The rice gruel was fragrant and light, a thick, steaming hot liquid with a sheen of rice oil on top.
The four lads stood by the table, not daring to move.
Before, whatever food there was in the house, Mother would eat her fill first, and only then were the leftovers given to them.
"What, you don't like it?"
Cheng Loan Loan asked deliberately.
Zhao Si Dan immediately picked up a bowl. His fingers were scalded, but he was reluctant to let go, afraid Mother would change her mind.
He quickly lowered his head and took a sip. The steaming hot rice gruel glided through his mouth, down his throat, and into his stomach. This was truly the most delicious drink in the world!
The remaining three also hurriedly picked up their rice gruel, too busy to care about the heat, and drank it all in one go.
Cheng Loan Loan chuckled and shook her head. Seeing her eldest daughter-in-law still standing there dumbfounded, she pretended to be angry and said, "Do you want me to hand it to you?"
Wu Hui Niang's hands trembled slightly.
In this household, Mother-in-law was paramount, her husband and three younger brothers-in-law ranked second, and she was last. What she ate was always the worst, most unpalatable food in the house, and if there wasn't enough, she had to go hungry.
This was rice gruel, said to be for newborn babies. Did she have the right to drink it?
Could it be because she was pregnant that Mother-in-law finally deigned to share food with her?
Cheng Loan Loan no longer paid attention to Wu Hui Niang's expression.
She smelled the fragrant rice, and her stomach rumbled softly. As she served the rice, she felt as if she had forgotten something.
It wasn't until six large bowls of rice were placed on the table that she remembered she had forgotten to make any dishes!
Only rice, no dishes. How could they eat?!
Alright, there were no dishes in the house, and the vegetable garden had no vegetables either. They would just eat plain rice!
Beside her, the five people stared. They couldn't believe that after such a long period of food scarcity, the family could actually eat plain rice.
This wasn't an illusion, was it?
"Ouch!" Zhao San Niu suddenly cried out. "Second Brother, why are you pinching me!"
Zhao Er Gou swallowed his saliva. "I'm checking if I'm dreaming. It seems it's real, not a dream!"
Cheng Loan Loan picked up her chopsticks and said, "Eat."
As soon as she finished speaking, the four lads beside her immediately lowered their heads and shoveled rice at a furious pace, as if fighting a battle.
Wu Hui Niang cautiously said, "Mother, I'll be fine with just half..."
Cheng Loan Loan looked at her, feeling a familiar frustration, like "hating iron for not becoming steel." "You have food, and you're not eating it? Do you want to be such a despised daughter-in-law?"
She said coldly, "So you want to leave the remaining half for the Cheng family?"
Wu Hui Niang immediately shook her head. "I'll eat!"
Mother had only just managed to give up hope on the Cheng family; she didn't want Mother to start thinking about giving things to the Cheng family again...
Cheng Loan Loan wasn't very used to eating plain rice, but this body was so weak that she ate it bite by bite and still finished a whole bowl.
On the table, the six bowls were clean, not a single grain of rice left. It seemed they could even skip washing the bowls.
After finishing the meal, the four lads were full of energy. Zhao Er Gou opened his mouth and said, "Mother, shouldn't we go to the Cheng family now?"
Cheng Loan Loan asked back, puzzled, "What are we going to the Cheng family for?"
"To demand repayment!" Zhao Si Dan said through gritted teeth. "Grandma said Eldest Maternal Uncle took Father's bereavement silver, a total of twenty taels. We must go and demand that money back!"
"Exactly!" Zhao Da Shan stood up. "Eldest Maternal Uncle even broke Mother's head today. We must go and seek justice!"
Zhao San Niu rubbed his belly: "I've eaten my fill, I can take on three people by myself. Let's go quickly before it gets dark!"
Cheng Loan Loan did want to go, but she knew very well that the Cheng family simply couldn't come up with twenty taels. Now was not the time to settle accounts.
She said coolly, "All of you, sit down."
The four youngsters exchanged glances. It was obvious that Mom clearly hadn't intended for them to go to the Cheng family to collect the debt.
Come to think of it, it made sense. Mom was wholeheartedly devoted to her maternal uncle's family; how could she suddenly give up hope?
Once this heartbreak passed, she would likely revert to her old ways!
If they had never eaten well, that would be one thing, but having tasted it once, it was absolutely impossible to make them give it up again!
Zhao Er Gou waved a hand and whispered a few words into Zhao San Niu's ear.