CH 26

When Xiaowang said that, Erwang hesitated while holding his bowl, whereas Maisui glanced at her share and didn’t respond, prioritising on eating her fill.

Sanwang turned his head and took a glance before he exclaimed in surprise, “Mother, why is your porridge so dilute?” He turned his head to look at the others’ and found that no one else had such a pitiful excuse for a bowl of porridge. Then, he looked at his own and scratched his head, “Mother, I’ll split half of mine with you.”

When he said that, he poured half of his porridge into Lin Lan’s bowl.

It was customary for women to eat the worst meals of the family in the countryside, unless those women consisted of the strong, weak or had special circumstances that exempted them from the treatment.

However, once someone spoke up about the unspoken rule, the men on the table masked their feelings with a dull expression.

Eldest sister-in-law Han took a look at her man and her few children. Unfortunately, each of them knew that they were buried themselves in faked innocence, gobbling away with no intention of splitting their meals with her.

The old lady Han couldn’t hold her expression as she pointed her chopsticks at Sanwang, “You’re the only one surprised, kid; just eat your meal.”

Sanwang was curious, “Grandmother, can we not afford to have a proper meal anymore? If so, I will dig some wild vegetables when I’m mowing the grass tomorrow. I’m pretty sure I saw Xiao Niu digging them before.”

Old lady Han almost choked to death by his words.

The old head Han had to cut in, “Let’s eat.” 

He glanced at the basket— there were some pancakes in it and he motioned to the old lady to let the children eat them.

The old man Han was in charge of any external matters, whereas the housework was handled by the old lady. She was in charge of the money and food, but she still had to listen to the old man Han in some matters.

After all, you can’t refute the old man’s image in front of the children. This also concerned the rules of the country and the decentness of men.

She angrily put the basket on the table.

Sanwang immediately stood up and grabbed the biggest pancake before  Erwang snatched it over and handed it to Lin Lan, “Mother, you eat the pancake.”

Sanwang got used to it, so he ate his own food.

Lin Lan split the pancake and gave them to several children. Seeing Maisui’s listless look, she forced a piece on her plate as well.

Eldest sister-in-law took her daughter to clean up the dishes as they started brushing the pots and bowls after dinner. However, the second sister-in-law couldn’t get past her complaints and directed her anger towards Lin Lan.

“I’ll say, third family, you’re the one who borrowed the money from the brigade, so pay it back yourself and don’t expect the family work points to be deducted because of you.”

Before Lin Lan could speak, Sanwang shouted, “My father will send the money back to repay it.”

Second sister-in-law was so angry that her teeth hurt, “Your father’s money belongs to the whole family, so it doesn’t count!”

Sanwang was puzzled. He was a straightforward and honest child, so he wanted to talk to his second aunt. “Second aunt, think about it— my father is the one who earns the money, so why doesn’t it count?”

The old lady Han waved her hand in annoyance, “Go go go, go ahead and play.”

Speaking of sending money back, she was busy counting the days of the LUnar Calendar with her fingers, “Hey, today is the 18th or the 19th; Old third should be sending the money back by now. Why hasn’t the postman sent the order?”