Heavenly Blessed Baby: Fleeing Famine, Busy to Prosper!-Chapter 45: Do You Really Think Naming Her Manbao Will Bring Endless Blessings?
People often say that spoiling a child is like harming them, but this principle hasn’t spread in such a remote village.
Especially since Mrs. Lai Sr. now has only one son left, she spoils him as if she wants to keep him tied to her waist at all times.
Other families see this and curl their lips in disdain, yet don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.
There’s no choice, as the boy is the root of the family; he is expected to carry on the family line and is the main labor force.
But like Er Laizi, he couldn’t get a wife, and his work ethic wasn’t even up to the level of a young girl.
Truly looked down upon by others.
"Erzi, hurry up and drink the porridge; I’ve added oil, so it’s fragrant!"
Mrs. Lai Sr. urges her son fondly to drink the porridge.
Er Laizi waves his hand: "Mom, I’m not hungry yet, you eat first! I’ll go for a walk."
The amount of food at home is clear to Er Laizi, as he brought it out himself, so he knows it all too well.
Given his appetite, he won’t fill up no matter how much he eats, so he might as well let his mother eat first and eat what’s left.
Besides, the air is filled with the aroma of stewed meat, and he really can’t stomach that rustic millet porridge with barely a hint of oil.
Mrs. Lai Sr. wouldn’t let her son eat later, attempting to persuade him again, only to hear Er Laizi snap irritably: "Are you deaf? I said you eat first; don’t you understand human speech? Fine, hurry up and eat! I’ll come back and eat later."
After scolding her, Er Laizi turns and leaves.
It’s not the first time Mrs. Lai Sr. has been reprimanded by her son; she’s not upset, rather she smiles cheerfully and says: "My Erzi is a filial child; he insists his mother eats first."
Nearby villagers hear this and shake their heads speechlessly.
Mrs. Lai Sr.’s problem isn’t her ears, it’s her eyes.
Such a son is enough to strangle a hundred times over without having too many.
Er Laizi rounds the circle, managing to score a bowl of meat soup back.
The soup contains only three pieces of meat, but it’s genuinely meat soup.
Er Laizi carries the soup back, humming in tune, and finds that the porridge in the pot has hardly been touched, knowing his mom hasn’t listened to him at all.
A bit unhappy that his mom doesn’t take care of herself, but seeing the soup he’s managed to procure, Er Laizi feels it’s not bad after all.
He pours the meat soup directly into the pot and says to his mom, "Heat up the porridge."
Mrs. Lai Sr. is dozing against a big tree, startled by her son’s voice, and before she’s fully awake, she sees her son wobbling off again.
"Mrs. Lai Sr., your son got you some soup, heat it up and drink it!"
An unfriendly neighbor immediately taunts.
A little more awake, Mrs. Lai Sr. is unfazed by the remark and retorts: "What’s up? My son has the ability to get his mother something tasty, can your sons? Jealous? Jealous but useless, your sons combined aren’t as filial as my Erzi!"
"Rubbish! Your Er Laizi, a hundred and eighty of them combined wouldn’t match a finger of my kids!"
The woman, also one to spoil her kids, growls unwillingly.
Mrs. Lai Sr. sneers, turns her body, directly facing away from the woman, and starts stirring the pot with meat soup-added rustic millet porridge.
She had just had two spoonfuls, wouldn’t dare drink more, afraid her son wouldn’t have enough.
Now there’s meat soup, she’s thinking she can steal a couple more spoonfuls.
With the meat flavor, this porridge surely isn’t bad.
Er Laizi returns the bowl, though he does so with a cheeky comment: "Here here, this lousy bowl is worth forcing young master me to send back."
The household that’s been robbed of a bowl of meat soup fumes, with the man almost standing up to beat him, stopped by the woman beside him.
Watching Er Laizi swagger away, the woman lowers her voice: "Why bother with that rascal? It’s just a bowl of meat soup, there’s plenty of meat today; treat it like we’ve fed a dog. But if you genuinely fight him, even if he releases some anger now, Mrs. Lai Sr. will use it as an excuse to cling to our family."
As the explanation settles, the man finally calms down.
Indeed, given the shamelessness of that mother-son duo from the Lai Family, if anyone dared touch Er Laizi for even a hair, Mrs. Lai Sr. would immediately jump on the opportunity to exploit others.
Thinking about it, the man sighs, somewhat enviously glancing toward the Qi Family: "Our household is simply too small, so we’re bullied by this Lai character without being able to fight back."
"Just look at the Qi Family, they have plenty of men; even if they beat up the likes of Er Laizi, he wouldn’t dare stir up trouble with the Qi Family."
The man finishes speaking, looks at his own daughters, feeling even more downhearted.
The woman, noticeably pregnant, seeming about five to six months along, hears this and feels uneasy.
Instinctively stroking her belly, she almost whispers in prayer: "I just hope this one is a boy."
She’s been married for several years, gives birth quickly, but only girls so far.
Although her in-laws are good and don’t bother her with this, not being able to provide a son for her husband remains her inner burden.
For some reason, she suddenly thinks of the young girl who recently joined the Qi Family.
Nudging her husband with her elbow, she whispers: "That Manbao from the Qi Family looks blessed, and I hear whatever children say comes true. What if I ask her to say this one’s a boy; would it work?"
"Work my ass!"
Her husband immediately glares at her: "Just a little girl, only the folks at Qi Family would think a girl is precious. They name her Manbao, do you believe calling her Manbao will truly bring blessings?"
"Stop with those useless thoughts, drink more meat soup, don’t starve my son!"
The man instructs their daughters to serve their mother a bowl of meat soup.
The woman, already full from drinking water, can’t drink anymore.
She doesn’t want to drink, but seeing her husband’s displeased expression forces her to muster up the courage to gulp it down.
After swallowing the last mouthful, she suddenly feels her stomach churning, covers her mouth, and dashes away.
She only makes it a few steps before vomiting uncontrollably.
Now everything’s gone, every bit of meat soup and meat from earlier is regurgitated with nothing left, leaving her even weaker, collapsing to the ground and crying out in pain.
Everyone is scared stiff seeing this.
The daughters hurry to support their mother, only to find blood seeping from under her dress.
