NOVPUB
Chapter 148: Chapter 148: The right pot for the right stove
"...Brother, what are you talking about?"
Her honest brother who cared about saving face had never shown her his anger all these years. Chen Yanmei, used to her way in her parents’ home, didn’t feel guilty seeing him angry. Instead, she thought that he and his wife were being too petty.
"I didn’t say anything wrong. Your family has many children, and indeed, cooking a big pot of food is like stirring pig’s food. Not only me, but Baodan’s dad also says so. We’re family. I just say what I think without hypocrisy. Why are you so angry?"
Why getting angry on hear about their financial difficulty? Even if she didn’t say it, wouldn’t they realize their financial troubles?
She thought that their financial difficulties were down to their rigid mindset. Despite being poor, they still wanted to have so many children, even risking fines to have them. She had suggested in the past that they should give their youngest daughter and third daughter for adoption, but they refused. She didn’t understand why they were so insistent on raising so many burdens, which even take up space. Having seven people crammed into their small house made her reluctant to visit unless it was during the holidays.
"Fine, if my home is but a pig’s sty and our food is pig’s slop, then I’m unworthy of being your brother. From now on, you may act as if you don’t have a brother. I’m unworthy of having a sister like you." If Chen Yanmei wasn’t holding Baodan, her brother would have slapped her. To avoid hitting her in front of his nephew, he could only swallow his anger and turned his face away to leave.
If he stays any longer, he would lose his patience and hit her.
"Brother..."
Chen Yanmei called out to his departing figure a few times. Seeing that he didn’t respond, she suddenly remembered their uncle was still here. "Uncle, tell me the truth. Did I do anything wrong? I just told the truth. I didn’t say anything wrong!"
"Don’t you dare call me uncle. My family’s food is even worse than pig’s swill." Her uncle’s face darkened. He threw the bamboo stick in his hand to the side of the road, turned around, and left.
"Uncle..."
Chen Yanmei was really panicked now. After the death of her parents, she had just offended half of her closest living relatives. She angrily blamed it on Tong Yao, who seemed to be stirring things up for no reason.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Holding her child, she hurried back to the residential compound, intending to argue with Tong Yao. However, she was in such a rush that she tripped and fell when going upstairs. She was fine, but Baodan hit his forehead and cried like a slaughtered pig. After all the fuss, Chen Yanmei forgot about going after Tong Yao.
...
Having been running around in the heat all afternoon, she was sweaty and uncomfortable, especially noticeable under her armpits, giving off a sweaty smell. Tong Yao, who had a slight obsession with cleanliness, couldn’t stand this smell. She took a shower with a change of clothes, and then had a good nap.
Around four in the afternoon, Si Xiaohui brought Si Boyi over. As soon as they walked in, they were startled by Tong Yao’s swollen face. After learning the cause and effect, Si Xiaohui began to complain with a pout.
"Sister-in-law, my second brother brought the pickles and bean paste that our mom made for him. I advised him not to bring them because I knew you wouldn’t like it, but he was stubborn as a mule and insisted to bring them."
When Tong Yao was at home, she didn’t like these things at all. Her second brother knew this, yet he still insisted on bringing these worthless things. She didn’t know what he was thinking. They had fish and meat in the city, who would want to eat these things!
Other sisters-in-law in the residential compound would laugh at them if they found out. He was really bringing shame to their oldest brother.
Si Boyi felt a bit embarrassed with Si Xiaohui’s words, his face turned red. "Our brother likes to eat these. I thought he hasn’t had these in a long time, so I brought them over for him to try." These indeed weren’t very valuable things, but they were made by their mother.
Tong Yao’s eyes lit up. She happily took the pickles and said, "Great, I’ll use these to make pickle dumplings in a few days." The original owner of the body didn’t like to eat this, but she loved it! You couldn’t buy this kind of authentic homemade pickles in the 21st century.
Just yesterday, she thought Si Boyi brought these for himself to eat. She didn’t expect that he brought these to show his filial piety to his brother. This guy had a conscience and didn’t have the mentality of comparison. He was indeed more mature than Si Xiaohui.
Si Boyi was delighted, touching his head and smiling, "Our brother especially loves these."
He felt a bit out of place in the city earlier. There were apartment buildings here, asphalt roads to walk on, and fish and meat to eat, which was quite different from life in the countryside. Especially when Si Xiaohui kept saying "country bumpkin," Si Boyi felt somewhat inferior deep down.
He was also worried that Tong Yao would look down on him, but he had been thinking of his elder brother who hadn’t eaten this for a long time. He had brought these all the way just so his brother could taste them. Tong Yao’s words affirmed his efforts. Anyone would be happy about that.
"Let’s go. Let’s prepare dinner." Tong Yao went to the kitchen joyfully with the pickles.
Si Boyi quickly followed. Tong Yao didn’t know how to cook at all. If she went to the kitchen, wouldn’t she mess it up?
When they arrived at the kitchen, Si Boyi was stunned. This wasn’t a kitchen; it was more like heaven. He had never seen such a clean kitchen in all his life. All the plates, bowls, pots, and stoves were neatly arranged, just like soldiers in formation. He originally planned to help with the cooking, but now he didn’t know where to start.
Si Xiaohui, with a pout, followed them into the kitchen. The unhappy expression was all over her face. She thought sister-in-law would disdain these things just like her. Unexpectedly, she sided with second brother.
Living in this place, cooking in such pots, they were belittling themselves. The pot, which was clearly meant for pig’s meat, was being used to cook pickles. If this wasn’t a waste, what was.
"Sister-in-law, you should go back to your room and enjoy the fan! Me and second brother can handle things here." Si Xiaohui, who now was revealing her need to win favors in front of her boss, kept trying to prove she was smarter and more diligent than Si Boyi.
"Fine, you guys can cook whatever you want."
The kitchen was small, and the three of them crammed in there was quite hot. It was not helpful to have so many hands at work. So, Tong Yao simply returned to her room to tidy up and drew a simple draft of the renovation plans.
She has thought it through. To keep it simple, she would just build an L-shaped counter, add two sets of tables and chairs, and call it done. The renovation should not take too long. If the business turned out to be good, she would consider opening a chain.
Now, she needed to get the sanitary permit and business license first.
It was different to open a shop in the school. If reported by someone, she would get into trouble and it might also have a bad effect on Principal Zeng.
Also, if she wanted to expand her business in the future, she needed to register a trademark.
But what should be the name of the trademark?
Definitely not an English name. In this era, not many people knew English. Many hadn’t received an education. The name needed to be simple, easy to remember, and not a mouthful. Try as she might, she could not think of a good name.
Never mind, she would discuss it with Si Chen when he came back!
Perhaps he could come up with a good name.
"Sister-in-law, could you set up the table? It’s time for dinner."
Si Xiaohui shouted from the kitchen. Her voice was so loud that even Chen Yanmei, who was in the corridor, could hear it. She immediately started murmuring to the person next to her. no𝚟𝚙u𝚋.c𝚘m
"I heard she found a job outside, but look at her now. She’s busy with idle play all day, and even has two people to serve her. She truly regards herself as an empress."
