I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s
Chapter 45: Win Him Over

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Win Him Over

In the evening, Xie Jinghao lay on Shen Meng’s bed with Xiao Gang, while Shen Meng, with Xiao Kai and Ming Fang, engaged in a standoff with Mingyang and Ming Liang who were standing on the floor. Eventually, Shen Meng compromised—after all, the bed was quite spacious and all the children were thin, so it wouldn’t be too crowded even when they slept together.

After crying his heart out, Mingyang softened quite a bit, but he still refused to make eye contact, his gaze darting about. He felt deeply embarrassed to have wept in front of his younger siblings—it was all too mortifying.

In the dead of night, once everyone had fallen into deep slumber, Mingyang and Ming Liang would occasionally lift their heads to look at Shen Meng. They couldn’t recall a memory of ever lying in the same bed with their mother. They had no recollection of their birth mother, and their stepmother had never shown them any affection before.

Now they were all lying together on the same bed—it was a novel experience indeed.

The next day.

When Shen Meng woke up, she found a little foot resting on her chin. As she sat up and looked, what a sight greeted her—none of the four children had slept properly, with one’s leg draped over another’s waist and another’s foot on someone else’s head. The foot beneath her face belonged to Lu Mingkai, the little rascal. Leaning in, she saw a white mark by the child’s mouth and a glistening droplet of drool at the corner of his lips.

So adorable that Shen Meng couldn’t resist giving him a "smooch".

Exhausted from the chaotic events of the day before, she simply stir-fried some bok choy with lard in the morning, took out some spicy soup and a few buns filled with two types of dough from her space, and prepared two separate bowls of braised eggs for Xiao Gang and Xiao Kai.

The smell of the savory, bountiful dishes filled the air, and the people sleeping in the east room awoke and rushed toward the courtyard. Ming Liang hopped to the kitchen doorway on his bare feet.

"Mom, what delicious food have you made?"

"Mom, the food you make is so fragrant!"

"So fragrant!"

Following behind, Ming Fang and Ming Kai also showered Shen Meng with loud praises. Trailing last, Mingyang, unable to muster the extroversion of his siblings, opened his mouth several times before he finally managed to say, "Mom’s cooking smells really good."

Looking at the bright eyes of the children, Shen Meng replied with a smile, "Alright, no more sweet talk. Hurry up and get ready for breakfast. We’re eating in the main room today. Mingyang, help me serve the food. Xiao Kai, take care of your brother, okay? Make sure Xiao Gang washes his face and brushes his teeth, got it?"

"Xiao Gang doesn’t brush teeth, has no toothbrush!"

"Then can Xiao Kai help your brother wash his face? Once we’ve cleaned up, we’ll hire some ox carts today and take a trip to the county town together. We’ll take your elder aunt for a medical visit. Everyone put on new clothes, and I’ll take you to a photography studio to take pictures, which we’ll send to your father in a letter."

Shen Meng had only just thought of this idea. Everyone from the Lu Family to the inhabitants of Lu Family Village held great respect and admiration for Lu Zhenping. No, it was more like reverence.

Shen Meng revisited scenes from her dreams and the original host’s memories, finding her impressions of what Lu Zhenping looked like growing increasingly vague. But regardless, it all pointed to this man being quite the character.

For such a man, she definitely needed to win him over first. A man who had been away for so many years, whether dealing with adopted or biological children, would surely have deep yearnings. Unless his heart had ventured elsewhere, Shen Meng believed in Lu Zhenping’s character.

This task was essential for her; she had to tie together the hearts of the children with their father’s before Lu Zhenping returned.

"Really? Are you telling the truth, Mom?"

"Can I talk to Dad? I want to talk to Dad!"

Shen Meng ruffled Lu Mingliang’s hair and replied, "Yes, it’s true. We’ll go after we eat. Mingyang, quickly take your siblings to wash up and prepare a basin of water for your elder aunt to wash her face, and then we can have breakfast."

"Alright, Mom." The boys were ecstatic. The furthest they had ever been was from their hometown to Lu Family Village, and they had never ventured out further. The county town, having photos taken—these were things they had never even dared to dream of before.

Seeing the children so happy made Shen Meng happy too. She was about to turn around when her clothes were pulled by a pair of small hands. Lu Mingkai, who had just happily scampered off, was now back again, with a slight look of grievance on his face.

"Mom."

"What’s wrong, Xiao Kai? Why are you upset?"

Lu Mingkai looked sullen, glancing up at Shen Meng before dropping his gaze again.

"Mom, do you think Dad would like me? He’s never seen me. Could it be that he doesn’t like Xiao Kai, and that’s why he doesn’t come back?"

"My dear, why would you think that? Doesn’t your dad always ask about you in his letters? He definitely misses you. You’re your dad’s treasure. Your dad isn’t coming back because he’s protecting the country, he’s a hero. You should be happy and proud, right? Later, Mom will take you to the photo studio. You can wear a little military uniform, and when we show it to your dad, he’ll see that his son is also obedient, well-behaved, and impressive, right?"

The little guy’s eyes glimmered as he looked at Shen Meng and nodded vigorously.

When breakfast was laid out, it made Xiao Gang and Xie Jinghao both feel very constrained, despite having eaten better meals here before. Wu Xianglan’s grabbing of food and drink the previous night had clearly scared Xiao Gang quite badly.

"Go on and eat, Xiao Gang. This braised egg was made especially for you and the little brother. The other brothers and sisters don’t have it."

Xiao Gang glanced at her, then at the braised egg on the table, but still didn’t dare to reach out. His eyes looked timid and pitiful.

Xie Jinghao tenderly stroked Xiao Gang’s cheek, feeling sorry for him.

"Go on and eat. Your elder aunt made this specially for you. After eating, your elder aunt will take us to the county town. Xiao Gang, would you like to come and see it too?"

"Okay~" The tender voice melted the hearts of those who heard it.

After breakfast, Shen Meng went to the brigade office and found Zhang Hongfa. She spent one yuan to rent an ox cart.

After the autumn planting, there wasn’t much work left for the production team, so earning money by running the ox cart in the morning also added to the village’s income.

The cart driver was Uncle Guai, who had helped Liu Sanjin read his letter last time. Knowing what happened the previous night, he felt sympathy for Xie Jinghao and Shen Meng, volunteered to help with their belongings, and also helped the children onto the cart, which made him much more amicable than before.

After Shen Meng and the others had left, gossip about Wu Xianglan’s misbehavior spread at the village head, along with the fights she had with her sisters-in-law.

When Lu Jiahe heard about it, he was livid with anger. Both the kids and Wu Xianglan got a beating. When he went out, he felt the glances from others were not right.

The house was in an uproar, and Lu Jiaxuan was extremely irritated, preoccupied with matters related to work.

"Is Lu Jiaxuan there? You’ve got a letter!"

Lu Jiaxuan quickly raised his head and dashed forward, running straight up to the postman.

"That’s me, that’s me, thank you."

"Hey, no problem, haha!"

Lu Jiaxuan nodded to the man and, without waiting for the postman to leave, tore open the letter and started reading. Sweat broke out on his forehead as he read!

The letter was from Lu Zhenping, and the meaning was simple – if he wanted the commissary position, he needed to find a way to have the elder branch of the family split off.

He had to choose between the position and the conveniences brought by being part of the elder branch!