I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s -
Chapter 115: She Said to Listen to Her Parents
Chapter 115: Chapter 115: She Said to Listen to Her Parents
Lu Zhenping rode his bicycle home with Lu Mingkai, who had a sour expression on his little face the entire way. As they neared home, he hurriedly tugged on the man pedaling in front.
"Dad, should we tell Mom?"
"Of course, what’s there to hide? If we don’t mention it now, we’ll be in trouble once your mom finds out later."
Hearing his dad say this, Lu Mingkai’s face grew even gloomier.
As the early winter afternoon darkened, Shen Meng yawned and lifted the lid of the pot; the meat had stewed until it was falling apart, so she doused the still-burning fire a bit.
Steaming buns made from a dough of wheat and millet flours sat atop the coal stove, with sweet potato tea simmering beneath them.
This would be all for dinner. She didn’t have the time to prepare the sauce for the marinated vegetables, so everything came from her storage space. She fished out a few sheep and pork intestines from the pot, sliced them up, added some pig cheek, seasoned them, and divided it all into three bowls. Though not a lot, it was certainly enough to give away.
When Lu Zhenping, with Lu Mingkai drooling in anticipation, entered the yard, he suddenly remembered that morning when Shen Meng asked him to bring back some cypress branches from the county. Preoccupied with the Shen Family’s affairs, he had completely forgotten about it.
"What are you standing there for? Just in time you’re back, help me deliver this basket of food. One bowl for Jinghao, one for Changhong’s house, and one for Uncle Guai and Aunt Juying. This is the offal I’ve just marinated and seasoned, perfect timing since by the time you’re back, Mingyang and the rest should be almost home and ready for dinner."
"Okay!"
As Lu Zhenping left with the basket, he breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that Shen Meng seemed to have also forgotten about the cypress branches.
"When you come back, bring some cypress branches, we need them for smoking meat. Just looking at you I can tell you forgot. It’s only been a few days and my words mean nothing to you? I tell you in the morning, and by afternoon you forget. What can I rely on you for in the future?!"
Lu Zhenping: "...."
I really didn’t mean to, your words definitely matter!!!
After Lu Zhenping left, Lu Mingkai toddled over to Shen Meng, swallowing saliva.
"Mom, what delicious food did we make?"
Shen Meng scooped her child up into her arms and planted a kiss on his little face.
"Mom made some marinated offal, does it smell good? Do you want some?"
"It smells good, I want some!"
"Alright, sweetheart, sit down and Mom will fish out a piece of meat for you to try."
"Mmm hmm!"
The little guy wiggled down from his mom’s arms and scurried to sit on a stool by the low kitchen table, hands neatly on his knees, waiting patiently for his bite.
Shen Meng couldn’t help but be amused by him.
She fished a piece of pork cheek, marbled with fat and lean, from the pot, placed it into a small bowl, and poured over a bit of the marinade.
"Ming Kai, try the marinated meat. If it’s too salty, tell Mom and I’ll get you a bun."
"Okay."
Ming Kai clumsily grasped the meat with his chopsticks and took a bite; the delicious flavors filled his mouth, and his eyes squinted with satisfaction. Shortly after, the courtyard door burst open as Mingyang, Mingliang, and Ming Fang stormed in. Upon entering the kitchen and seeing Ming Kai stuffing meat into his mouth, their hearts immediately soured with envy.
"Mom, I want to eat too, I want to eat the same meat as my brother."
"I want some too, I want some meat."
"Mom, what did you make, it smells so good, I could smell it from far away. When I came back just now, I even saw two people squatting at the corner eating their meal, perhaps they were tempted by the smell of our meat to find it goes well with their food!"
The children had all come home, and Shen Meng just lifted the lid off the pot, took a clay basin and dished out all the stewed food inside. It was all inexpensive stuff, too wasteful to throw away, so Mom used some star anise to make the stewed dishes. Mom will first pick some for you all to try, then later we’ll mix it with the sauce and have dinner.
"Okay!"
Each of the three children held a bowl and waited in front of the stove. Shen Meng had no choice but to find some chopsticks and picked a piece of meat for each, adding a bit of stew sauce, too. She was worried that the kids couldn’t eat too salty, so she didn’t add much salt.
She mixed a dish of lamb and pork intestines, one not spicy, and a dish of pig’s ears and pork head meat to be a bit spicier, and there was also a plate of stir-fried bok choy in the coal stove to cut the grease.
She took the steamed buns out of the steamer and began to prepare for the meal.
When Lu Zhenping came back carrying a bunch of cypress branches, Shen Meng and the others had already started to get ready for the meal. He clicked his tongue, put down the cypress branches he was holding, and carried the basket into the house.
"Try this, today you ran to my parents’ house for me, and it was a lot of effort. I got a bottle of alcohol for you, just right for you to have some tonight to relax."
As soon as Lu Mingkai heard her say this, his big eyes immediately looked towards his own father, while the latter stayed composed, passing the basket to Shen Meng.
"There are eleven eggs and a handful of Golden Monkey milk candies in here. Chang Hong’s mom gave five, Uncle Guai gave six, and Jinghao gave the milk candies. I couldn’t be bothered to refuse them, so I just took them."
"It’s okay, we visit each other often. Right, you went to my parents’ house, how is the house building coming along? Also, Xiao Bin said something about finding a wife, how is that going?"
Lu Zhenping glanced at her, drank a shot of white liquor, took a bite of food, and then began to speak.
"The house is basically built. The weather has been good these past few days, it’s dried nicely. Dad, Mom, Big Brother, and Second Brother have all moved into the house. It’s just that Xiao Bin’s room hasn’t been built yet."
"Huh? What does that mean? Who builds a house and leaves it half-done? Xiao Bin’s room is supposed to be the biggest in the house, and he’s already talked about marriage, why isn’t the room being built? Next year, who knows, he may be getting married!"
Lu Zhenping took a steamed bun and took a big bite.
He didn’t say anything. Lu Mingkai, who had been silently and diligently eating, muttered softly,
"The wedding can’t go on. Dad messed up Uncle’s marital affairs."
Shen Meng zipped her gaze over to Lu Zhenping, her eyes filled with question marks.
"This girl isn’t suitable to get married into the family. Today, Mingkai and I went over just in time. Xiao Bin and that girl were settling the engagement, and that girl’s parents want Xiao Bin to separate from the family. That room that hasn’t been built would become independent for them. After getting married, whatever they earn would be theirs. They wouldn’t have to pay back the construction costs of the house. Besides that, at the wedding, they want a dowry of US$ 166, a bicycle, a Shanghai brand watch, and all the furniture has to be made beforehand. And that’s not all, today, those twenty-some relatives who went to the Shen family’s house each have to be given 50 cents for travel expenses. During the wedding, the girl’s nephews and nieces, as well as her external nephews and nieces, each have to be given a pair of Jiefang shoes."
Shen Meng: "...."
"You thought that was it? There’s more. We have to arrange a job for Xiao Bin’s older sister and brother-in-law, which means us two, for the girl’s brother. And her younger brother has to follow me to the army to become a soldier. Only after these matters are taken care of can they get married."
Shen Meng: "...Wasn’t it said that the girl is pretty nice?"
"Yeah, she’s quite a well-behaved girl. I asked her what she thought, and she said she, a girl, doesn’t have the final say and has to listen to her parents."
Shen Meng: "...."
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