Chapter 138 - She wondered what the woman had up her sleeves. (2)
Still not seeing any signs of adults around, Shen Wanrong paused for a little and said, “Child, I hope you don’t find me prying but how come your parents didn’t come with you?”
Tong Xuelu figured she would ask that eventually. Her lips tightened a little and told her the Tong family’s situation briefly with a sad look.
She told her about Tong Dajun and his wife’s accident, how Jie Jinhua had “gone crazy”, and how she had switched her job with someone working for a government-operated restaurant nearby.
She had, however, omitted the part that she was switched at birth, at that did not seem relevant.
Shen Wanrong had an idea that there was a back story to the Tong family but she didn’t think it was such a sad story.
“It must be difficult trying to support all of your sibling by yourself.” Looking at her tenderly, Shen Wanrong asked, “Oh right, what are you going to do with Mianmian when you go to work tomorrow and your two brothers go to school?”
Tong Xuelu said, “I plan to bring her with me to my workplace.”
Shen Wanrong, “Is that a good idea? Your manager might not be very happy with you showing up with a child on day 1.”
Tong Xuelu smiled nonchalantly, “I can’t just leave her home by herself.”
She had thought about the situation that Shen Wanrong was describing but she couldn’t come up with any better ideas than bringing Tong Mianmian with her to work.
Shen Wanrong thought about it some and said, “Our Zhuzhu likes to play with Mianmian a lot. If you feel alright, you can drop her off at my place tomorrow and I can look after her for you.”
Tong Xuelu said sincerely, “Thank you, Grandma Shen. Mianmian is a timid one and she loves to cling onto me. Let me ask her what she thinks of that in a little bit.”
Tong Xuelu really appreciated Shen Wanrong’s offer to help.
But, they had just met each other. She would not just trust her with Tong Mianmian just yet.
She planned to ask around about the Wei family. If they are nice people, that might not be a bad idea.
The pumpkin cakes were ready in no time. They were golden brown and shiny and looked very appetizing.
Shen Wanrong picked one up and tried it. It was soft and mushy along with the taste of pumpkin. The sweetness filled her mouth and it made her want to have another one.
Shen Wanrong praised her again. “Sweet but not overly so. I have had pumpkin cake many times before but this was by far the best!”
Wei Zhuzhu, Tong Mianmian, and the other children enjoyed them as well.
As she had made a lot of them, Tong Xuelu brought some of them with her to visit the other families in the alley after Shen Wanrong had taken off.
The other families were slightly further away but the still know about the Wei family.
Tong Xuelu found out indirectly that the Wei was a family of military personnel. Shen Wanrong had two sons and the younger of the two was a an officer in the northwest.
Her older son died in a mission and her older daughter-in-law didn’t make it at the time and also followed in his footsteps.
Her older son left behind a son and a daughter and Shen Wanrong and her husband were looking after them.
Her older grandson got accepted to the worker, peasant, and soldier university in capital city. The two of them worried about him so they decided to move with their granddaughter to capital city so that they could take care of their grandson.
Tong Xuelu decided to have the Wei family helped her care for Tong Mianmian after she heard the stories.
What was there to worry about with a patriotic family like them?
She soaked some green beans that night before she head to bed and got up at day break to make green bean cakes the next morning.
After breakfast, she brought Tong Mianmian and the green bean cakes over to the Wei family.
Seeing that Tong Xuelu had made green bean cakes, Shen Wanrong couldn't help but chastised her lightly, “Just this one time okay? Don’t bring stuff over anymore.”
She didn’t cook but she still knew that green bean cakes required a lot of sugar. With their family’s situation, they should save anywhere that they could.
Tong Xuelu smiled and said, “It’s not that difficult to make. Besides, Mianmian likes them as well.”
Having said that, she handed over half a month of meal tickets and some lunch money.
Shen Wanrong didn’t want to accept them but, looking at how determined that Tong Xuelu was, she finally accepted them.
Tong Xuelu squatted down and rubbed Tong Mianmian on her head. “You be a good girl and stay over at Grandma Shen’s and play with Big Sister Zhuzhu okay? Big Sister will b here to pick you up after work, okay?”
She had already talked to Tong Mianmian the night before.
The little bun was very mature. She just missed her Big Sister.
Tong Mianmian hugged her and rubbed her face against Tong Xuelu’s. “Okay, you be back soon, okay, Big Sister? Don’t let Mianmian be worried.”
The little bun’s voice was milky and her eyes were filled with dependency for her. She was unbearably cute.
Tong Xuelu gave her a peck on her little cheek and said, “Okay, Big Sister will come back as soon as she gets off work."