Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 700 - 427: Appeal to Emotion

Uncle Tang indeed lost 50 yuan in a card game last month, but he wasn’t expecting to be called out by Yuantong right to his face.

The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward; Uncle Tang was pinching a fried broad bean, his hand already lifted and ready to eat, now not sure whether to eat or not.

Chuchu noticed Uncle Tang’s embarrassment and, wanting to ease the atmosphere, she took the initiative to say,

"Losing 50 yuan in a card game is normal; some people in our village lose hundreds, now those are the people who really don’t know how to appreciate what they have."

Uncle Tang fell silent again.

Yuantong said, "During the New Year, Uncle Tang lost over five hundred."

Chuchu’s face grimaced.

Uncle Tang quietly left, he needed to go to the dam to blow off some steam and clear his mind.

Jiang Ning glanced at Chuchu, who was keeping her head low, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her clothes.

Yuantong showed no signs of noticing anything unusual, her chopsticks encircling tomatoes sprinkled with sugar, "Chuchu, you should try the tomatoes; they’re super delicious!"

To hide her discomfort, Chuchu tasted a piece. The tomato was brilliantly red, juicy, and dipped in granulated sugar.

Chuchu took a bite, it was sweet and sour, and combined with a crispy tender texture, her expression immediately changed, her cool and moving eyes turned watery, reflecting the light, suddenly seeming much brighter.

Seeing Chuchu’s reaction, Yuantong was extremely pleased, "The tomatoes Jiang brought are delicious, right?"

"Yep, delicious," Chuchu silently picked another piece, she had never had such tasty tomatoes before; compared to the cold tomatoes she had eaten before, they were hardly worth mentioning.

Yuantong giggled a little, happy that Jiang was praised; her honor was tied to his.

Now knowing how delicious the tomatoes were, Chuchu, with great resolve, controlled her hand, making sure Tongtong ate one piece, no, two pieces before she took another.

Soon, a plate of tomatoes was completely devoured.

Jiang Ning was sipping mung bean tea, his deadpan cake folded with a few dry-fried loaches sandwiched within.

He bit down, enjoying both the crispness of the cake and the spiciness of the dish.

As dinner was about to end, lights from two electric scooters appeared in the distance; Yuantong recognized the lights and jumped up from her small stool, shouting,

"Mom, you’re back!"

The lights drew nearer, and indeed it was Aunt Gu and Feng Mei.

Aunt Gu stopped her scooter, "Eating quite late today."

Yuantong immediately said, "Mom, today Jiang caught mud loaches, they were so tasty, and we haven’t finished them yet!"

She dashed into the house, fetching a bucket to show off Jiang’s catch.

Aunt Gu surprised at seeing the mud loaches in the bucket, "You caught quite a lot, where did you catch them?"

"By the west puddle," Yuantong said.

Aunt Gu pushed the scooter inside, knowing what her daughter had for dinner, she then asked, "What did you have for breakfast?"

Yuantong said, "We had fried rice at Chuchu’s house."

"And for lunch?" Aunt Gu persisted, she hadn’t been home to cook, so she needed to make sure her daughter was eating properly.

Yuantong, sensing trouble, kept glancing at Jiang.

"Yuantong hung out in my room snacking half the day, she was full, so we didn’t make lunch," tattled Jiang.

Yuantong was stunned, then immediately very angry and hurt; he had the nerve to betray her!

Aunt Gu withdrew her gaze, showing no signs of anger, simply saying gently, "I see, continue your meal."

Once Mom was inside, Yuantong glared fiercely at Jiang, "That was too much; I’m not washing dishes tonight."

Jiang, undisturbed, replied, "No worries, Chuchu will wash them."

...

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Chuchu’s mom, Feng Mei, rode her bike toward Changqing Liquid Company.

Her job differed from Aunt Gu’s; Feng Mei was in charge of a portion of food procurement. When suppliers arrived, she needed to be on-site to coordinate.

Aunt Gu was a chef and was apparently favored by the boss, so her work was relatively free.

Aunt Gu didn’t go that early today; she made breakfast for her daughter—cantaloupe paired with cherries, warmed some milk, steamed some sweet potatoes, fried an egg pancake, and also made a dish of olives with green beans and minced meat.

As Yuantong smelled the delicious food and got up, Aunt Gu asked her to call Chuchu; but in the end, Jiang came by himself, wearing shorts and slippers, to freeload the meal.

During breakfast, Chuchu said, "I heard from my mom that the company is planning a mid-year gathering."

Aunt Gu mentioned, "It’s the day after tomorrow, next Monday."

Yuantong inquired, "Is the mid-year gathering at a big restaurant, in a huge banquet hall?"

She gestured with her hands.

"The leaders apparently planned to hold it in Nan City," replied Aunt Gu, having heard from her colleagues that Yuzhou was too small to find a high-class hotel.

Hearing about the hotel in Nan City, Yuantong blinked, "Mom, can we bring family members to the annual meeting?"

Aunt Gu saw through her daughter’s thoughts, "I don’t think so."

Yuantong sighed disappointingly, "Nan City is so far, and the weather is hot; we can’t take food back to eat."

Aunt Gu, looking at her daughter’s attitude, lamented her lack of ambition; all she thought about was eating, without any growth in sight. Jiang was already much taller than her. What would she do in the future?

"Just focusing on eating, mindlessly eating; I hid your snacks and pocket money in the cabinet last night and locked it up. For the next few days, focus on eating meals properly and stop snacking," lectured Aunt Gu.

"Ah?" Yuantong felt like she’d been hit hard, her face instantly fell.

No snacks, how would she survive the summer vacation?

"Mom, leave me just a little, just two bags," Yuantong pleaded.

"Not even two bags!" Aunt Gu’s tone was firm.

Yuantong continued to plead with her mother.

Aunt Gu, "Are you bargaining with me?"

Seeing the situation, Chuchu changed the topic, "I heard from my mom that there’s going to be a raffle at the mid-year meeting, I wonder what we could win this time."

Speaking of the raffle, Aunt Gu smiled, "Our family won a soymilk maker last time, worth two to three thousand yuan."