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Wu Xuemei quickly wiped her cheeks with both hands, saying, "Of course not! That child is closer to you than to me! He would only think that I have upset you and might even be angry with me!"
Just as she finished speaking, Xing Xiaokang ran in, holding Wu Xuemei's mobile phone in one hand. "Mom, there's a call for you!"
"Who is it?" Wu Xuemei asked, puzzled. Besides the people in the area and her work colleagues, she actually didn't know many people. She had married into City D from a remote rural area and had been a housewife since then, with very few interactions. She couldn't understand who would be calling her at this time.
Seeing the number displayed on the screen, Wu Xuemei's expression changed slightly. She took the mobile phone and walked out of the room, lowering her voice to answer the call.
Xing Xiaokang tugged at Bai Ma's shirt hem and asked, "Grandma, I'm really hungry. Is there anything to eat?"
It was Sunday, and the child had slept in, just waking up from the ringing of the mobile phone. At that moment, he was only wearing a tank top and a pair of capri pants.
"My dear, aren't you afraid of catching a cold dressed like that? Hurry back home and put on a jacket!" Bai Ma pulled the child out of Bai Family's door and turned into Xing Family.
"I'm hungry..." The child was still thinking about food.
"Put on your clothes first, and then I'll get you something to eat! Your aunt is in a good mood today and made some delicious food early this morning!" Bai Ma's voice could be heard faintly.
Bai Tang smiled as she walked into the kitchen and brought out a plate of Golden Silk Shaomai and a bowl of Sweet Steamed Milk Curd. Both snacks were made by Bai Tang early in the kitchen. The Golden Silk Shaomai was made by cutting egg crepes into thin strips and placing them on top of the meat filling at the opening of the shaomai, resembling golden threads, hence the name Golden Silk Shaomai.
The Sweet Steamed Milk Curd was learned by Bai Tang from Dream of the Red Chamber. Fresh milk was boiled in a pot with rock sugar until dissolved, then filtered through double layers of white gauze and placed in a cool place. The fermented rice juice was slowly poured into the cooled fresh milk while stirring, then divided into bowls sealed with aluminum foil and steamed in a pot for fifteen to twenty minutes. Once steamed, the fresh milk was left to cool until it solidified, topped with some almond slices, and refrigerated for three to four hours before being ready. In Chapter Nineteen of Dream of the Red Chamber, Jia Yuanchun returned home for a family visit to assess Jia Mansion's children's studies and was very pleased with Jia Baoyu. After returning to the palace, she rewarded him with something special: Sweet Steamed Milk Curd. Jia Baoyu was reluctant to eat it and saved it for Xiren, but it ended up being eaten by his wet nurse Li Momo. Bai Tang's version of the curd was topped with raisins and crushed walnuts, making it look appealing and delicious. Xing Xiaokang took a bite and fell in love with this dish, using his spoon to scoop up more curd into his mouth until he finished an entire bowl. The five Golden Silk Shaomai were also completely devoured.
"Auntie, your food is so delicious!" Xing Xiaokang rubbed his round belly. "Are you cooking again for lunch?"
"Sure! Just tell me what you want!" Bai Tang happily agreed. Having earned such a large sum today, she certainly wanted to celebrate properly. The ingredients outside weren't fresh anyway; their taste couldn't compare to what she could make at home with her skills. Bai Tang was already thinking about the lunch menu in her mind since she had all kinds of ingredients in her backpack.
"I want meat! I want to gnaw on chicken legs!" The child was a meat lover and loved chicken legs most; his mother often teased him that he wasn't born under the sign of sheep but rather under that of foxes.
"You need to eat more vegetables so your nutrition can be balanced!" Bai Tang playfully pinched his nose.
"I will eat vegetables, but I want meat more!" The child looked up at Bai Tang with big watery eyes full of pleading. "Auntie, I want chicken legs!"
How could Bai Tang refuse such an adorable child? The answer was no!
"Alright, alright! I'll make you drunken chicken legs and crispy chicken legs for lunch!"
Xing Xiaokang cheered, "Long live Aunt!"
Wu Xuemei walked in, her face dark and her eyes slightly red, clearly having cried.
Bai Ma went over and pulled Wu Xuemei into the bedroom she shared with Bai Dad. Bai Tang sent Xing Xiaokang home to play on the computer and walked to the door of Bai Ma's bedroom. The door was ajar, and the sound of Wu Xuemei's crying came through.
"…I suspect I am not their daughter! No parents are as biased as they are!" Wu Xuemei cried, recounting the unfairness of her biological parents towards her.
The Bai Family could not stand the extreme relatives from Wu Xuemei's family. Cold and selfish described that family well; sometimes, the Bai Family even doubted if Wu Xuemei was truly a member of the Wu Family. Wu Xuemei had an older brother and sister, and as the youngest, she should have been favored by her parents. Instead, she was the least valued child in the Wu Family. The reason was her straightforward temperament; she did not know how to flatter them, so her parents showered all their affection on her brother and the more charming older sister. Elder Sister Wu was very calculating, always pushing any mistakes onto her younger sister. Wu Xuemei, not good at defending herself, often found herself on the receiving end of her parents' beatings. Thus, Wu Xuemei grew up to eighteen years old, leaving home to work with only two hundred yuan in her pocket. After suffering grievances at her first employer's house and losing her job, she had no choice but to sleep on the streets! When she told Bai Ma about her experiences at that time, Bai Ma felt immense pity for her.
During the time when Xing Xiaokang's father was ill, Wu Xuemei had called her parents to come to City D to help take care of Xing Xiaokang. However, the elderly couple only stayed for a week before returning home, claiming that Elder Sister Wu's daughter needed to prepare for high school entrance exams and they had to go back to cook for their granddaughter.
At that moment, Bai Ma wanted to spit at them: couldn't Elder Sister Wu cook for her own daughter? Was their granddaughter more important than their grandson? If it weren't for being overwhelmed with work, how could someone as strong-willed as Wu Xuemei have called them for help? In the end, Bai Ma took Xing Xiaokang into the Bai Family's care so that Wu Xuemei could stay in the hospital with Xing Xiaokang's father.
While Wu Xuemei did not hold much hope for familial affection, she never expected that her family would be so calculating that they were worse than strangers. After less than half a year since Xing Xiaokang's father passed away, the people from the Wu Family began arranging for her to find a second husband. At first, Wu Xuemei felt somewhat touched, thinking that her family cared about her. However, she still politely declined their good intentions, stating that she did not want to find a husband for now because of her son. As a result, Wu Father became angry and scolded Wu Xuemei. From those curses, she finally understood that what they wanted was the house left behind by Xing Xiaokang's father. They believed that house belonged to their daughter; if they married off their daughter again, then that house would become part of the Wu Family! The thought was so ridiculous that it made Bai Ma want to knock some sense into them for being so self-righteous!
The house belonging to the Xing Family was inherited from Xing Xiaokang's grandparents to his father. As the youngest son of the family with an older brother and sister above him, they all had partial ownership of this house. It was impossible for the Wu Family to obtain it; how could anyone from the Xing Family agree? The siblings of the Xing Family, who were taking care of the orphaned mother and child duo in their time of need, tacitly agreed that this house would belong to Xing Xiaokang. If the Wu Family dared to marry off their daughter and occupy the house, people from the Xing Family would definitely use sticks to drive them out! From both moral and legal perspectives, the people from the Xing Family were in the right.
The one who came up with such a sinister and foolish idea was none other than the eldest sister of the Wu Family. The eldest brother of the Wu Family, who would inherit their parents' old house and had also built a new one himself, certainly would not want his sister's house; thus it would fall into her hands!
—People are truly greedy and ignorant!
"Who called you this time?" asked Bai Ma.
"Wu Chunmei! This time she didn't hide behind my parents but came directly," replied Wu Xuemei, fuming.
"What does she want?" asked Bai Ma, curious about what strange idea Wu Chunmei had.
"Her daughter wants to transfer schools to come study in City D, asking me to take care of her daughter. She claims that conditions in school dormitories are poor and fears that her daughter won't eat or sleep well enough to focus on studies; she wants her daughter to live at my place." Anger and sarcasm filled Wu Xuemei's face. "This is clearly an attempt at taking over my home! If I let her daughter move in here, before long she and her husband will move in too. They wouldn't leave even if I wanted them gone! At that point, where would there be room for me and Xiao Kang!"
"You didn't agree to it, did you?" asked Bai Ma, worried.
"I'd be foolish to agree," said Wu Xuemei. "But that woman won't give up easily; she might just bring people directly to my house. I can't just keep them locked outside either."
Both women frowned in unison.
Bai Tang knocked and walked in: "Mei Mei, how are your niece's grades?"
Wu Xuemei tugged at the corner of her mouth: "She had to pay an extra fee for the school in town, so how could her grades be good?"
"Then it's easy! Your niece's grades are poor, and she transferred from a local school to a big city, so the procedures won't be quick! The new house is almost renovated; we can move there early! That way, they won't find anyone when they come looking!" As soon as Bai Tang finished speaking, Bai Ma and Wu Xuemei's eyes lit up.
Wu Xuemei thought of a problem, her eyes dimming slightly: "But what if they call me and ask where I am?"
"You just say you went to work in another city! As for Xiao Kang, you can ask our family to help take care of him, and give us a few hundred yuan each month for his living expenses," Bai Ma suggested with a smile.
"That reason won't work!" Wu Xuemei shook her head with a frown. "They can help me look after the house and move in directly. You know how thick-skinned these people are!"
"Then let's just sell the old house!" Bai Tang threw out a bombshell.
"Sell it? Sell it?" Wu Xuemei was shocked. "If we sell the old house, what will happen to Xiao Kang in the future? This house is his support for living!"
Bai Tang looked at Wu Xuemei as if she were an idiot: "Mei Mei, how much money did you make in the last two years? How much are you making now?"
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