Chapter 12

Grandmother Zhou held her bowl as she watched Lin Jin dish up the rice, shrewdness showing in her triangular eyes. She said without any attempt to hide it, "Take less. There's not enough for everyone at the table as it is, and your family's taking it all. My grandson's husband does no work all day. He can't be hungry."

The sixth daughter-in-law was a shrewd one. Her eyes shifted, and she came over with a broad smile to take the serving spoon from him. "Mother's right. Let me serve it. I'll make sure Third Brother won't be stuffed, and my nephew Jinian certainly won't go hungry."

After serving the food, she even held it out for Grandmother Zhou to inspect. "Mother, have a look. Should I add some more?"

"That's enough." Grandmother Zhou tapped the ends of her chopsticks against the table. "Eat."

Lin Jin said indignantly, "Ninglang is grown, after all. How is this enough to fill his stomach?"

He really was quite fond of Xie Ning, his son's husband. Besides, how could they bring someone into the family and immediately deny him enough to eat? If word got out, what would become of his son's reputation?

"How is it not enough? He lies around all day. How could he be hungry?" Grandmother Zhou could not stand anyone questioning her. Since her husband's death, everyone in the family had done as she said. She had never ventured out since childhood and knew nothing of lofty principles. All she knew was that when the children were young and disobedient, a harsh word from her made them behave, so she had carried on that way ever since.

"If he's hungry, it's because you've stretched his stomach by feeding him too much." As Grandmother Zhou spoke, she showed more and more signs of anger. "If you won't eat, put it down. Once you're full, you'll have the strength to talk back every day!"

The words "split the household" surfaced in Lin Jin's mind again. Unable to endure any more, he carried dinner back to their little courtyard.

Author's note: The little husband will get better later on, fair and tender!

Thank you to the little angels who sent me Overlord Tickets or watered me with nutrient solution between 2020-09-16 14:45:30 and 2020-09-17 21:14:44~

Thank you to the little angel who sent a landmine: Kongmeng Yishang, 1;

Thank you all so much for your support. I'll keep working hard!

Chapter 12

Zhou Sanfeng looked at the dinner, which clearly was not enough to go around, and asked in confusion, "Did you not get enough?"

Lin Jin was about to speak, his face full of anger, but after a moment's thought, he softened his expression and said instead, "I have things to do tonight, so I ate in the main hall first. You eat. I'll go tidy the kitchen."

He intended to discuss it with Sanfeng that evening before telling the boys, so it would not distract his son from his studies.

Zhou Jinian had been copying books in his room, but Xie Ning had been in the little courtyard the entire time, so he immediately noticed how unnatural Dad was acting. He wondered why Dad was lying. His lips were clearly dry and shriveled, without a trace of oil. He did not look at all like someone who had just eaten a hot meal.

During dinner, Zhou Jinian frowned at Xie Ning. "Why aren't you eating properly?"

Zhou Jinian was no immortal, either. Ever since he had married Xie Ning, his life had headed straight in another direction. In his previous life, for instance, his eldest uncle had never been injured so badly, and they had indeed caught the wild boar, because only one wild boar had appeared in his previous life.

So he had no idea that his dad had lied that day. Seeing Xie Ning refuse to eat properly, touching neither the steamed bun nor the dishes and simply holding his bowl of mixed-grain rice and eating it plain, he was a little annoyed that the boy would not eat properly.

"Um..." Xie Ning had not expected Zhou Jinian to watch him eat. He stammered, unable to come up with a reason.

"Then what do you want to eat?" Zhou Jinian asked again, his tone a little helpless this time, with a hint of indulgence. He thought Xie Ning was a picky eater who had grown tired of the food.

With that question, Xie Ning had an answer ready. "Steamed dried eggplant! It spent another day in the sun yesterday, so it's ready to eat. I'll take it to the kitchen and steam some for you to try!"

Hurriedly shoveling the remaining coarse-grain rice into his mouth, Xie Ning picked up two winnowing baskets and ran to the kitchen with his cheeks bulging.

Zhou Jinian pressed his lips together and sighed. His little husband was hard to feed, far too picky.

Lin Jin sat in the kitchen, thinking about how to bring up splitting the household. When Xie Ning came in carrying the winnowing baskets, he absentmindedly helped light the fire, his mind still on the matter.

The dried eggplant with glutinous rice and chili only needed a short steaming; once heated through, it was ready to eat. Before long, Xie Ning picked up a piece with his chopsticks and held it out to Dad. "Try some, Dad. Is it to your taste?"

The hot steamed dried eggplant was soft and sticky, spicy and fragrant, with plenty of chew. Lin Jin thought chewing it was like eating dried meat. "It's delicious. How did you make eggplant taste like dried meat?"

Xie Ning smiled with his lips pressed together. "It tastes even better cold, and it's chewier than dried meat. I'll take some to Jinian."

Looking at the steamer full of dried eggplant, Lin Jin thought of Mother's harshness that evening and blurted out, "Take it all back to our courtyard!"

Lin Jin's heart pounded. Everyone was gathered in the main hall for dinner now, so no one could possibly know. But this was his first time keeping something for himself. It was all because Mother was too biased. His eldest sister-in-law's and sixth sister-in-law's families supported scholars, but his son Jinian was a scholar too. Why should those two families get to do no work at all?

He and Sanfeng worked themselves to the bone, and now they were not even allowed to eat their fill.

"Didn't you say it tastes better cold? Once it cools, we'll bring it out to share." Lin Jin swiftly gathered up all the steamed dried eggplant and put it into the original winnowing baskets. Carrying a basket each, the two returned to their little courtyard.

Once back in the courtyard, the family shared the steamed dried eggplant. Its spicy fragrance tantalized their taste buds, and the eggplant, which was like eating meat, earned endless praise from the other three. Though they had steamed a great deal, the four of them ate piece after piece, finishing as much as half a basket.

After eating a few more pieces of dried eggplant, Xie Ning rubbed his stomach. "I'm full. I'll get up and walk around."

There was still one steamed bun on the table. Pretending he did not want it to go to waste, Lin Jin took it and ate it with the steamed dried eggplant. After all, he had worked in the fields all day and had long since become ravenous.

Xie Ning really did begin strolling around the little courtyard to help his digestion. Though he reached the wall in just ten steps, he paced around a little. Only when Zhou Jinian returned to their room did he hurry in after him.

Zhou Jinian picked up a bucket to fetch water from the big well, and Xie Ning followed closely behind him. Zhou Jinian glanced back but did not stop him, taking his little tagalong out of the courtyard.

As soon as they left the courtyard, Xie Ning reached out and tugged Zhou Jinian's sleeve. "Jinian, Dad lied today."

Puzzled, Zhou Jinian led him behind a tree and asked for details. "What do you mean?"

"Dad clearly hadn't eaten dinner, but he told us he'd already eaten with everyone in the main hall. Why would he do that?" Xie Ning frowned as he pondered it.

Zhou Jinian thought back. His dad had eaten quite a lot of steamed dried eggplant, and the remaining steamed bun had been the size of an adult's palm...