Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Different From the Rumors
Finally, they arrived at the Song family's home.
Qin Xiaoyao brought the two of them into the house and brought Liu Daniu to the kitchen to put down the Chinese yam.
Madam Liu quickly gave the three of them three bowls of cold water.
"Quick, drink it to quench your thirst!" Then, she handed the water over.
"Thank you, Aunt!" Liu Daniu was sweating profusely and was extremely thirsty, so naturally, he did not hold back.
"Thank you, Aunt!" Big Girl Li also quickly accepted the bowl.
Her situation wasn't any better. Even though she didn't carry any Chinese yam on her way back, she was still exhausted from chasing the two of them while carrying two hoes.
In the end, after taking a mouthful of the water, the two of them got a shock.
"This… is sugar water?" Big Girl Li looked at Madam Liu in surprise.
After asking, she took another sip.
It was really sugar water, and it was very sweet.
Liu Daniu also looked at Madam Liu in surprise.
Wasn't the Song family so poor that they couldn't even feed themselves?
To think that Aunt Song was actually serving them sugar water!
Liu Daniu's gaze shifted again, and he saw the lard on the table that wasn't fully covered. He couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
Could that really be lard? It looked quite sizable!
"Sanya went to town to buy some sugar today. You two have worked so hard for Sanya. Drinking sugar water can help you recover your strength quickly," Madam Liu replied with a smile.
After the Song family's fortunes declined, they had less contact with the villagers. Usually, very few people came to their house.
These two youngsters were her daughter-in-law's guests, so naturally, she had to give them a warm welcome.
At this moment, Qin Xiaoyao also came forward.
She picked up the last bowl of water and gulped it down in a few mouthfuls.
It was indeed sweet, and she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.
Qin Xiaoyao smiled when she saw the couple looking at her.
"We bought enough sugar. Mother, make some more sugar water. Let Yun'er and Ye'er have a taste too. And you and your husband can also drink it to satisfy your cravings."
As soon as she finished speaking, the two little ones could not resist staring at their sister-in-law and mother.
Madam Liu was amused by Qin Xiaoyao's expression.
"Alright!" It was rare for her to reply with a smile.
Then, she turned around to make the sugar water.
Liu Daniu and his wife were shocked beyond words.
They also had sugar at home, but their mother kept a close eye on it, and they rarely got to taste it.
Their mother was not like Aunt Song at all, who was so easy to talk to.
"By the way, I just baked some pancakes. If you guys are hungry, you can have some to fill your stomachs." At this moment, Madam Liu came out with a big bowl of pancakes.
It was indeed a rough flour pancake mixed with wild vegetables, but there was actually… sugar sprinkled on top!
Liu Daniu and Big Girl Li, who were already starving, couldn't take their eyes off that bowl.
Before the two of them could say anything, Qin Xiaoyao wiped her hands on her clothes and reached out her hand.
When the two saw this, how could they still hold back out of courtesy?
They also wiped their hands on their clothes and then reached out to take the pancake.
"Thank you, Aunt." Of course, they didn't forget to thank her after taking them.
Aunt Song was really generous! She was much more generous than their mother!
As the sweet pancakes entered their mouths, Liu Daniu and his wife felt that the taste was so beautiful.
Qin Xiaoyao glanced at the two of them, then reached out for two more pancakes and looked at the two little ones.
"Yun'er, Ye'er, come here!" she instructed them.
When the two little ones saw Liu Daniu and his wife enjoying their pancakes, they couldn't help but come closer.
Then, they took the pancakes from their sister-in-law.
Qin Xiaoyao distributed two pancakes to her little sister-in-law and little brother-in-law before continuing to eat.
At this moment, Liu Daniu and his wife had also finished the pancakes in their hands.
Just as Big Girl Li was about to reach for it again, Liu Daniu pulled on the corner of her clothes and stopped her.
The Song family's life was hard, and it was generous of them to take out these things to entertain them.
They worked for Qin Sanya and had agreed on their pay. How could they be so shameless as to eat in the Song family?
Hence, Liu Daniu said, "Well, it's getting late. Our family members are still waiting for us to go back for lunch. Aunt Song, Mrs. Song, we'll be leaving first."
Big Girl Li looked away from the pancakes reluctantly, then smiled at Madam Liu as well.
"Why are you leaving just like that? Stay for lunch." Madam Liu quickly asked them to stay.
"No need, no need." This time, it was Big Girl Li who waved her hand and turned down her offer.
After that, the couple quickly walked out.
Qin Xiaoyao finally took action. She reached out and took four pieces of pancakes from the bowl.
Then, she quickly ran after the couple.
"My mother's pancakes taste good. You two can eat them on the way!" She caught up to the two of them and directly shoved the pancakes into Big Girl Li's hands.
Big Girl Li looked at the pancakes with sugar in her hand and couldn't refuse.
It was not until she followed her man out of the Song family's courtyard and shared the pancakes with her man that she came back to her senses.
"And you said you weren't close to Mrs. Song." Liu Daniu only whispered to his wife after they had walked a little further away. He immediately changed the way he usually addressed Qin Xiaoyao from 'Qin Sanya' to 'Mrs. Song.'
They had already left, but she still ran after them to give them the pancakes. How could that be considered 'not close'?
However, he wasn't angry at all. On the contrary, he felt pretty good about it.
Previously, he didn't know much about Mrs. Song. He was influenced by the rumors and her appearance, so he had some misconceptions about her.
Now, he felt that Mrs. Song was actually a good person.
She was more hardworking and efficient than him, a man.
She didn't treat her mother-in-law, little sister-in-law, or little brother-in-law badly, unlike the rumors swirling outside.
He had seen the situation just now with his own eyes.
When did she mistreat the Song family? She couldn't possibly be any nicer to the mother-and-children trio!
Notwithstanding other things, even his wife would not be able to treat his mother and siblings-in-law so well.
"We… we're really not close," Big Girl Li replied subconsciously.
However, the moment she said it, even she herself felt that she didn't have any confidence in her own words.
"Come on! You don't have to be afraid to admit it."
"I was mistaken in the past. Mrs. Song is actually different from what they had described her to be. It's fine even if you're on good terms with her," Liu Daniu said.
Big Girl Li looked at her man and wanted to explain that Qin Sanya was not as simple as she looked.
However, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
Hence, she could only give up.
Thereafter, she had to listen to her man praise Qin Sanya for being strong and filial to her mother-in-law all the way until they reached their doorway.
Meanwhile, after Liu Daniu and his wife left, the Song family started to prepare for lunch.
Taking into account the hardships that her daughter-in-law had suffered when she went into the mountains, Madam Liu followed Qin Xiaoyao's instructions and ensured that the food was sufficient.
There was a large pot of brown rice, baked pancakes, fried vegetables, and soup.
Although there was no meat, this table of food was much better than the food the Song family usually had in the past.
In addition, the person who delivered food to Song Que today was Song Yun.
At this moment, in the room next door.
Song Que sat up to eat. When he saw that the person who delivered the food was not Qin Xiaoyao, he could not help but frown.
Did that woman really not care about him anymore?
When he heard his sister talking to him about the things that woman had done for him and the family, Song Que's brows furrowed even more.
It's only been three days. Why are they all siding with that woman? Had they forgotten how she treated them before?
Or was this part of that woman's scheme…
When he thought of this, a wave of frustration surged through Song Que's heart.