CHAPTER 97: YOU ARE BEING UNFAIR BY FAVORING ONE OVER ANOTHER

The car’s air conditioning was set to its coldest, but the temperature inside was still 30 degrees Celsius. Jing Shu was sweating profusely and felt intensely thirsty.

I’ve had enough of sipping water drop by drop like in my previous life. Why should I ration the water I worked so hard to get in this life? I usually drink juice, anyway. Though Jing Shu had these thoughts, she said nothing aloud.

Su Long licked his chapped lips, looking enviously at Jing Shu. His aunt didn’t even scold her for drinking water so freely.

"All the water in our house is obtained by Jing Shu. She can drink as much as she wants," Mrs. Jing said. She was busy reviewing the list of supplies from the Management Department in their WeChat group. "The department has reduced the water supply. There isn’t even enough water for irrigation now, so the vegetables they grow are all wilted. But there’s nothing to be done."

"The water used for cultivating those moldy mushrooms in other districts is contaminated; it smells like a fetid ditch." Mrs. Jing shook her head. I wonder if eating such mushrooms could cause problems.

Aunt laughed awkwardly. "I was just worried you might not have enough water. Look at me, I forgot Jing Shu is an honorary employee at the Management Department, raising so many frogs and even pigs! I heard from my elder brother that she traded for a lot of water, so you really don’t lack it. It’s just that Su Long really likes frogs, but unfortunately, he’s never had one..."

Uncle tugged at Aunt, but Aunt slapped his hand away. SMACK! "What? Am I wrong? Jing Shu has made something of herself now. We should all learn from her."

"Uncle, do you have many insects at your place?" Jing Shu asked. Aunt was on the verge of asking Jing Shu for a frog.

"There are quite a few, but we don’t have the water to raise frogs right now. Don’t listen to your aunt; we don’t need any frogs," Uncle quickly said.

Although Mrs. Jing also disliked Aunt, she felt sorry for Uncle and said, "Elder brother, frogs only need a little water each day. I’ll have Jing An send some over to you later. It wouldn’t do to let corrosive insects destroy your food; the loss would be too great."

"Great! Su Long, quickly thank your aunt!" Aunt said excitedly.

"Thank you, Aunt," Su Long said, his gaze shifting to the car’s trunk. "Mom, I want to eat the marinated eggs too."

"You silly boy! Those are for your Second Grandfather; you can’t eat them."

Even though Aunt scolded Su Long, he still ended up eating the marinated eggs. He ate four in one go, devouring them so quickly he hardly tasted anything, yet he felt they were incredibly delicious.

Of course, it wasn’t because Su Long’s Second Grandfather was generous.

In her previous life, Jing Shu had never met this Second Grandfather, nor had she heard any news about him. It was said that he and her maternal grandfather had gone to the countryside together as young intellectuals. However, this Second Grandfather used his connections to return to the city and advance his career, while her maternal grandfather remained in Wu City. After her maternal grandfather passed away, the families lost contact.

Su Meimei also lived in a residential complex for government employees. However, it was much inferior to Minister Niu’s complex; it was the lowest tier, lacking supplementary electricity but at least having police patrols.

After parking, Uncle carried half a kilo of pork, while Jing Shu brought the sealed marinated eggs and pickles they had made at the end of the previous year. Then, they went upstairs.

The door was opened by Su Meimei’s daughter, Zhang Hanhan. She surprisingly looked quite healthy. "Uncle, pork is hard to come by these days. Since you managed to get some, why didn’t you bring more for us?"

Aunt (Su Long’s mother) rolled her eyes. "A kitchen knife only gets you such a small piece of meat, and you, girl, still think it’s not enough?" If we weren’t completely out of things at home, I really wouldn’t have wanted to give this meat away. Most of the pig has already been traded; we only kept a little for ourselves.

Zhang Hanhan then looked at the marinated eggs excitedly. "Marinated eggs are hard to get too! Quick, let me have some."

"These aren’t for you. They’re for Second Grandfather," Jing Shu said, withdrawing her hand.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! Uncle and Eldest Aunt are here! They brought delicious food, but they won’t let me eat it, saying it’s for you!" Zhang Hanhan glared at Jing Shu and yelled, making Mrs. Jing and Uncle’s family feel awkward.

Uncle corrected her, "That’s Second Grandfather he’s referring to; you can’t just shout rudely like that."

"Second Grandfather, maternal grandfather, it’s all the same. Since you’ve brought food, let’s all eat together," an old man said, walking out from the dim interior of the house.

This was the first time Jing Shu had seen him. He had neatly combed black hair tucked behind his ears and looked younger than sixty. He was dressed in a clean Sun Yat-sen suit and clearly possessed a distinguished air.

Even with the large family group, the three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment didn’t feel cramped. However, the temperature was so high that everyone wore very little. In the dim light, Jing Shu saw a row of potted plants on the balcony, containing garlic sprouts and mushrooms. There was even a frog. Another room had a tall stack of bottled water.

Su Meimei brought out a dish of something very dark from the kitchen. "Everyone, have some dried radish."

Su Long grabbed a few pieces and put them in his mouth, but he couldn’t chew them. They were as hard as rocks and had an unpleasant smell.

Aunt (Su Long’s mother) also discreetly spat out the dried radish. "AHEM. We’ve traveled a long way; we’re so hot and thirsty."

Seeing Su Meimei pretending not to hear, Aunt (Su Long’s mother) became annoyed. "Meimei, if you don’t have tea, at least give us a sip of water."

"Oh, Elder Sister-in-law, I’m really sorry," Su Meimei said. "We’ve been severely short of water recently, and my house is completely out. Should I go to the supermarket to trade for some now? But I’d have to queue, and it would probably take several hours."

Forget it. We came to see the old man, so let’s just leave quickly after this. Consider that piece of pork as fed to the dogs.

Jing Shu sneered inwardly in the dim house.

The conversation, of course, revolved around Second Grandfather. He was very talkative, and as he spoke, he eventually lavished praise on Su Meimei, adding that the whole family should show love and solidarity as siblings.

"I’m not trying to criticize you, Eldest Son," the old man said to Uncle, "but you handled this situation very badly! After what happened between Meimei and Zhang Zhongyong, you all failed to provide the strong support she needed. Especially you, Lan Zhi! You’re Meimei’s older sister. Why didn’t you help her? Instead, you kicked her when she was down.

"Your parents passed away early, and poor Meimei had no one to support her through her marriage. Without her own family to rely on after getting married, it allowed that bastard Zhang Zhongyong to find a Xiao San. But I’ve already taught him a harsh lesson, and he has promised to correct his errors decisively. That’s why I pulled some strings to get him promoted.

"Lan Zhi, perhaps Meimei also made mistakes, but as her older sister, you should be more understanding of her. I also heard about that car incident. In the end, you benefited, didn’t you? You sold the car and made over a hundred thousand, but Meimei got nothing and even lost over a hundred thousand. If anyone should be complaining, it’s Meimei to you, not the other way around. How can you get the better end of the deal and still act aggrieved towards Meimei?

"Lan Zhi, I heard you’re now in the Planting Management Department? That’s a lucrative place. I even know that Minister Niu of yours; his direct superior is an old classmate of mine. By the way, I heard you recently acquired several pigs. You distributed one to each family member and traded a few others outside, so why wasn’t there one for Meimei? It’s not good to show such favoritism; it makes you seem petty."