Chapter 85: Just Watch Me Go Tattle on You

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Just Watch Me Go Tattle on You

Gu Jinhua took a deep breath, telling herself to be patient. Then, she calmly tried to coax him, "Look, it’s just not realistic to call for a tractor right now. Besides your brother-in-law, who else can I ask to give you a ride on a bicycle? Surely you don’t expect me to call my father-in-law?"

"I don’t care. You figure something out." Gu Lihui was unmoved.

"If you keep this up, we won’t even get to eat lunch," Gu Jinhua threatened.

"Then just go out, buy groceries, and cook a meal here. The pots and pans are all ready to go, what’s so hard about that? Or you could just buy takeout, that’d be good too. There’s a state-run restaurant not far from here. I want their braised pig’s trotters and red-braised pork ribs; I haven’t had them in ages. Oh, and get some hot and sour soup to go with steamed rice. It’s not far, so it’d be easy for you to just take some bowls and a basin to bring the food back." As Gu Lihui spoke, his mouth watered at the thought of all that delicious food.

’Braised pig’s trotters and red-braised pork ribs... Why don’t you just ask for dragon meat from heaven while you’re at it?’

Gu Jinhua felt she was at her limit. "I have no money. I’m in debt."

"No money? Don’t think I don’t know you got a big refund from the hospital today. Are you really planning to pocket all of it for yourself?" Gu Lihui sneered. "If you want me to walk back myself, that’s fine too. We can just wait until it’s dark, after we’ve had lunch and dinner. It won’t be so hot then." ’And no one will be staring at me the whole time,’ Gu Lihui added in his head, feeling he was already making a huge concession and was deeply aggrieved.

"That was my money in the first place! I borrowed it to pay your medical bills. Now that there’s some left over, of course I have to take it back to pay them back. How is that ’pocketing it’?" Gu Jinhua was so angered by her brother’s unreasonable words that she was on the verge of tears.

"Enough already. There’s no use telling me that; go tell Mom. Hmph. It was already decided that the two hundred yuan was for my treatment and recovery. But you? The money’s not even all spent and you’re already scheming to take it back. I’ve met cheapskates before, but never one on this level. So, are you going to buy food or not? If you’re too stingy to buy two meals, then just buy one for me. As for yourself, you can either get takeout or go buy some groceries and cook something. I don’t care what you do. But there is no way I’m walking back now."

As he spoke, Gu Lihui walked over to the bed. Without changing his clothes, he flopped right onto the mattress and pulled a terrycloth blanket over himself. "You definitely haven’t told the family I’m being discharged today, have you! Heh. Mom and the others don’t know. It’d be a miracle if they had food ready for us when we got back. I’ll probably just get fobbed off with a bowl of mushy noodles."

"’I’m stingy? I’m a cheapskate?’"

Gu Jinhua pointed at Gu Lihui, shaking with such rage she was at a loss for words. In that moment, she felt a genuine sorrow for herself. In a fit of pique, the words she spat out were a jumble. "You want braised pig’s trotters and red-braised pork ribs, is that it? Fine, I’ll buy them for you! I’ll even buy two portions..."

’Why should you get to eat the good stuff while I make do with something plain? Nine times out of ten, Mom will force me to hand over the money from the hospital, just like my brother said. If that’s the case, what’s the point of being frugal?’

A vicious thought took hold. Consumed by her anger, she completely forgot the doctor’s orders.

The more she thought, the angrier she became. ’So I’m a cheapskate, huh? Fine, I’ll really give you something to call me a cheapskate about.’ She secretly decided she needed to be smarter. She couldn’t be honest about the money. She would hide seventy yuan and say the refund was only a little over fifty. She had been the one running all the errands that morning, so they had no idea how much the hospital had actually refunded. As long as she didn’t show them the receipt, it would be whatever she said it was.

’It’s not like I’m keeping that much. In a couple of days, when I call for a ride, won’t I have to spend money buying cigarettes for the driver?’

’Right, and today’s meal money. The dishes my brother ordered will have to come out of that fifty-something yuan, too.’

With this plan in mind, Gu Jinhua felt much better. The idea of the delicious food made her own mouth water, and she was now in the mood to sneer at Gu Lihui. "What’s wrong with a pampered boy like you eating noodles? Is having noodles to eat such a terrible injustice?" She then noticed him lying on the bed and couldn’t help but frown. "You just got out of the hospital. Why didn’t you change your clothes before getting on the bed? Isn’t that dirty?"

"What’s the big deal? This stuff will all have to be washed when we take it home anyway." Since he wasn’t the one who would have to do the washing, Gu Lihui couldn’t care less.

"Mom hasn’t been feeling well lately, and there’s no one else at home to do the chores. Second Brother dotes on his wife so much... Mom’s been sick for the past two days, but Ye Rong still acts like a princess. She cooked one meal just for herself and then refused to cook again, so Mom had to force herself out of bed to do it. And Second Brother won’t even say a word to her. You should feel for Mom a little. This blanket didn’t need to get dirty and create more laundry." Gu Jinhua grew upset, thinking that now that their capable helper had run off, and with Second Brother’s wife being impossible to order around, all the extra work would inevitably fall on her mother’s shoulders.

"If you feel so bad for her, you can come back and wash it yourself," Gu Lihui retorted airily.

Gu Jinhua sputtered with rage. "You...! I have a job! How could I possibly have the time? It’s such a long way... Never mind. Let’s just drop it. As long as you’re happy, fine."

She realized that every conversation with her brother just left her furious, so she decided not to say any more. "I’m going to get you something to eat." She found some bowls and a basin for the food, quickly rinsed them under the tap, and opened the door to leave. She paused at the threshold. "Are you sure you want to eat that stuff? The doctor specifically told you not to eat anything too greasy or spicy. Aren’t you afraid something will happen if you eat braised pig’s trotters, red-braised pork ribs, and hot and sour soup? Maybe I should see if there are any lighter dishes I can grab instead."

"You’re just being a cheapskate, worried about the cost. Doctors say that to everyone. It’s not like you have to follow it to the letter."

Seeing Gu Jinhua still dawdling, Gu Lihui grew impatient. He was anxious to shoo her out of the house so he could get to his hidden money. These past few days in the hospital, apart from worrying about his face, the thing he’d been most concerned about was his private stash of cash at home. Knowing the house was empty, he had been afraid a burglar might have broken in and something might have happened to his money.

But as soon as he got home and saw that everything looked normal, he was mostly relieved. At this point, he had no patience for any more of Gu Jinhua’s nagging, so he waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly. "Fine, don’t get the hot and sour soup. Get the tomato and egg drop soup instead."

"So much for trying to be nice," Gu Jinhua spat, slamming the door behind her in a rage.

"What’s her problem? Daring to slam the door and give me a look like that? Just you wait, I am so telling Mom on you when we get back." Seeing that she was finally gone, Gu Lihui scrambled up, darted to the door in a flash, and bolted it. Only then did he hurry over to the back of the cupboard and reach his hand into a hidden compartment--