Reborn as a Tough Army Wife-Chapter 48 Unspoken Intricacies

Thank you Xuan’er Feifei for the reward, thank you my dear, for supporting me since I started writing, a kiss for you, and I won’t mention everyone else by name, but I’m equally grateful, a big kiss for the group!

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Now Fang Pingying was truly furious. She put the bowl in front of Luo Zhiyong, gesturing for him to look.

The meat dish had been prepared by Luo Zhiyong with her yesterday, so he knew exactly how much there was. Seeing how much was gone after just one lunch, he too was puzzled, "What happened, wasn’t this meat just prepared yesterday?"

"Let’s wait for Fang Xiu and Cui Lan to come back and ask them. They shouldn’t have been able to eat that much in one meal." If they really did eat it, Fang Pingying would not reproach them.

But if they used it for something else and didn’t come clean about it, pretending as if nothing happened, then from now on everyone will have to endure, and we’ll just stop eating the meat.

There were only four pieces of meat left, which Fang Pingying did not touch, leaving them where they were, and even deliberately placed them in the most noticeable spot by the stove. She wanted to see what Zhou Yun Mei and the others would say when they came back.

After Fang Pingying finished eating, she asked Luo Honglan to wash the dishes, while she went to handle the hawthorn jam in the yard.

The jars she bought were just the right size; a large jar of jam could fill three small ones perfectly. Fang Pingying thought to earn less and sell them cheaper, one small jar for one yuan, without charging extra for the jar.

A small profit but quick turnover is also a good thing.

In any case, picking hawthorns on the hills in the village was currently cost-free, and if she had to raise the prices slightly for other products in the future, the customers would find it easier to accept.

In the evening, the family returned.

Fang Pingying did not say much, she just cooked the usual way, but all the dishes were vegetarian: a water-cooked winter melon, tender shredded pumpkin, and stir-fried green beans. There was not a single trace of meat on the table.

Luo Cuilan knew what she had done, and seeing the food on the table, she did not say a word, instead, she just shoveled rice into her mouth.

But Zhou Yun Mei wasn’t so easygoing. She had quarreled with Fang Pingying in the county this afternoon and was still holding a grudge.

Now seeing the dishes not to her liking, her temper flared up as she spoke to Fang Pingying with extreme displeasure, "You can’t be so stingy. We clearly made a lot of that meat dish yesterday. Why didn’t you serve it today?"

"That’s right. The whole family is here, and you don’t serve it. Are you planning to sneakily eat it all by yourself when we’re not around?" Fang Xiu, who had lunch at Li Yuchun’s with Luo Zhiming and was unaware of the meat dish situation, thought Fang Pingying was too frugal to share with the family.

Fang Pingying didn’t respond, but glanced at Luo Cuilan, seeing her silently eating without speaking, not intending to explain.

She could not care less at this point, sweeping her glance over the meat left on the stove, "There are only four pieces left, I didn’t think it would be enough for lunch, so I didn’t steam it."

Seeing that the meat was gone, Zhou Yun Mei’s first reaction was to yell at Fang Pingying, "You wasteful woman, there were only three of you eating lunch, and you’ve finished off a big bowl of meat prepared yesterday in one meal?"

Fang Pingying snorted coldly, "Mother, don’t start by cursing at people, the wasteful woman you’re talking about isn’t me. As to who it is, you should ask the other people in the house."

Now everyone in the family knew there must be more to the story with the meat dish. They looked at each other, not knowing what had happened.

Fang Xiu was quick to react, immediately jumping out to clarify, "This has nothing to do with us. This morning we just ate a bun at home before going to my mother’s house, and we haven’t been back since. We didn’t have lunch at home either."

"What’s going on then? I didn’t eat that meat for lunch with Cuilan either, we each just had a bowl of noodles, this..." Luo Dashan stopped mid-sentence, as if he’d remembered something, and glanced at Luo Cuilan.

Actually, the matter was very simple. Today, Fang Pingying and two others were not at home, Fang Xiu and his wife were also out, and Luo Dashan was rarely seen around the kitchen; it was always Luo Cuilan cooking alone. The items that had been in the kitchen all along had gone missing, and it was definitely related to her.

Moreover, Luo Cuilan, who was always very particular about food, would make a comment if the family’s meals were even slightly subpar on normal days. Yet today, she didn’t say a word and just ate her meal, heads down; anyone with a bit of sense would know this matter was related to her.

Plus, with what Fang Pingying had said, Zhou Yunmei immediately guessed what had happened,

Her expression darkened as she looked at Luo Cuilan and pressed, "Cuilan, where did you take the steamed pork with rice flour?"

Luo Cuilan, seeing the entire family staring at her with eyes like she was a thief, had always been proud and couldn’t stand it.

So, she outright admitted, "What’s all the fuss about? I took the meat to Jianguo’s house. I saw that the meat would keep and it tasted good, so I took some for Jianguo to try. His parents haven’t been home these past few days, no one’s been cooking for him, and he doesn’t know how to cook himself."

In fact, Fang Pingying had already guessed that this was the case. If Luo Cuilan had been willing to tell her beforehand, she wouldn’t have minded letting her take some.

Or if Luo Cuilan had spoken up when Zhou Yunmei was blaming her, Fang Pingying wouldn’t have let the situation escalate to this extent.

But at the time, Luo Cuilan, fully aware that Zhou Yunmei was falsely accusing Fang Pingying, kept silent.

What she was thinking, Fang Pingying didn’t know.

But since Luo Cuilan was acting this way, Fang Pingying was going to let Zhou Yunmei take her to task.

After hearing Luo Cuilan’s words, Zhou Yunmei immediately burst out shouting, pointing at Luo Cuilan and scolding, "Jianguo, Jianguo, you only ever have Jianguo on your lips. Not only did you give your virginity to him, now you’re even moving household things to his place. If that’s the case, you might as well not stay here anymore and just go live at his house."

As soon as Zhou Yunmei finished speaking, while others remained silent, Fang Xiu suddenly shouted out, "Ah, Mom, is what you said true? Someone in the village mentioned a while back that my second sister was carrying Jianguo’s child, so it’s actually true?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Do you think no one gossips about you and Zhiming? Just yesterday, people in the village were saying you two were always fooling around in the back mountains," Luo Cuilan wasn’t someone easy to bully and immediately retorted back at Fang Xiu.

"The..." Fang Xiu, realizing that her own affair with Luo Zhiming was known to others, blushed and assertively responded to Luo Cuilan, "Can you take the village gossip seriously? Besides, Zhiming and I are already married now, so whatever we do can hardly be called fooling around."

To speak in such an explicit manner in front of the whole family, Zhou Yunmei really wished she could slap Fang Xiu dead.

She glared at her fiercely, "You shut up, no one will think you’re mute if you don’t speak. If you can’t speak properly, then go back to your own room and stay there."

Fang Xiu didn’t think she was in the wrong and looked at Zhou Yunmei with a grievance, "Mom, I didn’t do anything wrong, am I not even allowed to speak?" freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

"Keep your mouth shut," Luo Zhiming pulled Fang Xiu back, cursing the fool in his heart. At a time like this, other people couldn’t avoid involvement even if they wanted, yet she was plunging headlong into it.

Seeing that Fang Xiu had stopped talking, Zhou Yunmei turned back to Luo Cuilan, "Cuilan, go to Jianguo’s house right now and bring that meat back."

"I won’t go. It’s been mostly eaten already, how can I bring it back home?" Luo Cuilan stood straighter, glanced at Fang Pingying with annoyance, and said, "Besides, it’s just some meat. Our family can afford it. It’s only because someone has been keeping the household money tight recently that we even care about this bit of meat—otherwise, we wouldn’t know how much goes to waste every year."

After listening, Fang Pingying’s lips slightly curled as she asked, "Cuilan, are you suggesting that since my arrival, I’ve tightened the purse strings and our living standards have declined?"

Because she wasn’t satisfied that Fang Pingying didn’t cover for her about taking the steamed pork with rice flour, Luo Cuilan was also annoyed.

She didn’t mince her words with Fang Pingying, "Isn’t it true? Before you entered this family, we lived comfortably. We never lacked meat or money. But it hasn’t even been two months since you came through the door, and you’ve turned the house as if we are in dire poverty as to not even having several dollars of pocket money for me each month."