Chapter 368: Eighties Gourmet System (6)

Xie Yang pretended to gasp in surprise:

"Whose things were put here by mistake? Why are they in our cupboard? Shuisheng, who else came in just now?"

Shuisheng's little mouth rounded into an 'O': "..."

He stammered: "... No, no one came in! Is, is this not our stuff?"

"How is that possible!"

Xie Yang chuckled and rubbed his little head:

"Don't I know how much food we have in storage? Ever since your grandmother handed the cupboard key to me, I've been the one managing it. Let alone such plump, white Rice, even the mixed-grain rice is almost at the bottom, and there are only two eggs left—didn't I just boil those for you? Oh dear, I have to ask around; if it was put here by mistake, the owner must be worried."

Xie Yang had intended to tease the child, but unexpectedly, Hu Laotai from the second floor happened to walk in, clutching a few stalks of green onions.

Likely having heard the last few words, she squinted to see the Rice and eggs in Xie Yang's hands, her cloudy eyes brightened, and she stepped forward:

"A Li's mother, are you talking about the Rice and eggs in your hands? Oh! It might have been my daughter-in-law who put them in the wrong place!"

"..."

"Oh, Auntie Hu, didn't your daughter-in-law go back to her maiden home? When did she come back? How come I didn't see her?"

Just then, another person entered—Sister-in-law Fang, who lived next door to the Hu family. After retorting to the old lady, she looked at Xie Yang:

"A Li's mother, perhaps my youngest son put them in the wrong place. I told him to go weigh some rice and buy a few eggs, and I haven't seen hide nor hair of him since. He probably bought them, put them in your cupboard, and then ran off to play."

Xie Yang: "..."

Hu Laotai retorted even more aggressively than Xie Yang: "Pah! Who said my daughter-in-law didn't come back? She came back a long time ago, she just went to stroll at one of her little sisters' houses. As for your youngest son, which day does he not play until dark without coming home? When have you ever seen him come back in the middle of the day?"

"Can't he come back to drink water? Anyway, it's my family's."

"What do you mean it's your family's? It's clearly my family's! A Li's wife, don't believe her words! This must have been brought back by my daughter-in-law from her maiden home."

The two began to argue over two items that belonged to neither of them, trading questions and accusations.

Xie Yang looked down at Shuisheng.

The little fellow was already so anxious his face had turned beet red.

He tugged at the hem of Xie Yang's shirt: "Mom, Mom..."

This wasn't anyone else's!

This was his!

And he didn't steal it either!

It was clearly a reward from that strange voice!

But how was he supposed to say that now?

Would his stepmother believe him?

He was so anxious that tears were about to fall: "It's ours! This really is ours!"

Xie Yang winked at him, then, as if suddenly realizing something, she raised her hand and patted her forehead, interrupting the two still arguing:

"Oh my! Look at my memory! I remember now, I entrusted someone to buy these and had Shuisheng bring them back."

Old Lady Hu and Sister-in-law Fang looked at each other in dismay: "No, that's not what you said just now..."

Xie Yang looked at them with a half-smile: "It's my stuff, I can say whatever I want about it!"

"..."

Xie Yang ignored the silent exchange between the two, put the Rice and eggs into a basket, let Shuisheng carry it, then locked the cupboard, picked up the thermos, and took the brothers upstairs.

While washing the brothers' faces and soaking their feet, and teaching them to brush their teeth and rinse their mouths, she taught Shuisheng:

"You saw the scene just now; if things suddenly appear in the house, it's very easy to invite unnecessary trouble."

Shuisheng seemed to understand, looking up at Xie Yang with admiration: "Then in the future, I'll take them out quietly and hide them in the house, only letting you know, Mom, and not telling anyone else."

Xie Yang rubbed his little head: "I'm very happy you trust me this much. But right now, the house isn't lacking these foods. If we really need something, we will discuss it properly and see what kind of excuse to use when bringing it out."

"..."

The naive Shuisheng realized he possessed a very magical thing.

His stepmother told him he could complete a Task, but he didn't need to be bound by it.

His stepmother also told him that the rewards obtained from a Task didn't all have to be brought out.

"In short, treat it as an auxiliary tool. Don't let it affect your normal life, and don't let it get you into trouble or a predicament."

He asked why.

His stepmother said: "Because you are still young and don't know the malice of the human heart. And also because I am your mother, and raising you is my responsibility."

That night, Shuisheng gazed at the bright moon outside the window, unable to sleep for a long time.

When he finally fell asleep, his eyelashes were damp, but the corners of his mouth were curled into a crescent moon lying on its side.

The next morning, Xie Yang was woken up by a rooster from someone's house downstairs.

Once awake, she couldn't fall back asleep, so she simply used the dim morning light to flip through the ledger the original owner had kept in the drawer.

She discovered that after finishing the funeral for the Zhang family mother and son, there wasn't much money left from what Mother Zhang had saved.

She immediately decided not to rest and would go to the Gad Steel Factory Canteen that very day to take over Zhang Pozi's shift!

She entrusted the brothers, Shuisheng and Musheng, to Liu Shen.

However, asking Liu Shen to help look after the children wasn't a long-term solution.

Although Liu Shen didn't work, she often took on manual labor like gluing Matchboxes or cigarette shells; otherwise, Zhang Pozi wouldn't have taken in the original owner back then.

Moreover, Shuisheng was seven years old and had long been at the age to attend the Yuhong Class, but Zhang Pozi hadn't sent him just to save a few pennies.

Xie Yang felt that the Yuhong Class for preschool preparation was still very necessary.

Money could be earned again if it was gone, but if an educational opportunity was missed, it was truly missed.

Therefore, she was not only going to send Shuisheng to the Yuhong Class, but Musheng would go too.

But registration takes time, so for these few days, she could only temporarily entrust Liu Shen to help look after them.

Liu Shen readily agreed: "Just send the two brothers over; I'll have Daniu take them out to play."

Xie Yang packed a flask of cooled boiled water for the two brothers and wrapped three boiled eggs in a clean handkerchief, telling them to give one to Daniu.

"Be good, I will bring food back at noon to eat with you."

Xie Yang touched the two children's heads and gave them some instructions.

Before leaving, she winked at Shuisheng, signaling him to remember the words she had taught him last night.

Shuisheng nodded solemnly: "Mom, I will take good care of my younger brother, you... you remember to come back."

Xie Yang suddenly laughed: "I will definitely come back! Where would I go if I didn't come back? Even if we have to move, our family of three must stay together."

Shuisheng grinned and nodded vigorously: "Mm!"

The oblivious Musheng did not understand, but that did not stop him from imitating his older brother; he also grinned, revealing a row of neat, tiny teeth, and shook his little head: "Mm."

Xie Yang was amused, kissed both children one by one, and only then set off for work.

In the Courtyard downstairs, seven or eight women sat in a circle on small stools, scrubbing the dirty clothes changed by their husbands and children, chatting as they scrubbed.

Recently, their conversation topics had consistently revolved around the tragedy that occurred at the Zhang family and the whereabouts of the two children.

Especially today, with Hu Laotai and Sister-in-law Fang also present, they were unusually united in their shared hatred and righteous indignation as they complained about the Zhang family.

"Oh my! You don't know how miserable those two children of A Li are; they are being bullied to death by their stepmother."

"Really? Dani looks quite honest and steady."

"She was honest and steady before, but now that Zhang Pozi and A Li are both gone, she has revealed her true colors. Just watch, she will definitely leave within a few days."

"Then what will happen to the Shuisheng brothers in the future? So young and without a father or mother... no, wait, they have a mother! Their biological mother is still alive!"

"That biological mother of theirs, tsk..."

"That's still better than their stepmother, you don't know... uh... uh..."

Sister-in-law Fang was in the middle of a spirited rant, spitting as she spoke, but when she saw Xie Yang walking toward her, she choked; she "uh-ed" for a long time without finishing a complete sentence.

The other women also pretended to be busy, lowering their heads to scrub their clothes.

Xie Yang greeted them with a smile: "Hi, are the biological mothers holding a tea party?"

"..."

A single sentence caused the opposing camp to fall silent; Xie Yang gave a light click of her tongue, how boring!