Transmigrated as My Aunt in the 70s
Chapter 142 - 136 Spot the difference

Chapter 142: 136 Spot the difference

Tian Manlan deliberately finished work early, as she was tasked with cooking lunch. Lunch was straightforward: reheat last night’s leftover meat dishes, cook the tofu obtained in exchange that morning, and prepare some vegetables. That was enough to get by. In the countryside, having several bowls of such dishes was considered quite a feast.

Right when Tian Manlan was rinsing the rice to cook, a wave of scolding came from outside. It turns out that Old Mrs. Shou spent the morning dwelling on her resentment at home, feeling more and more suffocated by the thought of the perceived injustice from last night, which she refused to let slide. She was determined not to let that little wretch Tian Manlan off the hook, leading to the increasingly bitter Old Mrs. Shou storming to Tian Manlan’s doorstep and launching into a tirade.

"Tian Manlan, you shameless wretch lacking in virtue, using sweet potatoes to trick your mama, I spit on you! Do you think your mama is blind? You ungrateful thing, ugh, why is my life so miserable, giving birth to such an unfilial son, and the daughter-in-law is no better, what’s the point of me living on!" Old Mrs. Shou cursed tirelessly, with each word laced with ’ungratefulness’. Meanwhile, the villagers coming off work heard the commotion and gathered around to watch the spectacle. Shou Yaowu, the village chief, also rushed over. Seeing the scene, he was livid; this cousin-in-law of his had a real knack for stirring up trouble—it had only just calmed down, and here she was, causing another uproar.

Feeling guilty, Tian Manlan hid in the kitchen, too scared to come out, without the slightest bit of confidence, her face was a mix of red and purple. Tian Sisi sighed deeply upon seeing Tian Manlan’s state, lamenting how naive her younger aunt could be!

She had no expectations for Tian Manlan to handle the situation, so the resigned Tian Sisi shook her head and, together with Tian Xinhua, stepped out. Tian Qinghua and He Chengsi were still up in the mountains, planning to hunt wild game to bring back as meat.

Seeing that Tian Manlan hadn’t come out, Old Mrs. Shou’s voice grew louder, "Where is that little wretch Tian Manlan? She doesn’t dare to come out because she’s guilty, huh? Hmph, sneaking sweet potatoes in place of meat for me and the old man, I’ve never heard of such a thing. If she didn’t want to give, she shouldn’t have bothered—Mama’s not wanting for that bit of meat."

The surrounding villagers who heard these words started murmuring among themselves, disbelieving that the always honest Tian Manlan could do such a thing. It must be that Old Mrs. Shou was again picking on her second daughter-in-law.

Just as Tian Sisi was about to speak up in rebuttal, Shou Jizu returned. Having worked all morning, he was thirsty and aching all over, already in a foul mood. Upon seeing his own mother making a scene at his doorstep, his anger surged instantly.

It could be said that Shou Jizu was a person with a hard fate, having the best looks among the three brothers, inheriting all the good qualities of Shou Yaosong and his wife. But for some reason, from a young age, he never found favour in his parents’ eyes, met with nothing but beatings and scoldings. If it wasn’t for the local midwife—who happened to be Old Mrs. Shou—personally delivering Shou Jizu, villagers might suspect he was an outsider brought back by Shou Yaosong.

Consequently, Shou Jizu held little respect for his parents, barely seeing them face-to-face throughout the year, as cold as a stranger.

"Mama, what nonsensical fit is this now? Wasn’t last night’s meat enough for you? Now you’ve come to my place expecting more meat?"

Shou Jizu’s talent for spouting nonsense was honed from a young age, and he didn’t bother wasting time with his mother, immediately accusing Old Mrs. Shou of wrongdoing.

"Bah, when did I ever come to beg for meat from you? Where is your wife? I won’t talk to you, I want to ask your wife why she’s passing off sweet potatoes as meat." Old Mrs. Shou got a headache just seeing this second son of hers.

"My wife is at home cooking a meal for me, what do you want with her? I was the one who served the meat last night, and I clearly dished out a full bowl of it. Ah, there was only that one chicken, Mama, you even gave away half of it. Man Lan and I barely had a few bites ourselves, how can you still complain there’s not enough? Could it be that big brother and Li Guo didn’t have enough to eat?"

Tian Sisi couldn’t help but laugh when she overheard from behind. It was obvious last night that Shou Jizu had eaten the most meat. The rest of them hadn’t eaten much because they were used to having plenty of meat at home, only picking at a few pieces. Tian Manlan was reluctant to eat much and only had a little, while Shou Jizu was like a starving tiger pouncing on its prey, focusing solely on the flesh.

"Tsk, what meat? There were just those two pieces, which aren’t even enough to get stuck between Li Guo’s teeth. You think your old mother is blind?"

Old Mrs. Shou was foolish enough not to realize her own son had dug a big pit for her, and she immediately jumped right in. The surrounding villagers burst into laughter; it turned out that the grandson had not had enough to eat and was making a fuss about it.

Shou Chengzu came back a bit late. He ran up to the mountain to check the traps he set in the morning, only to return empty-handed. A disheartened Shou Chengzu saw a crowd gathered in front of his house. He felt a pang of alarm and hurried over.

"I was wondering how that full bowl of meat wasn’t enough for you and Daddy. Turns out big brother and Li Guo ate it all. No wonder, with their big bellies, even a whole chicken wouldn’t be enough. I have to admit, the bowl of meat I sent over was a tad bit meager."

Shou Chengzu finally squeezed through to get inside. Seeing his mother getting toyed with by his younger brother, he couldn’t help but sigh, blaming himself for not reminding her once more before he left that morning. Now they were making quite a spectacle of themselves.

"Mama, what are you making a fuss about? Go back and cook. Whatever was sent over, it’s the thought from second brother and his wife that counts. How can you be so picky?"

"Ah, I really don’t understand what you’re saying, big brother. What do you mean, ’whatever was sent over’? Last night, I specifically asked Weiguo to bring over a full bowl of meat. Damn it, it all ended up in you and Li Guo’s bellies. You’ve eaten my meat and still complain that there’s not enough. All the benefits are hogged by your family. Where in the world does such a good deal exist?"

Shou Jizu, who resented his big brother Shou Chengzu the most, deliberately made an irresponsible face. He slanted his eyes and looked at Shou Chengzu disdainfully, the very image of "I just don’t like the look of you."

Seeing his big brother insulted by their younger brother, Shou Sizu was fuming and ready to step forward to give Shou Jizu a beating, only to be held back by his wife. Shou Sizu’s wife was quite pretty, and thus, Shou Sizu was very obedient to her.

"What business is it of yours? I didn’t see your big brother send any meat over to our house for Chan Country and Tai Country to eat yesterday, so why are you joining in the commotion?"

Shou Sizu’s wife was feeling aggrieved inside. She had always been dissatisfied with how Madam Shou favored Li Guo, and hearing now that a full bowl of meat had been sent over without even a piece being passed on to her two sons, her dissatisfaction grew. She grabbed her husband, not letting him go forward.

Shou Sizu was just a pretender, looking fierce on the outside but actually quite meek, easily swayed by anyone. Now, hearing his wife’s words, he also felt rather uncomfortable. Yeah, why wouldn’t they send over a portion of meat for their own sons?

The couple didn’t believe what Old Mrs. Shou had said. Tian Manlan was so timid that she wouldn’t dare to speak harshly outside, let alone dare to try passing off sweet potatoes as meat. In their eyes, it was surely because Madam Shou felt the bowl of meat was too little that she made a scene.

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)

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