assembling.
Finally, the house suddenly emptied, leaving only Leng Hui and the two boys from the second branch, Leng Chuan and Leng Feng.
Leng Chuan was twelve this year, and Leng Feng was eight. After finishing their meal, they shouldered their schoolbags and headed out.