Huo Yunting knew that Grandma Su was also acting for the good of their family.
With Huo Changhe's temperament, he was afraid that his grandmother would forcibly snatch the money away if he wasn't careful.
It was better to let his younger brother manage the money.
Huo Yunting's younger brother was the same age as Su Xiaoruan and was also about to enter junior high school this year.
However, Huo Yunlei's grades were not as good as Su Xiaoruan's, and he often got into fights.
Huo Yunting didn't think his younger brother was bad; he knew that most of the reasons Huo Yunlei fought were because he was bullied at home, so he could only find an opportunity to severely beat those cousins once outside to vent his anger.
Although that was true, Huo Yunting still didn't fully support that approach.
Seeing Su Xiaoruan now, he wondered how this young girl, who was also twelve years old, could be so calm and sensible.
The next day, Su Xiangdong specifically ran to the field to tell Huo Changhe that their family was hosting a meal.
Moreover, as Su Xiangdong walked back, he happened to run into Huo Yunting's Eldest Aunt, and deliberately said loudly, "Eldest Aunt, please tell Grandma Huo when you go back this afternoon; we are inviting Yunting for a meal today to thank him for saving my Younger Sister's life."
Li Xiufen forced a smile and said, "Oh, our Yunting saved your Ruan Bao's life, and that's only worth one meal?"
Su Xiangdong was young and didn't have a forbearing temperament, so he immediately retorted directly.
"The way you put it, my Younger Sister's life is priceless. However, to thank Yunting, we plan to invite Second Uncle Huo to eat with us. As for Yunlei and Xiao Yan'er, they are just children, so we are including them, especially since your family usually doesn't cook for these two children."
Li Xiufen's expression immediately soured.
"Su Xiangdong, what kind of way is that to speak?"
"That's exactly how I'm speaking! Everyone in the village knows how biased your old Huo Family is, right? And during the New Year last year, your whole family ate hot dumplings while the men from the Second Branch had to gnaw on cold cornbread steamed buns. Did you really think no one knew? Hmph, acting all benevolent now!"
The surrounding villagers who were working naturally chimed in, which greatly embarrassed Li Xiufen.
Su Xiangdong couldn't be bothered to waste any more words with Li Xiufen. Thinking about the braised pork belly Grandma personally made for lunch today, he had to work harder to get back sooner.
Zhao Yingzi didn't go to work in the morning; she was helping cook at home.
As for Su Xiaoruan, after feeding the chickens and ducks, she went back up the mountain to gather pig feed.
She thought about the shepherd's purse she dug up yesterday; the shepherd's purse dumplings she ate last night were so fragrant, she wondered if she could dig up some more today.
When it was noon, Su Jianye specifically came to walk with Huo Changhe. As for Huo Yunting, he went to the school to pick up his younger brother and sister and walked toward the Su Family's house together.
"Brother, are the Su Family really inviting our family for a meal?"
"Yes."
Huo Yunting's gaze was somewhat distant; he was clearly distracted.
Huo Xiaoyan carried her schoolbag, her thin body looking like a piece of paper, as if a gust of wind could blow her over.
Looking at his two frail younger siblings, Huo Yunting felt immense heartache.
The food he got in the Military wasn't that great, but at least he could eat his fill.
Moreover, living in the dormitory, they slept under cotton quilts in the winter, so it wasn't cold, and they were issued new clothes.
But seeing these two, his heart truly ached.
He had been a soldier for two years. Initially, because of his young age, he didn't receive an allowance, but this year he planned to try out for that unit's selection; once he got in, his future allowance and various welfare benefits would see a qualitative leap.
However, he didn't plan to let his family know.
Given the parasitic nature of his grandmother and the Eldest Branch family, he truly didn't dare let them find out.
The three brothers walked along the way and encountered quite a few acquaintances heading home after finishing work.
"Wow, it smells so good!"
They were still dozens of meters away from the Su Family's house when Huo Yunlei smelled the aroma of meat.
Because there were many people, the Su Family prepared two tables.
One large Eight Immortals table and one low square table.
The adults all sat at the Eight Immortals table, while the children moved small stools to sit by the small square table.
Grandma Su made one dish of braised pork belly, one dish of pickled vegetables stir-fried with eggs, one dish of wood ear mushrooms stir-fried with mushrooms, and one dish of stir-fried fatty intestines.
Su Xiaoruan also tried her hand, using the pig blood soaked that morning, adding some wood ear mushrooms and wild vegetables to make a dish of Mao Xue Wang, and also prepared one steamed fish.
The dishes on both tables were the same.
When Su Guoan saw such a lavish lunch, he felt it was a bit extravagant.
After all, in this era, just being able to eat one's fill was good enough; why prepare so many meat dishes?
Even if a family held a banquet for a happy event, they wouldn't dare waste so much.
"Auntie, isn't this a bit too much?"
Especially that dish called Wang, which had a layer of oil floating on top, along with many chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns; it looked like it used a lot of oil and ingredients.
"It's not too much. For Huo Yunting saving our Ruan Bao, no matter how many dishes are made, it is deserved."
Grandma Su originally didn't remember Huo Yunting's name; after all, everyone in the village called him Unlucky Egg, or Huo Meixing.
It wasn't until this morning when she asked Su Xiangdong that she learned Huo Yunting's real name.
Su Guoan thought that the Su Family already doted on this girl, so it was reasonable for them to be more grand toward her savior.
Since they had to go to work in the afternoon, Grandma Su only prepared half a bowl of wine for the few men, just in case they drank too much and caused trouble.
The staple food was steamed sorghum rice and mixed flour steamed buns.
Su Xiaoruan didn't like steamed buns, so she directly served herself a bowl of sorghum rice.
At first, the Huo Family members were a bit reserved, but once they tasted the dishes, they couldn't stop.
Huo Yunting ate two bowls of sorghum rice and two mixed flour steamed buns before finally putting down his chopsticks with satisfaction.
Even Huo Xiao Yan'er ate one steamed bun and drank a bowl of millet porridge.
"Auntie, your cooking skills are truly superb! It's been quite a few years since I tasted your cooking."
Up until now, Grandma Su rarely cooked herself. It was only recently that Su Xiaoruan often brought out fish or meat, and Grandma Su, not wanting to waste these good things, personally cooked.
The meal left everyone completely satisfied.
Even Brigade Leader Su Guoan kept patting his stomach; he was truly stuffed.
All the dishes were eaten clean, but quite a bit of rice was left.
Grandma Su had Zhao Yingzi give Su Guoan two large pieces of blood tofu.
"Have your wife cook it for you tonight. Just blanch it in water first, then you can put it directly into this soup and add a little salt."
Grandma Su had Su Guoan take away a basin of the Mao Xue Wang soup, which still had a layer of oil floating on top.
When Huo Changhe's family returned home that evening, they were met with sarcasm from the Eldest Branch members.
"Oh, you still know how to come back? I thought you were going to live at the Old Su Family's place permanently!"