Qiao Yu was holding on to a pile of vegetables in her lap and eating half a watermelon, spilling watermelon juice everywhere. She hurriedly wiped her mouth with the corner of her shirt and ran to the children, smiling as she took the small basket from Zhang Miao.
“Oh my, there are so many things. You’re really capable!” Qiao Yu smiled and took the basket away. Her eyes were fixed on the vegetables in the basket, thinking that it was all good stuff.
“Who are you!” Zhang Chao asked impatiently.
“Ah, I’m your aunt. My name is Qiao Yu,” Qiao Yu said by way of introduction.
Qiao Yu? The children looked at one another. They had never heard of this name before, but her surname was also Qiao and their elder sister’s surname was also Qiao. Could she be related to their elder sister?
“Then what’s your relationship with elder sister Qiao Mei?” the smart Zhang Qin asked.
At the mention of Qiao Mei, Qiao Yu hurriedly interrupted them and changed the topic.
“Oh, you must have had a long day. Sister-in-law! The children are back!” Qiao Yu shouted towards the house.
When Li Gui saw that the children had returned, she ignored Qiao Yu and told them to go into the house to wash their hands and get ready to eat. This was also what Qiao Mei had taught them. They had to wash their hands before and after having a meal.
As soon as she sat down at the table, Qiao Yu immediately started wolfing down the food. No one could interrupt her and no one could even manage to take any food. In a flash, she finished everything on the table.
Looking at the motionless Li Gui and the children, she even said hypocritically, “Eat up! Hurry up and eat, don’t let me eat it all by myself!”
Zhang Chao watched as Qiao Yu ate all the things that they had worked so hard to pick. His brother and mother did not get to eat anything and he looked at Qiao Yu angrily. Zhang Miao did not get to eat yesterday and when she saw what was happening today, she felt so aggrieved that she wanted to cry. Zhang Qin hugged Zhang Miao and comforted her.
Qiao Yu acted as if she was oblivious to all this. After dinner, she went about her way as usual, but there was something different this time round. She took out a bag and removed from the courtyard all the vegetables and other crops that the children had just brought back.
“Sister-in-law, I’m going off! No need to send me off! I’m leaving!” Qiao Yu picked up the hoe and left, feeling very satisfied.
The children looked at the empty plates in front of them and sighed, not knowing what to do. Li Gui went to the pot to take out the steamed cornbread and boiled potatoes that she had hidden away for the children.
“Look at what we have here!” Li Gui grinned as she looked at the children. The food in her hands were like treasures that seemed to be sparkling.
The children’s eyes lit up. The four children each took a cornbread and a potato and were about to start eating when they realized that Li Gui did not have a share.
“Mom, where’s yours?” Zhang Wei asked.
A few days ago, Qiao Mei had sent food to Li Gui, but Li Gui was too embarrassed to keep taking food from Qiao Mei. There was already not much food left at home and Qiao Yu had now taken everything.
Li Gui smiled and said, “Mom ate when I was cooking. Hurry up and eat.”
The children always believed what Li Gui said but Zhang Qin realized that Li Gui always secretly got up in the middle of the night to drink a lot of water. Li Gui was so hungry that she had no choice but to drink water to fill her stomach. No matter how hungry she was, she could not let the children starve.
Zhang Qin quietly handed her cornbread to Li Gui and said, “Mom, I’m still young and can’t eat so much. You can have mine.”
Li Gui looked at the sensible Zhang Qin with reddened eyes. She broke off half of the cornbread and returned it to Zhang Qin. “You eat it, Xiao Qin. This is enough for mom.”
I did not know how much mom could eat, but after mom ate the cornbread from me, she would not be so hungry that she needed to get up and drink water in the middle of the night. Zhang Qin happily finished the rest of the food. The children were also thoughtful enough to clean up and then store the bowls and chopsticks properly. The girls wiped down the kitchen and the stove, and the boys washed the tableware, fetched the water and tidied up the vegetables they had picked today.
There was not much left in the courtyard at all. There was only one basket left among the four full baskets that the children had returned with.
“Hoho, that woman still knows how to leave a basket for us,” Zhang Chao said unhappily.
Zhang Wei looked at the remaining basket and sighed helplessly. He had no way of dealing with this woman as well.