When Guan Manxing got home, her brother-in-law was lounging there with his legs crossed, drinking and munching on meat—the very meat that came from Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu's stall. Guan Manxing was furious. "Brother-in-law, where did you get that meat?"
Sun Jianguo looked nonchalant. "Bought it."
"Where did you get the money?"
"Oh, the money? I saw a jar under your bed, pulled it out, and wow—there was 50 whole bucks in there!"
Guan Manxing felt dizzy. "You took all of it?"
Sun Jianguo nodded. "Took every bit!"
Guan Manxing stepped back a few paces. "Brother-in-law, that was for Zihao and Ziyu's school fees. You laze around all day doing nothing, and now you've gone and blown that money. If Zihao and Ziyu can't go to school, I swear I'll fight you over this! You haven't spent it all yet, have you? Hand it over!"
Just then, Guan Manxing's mother-in-law came out from the inner room. "What's all this yelling about? Let me ask you—where did you get that much money? Last time your father-in-law was sick, the whole family was worried sick, nearly at our wits' end. And you? You had that cash hidden away the whole time, just watching us panic. You have no conscience! I said from the very beginning we should never have married someone from the countryside. Look, we brought a venomous woman into this house."
"Mother-in-law, that was money I borrowed from my own family for Ziyu and Zihao's tuition. It can't just disappear like this—"
Guan Manxing's mother-in-law spat. "How much could Ziyu and Zihao's tuition possibly cost? You just want to hoard it as your private stash. What are you planning—to drain our Sun family dry and run off with some other man? And don't give me that 'my family' business. Everyone knows your family won't spare a single cent now. Don't try to fool me."
Guan Manxing couldn't hold back anymore. She got into a huge fight with her mother-in-law, then went back to her room, pulled the blanket over her head, and cried. But she wasn't a weak person by nature. Slowly, she started plotting—how to drive her mother-in-law out and how to get her hands on Guan Yuan's braised meat recipe.
---
Back at home, Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu were busy with their braised meat and had no idea that Guan Manxing was now more determined than ever to get their recipe.
The next day, Guan Manxing went back to her parents' home. Yang Xiucui was delighted to see her daughter—she served meat and white flour, which made her daughters-in-law purse their lips in displeasure.
Guan Manxing always brought Sun Zihao and Sun Ziyu along when she visited, so the kids could get a good meal. After lunch, when the children went out to play, Guan Manxing finally spoke up: "Mom, do you have any money on hand? Zihao and Ziyu's tuition got taken by my brother-in-law."
Yang Xiucui looked troubled. "There's not much left at home. Most of it was taken by people from the village last time. Now your father's holding all the money—I can't even get my hands on it."
Seeing that she couldn't get any money from her mother, Guan Manxing went to find Guan He. He was sitting on the heated kang in the main room, smoking. Guan Manxing put on a smile and called out, "Dad."
Guan He did have some affection for his daughter and responded warmly.
"Dad, Zihao and Ziyu are about to start school, but we still don't have the tuition money…"
Guan He's smile faded the moment money was mentioned. "Zihao and Ziyu have the surname Sun. If they need to study, they should ask the Sun family. What does that have to do with me? Your own nephews and nieces haven't even started school yet. And don't think I haven't noticed—you've been quietly taking quite a bit of money from your mother over the years. You must have saved something!"
Guan Manxing let two streams of tears roll down her cheeks. "You know I lost everything when I sold that braised meat last time. The little I had left was taken by Jianguo's brother and mother. I truly don't have a single cent right now."
Guan He puffed on his cigarette a few times. "That's still none of my business. My own grandsons aren't even in school yet."
Guan Manxing cried even more bitterly. "But Zihao and Ziyu are your grandsons too!"
Guan He remained unmoved. "It's no use. You'd better head back. I have no money to give you."
Seeing her father's hard-hearted stance, Guan Manxing switched tactics. "Dad, don't Guan Yuan and that little brat Zhao Shenggu have money?"
Guan He's hand paused mid-smoke. "That's their money. You think you can squeeze it out of them?"
Guan Manxing said, "Dad, we can think of other ways. Look—if we could get our hands on their braised meat recipe, we'd have a steady stream of cash."
Guan He let out a scoff. "How are you going to get the recipe? You know how tricky that Zhao Shenggu is."
"Dad, we just have to go after his weakness," Guan Manxing said confidently.
"His weakness? What weakness?" Guan He looked puzzled.
"Guan Yuan. He treats Guan Yuan like the apple of his eye. If we can get a hold of Guan Yuan, there's no way that little brat won't hand over the recipe."
Guan He lost interest. "Won't work. He's not part of our Guan family anymore."
Seeing that her father still didn't get it, Guan Manxing spelled it out: "We hide Guan Yuan somewhere, then demand the recipe from Zhao Shenggu. He'll definitely give it up."
Guan He was startled. "What are you planning? That's illegal!"
"Oh, Dad, don't be dense. We're still Guan Yuan's blood relatives. We can just say we missed him and that you, as his grandfather, wanted to spend time with him. What could possibly go wrong?"
Guan He fell silent, taking a few more puffs. Then he said to Guan Manxing, "Go call your brothers in."
After Guan Mancang and the others came in, they spent the entire afternoon huddled in the room, plotting. In the end, they all decided to go through with it.
That evening, as dusk was falling, Guan Yuan was in the yard gathering quilts while Zhao Shenggu cooked in the kitchen. Guan Mancang and his brothers crept toward the Zhao family's courtyard wall, thinking they were being stealthy. But Guan Yuan had already heard the noise. He stood up, squinted at the heads peeking over the wall, and yelled, "Brother, thieves!" Then he grabbed a stick and ran toward the wall. Zhao Shenggu heard the shout and rushed out too.
The head that popped up was Guan Manku. Startled by Guan Yuan's shout, he lost his footing and stomped right on Guan Mancang's face—the brother who was carrying him. Guan Mancang yelped in pain, and the two of them tumbled down, landing on Guan Manwu, who was keeping watch below.
Zhao Shenggu opened the gate and found the Guan brothers sprawled on the ground, groaning. Guan Yuan didn't hesitate—he gave each of them a whack with his stick and started yelling for help catching thieves.
Soon a crowd gathered. When they saw it was the Guan brothers, everyone was baffled.
Guan Yuan explained, "I was about to close the gate when I saw someone climbing over the wall. I ran out and only then realized it was them."
The crowd spotted a large burlap sack nearby and a ladder propped against the wall. "Shameless, that's what this is! Shenggu has been living in your house for so long, and Guan Yuan is still your own flesh and blood. Yet here you are, trying to steal from them?"
The Guan brothers scrambled to defend themselves: "No, we were just passing by—"
"Just passing by, with a ladder against the wall? Just passing by, climbing over the wall? Do you take us for fools?" Zhao Shenggu saw right through their lie.
Guan Manku forced a smile. "We just missed Xiao Yuan. We came to see him."
The bystanders had heard enough. "If you wanted to see him, you could've walked right through the front door like normal people. First time I've ever seen anyone 'visit' by climbing over a wall!" The crowd burst out laughing.
A few hot-blooded men couldn't stand the brothers' rotten behavior. "A few rats spoil the whole batch. Can't believe our village has scoundrels like you." They each gave the brothers a good kick for good measure.
Someone helpful suggested, "Let's take them to the village chief. He'll give them a proper scolding." In those days, people didn't immediately think of reporting things to the authorities. Besides, there was no solid evidence, and the Guan brothers were still Guan Yuan's relatives by blood—things could get messy.
Zhao Shenggu and Guan Yuan agreed. So the crowd marched the Guan brothers off to the village chief's place.
Back at home, Guan He and Guan Manxing were anxiously waiting for the brothers to return with Guan Yuan. Instead, the village loudspeaker crackled to life. The village chief announced that Guan Mancang and his brothers had been caught trying to rob someone, and that everyone in the village should come to guide them toward reform.
Guan He staggered backward a few steps, glaring at Guan Manxing with hatred. "This is all your brilliant idea!" He turned and went back inside—he couldn't bear to show his face.
Guan Manxing stomped her foot and cursed the Guan brothers for being useless in her head. Afraid of getting dragged into it herself, she quickly grabbed Sun Zihao and Sun Ziyu and left.
As for the Guan brothers, under the village's "re-education," they finally admitted they had gone there to steal. They weren't stupid—stealing and kidnapping were two very different things.
After getting thoroughly beaten, they were finally let go. The Guan brothers stumbled home, black-and-blue and swollen, like rats crossing the street, enduring the pointed stares and whispers of the entire village.
Now the brothers truly hated Guan Manxing, and they also held a grudge against Guan He. When their wives found out, they were so furious they could have chewed Guan Manxing to pieces.
Li Yuezhi cried in despair. "This is just great—now our kids have a thief for a father. What's going to become of them? How will they marry? How will they find wives? Are you brainless? She stirs you up once and you just go along with it. Now you're stuck with the label of a thief, and she walks away scot-free…"
Guan Manku, annoyed by Li Yuezhi's crying, snapped, "This is who I am. What do you want me to do about it? Think I'm too stupid? Go find yourself a better man!"
Li Yuezhi was so angry she could barely breathe and only cried louder. The other households were in turmoil too. That night, the Guan household was filled with wailing and shouting—quite the spectacle.
None of this affected Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu in the slightest. They kept selling their braised meat and started scouting for a shop. Old Master Li and Old Master Zhao, always eager for free food, became regular visitors to the Zhao family.
One day, they showed up with Xiao Zhang in tow. Looking at the yard full of flowers and plants that stayed green even in winter, Old Master Li couldn't help but marvel—no matter how many times he saw it.
Guan Yuan had expected them to ask about the plants, but to his surprise, they were far more patient than he'd given them credit for. They just expressed their amazement and let it go.
Winter was the perfect time for hot pot. Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu had a special pot made. The broth bubbled and steamed, filling the air with a mouthwatering aroma. Old Master Li gripped his chopsticks, so eager he looked like he might just eat the raw ingredients straight off the plate.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar