webnovelfull Chapter 235: The Sticky Rice Wants to Eat Meat
Chapter 235: The Sticky Rice Wants to Eat Meat
As soon as she heard the food was ready, Ye Shuhua immediately stood up, pushed over the chessboard, and said, "Honey, stop playing! Let's eat!" Looking at the scattered chess pieces, Zhang Lei glared at her and said irritably, "Shuhua, are you deliberately sabotaging us because you think we're about to lose?"
These words startled Ye Shuhua so much that she almost tripped and fell. She looked at Zhang Lei in disbelief, thinking to herself: Where does the boss get such confidence? If she hadn't been letting him win, this game would have ended five minutes ago.
Thinking this to herself, she could only admit it aloud: "Honey, I was wrong. I promise I won't do it again next time." Zhang Lei nodded and generously said, "Alright, let's call this a draw." Ye Shuqi, standing to the side, covered her mouth to suppress a laugh. Ye Shuqin, seeing this, glared at her: "Hurry up and help serve the dishes. All you do is fool around." Ye Shuqi wanted to argue, but seeing Ye Shuqin's expression, she didn't dare to say a word and obediently went to the kitchen.
Soon, the four of them sat around the dining table, their mouths watering at the sight of the three fish dishes. Ye Shuhua stared at the large chopped chili fish head and said, "Honey, you eat the fish head first." Zhang Lei waved his hand and said with a smile, "You guys eat. The meat on the fish head is good for the three of you. I'll just eat the fish tail." As he spoke, he picked up the fish tail from the plate.
The four of them immediately began to feast. The aroma of fish wafting from the Zhang family's house filled most of the courtyard, making the other families in the area unable to resist swallowing their saliva.
Inside the Jia family's house, Jia Zhangshi, looking at the cornbread, pickled vegetables, and plain porridge on the table, angrily cursed, "Which heartless family knows our family is poor and deliberately makes fish to tempt my appetite!" Banggeng, standing nearby, tugged at her clothes and shouted, "Grandma, I want to eat fish too! I want to eat meat!" Jia Zhangshi soothed him, "Banggeng, be good. In a couple of days, Grandma will take you to buy some. Your father is still in the hospital, and we need money for treatment. Just bear with it for now." Spoiled Banggeng immediately threw a tantrum, "No! I want to eat now! I want to eat meat and fish!"
Jia Zhangshi's eyes lit up, and an idea came to her: "Then go find your mother. She's at the He family's house now. Maybe there'll be something good to eat there." Bang Geng's eyes lit up: "Really?" Jia Zhangshi nodded: "She's your own mother. How could she let you go hungry?" Bang Geng was overjoyed and shouted, "Grandma, I'm going!" before running out the door in a flash.
Inside the He family's house, He Daqing, He Yushui, and Qin Huairu were eating. While it wasn't a feast, it was a balanced meal with both meat and vegetables. Banggeng, smelling the aroma of meat, burst through the door, shouting, "Mom, I want meat!" He Daqing's face immediately darkened, his expression displeased. "Banggeng, who let you in?" Startled by his fierce demeanor, Banggeng whispered, "I came to see my mom."
Qin Huairu glanced at Banggeng, then at He Daqing's expression, and said softly, "Banggeng, Mom has already left the Jia family. You can't do this." Banggeng ignored her completely and asked bluntly, "Mom, are you going to give me meat or not?" Seeing Banggeng's behavior, He Daqing looked at Qin Huairu and said, "Qin Huairu, Banggeng has been spoiled rotten by Jia Zhangshi. She must have been behind this. Don't worry about it, I'll handle it." Qin Huairu nodded, turned her head back to continue eating, and stopped looking at Banggeng. He Yushui, on the other hand, stared wide-eyed, waiting to see how her father would handle the situation.
He Daqing got up, walked to the door, grabbed the stick handle, and threw it out. Then he shouted in the direction of the Jia family, "Jia Zhangshi! You old hag, take your grandson away right now, or don't blame me for being ruthless!" Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi immediately ran out, angrily pointing at He Daqing, "He Daqing! Do you have no humanity? My grandson is so young, how could you bear to hurt him?"
The argument between the two attracted the attention of the neighbors in the courtyard, who gathered around to watch the spectacle with curiosity. He Daqing, seeing the crowd, spoke first: "Everyone, be the judge! This Jia Zhangshi has gone too far! We were just about to have a meal when she sent her grandson to our house to cause trouble, demanding meat. These days, who wouldn't keep their meat to themselves? How can she come to someone's door and demand it while they're eating?"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Jia Zhangshi, who was furious and embarrassed: "He Daqing, stop talking nonsense! No matter what, Banggeng is still Qin Huairu's son. You married Qin Huairu, and you expect her to sever ties with Banggeng?" He Daqing sneered: "Jia Zhangshi, don't give me that crap! Since Qin Huairu left the Jia family, she has nothing to do with you anymore. She's now a member of the He family. Do you think I don't know your dirty thoughts? You want Banggeng to cling to Qin Huairu and take advantage of the He family? Let me tell you, give up on that idea!"
"As long as I'm here, no one will get a single grain of food from my house! As for Qin Huairu, she doesn't have the final say. I, He Daqing, am the one who calls the shots in this house. You can try if you don't believe me!" He Daqing's words were extremely ruthless. "Today I'm just throwing him out. If he dares to break into my house again, I'll break his legs. Let's see if Qin Huairu dares to utter a sound then!"
These words frightened Jia Zhangshi so much that she quickly shielded Banggeng behind her. Banggeng was also trembling with fear, hiding behind his grandmother and not daring to show his face. After listening for a while, everyone finally understood what had happened. It turned out that Jia Zhangshi had instructed Banggeng to go to the He family to ask for meat, but he failed and was kicked out. Now, seeing Jia Zhangshi still confronting He Daqing, everyone stood aside in silence—on one side was the unruly and unreasonable Jia Zhangshi, and on the other side was the ruthless He Daqing. They didn't want to offend either of them, so they could only be bystanders.
Seeing that no one spoke, He Daqing glared at Jia Zhangshi again: "Jia Zhangshi, this is the first and last time. If Bang Geng dares to come again, regardless of whether you ordered him or not, I'll hold you responsible. Don't blame me for being ruthless then." Jia Zhangshi angrily cursed, "He Daqing, you heartless bastard! What have we, the Jia family, done to offend you? Why are you targeting us like this? You'll get what's coming to you..."
Before he could finish speaking, He Daqing turned around, took out a thick wooden stick from the house, and swung it towards Jia Zhangshi. Jia Zhangshi screamed in fright, "Oh my god!" and scrambled away with the stick in her hand. Looking at the thick wooden stick that had landed where she had just been standing, she was terrified and fled back to the Jia family home. Leaning against the door, she was still shaken and kept peeking out to see if He Daqing had chased after her.
He Daqing watched Jia Zhangshi flee, walked over to the wooden stick, picked it up, spat on it, and turned to go home.
The onlookers were startled by what they saw and began to discuss it amongst themselves. "He Daqing is too ruthless, he just attacked without warning." "Alright, you young people are too naive. The old He Daqing was much more ruthless than this. He's actually quite mild-mannered now." Listening to the older neighbors' words, everyone sighed with disbelief.
Someone whispered, "That Jia Zhangshi is really something. Qin Huairu is already married to He Daqing, and she's still up to these petty schemes." Others retorted, "You can't say that. Qin Huairu and Banggeng are still mother and son; blood ties can't be severed so easily."
The crowd was buzzing with gossip, but He Daqing didn't care at all when he got home. For him, only things that benefited him were worth his attention, and he completely disregarded the idle chatter of his neighbors.