Chapter 90: A Bowl of Sauce's Storm

  Three watches + four watches, seeking pink.

  "What's wrong again? It had just quieted down for two days." Zhang said, stopping her chopping of scallions and muttering softly.

  Recently, there have been several things happening at home one after another, today is a rare quiet day.

  "I saw Nai's face didn't look good just now." Lian Man'er looked worriedly in the direction of the upstairs.

  "Also, I find it strange," Zhang said to Lian Shouxin in a low voice, "Third Sister is such an honest person, whatever she does, she doesn't say anything bad. All these years, why does Mother always look at Third Sister with disapproval."

  Lian Shouxin buried her head in the radish leaves, not saying a word. Lian Man'er thought to herself that perhaps it was because Zhao Shi was too honest that Zhou Shi would always bully her.

  At this time, the curses from Zhou's wife upstairs grew louder and were interspersed with Zhao's sobbing.

  Zhang couldn't bear it anymore, put down the kitchen knife and wiped his wet hands on his apron.

  "I'll go take a look," said Zhang, and then headed upstairs.

  "Mother, I'll go with you." Lian Man'er immediately put down the scallions in her hand and followed Zhang Shi into the upper room. She came for two reasons: one was to worry about Zhang Shi being taken advantage of, and the other was that since Lian Ye'er talked to her that day, she had become more concerned about Zhao Shi and Lian Ye'er's affairs than before.

  Lian Man'er walked into the upper house and subconsciously glanced at the west room. The door of the west room was closed, and it was quiet inside, as if there was no one in. However, Lian Man'er knew that Gu Shi, Lian Hua'er, Jiang Shi, and Niu Niu were all inside. Having lost Lian Duo'er, Gu Shi's heartache didn't need to be said; she had been listless for the past two days. Lian Hua'er also became very quiet, almost never seen coming out of her room, her leg injury becoming a taboo topic in the Lian household.

  If only I had known today, why bother with the past. Lian Man'er thought of such a sentence. However, her mind quickly shifted away from this. Zhang Shi had already approached the east house. Lian Man'er hurriedly followed up.

  Lao Lao had gone out visiting, and in the east room, Madame Zhou was sitting on the edge of the kang, scolding Zhao and Lian Ye with her finger pointed at their noses.

  "...A good bowl of sauce, put there to attract flies, you're a family-ruining old woman..."

  Zhao's eyes were red and puffy. She didn't dare to speak, she just kept wiping away her tears with the hem of her clothes. Lian Ye pursed his lips, staring with wide eyes, his small body trembling with anger.

  "Girl, what's going on here? Can't you just talk things out nicely? Look at Third Aunt crying and Ye scared to death." Zhang Shi didn't change her usual self, she was never one to hold back when sticking up for others.

  Zhou stopped insulting Zhao and stared at Zhang with a pair of knife-like eyes.

  "Who's there?"

  If things went as usual, the gunfire from the Zhao family would immediately shift to the Zhang family. But today, something was different, Lian Ye'er, who had been standing there silently, suddenly spoke up.

  "Fourth Aunt, grandma saw a bowl of sauce that was fried this morning, placed outside the cupboard, and attracted flies. Grandma said it was my mother who put it there. But my mother clearly put the bowl of sauce inside the cupboard." Lian Ye'er said.

  But it's just a trivial matter, is it worth scolding like this? Even Lianman doesn't think so.

  "You said that sauce bowl grew legs on its own. You say, is it intentional?". Zhou Shi continued to scold Zhao Shi while pointing at her, "Don't try to deceive me with crocodile tears. Every day, right in front of my eyes. Are you getting too big for your britches, wanting to turn the tables and not putting me in your eyes anymore? Eating my food, drinking my drinks, I'm supporting you all for nothing. When I ask you to do chores, you're always complaining about waist and leg pain. As soon as someone else has some work, you rush over eagerly. If you want to be good, don't sell my things. One or two of you, honest faces but poisonous hearts, don't think that just because I'm old, my eyes are blind and can't see."

  It turned out that the bowl of sauce was just an excuse, a lead-in. What Zhou Shi wanted to make a fuss about was this: Lian Shouli and Zhao Shi gave those leeks to Lian Man'er and her sisters, and Zhao Shi and Lian Ye'er even helped Zhang Shi with her work.

  "Mother, that leek..." Zhang Shi was about to continue, but the leek was something Zhou Shi didn't want and would be wasted if thrown away. Not to mention their relationship, even if it were a stranger who wanted those leeks, I believe no one would refuse.

  Lian Man'er pulled Zhang Shi's sleeve, and Zhang Shi said this, which was exactly what Zhou Shi wanted. She couldn't be led by the nose by Zhou Shi. Wasn't it just because of a bowl of sauce? Then let's only talk about this bowl of sauce.

  "Yè ér, nà yī wǎn jiàng dào de shì zěn me huí shì, zěn me rě nǎi shēng zhè me dà de qì." Lián Màn ér jiù wèn Lián Yè ér.

  Perhaps it was because Zhang and Lian Man'er were both there that gave Lian Ye'er more courage.

  "Milk, you forgot yourself. The sauce bowl was the one you took out of the cabinet earlier and left outside, not my mother. I saw it from the doorway." Lian Ye'er clenched her fists and loudly spoke out the truth.

  "What did you say?" Zhou immediately got angry, sat on the edge of the bed with her buttocks, one foot stepped on the ground, and her fingers almost poked at Lian Ye's face. "You little girl, getting worse and worse, now you even learn to lie, what you guys do, shift the blame to me, this is lawless."

  "I didn't lie." Lian Ye'er said stubbornly.

  "Yè ér, bié shuō le." Xià de zhí duì lián yè ér shǐ yǎn sè, bù ràng tā shuō.

  Translation:

  "Leaf, don't say anything more." Xia was so scared that she glared at Leaf, signaling her not to speak.

  Lian Ye'er had been holding back a bellyful of words and rarely had the opportunity or courage to speak out, but now no one could stop her.

  “…My mother gets up early and works late, doing things she shouldn't be doing. She doesn't say a word, just goes to do it... At mealtime, my mother doesn't even dare to pick up food. If she picks up one more piece of food with her chopsticks, you glare at her, and afterwards scold us for being greedy and shameless. All these years, my mother hasn't had a full meal, and has fallen ill...” Lian Ye'er said, tears streaming down her face as she spoke, making it hard for others to bear the sight.

  "Leaf." Zhao also followed in tears, and went to pull Lian Ye several times, not letting her continue speaking, but was dodged by Lian Ye each time.

  "Mother, must we suffer for a lifetime? If I don't speak out, I'll suffocate to death." Lian Ye'er cried.

  What Lian Ye said was not a single false word, and Zhou's face turned red and white, it is unknown whether she was ashamed or angry.

  "Daughter, what's going on?" Branches Lian Shouli came back from working outside and heard the voices in the house, immediately walked in to ask.

  Zhou saw Lian Shouli and immediately clapped his hands together.

  "Old Three, you're back just in time. Look at your good wife and the good daughter you've raised. They're going to eat me up!" Zhou Shi said, "You're back. Are you also going to help them eat me up?"

  "Mother, this is..." Lian Shouli was even more honest than Lian Shouxin and was inarticulate. Especially in front of Zhou Shi, Lian Man'er had hardly ever seen him say a word out of turn.

  "Dad, it was Nai who put the sauce bowl outside the cabinet, but she said it was my mom who did it and scolded her." Lian Ye'er said, wiping away tears.

  Zhou's expression changed immediately.

  "You little scoundrel, how dare you frame me! I don't know if I put it or not." Zhou Shi scolded, seeing Zhao Shi making eye contact with Lian Ye'er, signaling her not to speak. But in her eyes, she suspected that Zhao Shi was pretending to be virtuous on the surface while secretly instructing the child to deal with her.

  She quarreled with a little girl and made a scene, and when it got out, others only laughed at her.

  Zhou quickly understood this principle and immediately turned the muzzle back at Zhao.

  "Heavens, are you blind? I've lived all these years, raising my son with great difficulty, and as soon as he gets married, he changes. Every one of them who makes me worry wishes I'd die early so they can have peace..."

  Lian Man'er was already speechless, and Zhang Shi was about to speak. Lian Man'er quickly pulled her back. Zhou Shi was not a reasonable person at all, and as soon as Zhang Shi opened her mouth, she would not only fail to solve the problem but also bring trouble upon herself. She shouldn't have let Zhang Shi come over in the first place.

  "Mother, I...I..." Lian Shouli hastily rubbed his hands together and said to Zhao Shi, "What's going on after all? You give Mother an explanation."

  "Mother, I was wrong." Zhao immediately said, "Mother, I'll throw away that bowl of sauce and refry another one right now."

  "What's with you, thinking you're some rich family, throwing away a bowl of sauce just like that?" Seeing Lian Shouli and Zhao Shi like this, Zhou Shi became even more indignant.

  "Daughter, this bowl of sauce is all I have to show for it... these years, my efforts, are not even worth this bowl of sauce."

  "Yes, mother, San Shu has had no merits but only hardships all these years. Mother, can't you just smile and let it go? Is this bowl of sauce worth it?" Zhang Shi couldn't help but chime in.

  Zhou glared at Zhang fiercely, originally because Zhao helped Zhang that she was angry. Now seeing Zhang helping Zhao, her heart became even more annoyed.

  "You've got the nerve to say that, you're just a useless hen who eats but doesn't lay eggs. You're lucky we're still willing to take care of you in our old household; if it were someone else's family, they would have kicked you out long ago."

  This is Zhou's killer mace against Zhao, because it was once proposed to divorce Zhao, but was stopped by Lian Laoyezi. Although Zhou didn't want to mention it again, he often brought it up in his daily conversations, mostly making Zhao feel embarrassed with implicit meanings. Today, Zhou was also furious and mentioned this again.

  A hen that doesn't lay eggs is Zhao's long-standing heart disease. She and Zhou automatically ignored the existence of Lian Ye, for them, having many daughters was a waste, only having sons counted as really having children.

  Zhao covered her face and ran out crying with her head down.

  "Third Sister-in-law." Zhang Shi feared that Zhao Shi might think of something and hurriedly chased after her, with Lian Muer and Lian Ye'er also following out.

  Lian Shouli stood there, feeling anxious and wanting to chase after him.

  Zhou coughed.

  Lian Shouli's feet seemed to be nailed to the ground and didn't move.

  "Mother, it's been all these years, no son, just no son, I've accepted it." Lian Shouli said honestly, this was him speaking up for Zhao Shi.

  Zhou snorted coldly.

  "I haven't even asked you that, and now you're getting reckless. I told you to throw away the leeks, where did you throw them..."

  ……

  In the courtyard, Zhang caught up with Zhao and helped him into the west wing room.

  "Third sister, all these years, you still don't know what kind of mouth she has. But whatever you do, don't take it to heart and don't think about it too much. You still have Ye'er, and her third uncle is also a considerate person." Zhangshi advised Zhaoshi.

  Mr. Zhang persuaded Mrs. Zhao, and Mrs. Zhao should be fine.

  "Yè ér, you did a good job today." Lian Man Er then walked with Lian Ye Er to the outer room to talk.

  "But sister Man Er, it's all because of me that mother scolds you." Lian Ye said.

  Lian Man'er thought Lian Ye'er said that it was because of Lian Ye'er's disobedience that the Zhou family shifted their anger to the Zhao family.

  "It can't be helped." At that time she rebelled against the Zhou family, and Zhang's family also suffered a setback, but they all got through it, and now things are not bad.

  Lian Ye'er lowered her head and thought for a moment, "I'll go find Nai."

  "Man Er, bring your third aunt a basin of water for washing her face." said Zhang Shi from the inner room.

  "Ah." Lian Man'er responded with a sound and went to fetch water for Zhao Shi. For the time being, she didn't notice that Lian Ye'er had left.

  Upstairs, Lian Shouli was being scolded by Zhou Shi and his face was bright red, when he saw Lian Ye'er walking in from outside with her fists clenched.

  Lian Ye'er walked directly in front of Zhou Shi.

  "Nai, why did you scold my mother as a hen that doesn't lay eggs? Am I not born to my mother?" Lian Ye'er asked Zhou Shi.

  Zhou was stunned.

  "That bowl of sauce was deliberately placed outside by you, because my mother helped your aunt with her work and you got angry and found fault to scold my mother." added Lian Ye.

  Mrs. Zhou was indeed that way, but being pointed out by a child made her lose face. Moreover, she saw another Lian Canner in Lian Ye's body, which was something she absolutely would not tolerate.

  "Heavens! You're blind, aren't you? Letting a little girl like her scold me right in front of my face! What have I done to deserve this?" Madam Zhou started clapping and wailing loudly.

  "Yè ér, gěi nǐ nǎi péi lǐ." Lián Shǒu Lǐ duì Lián Yè ér dà shēng dào.

  Translation:

  "Leaf, give your milk a gift." Lian Shouli said loudly to Lian Ye'er.

  Lian Ye'er's body shook as Lian Shouli yelled at her, tears streaming down her face, but she bit her lip and didn't make a sound. She was not wrong, she did not owe the Zhou family an apology.

  "Third brother, what have you accomplished with just your mouth?" Lian Xiu'er said beside him.

  "…this shameless girl is slapping my old face." Mrs. Zhou's body leaned back and fell onto the edge of the bed, "I have no more face to live with, Eldest Third Brother, just go ahead and kill me now."

  "Mother... mother..." Lian Shouli repeatedly called out "mother", but couldn't say anything else.

  "Lian Ye'er, I'll give you a kowtow as an apology, otherwise, I...I'll hit you!" Lian Shouli's face turned bright red with anger, the veins on his forehead bulging out, and he had no choice but to raise his palm at Lian Ye'er.

  The little girl stood up straight with her neck stretched out and just wouldn't speak.

  "I can't live like this anymore..." Zhou's crying voice rose again. This was a hint to Lian Shouzhong to hurry up and take action.

  If he didn't hit Lian Ye, Zhou Shi would not be satisfied and would not stop making trouble. Lian Shouli steeled himself and was about to slap Lian Ye.

  …………

  Lian Wan'er was in the western wing of the house, serving Zhao Shi with a basin of water for washing her face. She turned around and found that Lian Ye'er was nowhere to be seen.

  "Sister, have you seen Ye'er?" asked Lian Man'er as she walked out of the house and asked Lian Zhi'er.

  "Go upstairs," said Lianzhi.

  Such a commotion is a common occurrence in the Lian family, so Lian Zhier and the others continued to make scallion pancakes without coming forward.

  Lian Wan'er rushed to find Lian Ye'er, lifted the door curtain, and saw Lian Shouli wanting to hit Lian Ye'er. Although Lian Ye'er was afraid, she stubbornly didn't dodge.

  Can't let Lian Shouli hit Lian Ye'er, can't let Zhou Shi's heart get its way.

  "Something's wrong, Third Aunt has hanged herself."

  Two chapters combined into one, continue to ask for pink. The second-to-last day of the month, weak color urgently needs pink support, with such a vote count, weak color is easily squeezed out of the top three. Weak color updated 9000 words today, asking for pink encouragement. By the way, there are not many children who add more and ask for powder, need everyone to take care of it.

  The next chapter is about Lian Man Er's fierce counterattack, everyone's enthusiasm for Fen Hong is great, and Weak Yan will continue to update.