RBNTW Ch 23

Chen Guangren thought they weren’t hungry, so he said, “If you’re not hungry, give me the noodles. They won’t taste good once they’re mushy. I’ll make fresh ones for Jiu-ge’er when he wakes up.”

 

Saying this, he reached out to take the noodles.

 

Since Chen Ling was unhappy with Chen Jiu, she had put three large spoons of salt in the small bowl of noodles. She couldn’t let Chen Guangren eat it, or she’d get scolded again for sure.

 

“Children’s father, I’m a bit hungry.”

 

When Chen Ling instinctively avoided letting Chen Guangren take the bowl, Lan Shi quickly spoke up.

 

Chen Guangren had been working in the fields all day and was very tired. He didn’t suspect anything and waved his hand, saying, “Then you eat it. After that, go to bed. It’s late, and you need to wake up early tomorrow.”

 

“Alright.” Lan Shi agreed. “Jiu-ge’er is asleep, so you should sleep early too. Should we get a doctor for him tomorrow?”

 

Lan Shi was good at pretending. Her words sounded genuine.

 

Hearing this, Chen Guangren’s expression softened. “I’ll go get Doctor Liu first thing in the morning. But Jiu-ge’er just woke up and fell asleep again. I’m afraid he might develop a fever later, so I’ll stay here and watch over him. You go to bed after eating.”

 

“How can that be? You’ve been working all day. How can you hold up without rest?” Lan Shi said. “Let me stay here and watch. You go to bed.”

 

But Chen Guangren wasn’t reassured. He also thought she had been working in the fields all day and needed rest, so he didn’t agree and urged her and Chen Ling to go to bed.

 

Lan Shi couldn’t argue with him and had to leave.

 

Chen Ling kept her head down the whole time and didn’t say much. She took the noodles and followed her out.

 

Back in the kitchen, Chen Ling couldn’t help but show her hatred, lowering her voice and gritting her teeth, “That short-lived ghost, what medicine did he take to say bad things about me to Father!”

 

Speaking of medicine, she couldn’t help but remember the useless medicine she had bought and cursed, “Liar, selling me fake medicine! Tomorrow I’ll have Brother Yun close down his shop!”

 

Lan Shi poured the small bowl of noodles into a large bowl and added hot water.

 

Hearing her daughter’s words, she frowned too, “Did that boy figure out it was you who drugged him? Why did he seem like a different person after waking up?”

 

Neither Chen Ling nor Lan Shi thought that Chen Jiu had vomited the medicine. They assumed the person who sold it had given them fake medicine that only made Chen Jiu faint without causing him to lose his dignity.

 

“Impossible. He’s too stupid to suspect anything!”

 

Chen Ling immediately retorted, her eyes full of hatred. “Maybe that wretch has been jealous of me all along, waiting for a chance to set me up!”

 

Lan Shi felt it wasn’t that simple but thought Chen Ling might be right.

 

Chen Jiu wasn’t that smart.

 

Still, he wasn’t dumb enough to defy her.

 

After thinking for a while, Lan Shi decided to be cautious and said to Chen Ling, “Ling’er, test him tomorrow to see what’s going on.”

 

Chen Ling was already seething and eager to vent her anger on Chen Jiu, so she readily agreed, “Don’t worry, Mother. I’ll make sure to question him thoroughly tomorrow.”

 

She said the last three words through gritted teeth, each word filled with anger.

 

Lan Shi nodded and reminded Chen Ling to stay calm. No matter how angry she was, she couldn’t show her true nature in front of Chen Guangren. Seeing Chen Ling nod, she then lowered her head to eat the noodles diluted with hot water.

 

As soon as she took a bite, she couldn’t help but frown.

 

Even after adding so much water, it was still too salty.

 

She poured out the water and added hot water again, repeating this five or six times until it was just barely edible. However, the noodles no longer tasted the same.

 

The Chen family had to support Chen Jiu, who was always sick, and pay for Chen Gui’s education. The money Chen Jiu’s father had brought had long been spent, and now every penny was precious.

 

No matter how bad the noodles tasted, they had to eat them without wasting any.

 

Chen Ling also ate a few bites, resenting Chen Jiu for making them eat such terrible noodles. She thought to herself that tomorrow, when Father went out, she would make sure Chen Jiu wouldn’t have an easy time!

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