The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 161

 

| TBBOTOF | 161

It was originally enough, but they ended up setting up five more tables. Tang Xu baked two cakes, and when he brought them out, a delicious aroma filled the air. 

Anyone with a functioning sense of smell took a deep breath and couldn't help but swallow.

When the cake was cut open, it revealed three layers of filling, soft and fluffy.

The little ones were being held by the adults, and the chubby boy was seated on a chair, holding a small spoon, eagerly watching Tang Xu cut the cake. Seeing that his father was serving the table first, he didn’t rush, but couldn’t help but kick his legs a little.

When a piece of cake was placed in a bowl in front of him, the chubby kid said, "Thank you, Daddy~"

"Go ahead and eat." Tang Xu smiled and pinched his chubby cheeks.

The remaining cake was divided among the adults. Since the quantity was limited, everyone got a small piece just to taste it.

The tables were filled with an abundance of meat dishes. Tang Xu, along with Liu Yao, Tang Li, Wang Cuicui, Luo Pingping, and Wei Zhonghong, served all the dishes.

Tang Erhu noticed there wasn’t any liquor served and couldn't help but ask, "What about that sorghum liquor you brewed?"

Tang Xu looked at his father and, hearing the others also asking about the liquor, replied, "You can drink it, but don’t drink too much. That liquor is strong, and if you drink too much, you'll get a headache."

"I know, I know. We're just happy, it's rare for us all to get together." Tang Dahu nodded cheerfully.

Tang Erhu patted Wei Dong on the shoulder, urging him, "Hurry up and bring the liquor."

Once the liquor was on the table, the feast began.

There was still a small half of a cake left on the main table. Everyone at the table praised the cake, and since no one wanted more, it was left for the children to enjoy after the meal.

At another table, Li Xiu kept glancing at the remaining small half of the cake on the main table. Wang Lanhua, who was sitting with her and was unable to hold back, whispered, "Third Aunt, why aren't you eating?" 

The latter part of the question was unspoken: it seemed inappropriate to be focused on the children’s cake without eating.

Wang Lanhua usually was not aggressive or assertive, and appeared to be mild-mannered, but she was particularly indulgent towards children.

She gave birth to a son at the beginning of the year. The child was too young to be brought here today, but it didn't prevent her from having a bad impression of Li Xiu.

During the New Year, she and her sister-in-law, Sun Ning'er, had been given some fabric by their mother-in-law. The fabric was meant for making small clothes for the children when they were older. 

However, when Li Xiu saw it while visiting the old home for the New Year's meal, she asked for it, saying it was for her little girl, who hadn’t had new clothes for years, and the fabric would be perfect for making a new outfit.

Seeing the look on Luo Pingping's face at that time, Wang Lanhua swallowed the words of rejection that were on the tip of her tongue. It was the New Year, and she didn’t want to create trouble. 

Even though another piece of new fabric was later provided, Wang Lanhua still felt dissatisfied.

It wasn’t just Wang Lanhua who was displeased; Sun Ning'er was even more annoyed with Li Xiu.

As the head of the main branch, whenever Tang Sanhu needed help, Tang Dahu usually asked his eldest son, Tang Wei, to help out. 

Every time Tang Wei went to help, he came back in a bad mood. Sun Ning'er noticed that Tang Wei’s irritability was due to the fact that Third Aunt spoke in a weird way and he received no thanks for his efforts.

Sun Ning'er was so angry that she told Tang Wei not to go help in the future. However, since it was his father’s directive, he could not refuse repeatedly.

Li Xiu was gnawing on some chicken and snorted in response, "You don't need to worry about it. Just eat your own."

Wang Lanhua pursed her lips, feeling a bit angry, but didn’t say anything further.

Sun Ning'er glanced over and couldn’t help but retort, "Third Aunt, you should eat slower. No one is fighting you for food."

Li Xiu was too focused on the delicious meat in her mouth to respond to her.

The meal was lively and everyone was quite happy. The men had mostly been drinking, including Tang Qi, who usually seemed composed but had also had quite a bit.

His wife had tried to persuade him several times, but was ignored, and the pregnant young wife was so upset that she nearly had a stomachache.

After the meal, the chubby boy asked Tang Xu for a small piece of cake, which he got and carried outside to eat and play in the yard with the other children.

Wu Guizhi, watching with a smile, began to frown as she noticed something.

The chubby kid, holding his small bowl and about to join the other children playing with the little rabbits, heard someone calling him.

"Da Bao~ Da Bao!"

He turned his face and saw Third Aunt sitting in the pavilion, waving at him. He walked over to her.

"Third Aunt, why are you calling me?" the chubby kid asked, looking up at her.

Li Xiu reached out and patted his head, pointing to the small bowl he was holding. "Can you give this piece of cake to Third Aunt? She touched her belly and said, 'Your little uncle wants to eat some cake.'"

The chubby kid looked confused, staring at her belly, then glanced around, his mind full of questions about where the little uncle was since he couldn’t see him.

"Where’s the little uncle? I don’t see him!"

Li Xiu pointed to her own belly and said, "The little uncle is in Third Aunt’s belly. He wants to eat some cake! Can you give the piece in your bowl to Third Aunt, and then go ask your dad for another piece?"

The chubby kid wasn’t particularly willing, but being a sharing and well-behaved child, he thought for a moment and handed the small bowl to Li Xiu.

"Then you give it to the little uncle!"

Li Xiu took it with a big smile and popped the small piece of cake into her mouth.

The chubby kid was surprised and widened his eyes, "Ah..."

The piece of cake was indeed small—just a bite for an adult. After swallowing it, Li Xiu smacked her lips, still feeling like it wasn’t quite enough.

"Third Aunt, why did you eat it? Wasn't it supposed to be for the little uncle?"

The old lady, filled with anger, walked over and took the chubby kid’s hand. She was very clear about her dislike for the third daughter-in-law, and couldn’t show her frustration in front of her grandson, so she kept a stern face and said, "You’re such a grown-up, but you’re snatching food from a child. You have some nerve."

The chubby kid didn’t quite understand; the old lady spoke with a bit of an accent. He looked up, curious, "Great-grandmother, what did you say?"

"Nothing," the old lady said deliberately loud enough for Li Xiu to hear. "Come on, Great-grandmother will take you to get another piece of cake. Don’t give any away to anyone else. You eat it yourself!" She glared at Li Xiu as she left.

Li Xiu didn’t care at all; she had eaten the cake and felt satisfied.

There was originally nothing serious, as craving food during pregnancy was quite normal. After the old lady had vented her frustration with Tang Xu and the others, she felt less upset.

"After eating so much, she might feel uncomfortable later," Tang Li, sitting to the side with a corn husk basket in hand, remarked. "If she feels unwell later and blames us, it’ll be troublesome."

Tang Xu sighed, looked down at Xiao Bao sleeping in his arms, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and placed him on the kang. 

He then checked on Er Bao, who was supposed to be sleeping with his head facing out and feet facing in, only to find that in just a short while, he had completely reversed his position, with his feet facing out and head facing in.

"Ah Li, don’t say that. If Third Aunt hears it, she’ll cause more trouble."

After the meal, the table was cleared. Tang Xu had planned to arrange for everyone to go back, but Tang Dahu suggested that since it wasn’t urgent, they might as well set up another table for the siblings and relatives to sit and play for a while.

Tang Xu was wondering what they would play, and then saw his uncle pull out four wooden dice from a pocket sewn into his clothes.

The dice were well-worn and obviously frequently used.

At that moment, the sounds of people playing dice in the yard grew louder. Tang Xu turned his head toward the window and saw Tang Dahu excitedly gesturing towards Tang Sanhu, shouting, “Don’t try to back out. We agreed earlier that no debts would be left!”

Tang Sanhu, with a stern face, impatiently replied, “I know, I know. I’ll give it to you later. Hurry up and play another round, and we’ll settle it next time.”

Tang Dahu grumbled, “Just one round? Next time, you must give it. I won the game!”

It seemed as if not getting a few coins in hand was a matter of life and death for him.

Tang Xu frowned and turned to Luo Pingping, who was gently fanning the sleeping children with a fan. "Auntie, when did Uncle start gambling?"

"Huh?" Luo Pingping looked up at him, puzzled. "Gambling?"

"He has dice in his pocket. If he wasn’t playing often, why would he carry them around?" Tang Xu pointed his chin towards the people outside the window. "Just now, Uncle was organizing a game."

Luo Pingping furrowed her brow and leaned to look out the window. After a moment, she smiled and waved her hand. "Your uncle just likes to play for fun. He doesn’t gamble with money."

Tang Xu wasn’t sure it was just for fun; Tang Dahu’s earlier behavior didn’t seem like casual playing.

He thought for a moment and said, "It’s better to discourage him from gambling with money. Otherwise, one day he might fall into a trap, and all the money you save could be lost."

Luo Pingping was startled by his words, and her concern was raised.

The old lady, who was resting against a stack of quilts, vaguely opened her eyes and mumbled, "Not long ago, Dahu even borrowed money from your father."

Not just Auntie, but Tang Xu and Tang Li in the room also turned to look at the old lady.

The old lady sighed, "It wasn’t much, just twenty copper coins. He returned it a few days later, saying he was craving wine and you wouldn’t let him drink, so he went to get some."

Luo Pingping felt a bit anxious after hearing this.

"We don’t even need more wine. During the New Year, Dongzi brought over two large barrels, and we haven’t finished them yet!"

The old lady, who had been half-closing her eyes, suddenly opened them wide and fixed her gaze on Luo Pingping’s face.

Luo Pingping’s expression grew dark as she thought of a possible scenario.

Tang Xu sighed again and advised, "When we go back, Auntie, talk to Uncle privately. It might not necessarily be money he’s using for gambling."

Luo Pingping, feeling uneasy, nodded without saying more, though her face remained troubled.

The old lady, maintaining a stern face, huffed and said, "Don’t argue with him; speak to him calmly."

"I understand, Mother."

In the courtyard, Li Xiu sat in the pavilion, yawning. Her stomach was bloated and she felt an urgent need to go use the bathroom.

She frowned, feeling discomfort from the bloating, and quickly called out, "Sanhu, Sanhu, help me to the toilet!"

Tang Sanhu stood up to accompany her to the restroom.

Like a signal, after Li Xiu used the toilet once, she went again, then a third time, and by the fourth time, her legs were feeling weak.

Tang Sanhu, seeing her frightened expression, rushed to wake up the old doctor Xu, who was resting in the room.

Dr. Xu came over to check her pulse and, stroking his beard, asked, “Do you feel like vomiting?”

Li Xiu shook her head. She didn’t feel like throwing up, just had the urge to relieve herself.

Old Wen also checked her pulse. The two elderly men exchanged a look of helplessness.

Old Xu said, “You’re not used to eating so many rich dishes, and you’re pregnant, so it’s natural to have diarrhea. I’ll get you some medicine to help. It’s nothing serious.”

Old Wen added, “The baby is fine, but if you continue to have diarrhea, it might cause problems.”

Li Xiu nervously placed one hand on her belly and tightly grasped Tang Sanhu’s wrist with the other, shouting, “It must be Xu Ge’er who poisoned me!”

Her voice was sharp, harsh, and full of intense resentment.

The people around her were startled and changed their expressions.

Tang Xu, who had just come in with a bowl of hot water, raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

Previous TOC Next