After finishing their meal, Lu Mingyang washed the dishes and put them away. He checked the kitchen to make sure everything was alright before taking his younger siblings to the west room. He took off Lu Mingkai's shoes, carried him onto the kang (heated brick bed), and covered his little belly with a tattered thin blanket.
"Mingkai, be good. Stay home with your sister and don't come out unless necessary. Your second brother and I will gather some firewood and take it home. We'll talk about anything when we get back. If you need to pee, use the chamber pot. Mingfang, keep an eye on your little brother!"
"Okay, big brother, I promise I'll keep an eye on Mingkai."
Lu Mingyang and Lu Mingliang gave each other a few more instructions before quietly leaving. The two children walked towards the foot of the mountain under the bright sun. When they passed by Old Lu's house, they were suddenly called back.
"Mingyang, Mingliang, wait a minute!" Xie Jinghao called out softly to them. She looked them over a few times, then ran over to them and pulled out two cornbread buns from her bosom. She had taken them while the Lu family wasn't looking; she had rummaged through her own cupboard for a while but found nothing.
"You must be starving. Eat up. Your aunt only managed to get two. Have some to tide you over. Your aunt will try to get you some more tonight. There are cucumbers in our garden; your aunt will see if she can pick some for you later. They'll keep you full!"
Lu Mingyang knew that life wasn't easy for her in the Lu family. Xiaogang was still young, her uncle was still working outside, and she was pregnant. If they ate those two cornbread buns and it got discovered, her aunt would be scolded again.
"No need, Auntie, you can take it back. Oh dear. My mom made us white noodles and fried eggs for lunch. We ate our fill, really. She said she'd cook something delicious for us tonight too. Auntie, you just need to take care of Xiaogang, don't worry about us."
Xie Jinghao looked at Lu Mingyang in surprise. Shen Meng made noodles and fried eggs for the children? Why didn't she believe it?
"Really? You can't lie to me. Your mom is still injured. How can she get out of bed and cook for you?"
"Really, Auntie. My mom is much better today. When we got home, she made us white noodles and fried eggs. My brother and I each ate a big bowl. Auntie, my brother and I still need to go collect firewood. We're leaving now. You should go home quickly so no one sees us."
After Lu Mingliang finished speaking, he grabbed Lu Mingyang and ran off. He had just seen someone peeking around at the Lu family's house. He was worried that his aunt might see them giving them food and say something unpleasant.
Xie Jinghao watched the two children run away, her mouth agape as she was about to call for help when Zhou Jiaojiao came out of the yard.
"Did Third Sister-in-law get food for Mingyang and Mingliang? Why did they run away?"
Xie Jinghao pouted her belly, took out two steamed buns from her hand, and gestured to Zhou Jiaojiao.
“Of course, I was worried the children would go hungry, so I brought them two cornbread buns. Speaking of which, my Jiasheng works outside and earns money. When he's not home, our third branch of the family eats one less portion of food. I'm saving this portion for my eldest brother's children. Jiaojiao shouldn't have any objections, right? After all, my eldest brother and sister-in-law give three yuan a month to our parents for their old age!”
Zhou Jiaojiao's amused expression vanished, and she looked at Xie Jinghao gently, saying, “How could that be, Third Sister-in-law? I came out because I wanted Mingyang and the others to come home and have a meal. Mother was just saying that out of anger. How could we really not feed the children? Wouldn't my eldest brother be angry when he comes back? Sigh, it's already this late, why hasn't my sister-in-law come over for dinner yet? No, I'll take some over and see her!”
As Zhou Jiaojiao spoke, she started to walk towards the house. Xie Jinghao didn't stop her and slowly tidied up the cloth wrapping the cornbread buns.
"No need, Jiaojiao. Mingyang said that your sister-in-law cooked for them. She and you don't get along, so she'll probably be unhappy if you go. I'll go and take a look. If they haven't eaten, I'll come home and find you. You can make something hot for them. If they have, that'll be just what Mother wants, right?"
"I..."
"I'm going now. You go back. I'm afraid we won't need these cornbreads. You can take them back with you!"
Zhou Jiaojiao watched Xie Jinghao's back as she walked towards Shen Meng's house, gritting her teeth in anger. She didn't know what was wrong with her. Ever since Shen Meng woke up, nothing she did went smoothly.
Xie Jinghao hesitated a bit when she reached the courtyard gate, but she couldn't bear to leave the children behind. Pushing the door open, she could still faintly smell a pleasant aroma in the air, and she breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Mingyang and Mingliang hadn't lied; her sister-in-law had indeed cooked for the children.
Shen Meng hadn't slept soundly. She vaguely heard a noise and opened her eyes to hear someone knocking.
"Who is it?"
"Sister-in-law, are you awake? It's Jinghao, can we come in?"
Xie Jinghao hadn't come alone; Lu Mingfang and Lu Mingkai were with her. Hearing someone enter the courtyard, the two children assumed it was Lu Mingyang and Lu Mingliang returning, so they got off the kang (heated brick bed) and came out to see. Seeing it was Xie Jinghao, they quickly surrounded her.
Xie Jinghao thought that if Shen Meng really wanted to have a good life, she needed to get along well with the children, so she simply coaxed the two children to come with her.
"Come in, the door's unlocked." Shen Meng said, getting off the kang (heated brick bed). Seeing Xie Jinghao come in with two children, she raised an eyebrow.
"Is Sister-in-law feeling better? I didn't have time to see you yesterday, so I came to check on you since I had nothing to do. Mingfang told me that you made them egg noodles for lunch, and they were delicious; they each ate a big bowl!"
Shen Meng smiled, looking at the two timid children without saying anything, and poured Xie Jinghao a cup of brown sugar water.
"Oh dear, I'm perfectly fine, I don't need such good things. Sister-in-law, keep it for yourself to nourish your body!"
"Drink it, you're pregnant too, you need to nourish your body as well. I'm much better now. The children went to gather pig feed early this morning, and after waiting for a long time without anyone from the old courtyard calling us for dinner, I got up and made some myself. Thanks to the production team, we had some fine grains at home, so I made some noodles."
Xie Jinghao didn't drink the brown sugar water, she held it up and fed Lu Mingkai a sip. The little guy looked at his aunt, then at Shen Meng, and couldn't resist taking a few small sips, but didn't dare drink any more.
"Sigh, that's just how Mother is. Why don't you give in to her a little, sister-in-law, and she can bring the children home for dinner again." Xie Jinghao subtly probed.
Shen Meng's eyes flickered slightly, pretending not to notice.
"Mother probably doesn't want us to come over for meals. What's the use of giving in? She might make me give up the house again. Autumn is approaching, the weather is getting colder, and winter is coming. How are we going to survive in that drafty house? Fine, we won't go. Your older brother will send his allowance back soon; we won't go hungry."
Xie Jinghao seized the opportunity to say, "Living like this is so awkward. We're together but eating separately; it doesn't feel like a
proper separation. People will laugh at us." "Exactly! It's better to just separate!" Shen Meng added.