19
Discovering the Amazing Appetite of the Child’s Father
Watching the retreating figures of Li Xiuran and Gu Wenshu, the old woman pointed angrily at their backs: “I didn’t do it on purpose, I didn’t know about these things. How could they speak to me like that?”
“Young people these days have no manners at all, using such sharp and harsh words against an old woman like me.”
The middle-aged woman standing nearby sighed: “Mother, didn’t you say you were going home to get the ration ticket to buy a thermos bottle for Yuanyuan to take to the countryside? If we don’t hurry back, they’ll have sold out all the thermos bottles.”
Clearly, it was the mother-in-law who had meddled in others’ affairs, yet she was now blaming them for being impolite. The middle-aged woman thought that the young couple had been quite polite by not pursuing the matter further.
Seeing her mother-in-law like this reminded her of her own troublesome stepdaughter at home, who had been making a fuss about being sent to the countryside, disturbing the entire household.
She was the only suitable person in the family to be sent to the countryside. If she didn’t go, would her twelve-year-old son have to go instead?
If her son were of age, she would have packed him off without a second thought, but he was only twelve and would just start junior high in September. Yet Lu Yuanyuan had been clamoring for her younger brother to go instead.
In the end, the stepdaughter agreed to go, but besides daily necessities, she demanded three hundred yuan to take with her. The stepmother had even arranged for the girl’s father to send money monthly to prevent her from spending all three hundred yuan at once, but the girl still worried that her stepmother would embezzle her belongings.
Today, when they came out to buy a thermos bottle, the mother-in-law had insisted on coming along, afraid that the stepmother would buy a cheap one for her granddaughter.
Not only did she tag along, but she also lost the ration ticket she had taken from the stepmother, and now they had to go back for another one.
The old woman snorted coldly: “We can come back tomorrow to buy the thermos bottle. Right now, I just can’t swallow this insult—it’s too humiliating.”
Upon hearing this, Jun Qing said indifferently: “Then go and argue with them. It would be best if you took the matter to the police station. I have work to attend to and won’t accompany you in this fuss.”
After saying this, she left the department store directly.
As for the thermos bottle and the things her stepdaughter needed for the countryside, they could prepare them themselves. What did it have to do with her, the stepmother?
Seeing that her daughter-in-law had run off, the old woman was so angry she wanted to curse, but with so many people coming and going, she couldn’t afford to lose face. She could only leave in a huff, secretly holding a grudge against the two.
Li Xiuran bought half a kilogram of White Rabbit Creamy Candy, three cans of Yellow Peach Canned Fruit, and a thermos bottle for Gu Wenshu: “We only have one thermos bottle at home, which isn’t quite enough when winter comes.”
This remark made others selecting thermos bottles nearby envious and jealous. Their families had to scrimp and save to buy just one thermos bottle, while this family could afford to buy a second one because one wasn’t enough.
Gu Wenshu smiled faintly: “Alright.”
Actually, she had some retro-style thermos bottles in her storage, but she hadn’t found the right opportunity to bring them out.
After buying these items, the family of four went to buy clothes, shoes, and socks. By the time they left the department store, Li Xiuran was carrying quite a few bags.
Fortunately, the state-owned restaurant was not far from the department store, but after seven o’clock, they were no longer taking orders. The restaurant only had plain noodles and some steamed buns left.
None of the family members were picky eaters, and the plain noodles and steamed buns were served quickly.
Gu Wenshu stared at the large sea bowl before her, thinking that things in this era were truly generous in portion. The steamed buns were huge too. Given her appetite, finishing half a bowl of noodles would already be quite an achievement, so she didn’t touch the steamed bun in front of her.
The children were hungry. Once the food was served, they blew on it to cool it down and started eating.
Only Gu Wenshu, no matter how hungry she was, ate slowly and gracefully. She watched as the man across from her polished off a large steamed bun, then started on the noodles, drank the soup, and continued with another bun.
He ate quickly, yet without any sense of rush or messiness. Even so, his astonishing appetite left her utterly dumbfounded.
She couldn’t help but ask, “When you were at home, did you not eat your fill?”
Li Xiuran looked up at her upon hearing this, his expression seeming to say, “You’ve only just noticed?” He replied slowly, “Indeed, I didn’t eat my fill. In the future, you can make a bit more food. It won’t go to waste.”
She never cooked much, so he could only eat whatever was available. By now, he was already very hungry.
Seeing her stunned expression, he said, “Once the rice and grains at home are used up, I’ll buy more. Don’t worry, I won’t let the family run out of food.”
Gu Wenshu shook her head. “It’s not that I’m worried about running out of food. I’m just shocked by your appetite. Even when you came home before, you never ate your fill, did you?”
She wasn’t some pampered young lady born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Even if the family’s food ran out and this man couldn’t buy more, she had her ways. Besides, with her storage space, she had the confidence to manage.
She was genuinely taken aback by the man’s appetite. According to the original host’s memories, when he ate at home, he consumed about the same amount as the Li Brothers.
Now it seemed that had all been an illusion.
Li Xiuran sneered, “If I ate a little more, they’d probably feel the pinch. Looking back, I was too honest before, reluctant to eat more, only for it all to end up in the mouths of the eldest and the others.”
He hadn’t dared to eat his fill at home, all to save some food for his wife and children. Little did he know that in the end, his wife and children still went hungry.
Gu Wenshu felt that the man before her was somewhat different from the one in her memories. The previous Li Xiuran had been quite filial to his family, especially to Old Mr. Li, his father.
But now, he seemed to hold grievances against both his father and mother, and he had agreed to the family division without hesitation.
“Hurry up and eat. Once you’re full, we’ll go back to the guesthouse to bathe and rest. We need to get to the hospital early tomorrow,” Li Xiuran reminded her when he noticed her spacing out. “You didn’t eat much at noon either. You should eat more now.”
Gu Wenshu nodded.
Though it was just a simple bowl of vegetarian noodles, the ingredients were all natural and free of additives, making it exceptionally fragrant. At first, she thought the bowl was too much, but before she knew it, she had finished it all.
She was just too full.
As for the two children, no matter what their parents said, they were focused solely on eating the noodles in their bowls.
The feeling of having a full stomach was truly wonderful. As for their parents, they were right there—even if the children didn’t keep an eye on them, they wouldn’t run away.
But if they didn’t eat the food now, it might be gone later.
None of them wanted to go hungry.
Because she had overeaten, Gu Wenshu still felt uncomfortable even after walking all the way back to the guesthouse. She couldn’t help but glance at Li Xiuran and complain, “I told you I couldn’t finish it and offered to give you half, but you insisted I eat it all.”
Now, she reckoned she wouldn’t be able to sleep well tonight.
Li Xiuran gave a faint smile: “It’s alright, it’s still early. If you’re feeling uncomfortable, you can take the children out for another walk later.”
He had been worried she might go hungry after eating so little, never expecting she’d actually overeat from just one bowl of noodles.
Seeing how uncomfortable she looked, he felt somewhat guilty.
Gu Wenshu rolled her eyes in annoyance: “It’s already evening, don’t take the children out now.”
“Go fetch some hot water, I’ll help the children bathe.”
By the time Gu Wenshu and the two children finished bathing, an hour had passed. Luo County was now enveloped in night, and looking out the window, everything appeared quiet and still.
The children, having traveled by car and visited the department store earlier, were exhausted. They had already fallen asleep after their father urged them to bed.
When Li Xiuran emerged from the bathroom, he found Gu Wenshu staring blankly out the window. After a moment of silence, he walked over to her.
Standing side by side, the 1.65-meter-tall Gu Wenshu appeared quite petite next to him.
He said quietly, “I need to go out for a while. Please lock the door and rest with the children.”