Chapter 82 - "It's me, Wen Rugui." (3)
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Those from the old village were kicked out because they were perceived as being too capitalistic for having too much fish and meat. What would others think if they started doing the same soon as they had left?
Truth was, Tong Xuelu would prefer to switch to a new job and move to a new place. It would be difficult for them to eat what they want otherwise.
Tong Jiaxin let out an “ao” and collapsed onto the ground while covering his face with his hands.
How was he to live without meats?!
That being said, Tong Xuelu still made two portions of garlic cabbage stir fry to celebrate the departure of those from the old village.
The siblings, after having plain porridge with pickled vegetables for days, felt that garlic cabbage stir fry was already a blessing.
Tong Jiaxin mixed the juice with his rice and had a whole three bowls of rice. He had so much that his stomach was rounded.
After dinner, Tong Jiaxin was still the one responsible for the dishes. Tong Mianmian went over to play with Zhudan next door.
Tong Xuelu and Tong Jiaming were the only ones left inside the house.
Tong Xuelu said, “I had Tong Zhenzhen sent to the farm because she hit Mianmian.”
She told Tong Jiaming what happened the other day concisely and owned up to her own mistake.
She was, indeed, not being careful enough that day. She should not have left Tong Mianmian with Mother Tong. She didn’t tell the Tong brothers afterward because the timing was bad.
The original owner did not kill the Tong Dajun husband and wife, but she had a lot to do with their death.
For certain the Tong brothers would have even more animosity toward her had she told them that Tong Mianmian was hit the day after her return.
She would admit that she was being a little selfish for not telling that to them but, given the situation back then, nothing would have come out of telling them except worsening the situation between them.
It wasn’t a good thing for either one of them, which was why she chose to keep it from them at the time.
Tong Jiaming kept his eyes lowered and said at a moderate pace after a long while, “Okay, I get it now. We don’t need to let Jiaxing find out about this.”
Tong Xuelu timed it just perfectly. Had they found out at the time, there was no way they would have allowed her to stay there.
Nevertheless, now that they had worked together on chasing away those from the old village, there were things that he could not say.
Besides, Tong Xuelu was in the wrong, but Tong Zhenzhen was the one who hit Tong Mianmian. If he must place blame, it would have been on Tong Zhenzhen.
Seeing that his attitude toward her was alright, Tong Xuelu let out a sigh of relief.
She got up to bathe Tong Mianmian.
***
After a long day of running around, Tong Xuelu went to bed early with the little bun in tow.
She had no idea how long she had been sleeping when she heard knocking on the door.
She was too tired to move so she asked Tong Jiaming to go get the door. She called out a few times but had gotten no response.
She opened up her eyes and realized that she was the only one in the room. She had no idea where Tong Jiaming and the other two siblings had gone.
The knocking continued persistently. It didn’t seem like it would stop unless she went to get the door.
Tong Xuelu was never in a good mood when she first woke up, let alone when she didn’t even get enough sleep. She cursed as she climbed out of bed. “Who is it? Waking someone up in the middle of their sleep can be detrimental to their health!”
Suddenly, a low and warm voice came from outside of the door, “It’s me, Wen Rugui.”
Tong Xuelu was taken aback a little. She wondered how come Wen Rugui had come to look for her at the compound.
She opened the door and saw Wen Rugui standing outside, looking at her with his black eyes.
The way he was looking at her gave her goosebumps. She asked, “Hi, Comrade Wen. How can I help you?”