Chapter Forty-Four: Contradiction

  It has to be said that the appeal of white bing pancakes is very strong, and as soon as Lao Ye returned home from outside, he saw several sons and grandsons who had already cut down a large piece of millet.

  This afternoon after work, everyone went back with a smile on their face, especially the three brothers from the second house, Sanlang, Silang and Liu Lang, who almost ran all the way home.

  Mr. He felt somewhat uneasy when he saw it.

  "He's from a big family with plenty of rice and noodles, chicken, duck, fish, and meat. We kids can't even have a good meal once a year. They're all his grandfather and grandmother's grandchildren." Mrs. He muttered to Lian Shouyi.

  "Just wait until his uncle becomes an official and everything will be fine. He can make up for all the things he didn't get to eat before," said Lian Shouyi.

  Yes, if it weren't for this goal, she wouldn't have endured all these years. He thought so and looked at Lian Shouyi again.

  "Don't think I don't know, every time you go to town with your brother, you haven't eaten less. Last time you went to pay the debt, didn't you guys even go drinking at a wine house?"

  "Don't talk nonsense, let others hear." Lian Shouyi turned his head to look at the two families walking behind him, Lian Shouli and Lian Shouxin. "Which time did I have a good meal without bringing some back for you?"

  "That's enough for anyone to eat." Mrs. He was still dissatisfied.

  "Alright, alright, good days are ahead, don't think about those useless things anymore." Lian Shouyi said as he spoke, throwing off He Shi and going to talk to Old Master Lian.

  He looked back at Lian Man'er and thought to herself that she had brought an empty water jug today, planning to make a trip back home. She had expected that the eldest branch of the family would be cooking at home and wanted to return in time to join them for a meal. However, Lao Ye did not let her go, but instead sent Lian Man'er and Wu Lang back.

  Lian Mian'er, this girl is really something, she actually dared to report to Lian Laoye and even got him to promise that everyone would get to eat white flour pancakes. This way, they can all have a meal together and satisfy their hunger.

  Just now, even the old master's appearance was unknown, and it is not known how to scold Zhou Shi, Lian Xiu'er and the people of the main house after returning home. Those people still hate the people of the fourth house more. With the temper of Zhou Shi and Lian Xiu'er, it is not known how to make up for that.

  He thought of this and couldn't help but smile.

  "Thanks to you, Man Er. Today we can all eat white flour pancakes." He Shi said with a smile to Lian Man Er.

  Lian Man'er glanced at He Shi and felt that her smile was somewhat insincere.

  "Second Aunt, what are you talking about? It was Grandfather who told us all to eat white flour pancakes." said Lian Man Er.

  Upstairs, outside the room. Lian Xiuer sat under the stove burning fire. A pair of eyes red like rotten peaches. Zhou Shi was making pancakes with a stern face, Jiang Shi was kneading dough beside her, and her face looked normal. It seemed like she had reapplied powder again. Lian Shouren, Lian Jizong, and Gu Shi's mother and daughter were all inside the west room and hadn't come out.

  Lao Lao Ye never directly scolded his daughters-in-law, let alone his granddaughters-in-law. But it seemed that Lian Xiu Er had been severely reprimanded.

  He's family rushed into the house first, laughing and shouting to Zhou's family, then said to Lian Xiuer: "Xiuer, you rest, I'll cook."

  Nor does he know if it's the stimulation of white noodles. Or in order to show off in front of Zhou Shi, He Shi actually had a time when he rushed to work.

  Lian Xiuer didn't take it kindly and instead glared at He Shi with a fierce gaze.

  "You're so kind? Are you afraid that I and mother will secretly eat the buns, or are you afraid of being shortchanged your share, do you want to supervise us?"

  He was caught off guard by Lian Xiuer's sudden move.

  "Xiū ér, I'm just afraid you'll get tired, this messy and black stuff will dirty your face again."

  "It's none of your business whether I'm dirty or not, don't pretend to be kind to me and stab me in the back. I know I'm just a daughter from a poor farming family, but I'll wait for you, Second Sister-in-law, to rise through the ranks and get rich, and then maybe you'll give me some food to eat."

  He was repeatedly squeezed by Lian Shou'er, and she wasn't a good-tempered person, how could she bear it.

  "You're still going on and on, isn't it just because you got caught sneaking food by your dad and now you're taking it out on me?" He Shi immediately retorted.

  This is exactly where Lian Xiuer's illness lies. Lian Xiuer was angry and casually threw a piece of burning firewood at He Shi's body. It was taken from the stove, with flames still burning on it. He Shi didn't dodge quickly enough, and the burning firewood landed on her feet.

  He quickly kicked away the hay and still got his foot scalded.

  "You're going to kill someone, you want to burn me to death!" He jumped up and was about to go grab Lianxiu, but turned around to see Zhou looking at her, so she had to hold back. "Mother, look, Xiu is being too heavy-handed."

  "Xiu'er, get the fire going well." Zhou Shi shouted, then turned to He Shi, "Second daughter-in-law, can't you just wait honestly for food? You lazy woman, always slacking off, never seen you eager to work. What evil are you up to now? Letting you cook, I'm afraid you'll burn a hole in my pot. Just do what you should and don't get in the way."

  He patted the horse's buttocks and got kicked in the face, feeling embarrassed. He came out of the upper house, stood at the door, and knocked on the threshold with his cloth shoes, which had two holes burned through the toes, and his heels were also scorched through his socks.

  He walked towards the east wing, muttering under his breath: "Dead girl, spoiled to the point of climbing onto the roof and uncovering tiles. Wait till you fall into my hands, I'll teach you a lesson."

  Zhang's family this time learned to be smart, seeing Zhou's face was not good, didn't go forward to help, the mothers all washed their hands and faces, estimated that the pancake was almost cooked, He's family from the second house of the east wing and several children all went upstairs, they also followed afterwards.

  Zhou had already baked several plates of white buns and was pushing away Liu Lang who was circling around her legs.

  "What are you looking at? You can't be left out. One catty of buns per person, let's make sure everyone has enough to eat." Madam Zhou scolded.

  He saw it next to him and pulled over Liu Liu, stretching out his palm to give Liu Liu two slaps.

  "You're a greedy ghost, a turtle egg who's never seen anything before. You think you can just waltz in here and start scratching? Why don't you take a look in the mirror? You're so lucky to have made it this far without getting beaten to death, now everyone's calm."

  Liu Lang opened his big mouth and began to wail loudly.

  Zhou's hands were shaking.

  Zhang's wife saw her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law about to quarrel, so she hurried over to interrupt them, wanting to take Liu Lang away.

  "Fourth Aunt, where are you going?" Zhou immediately called out to Zhang, "You've been hiding in a quiet place for half the day, making me serve you all. Go pick two cucumbers and make some soup."

  Zhang was implicated, but she didn't mind. She pushed Liu Lang to Si Lang and let Si Lang take Liu Lang into the house. Then she picked up a basket and went to the backyard to pick cucumbers. With Zhang's interruption, Zhou Shi and He Shi also walked away separately.

  Zhang's hands and feet were quick, and with the help of Lianzhi and Liangman, a bowl of yellow cucumber soup was soon served.

  Just as Lao Lao said, one catty of flour per person is enough to eat. Zhou Shi thought for a moment and still didn't dare to deduct any, so she solemnly gave each person four pieces of flatbread.

  "Let you all eat your fill," said Zhou Shi.

  If you ignore Zhou's tone, this is a good thing. Lian Man'er took it as a good thing and ate with relish, each mouthful of soup and pancake tasting especially delicious. Among the women in the main house, Jiang didn't come to the table, saying that Niu Niu wasn't feeling well and needed to take care of her. Gu, Lian Hua'er, and Lian Xiu'er all hung their heads, only Lian Duo'er eating pancakes and drinking soup with big mouthfuls like Lian Man'er.

  "Mom, why is my pancake so small." He Shi looked at the pancake in her hand and asked Zhou Shi.

  "Some are for eating, and you eat them," scolded Mrs. Zhou. "They're all the same size, those are divine cakes. You also have the face to pick this, why don't you think about that nest of yours in the sky? Whatever you do is not good enough, whatever you eat is not satisfying. You think it's not enough, I'll give you mine too, see if you can stuff your belly... The money for Xiaoyu's foot binding, you pay for it yourself, don't come looking for me."

  …………

  After dinner, Lian Niang returned to the west wing house, she couldn't finish four pancakes in one meal, so she secretly brought them back.

  "Who hasn't eaten enough? I still have some buns here." Lian Man'er took out the buns and asked.

  As a result, Lian Shouxin, Zhang Shi, Wu Lang, Lian Zhier, and Xiao Qi all took out a few pieces of cake. It turned out that everyone had the same idea in mind.

  What was supposed to be the most satisfying meal ended up with everyone not being full, and yet they were all content.

  "Don't leave any, this pancake is best eaten hot, if you reheat it for the second time, the taste will be worse." Zhang said with a smile.

  After eating the buns, everyone lay on the kang and took a nap.

  "This meal, I ate half a bag of white flour, don't know how long mother will be heartbroken." Lian Shou said.

  "This time Father was really angry, look at Xiuer's swollen eyes. Alas," Zhang sighed, "she is still a child after all, this matter can't be blamed on her."

  "Girl, think about what Old Aunt said about us." Lian Man'er spoke to Zhang Shi with some dissatisfaction.

  When mentioning what Lian Xiuer said, Zhang Shi also couldn't defend her.

  "Your aunt is a bit silly, she'll be better when she grows up."

  "My sister is the same age as her, how can she be more sensible than her? If that's the case, my sister would never say anything. I'm younger than her, and she's still older than me. Mother, why are you taking her side, favoring her over your own daughter?"

  Lian Man Er's words were half-joking.

  "Your elder sister is as old as Zhi'er, and their birthdays are only a few days apart. I've seen her grow up." said Zhang Shi.

  Lian Yier, who had been silent all along, quietly turned over.

  The white pancakes have been eaten, and the autumn harvest is still going on. The whole family has been busy for several days, first finishing the land in the north, then moving to the south mountain. The land here is divided into small pieces, and the crops are mixed. There are a few acres of peanuts, a few acres of miscellaneous grains, beans that must be used to make dumplings during the winter solstice, mung beans, and green beans.

  Working in the fields is exhausting, and after doing it for several days in a row, every day when I return home, all I want to do is sleep. For men, cigarettes have become something to help them stay awake, even those who don't normally smoke, like Lian Shouzheng, will sometimes roll one up and take a puff.

  That evening after dinner, Lian Piao didn't immediately return to the west wing, but instead sat on the kang and helped Old Master Lian roll tobacco leaves.

  Gu came in from outside and saw Lian Muer was also there, so he hesitated for a moment, but still walked in.

  "Mom, I want to discuss something with you."