CHAPTER 64: CHAPTER 64: NEW YEAR’S EVE DINNER (PART 2)

"Eat up! After you finish, Big Sis will give you something to aid digestion! Eat as much as you can!" Xiao Xue heartily encouraged her siblings, who seemed like they could grow two stomachs, feeling a pang of tenderness for them.

She could never forget how they used to spend New Year’s in the past, boiling a large pot of sauerkraut, feeling lucky if there was even a pound of meat in it. Each person could have two cornbread pancakes, filling their stomachs with sauerkraut, and that alone would make the kids incredibly happy.

"What is it, Big Sis?" Bai Ruxia immediately looked at her big sister. "Is it delicious?"

"Hurry up and eat! Isn’t the feast before you enough to satisfy you?" Bai Ruxue laughed, discovering another side of her two hot-tempered siblings—they were foodies.

The meal lasted more than an hour, and Bai Daliang elegantly drank himself into a stupor.

Zhang Yuan drank quite a bit with him but was completely fine, while Li Jianshe ended up with rosy cheeks, smiling even more brightly.

"Big Sis, you take a break. We can clean up the table ourselves!" Although Bai Ruyun and her sister were uncomfortably full, they obediently got up to clear the table so their big sister wouldn’t have to keep busy.

"Brother Yuan, I’m heading back now!" Li Jianshe had finished the New Year’s Eve dinner and had no reason to stay, even though he enjoyed being with this family and loved Bai Ruxue’s cooking. However, it was time he returned to the educated youth point.

"Okay!" Zhang Yuan acknowledged with a nod.

"Comrade Jianshe, come back and have dumplings with us at midnight!" Bai Ruxue quickly invited him.

"No... no, we’re three educated youths who’ve already wrapped dumplings. We can just cook them when the time comes!" Li Jianshe, feeling bashful, declined. After all, he had already eaten an entire table of six large meat dishes, all served in big plates and cleaned out, making him too embarrassed to come back for dumplings.

"I see... then wait a bit, I’ll give you some of the dumplings we made. You can cook them as soon as you get back!" Bai Ruxue no longer extended an invitation; instead, she got up to fetch the dumplings.

Li Jianshe glanced at Zhang Yuan, saw Brother Yuan nodding, and happily waited. Dumplings made by Comrade Xiao Xue were bound to be delicious.

In the end, Bai Ruxue gave Li Jianshe over sixty dumplings, enough to satisfy the three of them.

She knew the dumplings wrapped at the educated youth’s place were likely without much meat, possibly made from secondary flour.

After sending Li Jianshe off, Bai Ruxue and Zhang Yuan returned to the room, and Bai Ruxue took out some hawthorn slices for the little ones to eat, worried they might suffer digestive issues from overeating.

She also brought out the seeds and peanuts she had prepared in advance, enjoying them leisurely.

"Mom, I want to visit Grandma..." Bai Ruxue spoke up after Wang Cuihua had lulled the two kids to sleep.

Wang Cuihua’s face stiffened, her expression turning harsh.

"Mom... I know about that incident, but Grandma and Grandpa weren’t at fault. No matter how Auntie acts, it doesn’t matter to me. You haven’t visited Grandma’s house in over four years. In the past, we couldn’t afford to, and it would only burden Grandma and Grandpa if we did. But things are different now. I want to bring them some food at least, so they can have a meal with meat-filled dumplings!" Bai Ruxue said earnestly.

"But your two aunts..." Wang Cuihua was still unwilling.

"Don’t worry! I’ll just drop off the goods and come back, no conflicts with them!" Bai Ruxue assured her mom.

"Okay! Just don’t get into a conflict with your two aunts, or they’ll vent their anger on your grandparents." Wang Cuihua’s eyes turned red.

Eating those delicacies reminded her of her own parents. No one knew she was constantly missing her parents. They had always shown her more affection since she was young, and she was fond of home.

Grandpa Wang had three sons and one daughter, with Wang Cuihua being his only daughter, ranking as the second child. It wasn’t until Wang Cuihua married Bai Daliang did they realize Grandma Bai was harsh, but there was no choice; their daughter was already married, so as long as they could, the elderly couple would help.

When Bai Ruxue was six, Grandma Bai insisted on splitting the family possessions between her two sons, not leaving them with much food. The children were still young, and the daughters couldn’t work, so only the son-in-law could, leaving the family struggling for food. The children cried in hunger.

Grandpa Wang couldn’t stand it, trying his best to take care of his daughter’s family, despite having two fiery daughters-in-law.

The original Bai Ruxue was eight years old when she had a high fever, and Wang Cuihua went to her parents asking for money to send her to the clinic.

But her two sisters-in-law kicked up a fuss, flatly refusing to give money, escalating until the eldest sister-in-law suggested splitting the family, saying the Wang Family couldn’t afford to care for a married daughter amidst their own struggles for food.

Once the topic was broached, the second sister-in-law joined in demanding a split. Eventually, out of anger, Grandpa Wang split the family. Their youngest son was only fourteen then, thirteen years younger than Wang Cuihua, his parents’ late-life child. They split the two older sons away, living with their fourteen-year-old son.

Originally, they thought they could help their daughter more this way, but to their surprise, every time the elderly couple gave Wang Cuihua something, her two daughters-in-law would quickly come and take something away, saying that since the old couple cared for their daughter, they must care for them too.

Wang Cuihua first learned of this when Bai Ruxue was eleven, visiting her parents and finding their eyes sunken in hunger, skin clinging to bones. Her youngest brother wasn’t much better off. She couldn’t believe it, wondering how they had nothing to eat when her father had just sent over five pounds of sorghum the other day.

She questioned her parents, who were unwilling to say, until the youngest brother, Wang Yongsheng, angrily revealed the truth, eyes brimming with tears.

When the two sisters-in-law found out Wang Cuihua had returned, they brought their kids over, demanding food just because she was feeding her daughter and grandchildren.

That day was unforgettable for Wang Cuihua. For the first time, she stood her ground and fought with her two sisters-in-law, fiercely confronting them.

In her rage, Wang Cuihua ended up hitting them both, cutting off contact with her parents, forbidding them from visiting her household.

Wang Yongsheng was sent by his parents to see his second sister but was driven away by Wang Cuihua, barred from entry.

Since then, there had been no contact, despite the two villages being only five miles apart. Wang Cuihua asked others about her parents’ situation, knowing the two sisters-in-law had stopped causing trouble, yet she never visited personally.

She was afraid, worried her return would lead to another visit from the two sisters-in-law, remembering how they almost starved to death because the sisters-in-law teamed up to clean out the elderly couple’s grain, knowing they had sent supplies to her.

Those days were spent surviving on wild vegetables. Thankfully, it was summer. In cold winter, the three of them couldn’t have survived.

Neither the eldest nor the third brother managed their wives, going along with their bullying of the parents.

Wang Cuihua’s mother, with a similarly soft nature, was unable to manage her daughters-in-law, enduring it herself.

"Got it, Mom! Don’t worry!" Bai Ruxue assured.

"Xiao Xue, I’ll ride the bike and take you there!" Zhang Yuan quickly stood up.

"Big Sis, I want to go too..." Bai Ruyun softly said.

"Not this time. Big Sis will go and come back quickly, trying not to let the two aunts know. It wouldn’t be nice to upset Grandma and Grandpa during the New Year. Next time, Big Sis will take you all to visit!"

Bai Ruxue understood; she was eleven when Xiao Yun and Xiao Xia were also aware of things, so naturally, they were thinking of visiting Grandma and Grandpa as well.