The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 877 - 190: The Dragon Begets the Dragon, the Phoenix Begets the Phoenix _2

Chapter 877: Chapter 190: The Dragon Begets the Dragon, the Phoenix Begets the Phoenix _2

"One less bite won’t kill you." Seeing her gaze longingly, Pei Qin let her reach out with her chopsticks to grab some.

With Pei Qin’s implicit permission, Pei Yuan busily snatched up a piece of pig’s ear.

Grandma Fang glared at the pair, sitting beside them, "Drink more hot soup later, your mother-in-law made black chicken soup for you!"

Pei Yuan, already queasy at the mention of nourishing soups from gulping them down, stealthily took another bite of the braised pork stomach.

Pei Qin picked up a slice of beef for her.

Feng Xiaolang couldn’t stand it any longer, kicking his legs around and fussing, "There’s no beef left! That one’s mine! It’s mine!"

Li Hualing’s face changed instantly, and she scolded him in a low voice, "How is there none left? Isn’t there still some in the plate! You haven’t even finished what’s in front of you!"

She tried to feed him one piece at a time with her chopsticks, but Feng Xiaolang, finding it too slow, ignored her scolding and reached out to grab some himself.

Grandma Fang frowned and turned to Fang Hui, "You’re standing right there, letting him take things with his hands, smearing what he grabbed―how can others eat it now?"

Fang Hui dismissed the concern, "Xiaolang’s hands are clean, we’re all family here, who would mind? Besides, he’s just a little kid who doesn’t know better. He’s just getting impatient because someone is not letting him have his way!"

Most of the guests at the full-moon feast were women and children; it was always noisy, with some kids bound to cry or wail a couple of times.

Li Hualing watched Jiujiu sitting quietly next to Pei Qian, eating her food and waiting to be served by Pei Qian―who was very polite with her. So she persuaded Feng Xiaolang to sit still and eat.

The next course was hot dishes, including a variety of meatballs and fried shrimps, with desserts in between.

Feng Xiaolang stood right up on the chair, reaching out to grab them.

Fang Xin, seated beside him, just picked up a shrimp ball, and he snatched it from her.

Meatballs and desserts were portioned out according to the number of people at the table, one for each.

Jiujiu saw him grabbing them directly from his aunt’s bowl, her eyes bulging with indignation, "You’re a bad egg! You already have a pile and still stealing auntie’s meatball!"

Feng Xiaolang stuffed the meatball into his mouth, clutching it tightly.

Jiujiu offered her own meatball to Fang Xin.

Fang Xin refused, "You eat it, Jiujiu! Auntie is an adult. I’ll just eat something else."

"We have these meatballs at home, made entirely of shrimp meat. I eat them often!" Fang Xin always brought her along to play and bought her snacks, so Jiujiu got along well with her.

"If Jiujiu gives it to you, then eat it!" Pei Qian chimed in as well.

Seeing that both Pei Qin’s and Pei Yuan’s were given to Jiujiu, Fang Xin accepted it with a laugh.

Feng Xiaolang had seen it already, how Pei Qin and Pei Yuan offered their shrimp balls to Jiujiu, and seeing her give one to Fang Xin, he stretched his hand out to snatch it again.

Fang Xin couldn’t dodge in time, and the shrimp ball hit the ground.

Back home or in Taiping Town, no one ever snatched something from Jiujiu; she was always the one to plunder from others. So she got angry at once. "Last time you cried and took away my toy, and now you dare snatch auntie’s meatball? Didn’t your mother teach you not to steal?!"

Li Hualing’s face turned beet-red, and she smacked Feng Xiaolang on the butt, "How could you snatch auntie’s meatball!"

Feng Xiaolang puckered his mouth and started to cry.

Fang Hui immediately scooped him into her arms, her words aimed at Jiujiu, "At such a young age you know how to curse ’no mother’s teaching’? Fang Xin is an adult; should she really be arguing over a meatball with a three-year-old?!"

"My mother taught me not to snatch things!" When Jiujiu robbed others, she would always exchange it for something even better.

Fang Hui, left speechless by her retort, scowled while cajoling the wailing Feng Xiaolang.

Madam Zhao came over to ask what had happened.

Pei Qian turned her head and smilingly called her aunty, "There are plenty more meatballs, bring a few of each kind, and pack two plates!"

Madam Zhao’s eyes flickered, and she readily agreed, quickly instructing the kitchen chef to prepare two big plates of various meatballs and desserts.

Feng Xiaolang immediately stopped crying, clutching the plates, glaring at Jiujiu, "I’m not sharing with you!"

Jiujiu humphed, "My home has lots of shrimps, and our shrimp balls are made entirely of shrimp meat!" Then, she invited Fang Xin to come to her house to eat.

"Your place has all the good stuff, you wouldn’t fancy these dough-mixed balls. My house is poor; we can’t afford meatballs made only of shrimp meat!" Fang Hui sneered. It really was a case of ’like mother, like daughter.’ Pei Qin was fierce and tyrannical, and while her daughter bore Mo Heng’s seductive likeness, her temperament was even worse.

"If you can’t afford them, eat all you want here, so you won’t be hungry when you get back!" Pei Qin retorted bluntly.

Fang Hui’s face turned ashen.

Fearing another outburst between her and Pei Qin, which might even affect the noodle shop, Li Hualing hurriedly picked two meatballs for Fang Xin.

Feng Xiaolang was instantly unhappy again, his mouth twisting into a howl.

Where could Fang Xin dare to accept? They were relatives, not destitute meat-deprived people; a tantrum now would be so embarrassing. She quickly asked Li Hualing to hand them back and picked other dishes to eat.

Li Hualing’s face remained flushed, and it took her a while to recover.

Feng Xiaolang hadn’t finished eating the meatballs he had taken; he grabbed too many and stuffed too many at once.

Li Hualing, sensing her son had overdone it, tried to discipline him in public, urging him to share the meatballs with Fang Xin and Jiujiu.

Feng Xiaolang was reluctant, continuing to cram them into his mouth.

Seeing him overeating, Pei Qian asked for some sour fruit syrup tea.

Feng Xiaolang found it delicious, downing two bowls in succession. Seeing that only hot soup was being served now, he took a chicken leg and went down to see what the other children were competing for.

Pei Qian had a nap in the cottage and then fed him half a bowl of fried chicken popcorn and sugar tea.

Satiated and no longer mischievous, Feng Xiaolang let Li Hualing breathe a sigh of relief as she finally started eating her meal with peace of mind.

Madam Zhao brought over the simmered black bone chicken soup for Pei Yuan, "It’s cooled down, got sidetracked with serving the dishes just now, forgot all about it, eat up quick!"

All seated at the table, including Pei Qin, Pei Qian, Grandma Fang, and Lady Yu, received a bowl of soup each.

Pei Yuan fished a chicken leg out of the soup and gave it to Jiujiu. When Feng Xiaolang, whose belly hurt and needed to go home for a poop, saw it, he ran over demanding, "I want one too! I want one too!"

"You can’t finish it all!" Li Hualing held him back.

"I’ll take it home!" Feng Xiaolang shouted.

Li Hualing, now furious, grabbed his belly and enveloped him in a tight hug.

Feng Xiaolang’s face twisted in pain, and he burst into loud tears.