CHAPTER 126: CHAPTER 126: BABY FORMULA FROM HONG KONG

Zhang Guifang turned her head and was about to rush to the east room.

A cloth curtain hung on the door of the east room, covering it tightly, indicating there must be something hidden inside.

She reached out to lift the curtain, but before she could touch it, she was pushed.

"You can’t enter this room!"

Su Xiaoxiao stretched her arm out in the doorway, preventing Zhang Guifang from getting closer.

Isn’t this a clear sign of a guilty conscience?

Zhang Guifang was even more certain; those fish might be hidden in this room.

"Aunt, the fish isn’t in this room; you should search elsewhere."

This room belonged to Xu Zhaodi, who had just given birth and was still in confinement, so it was indeed inconvenient for them to search inside.

"I think those fish are in this room, otherwise why wouldn’t you let us in? Isn’t it because you’re hiding something?"

Just then, the sound of a baby crying suddenly came from the room.

Zhang Guifang pushed Su Xiaoxiao aside and rushed in.

She didn’t see any fish, but she did see a young woman sitting on the bed holding a baby.

She immediately recognized that this woman was Wang Cripple’s young wife from before.

Little Shitou was startled by the commotion Zhang Guifang made rushing in and immediately burst into tears.

Zhang Guifang’s eyes glinted, and she raised her voice: "Ah, no wonder you wouldn’t let me in. So this is where you’ve hidden evidence of Su Fusheng’s misdeeds!"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Who did anything wrong?"

Su Xiaoxiao glared at Zhang Guifang; this aunt really loved throwing dirt at others.

"If nothing improper happened, how would there be a child in your home? This child couldn’t have just sprung from a crack in a rock, could it?"

While Zhang Guifang spoke, her gaze swept over the table and saw a milk bottle and infant formula, brightening instantly, "Ah, your second brother misbehaved, and you stole from the department store, just like your rogue dad."

Zhang Guifang looked at the items on the table and was convinced that Su Xiaoxiao had stolen them from the department store, thinking how could someone so poor afford such expensive formula?

Su Xiaoxiao was speechless: "Aunt, before you accuse me, take a clear look. This brand of formula was brought by someone I knew from Hong Kong; our city’s department store doesn’t even have it."

"You? Know someone from Hong Kong?"

Zhang Guifang obviously didn’t believe it. In her eyes, people from Hong Kong were all big shots; how could Su Xiaoxiao, a country bumpkin, possibly know them?

Su Xiaoxiao didn’t bother to engage her, directly flipping the formula can and pointing to the striking black characters "Hong Kong Dairy" on it for her to see: "Aunt, take a closer look; it clearly says Hong Kong Dairy here..."

Before she could finish, Zhang Guifang rudely interrupted: "Maybe it’s new stock at the department store, and you secretly took it."

As she finished this sentence, she spotted Zhang Dongmei among the crowd enjoying the spectacle.

"Dongmei, tell your aunt, isn’t this formula from your department store?"

Zhang Dongmei was watching intently, not expecting to be called out.

She hesitated for a moment, smoothing her newly permed curls: "Aunt Guifang, you’re right. I just saw this brand of formula in the department store’s warehouse."

Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but laugh in anger; Zhang Dongmei really went all out to throw mud at her.

"Since Mr. Zhang said there is some, could you do me a favor..."

Su Xiaoxiao said as she retrieved a crumpled Overseas Remittance Coupon from her bag, "Could you help me pick up two more cans tomorrow? We’re about to run out of formula at home."

She deliberately shook the remittance coupon in her hand, making it rattle, "If I remember correctly, the internal price for this formula is eight and a half per can."

With that, she took out two banknotes and tucked them along with the remittance coupon into Zhang Dongmei’s hand: "Anyone needing formula, hurry and ask Mr. Zhang to bring some."

Su Xiaoxiao’s words immediately brought all the villagers watching closer.

Several who had newborns at home joined in: "Mr. Zhang, I’d like some formula too, could you grab a couple of cans for me?"

"My wife just gave birth and can’t produce milk, get me a can too."

With everyone chiming in, surrounding Zhang Dongmei, the snowflake cream on her face was nearly washed away by sweat.

Not to mention that the department store didn’t have Hong Kong formula in stock, even if it did, formula was as scarce as gold; how could she possibly buy any?

"The... this formula recently ran out, you’ll have to wait..."

Zhang Dongmei forced herself to lie, only for Su Xiaoxiao to immediately speak up: "Mr. Zhang, didn’t you just say you saw it in the warehouse? Why say there’s none now? Are you toying with us?"

"Yeah, you say there is one moment and there isn’t the next, are you playing us for fools?"

Su Xiaoxiao looked at her with a smile: "Mr. Zhang, what’s really going on here?"

Zhang Dongmei’s face changed repeatedly, and finally, biting her lower lip, she spoke: "Sorry, I must have remembered wrong; the department store actually doesn’t have any formula right now."

Someone in the crowd observing let out a light snicker: "Liar."

A simpleton watching from the fence slapped his thigh: "How come Zhang Sister can’t even remember this, even my family’s Fugui is smarter!"

What was that brat saying? Daring to claim she was worse than a pig?

Amid the laughter of the crowd, Zhang Dongmei left with a dark expression.

This Zhang Dongmei was so useless!

Zhang Guifang felt deeply disappointed and decided to target Xu Zhaodi again: "Even if the formula wasn’t stolen from the department store, this bastard is still proof of Su Fusheng’s misdeeds..."

She suddenly snatched the child from Xu Zhaodi’s arms, showing it to everyone: "Everyone, have a good look. Xu Zhaodi is living at the Su Family’s house without title or name, and now she’s even had a child—to say it wasn’t improper behavior would be putting it lightly!"

"You’re talking nonsense! This child isn’t even Brother Fusheng’s!"

Xu Zhaodi rushed forward to snatch back the child, but grabbed air.

Seeing her so anxious, Zhang Guifang was more convinced: "I heard that the city hospital can do blood tests to confirm the child’s blood type and reveal who the real father is."

Just as she spoke, she received a heavy slap to her face: "You’re spouting nonsense—I already had several months of pregnancy when I met Brother Fusheng; many people in the village can attest to it!"

Zhang Guifang looked up and didn’t expect the person who hit her was the usually meek Xu Zhaodi.

"You little wench, have you gone mad!"

She was about to rush forward, Su Xiaoxiao, seeing the child in her arms wobbling, hastily stepped forward to take the child back.

Her fingers unknowingly snagged something, and a bundle wrapped in a handkerchief fell out of Zhang Guifang’s pocket.

The handkerchief unfolded, and the contents scattered everywhere like a peacock spreading its feathers—it was a bunch of nationwide grain coupons.

"Well, Aunt, accusing me of profiteering; I think the real profiteer here is you, right? Otherwise, where did you get so many nationwide grain coupons?"