Chapter 182: Reincarnated Hungry Ghost

Chapter 182: Chapter 182: Reincarnated Hungry Ghost

"Are you hiding gold bars at home or what?"

She lowered her voice and craned her neck, almost touching Song Yao’s shoulder.

"My cousin’s neighbor’s second uncle works at a bank, and he said he’s seen real gold bars. Palm-sized, and super heavy."

Song Yao: "Huh?"

She picked up a piece of soy-braised duck breast, placed it on her small plate, and leisurely used the tips of her chopsticks to separate the fat from the lean meat.

She looked up at Wu Xixi, waiting for her to continue.

Wu Xixi then grabbed Li Tian and pushed him forward.

"Hey, little Tian will have to call your dad ’Grandpa,’ right? So couldn’t your dad just casually arrange an ’iron rice bowl’ for your brother-in-law?"

Li Tian stumbled from the pull, nearly hitting the corner of the table.

Wu Xixi held him by the shoulder with one hand and reached out with the other, trying to grab Song Yao’s wrist.

"See? The little one in your belly will call him Grandpa, and our Tian will call him Grandpa, too. That makes us so close!"

Her eyes crinkled as she smiled, her mouth stretching into a wide grin.

"Adding ties to existing ties. We’ll be real family from now on!"

Song Yao: "Ha?"

She put down her chopsticks, picked up her teacup, and took a sip of warm water.

"So... you’re planning on calling my father ’Dad’?"

Li Yuan coughed and looked down, shoveling rice into his mouth.

Wu Xixi’s eyes lit up, and she agreed on the spot.

"Sure! Of course! No problem!"

Song Yao: "..."

She gave a soft smile.

"Unfortunately, my dad made it clear a long time ago that he’s not accepting any goddaughters. I’m his only biological daughter, which means the only grandchild that counts is the one in my belly."

She gently rested her right hand on her lower abdomen.

Li Hanchen immediately reached out and moved a plate of tenderly stewed lotus root pockets closer to her.

"As for arranging a job? We really don’t have that kind of ability or connection. The director of the HR department at my dad’s workplace is named Wang. He was promoted to deputy director last year and has absolutely no connection to my family."

"And don’t even get me started on money. We’re so poor the coins jingle; we can count every last penny. My dad is just an ordinary cadre who honestly does his job."

Song Yao decided to lay all her cards on the table and make things clear.

Just as expected, Wu Xixi frowned.

"How can an official be poor? Who are you trying to kid?"

She picked up a mouthful of glass noodles with her chopsticks, but they hovered in mid-air, not reaching her mouth.

Song Yao looked up and smiled.

"Well... unless he’s corrupt?"

Wu Xixi immediately shut her mouth, her lips pressing into a thin line. She even forgot to move her chopsticks.

Li Yuan shot a quick glance at Song Yao and pulled the liquor bottle closer to himself.

He poured half a small glass of baijiu and downed it in one go.

She might be a fool, but she wasn’t so clueless as to not understand the gravity of the situation.

She knew perfectly well that some things were better left unsaid, or they’d cause big trouble.

Li Tian quietly scooted his chair closer to the wall, putting a fist’s width of distance between himself and her.

For this New Year’s Eve dinner, Wei Guilan had prepared a total of six dishes.

Four of them were meat dishes Song Yao had brought back from Beijing.

Only the fried meatballs and braised fish were made by Wei Guilan herself.

The table glistened with oil, filled with hearty, substantial dishes.

The moment the food was on the table, Wu Xixi reached out with her chopsticks, a grin spreading across her face.

"Oh my heavens, this is the best New Year I’ve ever had in my life!"

Her throat bobbed, her eyes glued to the plate of braised pork knuckle.

Wei Guilan quickly grabbed her wrist and laid down the law.

"There’s more than enough meat today; you couldn’t finish it all even if you stuffed yourself. But don’t act like a starving ghost who’s just been reincarnated!"

Li Yuan followed up by swatting the back of her hand.

Wu Xixi pouted but ultimately said nothing.

The meat smelled too good; she wasn’t willing to cause a scene and miss out.

Only then did Wei Guilan turn her head, smiling at Song Yao. "We really have Shen Songyao to thank this time! She brought back all four of the meat dishes."

"It’s because of her that our family’s New Year feels so abundant and respectable."

Song Yao quickly waved her hands dismissively.

"Mom, it’s nothing! New Year’s is all about sharing good things with everyone!"

Her words were heartwarming, and Wei Guilan liked her even more for it. She immediately picked up the serving chopsticks, selected the most tender tip of the pig’s trotter, and placed it in Song Yao’s bowl.

When Wu Xixi saw this, her hands started itching again. She had just raised her chopsticks.

Before she could even touch the edge of the plate, she saw Wei Guilan’s gaze sweep over from the corner of her eye.

Wei Guilan’s eyelid twitched. She didn’t scold her out loud, afraid that she’d actually provoke her into flipping the table on a holiday.

So, she had no choice but to quickly pile more food into Song Yao’s bowl.

Song Yao waved her hands repeatedly.

"That’s enough, that’s enough, Mom, I really can’t eat anymore!"

"You should eat! Yingying, you eat too!"

As she spoke, she turned to hurry Li Hanchen, then turned sideways to tug on Li Ying’s sleeve.

Thankfully, there was a mountain of meat today.

Wu Xixi had her bowl piled high with pork knuckle and lamb ribs, and even Li Tian’s plate was now a small mound of meat.

Looking up and seeing there was still good stuff left on the serving plates, the corners of her mouth nearly split to her ears.

She saw Song Yao piling meat into Li Hanchen’s bowl and was suddenly reminded that her own husband was sitting beside her. She quickly grabbed Li Yuan’s rice bowl and reached for the braised pork.

Li Yuan immediately stopped her.

"No, no, no! I’ll get it myself. You just sit properly. Just sit down, what are you standing there for? You look like you’re being punished."

Wu Xixi didn’t argue with him. She lowered her head and shoveled rice into her mouth, eating with loud slurps.

She chewed quickly and swallowed hastily, her chopsticks stabbing into the pile of meat.

’This much meat... you’d never see it normally. Only at New Year’s can you eat your fill like this.’

’Wait... in previous years, we’d just be gnawing on dried radishes!’

’This is the first time I’m really eating fatty meat!’

A warmth spread through her heart. She paused her chopsticks, then suddenly turned to Song Yao with a wide grin.

"Sister-in-law, hurry and get some! Don’t be polite, there’s plenty!"

The moment the words left her mouth, a light bulb went off in her head.

’Oh! So if I just stick close to Song Yao, we can have chicken, duck, and fish on the table in the future!’

Li Hanchen’s leave was strictly scheduled.

He had to pack up and leave right after the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Wei Guilan was so busy she was practically running off her feet.

Mincing filling, kneading dough, frying meatballs—she packed it all into a bamboo basket for Song Yao.

"Take these to Beijing to eat while they’re fresh!"

She fried an extra-large basinful, murmuring as she did.

"If you go visit your parents in Beijing for New Year’s, bring some for them to try. Our family doesn’t have anything fancy to offer, just this bit of sincerity."

After speaking, she brought out a wicker basket, neatly filled with eggs.

"I’ve been saving these for almost a month. Take them all."

The eggs were all round and uniform in size.

"After the spring plowing and the wheat harvest, I’ll find time to come to the city to see you and bring you some more!"

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and carefully tied the hemp rope around the basket’s opening with three knots.

Song Yao looked at the basket full of white eggs.

Her mother-in-law wouldn’t even splurge on using two eggs for herself when frying one, and Song Yao’s eyes started to sting.

"Mom, you should keep them to nourish yourself. The supermarkets in the city sell them every day."

Wei Guilan waved her hand.

"Buying them costs money! And raising a child will cost money for everything. If we have it at home, you take it. It’ll give you peace of mind!"

"Also, don’t buy diapers. I’ll sew them in my spare time and send them over when they’re done."

She took out a scrap of blue cloth and gestured to show the size.

Song Yao didn’t refuse, just smiled and agreed.

"Thank you, Mom! When you come, I’ll take you to the National Guest House for a great meal!"

’There she goes, making grand promises again.’

After speaking, she stood on her tiptoes to help Wei Guilan roll up her sleeves, revealing several faint, old burn scars on her wrist.

Wei Guilan was so happy she slapped her thigh. "Aiyo, okay! Okay!"

Before noon on the third day of the Lunar New Year, Li Hanchen was already pulling Song Yao out the door.

He was stuffing things into the trunk of the jeep.

Li Yuan only heard the commotion then and ran out of the courtyard gate.

"You’re leaving already?"

"Yeah."

"Not staying a couple more days?"

"Couldn’t get the leave approved."

Li Yuan’s lips moved a few times. The words he wanted to say circled on the tip of his tongue three times before he swallowed them all back down.

He stared at the ground, silent for two seconds, then looked up at his younger brother and finally managed to squeeze out one sentence.

"Drive slow, and watch the road."