Chapter 358
Fu Qianqian's eyelids twitched, and her gossiping heart burned: Who, who, who? Auntie Liu or Aunt Wang? Last time I even saw Aunt Wang winking at my dad. My mom was so mad she didn't let my dad into their bedroom that night. I heard she winks at everyone she sees...
Si Nian: ...I don't think it's them.
Fu Qianqian: Then who is it?
Si Nian said, I'll tell you, but you have to do me a favor.
Fu Qianqian frowned. I won't do anything immoral.
Si Nian rolled her eyes at her. Don't worry.
With that, she whispered a few words into Fu Qianqian's ear.
All you have to do is find a chance to spread what I just told you to Lin Sisi. Once she hears it, she probably won't have the time to bother me anymore.
After listening, Fu Qianqian's face was full of shock. Aside from the shock, she also found it thrilling. She completely forgot that she had originally come over to mooch a meal and hurriedly pedaled away on her bicycle, promising she would definitely get it done.
Si Nian returned home, burned some charcoal in an iron basin, and set up a small iron rack at the door, preparing the ingredients for a courtyard barbecue.
By the time the children came home, she had already prepared all kinds of seasonings.
Spicy, sweet, there was a variety of flavors.
The children could eat whatever they wanted.
The children had never had barbecue like this before and were very excited. Rolling up their sleeves, they started grilling it themselves.
The meat sizzled with oil, and brushed with chili and five-spice powder, it made people drool with craving.
There had been an outbreak of swine fever recently, so everyone hadn't eaten meat for a long time.
It was the rush hour for getting off work and school, and the passing children and adults were all dazed by the tantalizing smell.
Next door, Fang Bowen, who was gnawing on bread, twitched his nose.
Saliva instantly secreted in his mouth.
He subconsciously looked up at Fang Hui sitting opposite him.
Fang Hui also wrinkled her nose, finding her food tasteless.
She now deeply regretted moving next to Si Nian's house.
Although she didn't have a good impression of Si Nian, Si Nian's cooking skills were simply too good.
At mealtimes, she could always smell all kinds of aromas that directly hit the taste buds.
They hadn't eaten pork for several days, and smelling this barbecue aroma now, they swallowed their saliva in disappointment with their own lack of restraint.
With the current swine fever, no one dared to eat pork.
Instead, they bought chicken, beef, and mutton.
But precisely because of this, the vendors jacked up the prices on the spot.
The already expensive meat became so pricey that even she couldn't afford it.
She had spent a lot of money renting this apartment, and later hiring a tutor for her son, signing him up for cram schools, and buying a radio.
Her savings of many years had been mostly spent.
Thinking about her current difficult situation, Fang Hui lost her appetite even more. She went into the study, found pen and paper, and started writing a letter.
...
Second Child and Jiang Jiu went out to show off, holding a large handful of meat skewers.
They stood eating for a while at one door, then at another. When they reached the entrance of the tube-shaped apartment building, the two stayed the longest.
The children who were lying on their stomachs or kneeling on the ground playing marbles inside the building could no longer sit still, casting covetous glances at them one after another.
In the past, if Zhou Zehan had held so many things in his hands, he would definitely have come over to share with them.
But ever since they listened to Da Zhuang and stopped playing with him, Zhou Zehan never gave them any more delicious food.
He didn't even share his birthday cake with them.
Although the families in the tube-shaped building had decent living conditions, they couldn't be considered rich.
Opportunities to eat meat were already rare in ordinary times.
Now, because of the swine fever, there were even fewer chances to eat meat.
Smelling this aroma, they swallowed mouthful after mouthful of saliva. They were simply intoxicated by the fragrance.
They regretted it. Had they known earlier, they never would have listened to Da Zhuang, never would have called Zhou Zehan a braggart, and never would have stopped playing with him.
Even if Zhou Zehan really was a braggart, he had indeed brought them food.
Unlike that Fang Bowen. Although he was said to be a little genius, he was very hard to get along with. He had visited twice before, and they thought his family was rich and would buy delicious food to share with them.
In the end, after they listened to Da Zhuang and played with him, he stopped coming and ignored them.
They had ended up losing both their second brother and Fang Bowen.
They stared eagerly at the meat in Zhou Zehan's hands, but at this moment, no one had the nerve to step forward and ask for a bite.
After all, last time they had made harsh remarks at the Zhou family's door, saying they would never play with him and Jiang Jiu again.
The group of children was filled with deep regret.
Zhou Zehan, having showed off enough, pulled Jiang Jiu along to head home.
He was terrified that the roasted meat would be eaten up by his older brother and younger sister.
Just as they reached the door, the two children spotted Fang Bowen.
Fang Bowen was leaning against the wall behind the Zhou family's door, seemingly peeking at something.
The two looked in the direction of his gaze in confusion, only to see that he was actually looking at the roasted meat in the courtyard.
"Hey, are you hungry? Here."
Zhou Zehan handed over the roasted meat in his hand.
Fang Bowen was startled and almost lost his footing.
Turning around and seeing Zhou Zehan and Jiang Jiu staring at him, his small face immediately flushed red with shame.
Seeing the roasted meat handed over by Zhou Zehan, he swallowed his saliva unconvincingly but put on a tough front, "Who... who cares about your meat? I am not hungry at all. I just dropped something. Yes, dropped something."
After saying that, with a bright red face, he stumbled and ran back home.
Zhou Zehan blinked blankly; it was the first time he had seen someone refuse meat when offered.
If it were him, who knows how happy he would be.
He hurriedly ran back home, his footsteps thudding.
Seeing his older brother skewering potato slices, he quickly ran over, "Brother, I want to eat potatoes too."
Zhou Zedong looked up at him, saw his mouth covered in chili oil stains, and frowned in disgust.
He turned around, putting his back to him. "I am skewering these for Mom. If you want to eat, skewer them yourself."
Si Nian did not eat much meat; she easily got sick of the greasiness.
Instead, she preferred vegetarian dishes.
Especially potatoes and dried tofu.
They were her absolute favorites.
Second Child used to dislike eating potatoes and dried tofu.
He thought meat tasted better.
But ever since he ate the potatoes and roasted dried tofu made by his mom, he loved them to death.
Back in their hometown when the fire was still burning, whenever he had free time, he would put a few slices of dried tofu on the stove to roast, dipping them in Si Nian's homemade five-spice chili powder.
It was so delicious that he almost swallowed his own tongue.
Now, besides meat, his favorites were roasted potatoes and roasted dried tofu.
These were also relatively popular and classic foods in their area.
Seeing that his brother was ignoring him, Zhou Zehan wiped his mouth, moved to the other side, and crouched down to skewer them himself.
Jiang Jiu also wiped his mouth, walked over to squat beside him, and said, "Second Brother, I will roast potatoes for you."
Si Nian walked over with roasted meat and said, "You two stop playing with water. If your clothes get wet, you will catch a cold. Xiaohan, you and Xiaojiu take these roasted ones to Grandpa and Grandma Jiang."
Second Child immediately stood up and reached out to take them.
Swallowing his saliva, he hurriedly delivered them to the Jiang family.
When he came back and saw his mom roasting potatoes, he immediately stuck close to her.
Acting spoiled, he said, Mom, Mom, I want to eat potatoes too.
Si Nian immediately smiled and asked, How many skewers do you want?
Xiao Han roughly counted on his fingers and said, Ten skewers will be enough. Mom said eating too much will give me a stomachache, so I will not eat too much.
Ten skewers is not too much?
This child was simply a bottomless pit.
He had just eaten so many meat skewers.
Si Nian found it amusing but let him have his way.
The child had not eaten well in the past, so this could be considered making up for it.
At first, she was quite worried that the child would eat too much and suffer from indigestion or get fat.
But after so long, although Xiao Han had put on some flesh, he was not fat; instead, his height was shooting up.
Si Nian noticed that this child's bone structure was unusually large.
In less than two years, his build was already larger than that of his peers.
Beside him, Jiang Jiu looked very delicate and refined.
No wonder this child could grow to over 180 centimeters in his past life despite being malnourished.
In this life, would he not grow to 190 centimeters, just like his dad?
Besides, he had loved sports since he was little and had a strong constitution.
Speaking of which, after all this time, apart from one toothache, even when the little guy caught a cold, he would basically recover by the next day.
She had to sigh in admiration at the strong physical fitness of a rural child.
Looking at Xiao Dong, on the other hand.
Si Nian looked at her eldest son.
Xiao Dong had not changed much; he just looked a bit fleshier, but his height had not increased as obviously as the Second Child.
He still looked thin.
Si Nian was a bit worried about whether the child was lacking some nutrients.
For instance, calcium deficiency or iron-deficiency anemia could cause this kind of situation.
It seemed she needed to find time to take him for a check-up.
Otherwise, if this child could only reach 170-something centimeters in this life, he would probably still be sad.
Si Nian also wanted them all to grow to 188 centimeters, the most perfect height.
Taking them out would give her so much face.
Si Nian thought about this while grilling the skewers.
Mom, Mom, Xiao Jiang and I just went to the tube-shaped apartment building while eating skewers. When Little Pig and the others saw us eating skewers, they drooled, but I did not pity them at all.
The Second Child stood beside Si Nian, scrambling to help while speaking.
Si Nian smiled. This child held quite a grudge. When Little Pig and his group came to cause trouble on his birthday before, the little guy did not say anything, but he had kept it in his heart.
He had treated those kids as friends, feeling happy and sad for them, but they ended up causing trouble on his birthday. The Second Child hated evil like an enemy.
Si Nian asked, Then who do you think is pitiful?
The Second Child thought for a moment and said, I think Fang Bowen is pitiful. I can see him doing homework in the study every day. He writes during the day, writes after school, writes at night, and even writes during the holidays...
As he spoke, he shuddered himself.
It was too terrifying. In the past, he thought it was scary enough that his brother studied every day.
He did not expect Fang Bowen to be even more terrifying than his brother.
Moreover, his mom did not know how to make delicious food.
When he ran into him in the morning, he saw Fang Bowen eating dry bread.
It did not look tasty at all.
Unlike himself, who got to eat all sorts of different breakfasts in rotation.
Comparing the two, Zhou Zehan felt that even though he was a bit clumsy and not as smart as Fang Bowen.
He was much happier than Fang Bowen.
Thinking about this, a rippling smile could not help but appear on the little guy's face.
Hearing Fang Bowen's name, Si Nian was momentarily stunned.
It was indeed true. Although she hadn't seen Fang Bowen often, the child seemed to have no playtime at all. She had seen a tutor coming over every day, and on weekends, Fang Hui would even take him out for extra tutoring classes.
He rarely went out and basically spent all his time reading and doing homework.
Such a life was simply suffocating.
Then she heard Second Child say, "I just saw him hiding by our door. Fang Bowen definitely wanted to eat barbecue too. Mom's barbecue is so delicious, nobody dislikes it. But when I offered him some, he refused. He's so silly, turning down free food."
Si Nian paused for a moment.
She had run into the child a few times; he was just as aloof and arrogant as Fang Hui.
She didn't expect him to do something like this.
After all, he was still young. He might care about his pride on the surface, but deep down, he probably really wanted a bite.
Forget it, what did this have to do with her?
Si Nian shook her head and didn't dwell on it. There was no way Fang Hui would ever let her own biological son go hungry.
As soon as Fu Qianqian returned home, she heard the older women gossiping under the large locust tree in the family compound about the Si family's affairs.
Divorces were rare in the family compound, so there wasn't usually much gossip.
Now that someone was suddenly getting a divorce—and it was the highly controversial Si family at that—it naturally became the prime topic of conversation after meals.
Initially, they were just discussing why the couple was divorcing. Later, when Lin Sisi was released from prison, the topic shifted to her.
But at some point, the conversation had turned toward Si Nian.
"Is she really that sick? She's been in the hospital for so long and still hasn't been discharged?"
"I heard she got so angry she developed appendicitis and needs surgery. The other day, Lin Sisi even came to me to borrow money, saying she would work part-time to pay me back."
"Sigh, it's quite pitiful when you think about it. Encountering something like this right after getting out of prison. Lin Sisi hasn't been home for long, but she hasn't had even two days of peace."
"Yeah, is there really a need to borrow money like this? Didn't her adopted daughter, Si Nian, move to the city? I heard she's working as a foreign language teacher at the foreign language elementary school, and her husband bought a big villa on Old East Street. She can't even spare this little bit of money? That's too heartless, isn't it?"
"She's so arrogant now. Now that she has money, she looks down on people. I heard that when Lin Sisi went to jail, the matter could have been settled privately. Who would have thought that even after the money was returned, she still wouldn't let it go and insisted on sending Lin Sisi to prison. As for the couple's divorce, she must be playing tricks behind the scenes. That girl truly has the heart of a viper."
Seeing their words becoming increasingly exaggerated, Fu Qianqian's face darkened. She stopped her bicycle and retorted, "Bullshit! That's not what happened at all. I saw it all. Uncle Si divorced Aunt Si because she has no morals. She spoke up for human traffickers and got reported, which is why Uncle Si divorced her."
"I even saw Uncle Si bring another woman home, which is what made Aunt Si so angry she fell ill. What does any of this have to do with Si Nian?"
"Lin Sisi stole money herself, and you're still speaking up for her. Be careful, or she might steal your money in the future too."
After saying that, she gave a cold snort, ignored the awkward expressions of the crowd, and rode away on her bicycle.
The group's faces turned pale and green.
It was extremely awkward.
Eventually, someone seemed to realize something and exclaimed in surprise, "Did Deputy Battalion Commander Si really bring a woman home? Didn't Lin Sisi say that the couple was divorcing because of something Si Nian said to Deputy Battalion Commander Si?"
"Speaking of this, I actually just remembered something. Last time I passed by Battalion Commander Si's house, I saw a woman washing clothes at his door. But I heard she's his nanny's older sister, filling in because the nanny was sick..."
"No way, Battalion Commander Si actually took a fancy to the nanny's sister? No matter how bad Zhang Cuimei might be, he shouldn't go for a nanny."
"Isn't that nanny Lin Sisi's friend? I heard she took her in out of pity. Who in our compound can afford a nanny? I remember thinking Battalion Commander Si's family was living quite extravagantly."
"I remember too. She used to make food and send it over to the Fu family often, and she's quite pretty. I heard she even went to the Northwest before. During that time, it was her sister who came over to take care of Battalion Commander Si..."
"Hiss, a lone man and a lone woman together, if nothing really happened, why would Battalion Commander Si be in such a hurry to get a divorce?"
Saying this, everyone exchanged a look.
Their eyes carried a hint of mutual understanding.
...
Si Nian was now teaching English to the kids in the gifted class.
Her son was in the gifted class.
When classes ended in the afternoon, they could go home together.
Today, however, Si Nian didn't plan to go straight home. Instead, she intended to take the children to the hospital for a physical checkup.
Just to see if they were healthy.
Eldest Child had only been to the hospital once, and that was when Si Nian was pushed down by Grandma Liu.
Hearing his mother say she was taking him for a checkup now, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
Was there something wrong with his body?
Otherwise, why would his mother take him for a medical checkup?
He thought to himself, feeling uneasy.
The two of them were holding Yaoyao's hand, waiting at the door for Zhou Zehan. It was this guy's turn to clean up today; everyone else had already left, but he still hadn't come out.
Si Nian looked around and suddenly noticed another small figure who hadn't left yet.
She looked over; it was Fang Bowen.
Fang Bowen didn't look too good; his face was rather pale.
Fang Hui had probably been delayed today and surprisingly hadn't arrived yet.
Seeming to realize his mother wasn't coming, Fang Bowen bit his lip, glanced at them, and started walking home alone with his backpack.
Si Nian frowned. Just as she withdrew her gaze, there was a thud. Looking back, Fang Bowen had collapsed on the ground—