C13 He Wanted to Die!

"What do you mean, 'what'? Are you saying she didn't hide any food from Mom, or that she actually saved some for her?" Mrs. Luh stirred the pot while heading toward the dining table.

"Mom, we haven't eaten anything since noon. Please, eat first, and we can talk after," Luo Lingyan urged, gently pulling Mrs. Chung down to sit and signaling to the kids.

"Yeah, we haven't had lunch yet. We're starving," Luo Fengjiao chimed in, quickly ladling soup into everyone's bowls. If Grandma came over, there wouldn't be anything left for them.

Mrs. Chung stood up again after freeing herself from Luo Lingyan's grip. Remembering the kids mentioning saving half for dinner, she forced a smile and said, "Mom, I saved half for you. I was going to have the kids bring it over, but they were so hungry. We'll send it to you after we eat!"

Hearing this, the kids shot Mrs. Chung a look of disappointment, and she lowered her head in shame.

"At least you have some conscience. What about the dried fish? You better give me half," Mrs. Hong finally smiled, her eyes on the half-filled bowl of soup by the stove.

"Grandma, two days ago, my mom told me to bring you a small chicken. I didn't want to, but I listened to her. Just now, she asked me to save half of the stone frog soup for you. I didn't want to, but I did it anyway. Now, if anyone makes me do something I don't want to, I'll bury them alive," Luo Lingyan said coldly as she stood up and walked over to Mrs. Hong.

Mrs. Hong straightened her back and glared at Lingyan, "What do you want? I just want your dried fish. What are you going to do about it?"

Luh Meiying stepped up beside her mother-in-law. "Mom, it's only right for a son to honor his mother. Even though my brother isn't home, we should take a little more. Hua and Liang haven't had dried fish yet!"

"Alright," Mrs. Hong said, glancing around.

Lingyan stepped aside to let Mrs. Hong and Mrs. Luh through. "The dried fish is in the basket by the dining table. If you can take it, go ahead."

"Sis, Grandma is so biased. She never shares her food with us, but she always takes things from our house to give to Second Aunt's family. We can't let them take it," Luo Fengjiao shouted.

"Sis, remember last time when Grandma asked you to chop wood and you didn't give her three bundles? She locked you in the woodshed for a whole day and night. Have you forgotten?" Luo Zixuan reminded Lingyan, knowing she didn't remember past events.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Lingyan laughed, though her smile was inscrutable.

"She asked you to chop wood and you didn't. What's wrong with Grandma locking you up?" Mrs. Hong said, feeling a bit uneasy under Lingyan's gaze.

"Mom, you gave birth to him and raised him. Why can't you take something from his house? Come on, let's do it. When he gets back, you can just tell him," Mrs. Luh urged Mrs. Hong, having just heard from a neighbor that her sister-in-law's house was cooking something that smelled amazing.

"Exactly, why shouldn't I take my son's dried fish? I'm going to take it," Mrs. Hong thought, feeling justified. She grabbed a fancy basket and headed to the dining table.

"Yeah, Mom," Mrs. Luh followed her.

"If you want trouble, come on," Lingyan said, not stopping them.

Seeing the tension in the room, especially Lingyan's fierce expression, Mrs. Chung felt uneasy. She sensed that Lingyan had changed since getting hurt. "Yan, why don't you give your grandma half?"

"Give her what? Don't your kids need clothes? Don't you need blankets in winter?" Lingyan snapped at Mrs. Chung, frustrated by her weakness and constant bullying.

"Don't listen to Mom, you can't give it."

"Exactly, Mom's always like this, never thinking about us."