"Father just praised you," Lian Shouxin said with a smile while watching Lady Zhang and the children eat, "he said you made a very respectable meal."

"I have two capable daughters," Lady Zhang said with a beaming smile, as she picked a piece of elbow meat and placed it into Lian Manman’s bowl, "Manman, eat more meat."

"Mother, I can do it myself, you eat more too," Lian Manman said.

Lady Zhang intentionally chose a whole piece of lean meat for her. Seeing this, Lian Manman declined.

"Mother, give that to my sister. She loves lean meat. I’ll have a fatty piece," Lian Manman spoke while picking up a piece of elbow skin for herself.

"Mother, give it to me," Lian Zhizhi quickly took the lean meat, "Manman’s taste is getting pickier."

Lian Manman just laughed, "The elbow skin has more flavor."

The family was chatting and laughing when they heard the curtain at the door rustle. Lian Manman looked up to see Lady He stride in from outside, dragging Liulang with her.

"Four Aunt, I’ve come to borrow a needle from you," Lady He said loudly. Upon entering, she pretended to be surprised, "Oh, are you having a meal?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

As Lady He spoke, she had already pulled Liulang to the dining table.

The children stopped talking, bowed their heads to focus on their food and vegetables, while covertly exchanging glances with each other. Recently, Lady He had developed a habit of coming to Lady Zhang’s to borrow things. A needle, a thread, and once even claimed she couldn’t find her broom at home and needed to borrow theirs.

Every time Lady He came to borrow something, it was always when they were eating. After several such incidents, Lian Manman and her sisters knew that Lady He’s true intent wasn’t the borrowing itself; she was really there to snoop on what they were eating and to take advantage of the situation for her own benefit.

"Ah, you have elbow meat, braised pork..." Lady He moved in closer, her eyes nearly glued to the dishes on the table, "Your living is too good. We haven’t smelled meat in who knows how many days."

As she spoke, Lady He sneakily pinched Liulang.

Liulang, being short, couldn’t see what was on the table, but he too could smell the aroma of the meat.

"Mother, I’m hungry," Liulang said, drooling.

"You’re hungry, but what’s the use of telling me? Tell your Four Aunt," Lady He said as she hoisted Liulang up onto the kang bed near the table, "And to tell you the truth, I’m hungry too."

Lady He was just waiting for a word from Lady Zhang to have Liulang join the meal. Or even if Lady Zhang didn’t speak up in opposition, Lady He could boldly assume it was an unspoken permission.

At this moment, Lian Manman felt as if the fish she was eating had lost its taste. In the language of the village folk, Lady He had a thick skin and showed no class, but Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang cared about face. She knew that it was impossible for Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang to ask Lady He to leave, and there was a high chance they’d soften and invite Lady He and Liulang to join them for the meal.

This was something Lian Manman couldn’t agree to.

The meal today was indeed a bit lavish, but it was something their family had worked hard for. And were they such wealthy people that they ate like this regularly? Meals like this were a rarity for them. Lady He, an able-bodied adult who was lazy and didn’t have a good relationship with them, was coming to their home to freeload. What kind of reasoning was that?

But there was Liulang, still a child. Lady He had precisely calculated that, even if Lady Zhang and Lian Shouxin might be rude to her, they couldn’t bear to scold Liulang.

Yet Xiao Qi was also a child, and even younger than Liulang. When Xiao Qi was sweating profusely while lighting the fire and scalding shredded cabbage under the stove, what was Liulang doing? When Xiao Qi was hawking vegetables in the market, what was Liulang doing then?

At the dinner table, Xiao Qi was covertly glowering at Liulang.

"Mom, I want meat," Liulang clamored as he gazed at the plate of braised pork on the table. Even with Lady He beside him, Liulang was somewhat afraid of Lian Manman and the others, daring not to reach for the meat himself.

"Oh, that’s up to your Fourth Aunt, isn’t it?" Lady He looked at the dishes on the table, swallowed hard, then turned to Lady Zhang with a sheepish smile, "Fourth Aunt, just look at how enticingly Zhizhi and Manman are eating, you’ve got Liulang salivating..."

Lady He should have been the one blushing, but in reality, her complexion was normal; it was Lady Zhang’s face that had flushed beet red.

"That, that..." Lady Zhang hesitated, not knowing what to say.

Lian Manman glanced at Lady Zhang and knew she was again too soft-hearted and thin-skinned to stand up to Lady He.

"Mom, haven’t we already prepared meat dishes for Second Uncle’s wife and Liulang?" Lian Manman quickly interjected.

"Ah, yes," Lady Zhang agreed, nodding along with Lian Manman.

Before they had started their meal, Lady Zhang had already picked out a variety of dishes to prepare a bowl to send to the Upper Room, which wasn’t intended for Lady He and Liulang alone.

"Mom, let’s quickly bring it out," Lian Manman said with a smile, "Second Aunt, all of this at the table are the leftovers, the less appetizing bits. We picked out the best parts first, keeping them aside for you."

Lady Zhang got up quickly, fetched a large bowl of hot meat dishes from the pot, and Lian Manman also left the dinner table, pulling Liulang by the hand.

"Liulang, come on, let’s go eat meat," Lian Manman urged as she gestured for Lady Zhang to head towards the Upper Room.

Lady Zhang led the way with the bowl, while Lian Manman and Liulang quickly followed, Liulang’s eyes fixed on the bowl of meaty dishes, obediently allowing Lian Manman to guide him. Lady He looked left and right—she was reluctant to leave the dishes on the dining table, but Xiao Qi was more alert and had already guarded several bowls of meat dishes to his side.

"Don’t laugh at us, Second Aunt. Xiao Qi is even younger than Liulang, and he guards his food fiercely. Later, my dad and mom will surely scold him for it," Wu Lang said to Lady He with a smile of resignation.

Seeing that she could gain no advantage here, Lady He hastily turned and followed Lian Manman and Liulang.

When the group arrived at the Upper Room, Lady Zhou was having Lady Zhao set the table, ready to dine.

"Mom, the house is entertaining guests today. I’ve selected a few decent dishes, so you and everyone else can have a taste," Lady Zhang said as she placed the bowl of meat dishes on the dining table.

Lian Manman tugged at Liulang’s arm, helped him up onto the heated brick bed, covertly pointed towards the bowl of meat, and then left the Upper Room with Lady Zhang. Lady Zhang was never stingy—the bowl of meat dishes was sincerely generous. Lian Manman was confident that if anyone else in the Lian Family were in their position, they couldn’t have done it any better.

"You’re craving something you have no right to! The adults haven’t started eating yet, and here you are, reaching for food with your hands. I’ll chop them off!" As Lian Manman stepped into the courtyard, she heard Lian Xiuxiu’s furious scolding from the Upper Room, followed by Liulang’s wailing. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it, or give it a monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)