RPAGF Chapter 436 Things change and people change
Chapter 436 Things change and people change
A low and obviously angry voice asked coldly, "Who told you to go to Xiuying's Bamboo Mountain?" The voice went straight into the ears of Tian Guilan and Zhao Cunliang, making them shiver.
They had been stealing bamboo shoots from the mountain in secret, and had been carefully hiding it from Cuihua, fearing she would find out. When Cuihua suddenly asked them this, the panic in their hearts instantly spread like a flood.
Zhao Cunliang and Tian Guilan slowly turned their heads and saw Cuihua standing behind them with a frosty face, her eyes as sharp as ice knives, shooting straight at them.
Cuihua snorted coldly and said word by word: "Don't forget who is the head of this family!" Her voice was not loud, but it carried unquestionable majesty.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, a hint of warning in her eyes, and continued, "If you do these sneaky things behind my back again next time, hmph, I won't be polite!"
Zhao Cunliang and Tian Guilan nodded hurriedly, as if pounding garlic.
"Remember, remember, there will definitely not be a next time!"
Cuihua turned her head slightly and glanced faintly in the direction of the kitchen. Then a smile appeared on her face. She looked at the little girls, Lamei, Yingchun, Xiao Laoliu and Xiao Laoqi, and said softly, "Lamei, Yingchun, Laoliu and Laoqi, I haven't seen you guys for a long time. I miss you so much. Let's have lunch here today. It's a good opportunity for you to chat with me."
Little Six and Little Seven subconsciously cast their gazes towards Lamei, their eyes filled with confusion. This was once their home, but since the separation, they had never set foot here again, and they felt a mixture of emotions.
As for having dinner here, it was something they had never even thought of. Now that Cuihua had suddenly made such an invitation, they didn't know how to respond for a moment and could only look to Lamei for help.
Lamei's eyes inadvertently fell on the bowl of white frost in Tian Guilan's hand. After a moment's hesitation, she looked up and said to Cuihua, "Sister Cuihua, I won't bother you with the meal. But I'm looking at the white frost on the wall. I wonder if you could give me some more."
When Tian Guilan heard this, her already gloomy face instantly became even uglier, and her tone was full of displeasure: "Oh, my stomach has been growling with hunger for a long time. I only ate a little bit in the morning, and now I can hardly stand. This white frost is precious, and I'm waiting to use it to replenish my body." As she spoke, she deliberately held the bowl in her hand tighter in her arms.
When Little Six heard this, he clapped his hands excitedly, "Great, great, then we'll have lunch here! When Auntie is full and has more energy, she can make us some of this white frost."
She seemed to have remembered something important. Her mother had told her sisters to go out and look for the white frost on the wall. After all this trouble, it was almost noon, and it felt awkward to go back to the old village chief's house. It would be better to have dinner at Cuihua's place and then figure out how to deal with the white frost.
"Great! Come inside and sit down." Cuihua greeted Xiao Laoliu and the others enthusiastically, then turned and shouted towards the kitchen, "Husband, is the meal ready? We can set it up now."
When Lamei and her sisters heard the shout, they all looked towards the kitchen like puppets pulled by the same string.
Guangzong poked his head out from the kitchen, forced an unnatural smile on his face, and replied, "It'll be ready soon, right there, right there." His smile was a little stiff, and there seemed to be a hint of fear in his eyes.
Cuihua looked at Guangzong tenderly, her eyes full of sweetness, and said softly: "Husband, there are guests at home, please put out a few more pairs of bowls and chopsticks."
"Okay, okay." Guangzong agreed casually, but when his eyes swept over the person standing in the yard and saw who it was, the smile on his face froze instantly, and he shrank his head like a frightened rabbit and disappeared from everyone's sight.
Seeing this, Lamei said to the maid standing beside her, "Go back and tell mother that my sisters and I are having dinner at Sister Cuihua's place, so she won't worry."
"Yes, miss." The maid responded respectfully, bowed slightly, then turned around and walked hurriedly towards the door. Soon she disappeared from everyone's sight.
Cuihua took Lamei's hand and called the other sisters, saying, "Come into the main room and sit down." As she spoke, she led the four Lamei sisters slowly into the main room.
In the main room, a familiar atmosphere filled the air, but with some unfamiliar changes.
As the sisters entered the main room, their eyes unconsciously looked around the room. This room carried their painful memories. The old square table had been replaced with a round one.
"Sisters, please sit down. Don't be so polite. It's been ages since I've had such a lively dinner with someone to share. I'm really happy that you can stay today," Cuihua greeted warmly, taking the first seat at the round table. Lamei and her sisters followed suit, their movements somewhat reserved.
Guangzong came out of the kitchen, holding a plate of freshly fried vegetables in one hand, which he carefully placed on the round table. His other disabled hand was completely hidden in the long, wide sleeve.
Yaozu walked into the main room with a basin of steaming corn cakes in both hands and looked respectful. He gently placed the basin of corn cakes in front of Cuihua.
Zhao Cunliang also walked over slowly, carrying a pot of soup with fat cooked in it, with some oil floating on the surface.
The Lamei sisters looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion. At this moment, Cuihua's voice broke the brief silence: "What are you still looking at?"
As soon as the words fell, the Zhao family members, as if receiving some kind of instruction, quickly walked towards the shabby low table. They sat down in front of the low table one by one, surrounding the basin of black flour paste in the middle.
Tian Guilan sat aside, picked up the coarse earthenware bowl with one hand, and skillfully picked up the soup spoon with the other hand, gently scooping up a spoonful of black flour paste.
Seeing this scene, the Lamei sisters felt a sudden pang of pain in their hearts, as if time had suddenly reversed. Once upon a time, they had been in the same situation in this family.
Back then, every meal consisted of porridge made from wild vegetables. There wasn't even a place to sit, let alone a decent table or chair. All we could do was huddle in a corner, clutching a worn-out earthenware bowl, trying to fill our stomachs in the dim light. But now, the situation had reversed.
"Come on, eat!" Cuihua said with a warm smile. As she spoke, she picked up a corn cake, gently broke off a small piece, and put it in her mouth to chew carefully. "Try it, the cornmeal is well mixed, and the corn cake is also good, fragrant and soft."