Su Wanqing chimed in, “Yes, An An makes a good point.” She had taken in Lu An’an’s expression—her son was testing her.
Lu Changfeng, however, felt as if he had seen a ghost, growing increasingly convinced that Su Wanqing was still scheming against him.
Lu An’an pushed him into the inner room to rest. On one hand, Lu An’an wanted to test whether Su Wanqing had genuinely changed; on the other, he truly felt sorry for his father.
After Lu Changfeng and his son went inside, Su Wanqing put away the things she had bought and began cutting the pork fat to render lard.
The pork fat sizzled pleasantly in the pan, filling the room with a rich, savory aroma. The three children gathered around the stove, watching eagerly.
Su Wanqing scooped out the rendered cracklings, sprinkled a bit of sugar over them, and handed them to the children. “Try these.”
Lu Tiantian cautiously picked up a piece and put it in her mouth.
Her eyes lit up, and she whispered, “Mom, it’s really delicious!”
Lu Pingping and Lu An’an also took some to eat, their faces showing contentment.
She asked the children to call Lu Changfeng out to eat. The greasy table that Lu Changfeng had despised had already been wiped clean by Su Wanqing with hot water.
Sitting at the table, he ate the sugared cracklings, feeling as though everything was unreal.
Then, following her memory of the right amount of water, she steamed a pot of rice, killed a fish, cut it into pieces, and made braised black fish. She also stir-fried tomatoes with eggs and lightly sautéed cucumbers.
Lunch was ready.
“Time to eat!” Su Wanqing called from the kitchen. Lu An’an quickly ran in to carry the dishes. His eyes sparkled when he saw the food his mother had prepared.
This was the best meal the children had eaten in years.
It was also the first time in three years that Lu Changfeng had eaten a warm, home-cooked meal.
He didn’t know why Su Wanqing had suddenly become like a different person, but he decided to observe for a few more days before drawing conclusions.
“I have a three-day leave this time, so I can stay home for a few days.” Not long ago, he had just completed a major project, and his supervisor had specifically granted him leave to come home and handle the divorce.
Everyone around him who knew about his family situation advised him to get a divorce.
Su Wanqing said, “That’s perfect. If you have time, you can send An An to preschool. Pingping and Tiantian can go to daycare.”
Lu Tiantian burst into tears in fright. “Mom, are you abandoning us?”
Su Wanqing immediately shook her head. “No, no, I just think you’re old enough to go to school. If you don’t want to go, that’s fine. I’ll take care of you at home.”
But she really wanted them to go to school. She had no intention of becoming a housewife; she wanted to find a job outside. That way, if Lu Changfeng divorced her, she would have a fallback plan.
Lu Changfeng said, “Your mother is right. You’re old enough to go to school.”
The Research Institute provided daycare and preschool for family members, both free of charge.
They only needed to pay a small meal fee at noon—six yuan per person per month. Previously, Lu Changfeng had wanted to send them, but the original host had stubbornly refused, causing a scene and smashing things at home.
Lu Changfeng had stormed off in anger.
Su Wanqing recalled a bit of this: the original host had hated the three children and didn’t want them to have a good life.
As for why she hated them, she couldn’t remember for now.
But from now on, she would treat these three children well. Painless childbirth—what a wonderful thing.
However, in the original book, Lu Changfeng didn’t value them much; he only cared about the children he had with the female lead.
Most of the Lu Family’s resources went to the female lead’s children, and the three of them didn’t fare well as they grew up.
With a stepmother comes a stepfather!
After the meal, Su Wanqing began tidying up the house again. She moved everything out and wiped the walls and furniture with a cloth.
Lu Changfeng offered to help, but she refused.
“You should take the kids to the park during your time off.”
“Okay!”
The children cheered in unison. In the past, when their father was on leave, he would always clean the house and never had time to take them out to play. As for the original host, she either ate or lay around, never lifting a finger to help.
Now, Dad finally had time.
When Lu Changfeng returned with the children, the house had been completely transformed. Though still simple, it was at least clean and tidy, with no trace of the previous musty smell.
He saw Su Wanqing drenched in sweat from exhaustion, but her eyes were bright.
Su Wanqing handed them the walnut cookies. “One piece each. After you finish, we’ll have wontons for dinner.”
Hearing this, both Lu Changfeng and the children’s eyes lit up.
Su Wanqing’s cooking skills were average. The wonton wrappers she rolled weren’t particularly thin, but the filling was well-seasoned, and the broth, made from pork bones, was fragrant and savory.
The children almost bit their tongues while eating. “It’s so delicious!”
Lu Changfeng didn’t say anything, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Su Wanqing was plotting something.
Sure enough, right after dinner, Su Wanqing’s family arrived.
Her father, Su Daqiang, her younger brother, Su Jianjun, and Chen Cai’e came together.
Seeing Lu Changfeng at home, they were slightly taken aback. Usually, when Lu Changfeng was on leave, he never stayed overnight at home.
Why hadn’t he left yet at this hour?
Lu Tiantian ate slowly, and there were still a few wontons left in her bowl. Chen Cai’e glared at Su Wanqing as if she wanted to devour her. How dare this little girl eat wontons?
Lu Changfeng sneered inwardly, thinking, “So they do have an ulterior motive.”
Before Lu Changfeng could speak, Su Wanqing said coldly, “What are you here for? There’s no food for you in my house.”
Lu An’an chimed in, “That’s right, we’ve already finished dinner.” He despised these leeches from his maternal grandmother’s family.
Su Daqiang rubbed his hands together. “Changfeng, Jianjun is getting married soon. The bride’s family is asking for the ‘Three Rotations and One Sound.’ We’re a bit short on funds. Do you think you could lend us five hundred?”
Su Wanqing sneered. They had asked for seventy in the daytime, and now it was five hundred in the evening. This family’s greed knew no bounds.
“No. Since I married Lu Changfeng, I’ve been giving you fifty every month. Over five years, that’s more than three thousand. You could buy anything with that, not to mention the bride price he gave back then.”
Lu Changfeng never expected her to bluntly reveal the foolish things he had done in the past. Su Daqiang, seeing Su Wanqing so assertive for the first time, said viciously, “You wretched girl, whether you like it or not, you have to pay for your brother’s wedding.”
Su Wanqing couldn’t stand this. She stood up immediately. “Why should I? He’s my brother, not my son. Give me back all the money I’ve given you over the years, or I’ll make a scene outside on Su Jianjun’s wedding day and ruin it for him.”
Hearing this, Su Daqiang raised his hand to hit her. Lu Changfeng slammed the table. “I advise you not to go too far. This is my house. If you dare lay a hand on her, I’ll make sure you regret it.”
Lu Changfeng was a senior engineer at the research institute and a university graduate, equivalent to a state cadre. Su Daqiang couldn’t afford to offend him.
Chen Cai’e looked as if she had seen a ghost. In the past, this girl would never dare to defy her parents like this. It must be Lu Changfeng who had emboldened her.
She forced a smile and said, “Changfeng, you should at least contribute something for your brother-in-law’s wedding.”
Lu Changfeng snorted coldly, “Have you ever treated me as a son-in-law? All these years, aside from asking me for money, what decent thing have you ever done?”
Su Jianjun was displeased: “Brother-in-law, back then you raped my sister, and we didn’t even report it to the police. You can’t cross the river and tear down the bridge.”
Hearing this, Su Wanqing couldn’t hold back any longer and slapped Su Jianjun hard across the face.
Su Jianjun’s ears rang from the blow: “Su Wanqing, have you gone mad?”
This incident was recorded in the book. Back then, Lu Changfeng had just entered university and went to the machinery factory to assist in repairing machines.
He was invited home for a meal by workshop worker Su Daqiang, who drugged both him and the original host.
The original host spent a passionate night with Lu Changfeng and became pregnant with Lu An’an. At that time, she was beautiful and attractive, so Su Daqiang schemed to marry her off to Lu Changfeng.
Making Lu Changfeng the Su Family’s long-term blood bag.
Lu Changfeng suffered in silence, and after the marriage, he never treated the original host well. The original host’s second child came about more than a year into the marriage when Lu Changfeng wanted a divorce, and Chen Cai’e encouraged drugging him again.
From then on, Lu Changfeng never spent the night at home again.
The original host developed postpartum depression and began to spiral out of control, eating frantically.
Su Wanqing said, “How dare you bring this up? If it weren’t for you drugging us, would I have ended up sleeping with Lu Changfeng?”
Lu Changfeng’s heart pounded like a drum. He hadn’t been without suspicions, but he lacked evidence. Whenever he asked Su Wanqing before, she had never been willing to speak.
Holding onto his last shred of hope, Lu Changfeng asked Su Wanqing, “Do you have evidence of them drugging us?”