As she spoke, Zhou Yu adjusted Zhao Yunzheng’s position and made sure he wouldn’t topple over on his own before heading out to the kitchen.
Listening to her footsteps fade away, Zhao Yunzheng knew she had gone to make food because she felt sorry for him being hungry.
His emotions became complicated.
Without realizing it, his impression of Zhou Yu had begun to change.
If this woman were truly an enemy agent sent to infiltrate them, there was no reason for her to care so much about him or suffer hardship on his behalf…
The moment Zhou Yu entered the kitchen, Wang Hongmei emerged with a wary look.
She had been paying close attention to the kitchen all along.
The water had already been boiled, so why was the eldest son’s wife going into the kitchen again?
Surely she wasn’t sneaking food?
With that thought, Wang Hongmei hurried in after her.
To her shock, Zhou Yu seemed to know exactly where the eggs were stored. She pulled them out and cracked four eggs into a bowl in one go!
“Oh my goodness, what are you doing?! Who told you to use eggs? And four at once! What family could afford to eat like that? Are we supposed to survive or not?”
Wang Hongmei cried out in distress and angrily rushed forward to snatch the bowl away.
Looking up at her, Zhou Yu raised her voice.
“Mom, that’s exactly what I wanted to ask you! I just discovered that Brother Zhao hasn’t eaten anything! When you all had lunch, did you forget to prepare food for him, or did you deliberately not make any?”
Of course, Wang Hongmei and Zhao Changdong had simply been too lazy.
Now that Zhou Yu was taking care of their eldest son, why should they bother?
As for Zhao Ziming, Zhao Yunzheng had never really mattered to him.
But none of that could be admitted aloud.
“Who said I didn’t feed him? I already fed the eldest!”
Zhou Yu narrowed her eyes.
“Then how come his stomach feels empty when I touched it? It doesn’t feel like someone who’s eaten.”
“Because he digests quickly!” Wang Hongmei answered without hesitation.
Zhou Yu pressed further.
“Then he must have used the toilet too? Did you change his clothes afterward? Because it looks to me like he’s still wearing the same outfit he had on this morning.”
This time, Wang Hongmei was speechless.
Finally, she snapped,
“I said I fed him, so I fed him! He’s my son! Do you really think I’d let him starve?”
Unhurriedly, Zhou Yu replied,
“Then let’s say he digests quickly and is hungry again now. That’s why I’m making him egg noodles with flour paste. Brother Zhao needs good nutrition if he’s going to recover. You’re not reluctant to let him have a few eggs, are you, Mom?”
There was no way Wang Hongmei could admit that.
Instead, she came up with another excuse.
“Even if he needs nutritious food, you have to consider our circumstances. You know perfectly well what conditions the family is living under right now. We still have to hold a wedding banquet for your sister and Third Son at the end of the month. We need to save where we can.”
Outright refusing the eggs would sound unreasonable.
After struggling internally, Wang Hongmei finally said,
“How about this? Boil one egg for the eldest. We’ll save the other three and stir-fry them tonight.”
That way, her husband and youngest son could eat some too.
At least they wouldn’t go to waste.
Seeing that she’d pushed enough, Zhou Yu allowed Wang Hongmei to scoop three eggs back out of the bowl.
Then she casually asked the question she’d really wanted answered.
“Mom, I’ve been thinking. Brother Zhao can’t go on like this. Eggs alone aren’t enough nutrition. How about you and Dad give me two yuan, and I’ll go to the county supply store to buy some nutritional supplements for him?”
Wang Hongmei rejected the idea immediately.
“Where would your father and I get spare money like that? There’s no need. His comrades send him things anyway.”
“They send him nutritional supplements?”
Zhou Yu feigned surprise.
“Of course they do. Every month for the past two months. Red dates, peanuts, malted milk powder, and some medicine for the eldest.”
Wang Hongmei continued,
“He’s finished his medicine too. One of his comrades said he shouldn’t go more than a week without it. So the next package should probably arrive tomorrow.”
As she spoke, her mood visibly improved.
Those nutritional products were expensive.
Neither she nor Zhao Changdong would normally spend money on such things.
Having someone send them for free suited them perfectly.
Watching the pleased expression on Wang Hongmei’s face, Zhou Yu immediately understood.
The nutritional supplements from the previous two months had probably never made it into Zhao Yunzheng’s mouth.
If the medicine hadn’t been useless to the rest of the Zhao family, they probably would’ve kept that from him too.
A surge of anger rose in Zhou Yu.
She promptly snatched back the three eggs Wang Hongmei had removed.
“Mom, stop being stingy about a few eggs. Even outsiders know Brother Zhao needs proper nutrition. If word gets out that his own family can’t bear to spare four eggs for him, the entire village will laugh themselves silly.”
That argument left Wang Hongmei unable to respond.
Painfully watching, she saw Zhou Yu pour all four eggs into the pot, quickly scramble them, then add soup and flour paste.
When it was finished, Wang Hongmei’s heart ached at the sight.
“That’s far too much. The eldest won’t be able to finish it all. As it happens, I’m hungry…”
“It’s not just for Brother Zhao. It’s for me too.”
Zhou Yu immediately raised her voice.
“I’ve been taking care of Brother Zhao all day and still haven’t eaten lunch. You’re not planning to steal my food too, are you, Mom?”
Wang Hongmei felt as though Zhou Yu was shouting loudly enough for all the neighbors to hear.
Panicked, she hurriedly told her to lower her voice.
All she could do was watch helplessly as Zhou Yu emptied the pot and carried everything to Zhao Yunzheng’s room.
“Oh, and Mom—remember to finish the chores early. Otherwise Dad will say you’re being lazy when he gets back.”
Zhou Yu paused at the doorway to remind her.
Wang Hongmei immediately looked up.
“Me? Zhou Yu, I’m your mother-in-law! Since when does a mother-in-law do all the work herself?”
“But I’ve been exhausted since this morning.”
Zhou Yu looked troubled.
“Taking care of Brother Zhao is really hard. Didn’t you say yourself that all I needed to do was look after him?”
“You—”
“Thanks, Mom! Once Brother Zhao finishes eating, I’m going to rest!”
Before Wang Hongmei could continue, Zhou Yu slipped inside and shut the door.
The older woman stomped her feet several times in frustration.
After muttering a string of curses under her breath, she had no choice but to do the work herself.
Inside the room, Zhou Yu felt relieved after learning that Zhao Yunzheng’s comrades would be sending another package tomorrow.
She wasn’t hungry herself.
Almost all the eggs were picked out of the soup, crushed into small pieces, and carefully fed to Zhao Yunzheng.
Then she paused.
Maybe it was her imagination, but she felt his expression seemed strangely cold and gloomy.
“Huh?”
She stopped feeding him and reached out to touch his clean, handsome face.
“Why do you look unhappy…? That’s strange…”
At that moment, Zhao Yunzheng was indeed feeling miserable.
The conversation between Zhou Yu and Wang Hongmei in the kitchen had been loud enough for him to hear every word.
He never would have imagined that Wang Hongmei would lie about feeding him.
At first, he’d assumed his family had simply forgotten because they were busy.
Now he was forced to face another possibility—
They simply couldn’t be bothered.
That was why they weren’t even willing to spare a few eggs for him.
And after Zhou Yu had come inside, he’d faintly heard Wang Hongmei cursing outside as well.
It was difficult for him to accept.
The realization hit him hard.
Yet before he could dwell on it for long, Zhou Yu started touching his face again, forcing him to focus elsewhere.
Zhao Yunzheng: “…”
Could this woman have a little restraint?
Why was she always touching him?
Enough already.
And stop moving your hand lower!
Embarrassed, annoyed, and helpless all at once, Zhao Yunzheng listened as Zhou Yu sighed.
“I know now. Even though you’re unconscious, you can probably sense that your family dislikes and resents you. That’s why you’re sad, right? Don’t be sad. Just pretend they aren’t your family anymore.”
Blowing gently on a spoonful of soup, she continued talking to herself.
“Eat more. Finish all these eggs and make them furious. They don’t want us to do well, so we’re going to live well anyway.”
Something inside Zhao Yunzheng unexpectedly softened.
Childish.
But despite being shameless and handsy…
This woman really did care about him.