Tang Guanshan felt that everything he had said made perfect sense. He also wielded a certain amount of influence at the hospital, and if Xiao Mandong could become close to Tang Jing, she certainly wouldn’t be the one to lose out.
“Section Chief Tang, are you joking with me? I already have a younger sister of my own. Why would I need to acknowledge another one? Besides, you said Tang Jing was spoiled by you. You may not know me very well—I’m not an easygoing person, and I’m not going to indulge anyone. We’re all living our first lives; there’s no need for one person to give in to another. Two bad-tempered people are better off staying apart. So, we’re not suited to being friends.”
Every word Xiao Mandong spoke was laced with distance and rejection. How could she possibly befriend someone who had disregarded human life for his own personal gain?
“You little—”
Section Chief Tang rarely lost his temper, but today, having been cornered by her words and worried that what she had said might spread, he was already feeling uneasy. On top of that, she had shown him no respect yesterday or today. Enraged, he lost all sense of propriety.
“Smack!”
Gu Jianghan knocked away the hand Tang Guanshan had pointed at Xiao Mandong.
“Section Chief Tang, you’re a grown man. What do you think you’re doing, pointing at my sister?”
Gu Jianghan already had striking, swordlike brows and bright eyes. Now, with his face cold, his gaze swept over like a blade, making Tang Guanshan’s heart grow cold.
Tang Guanshan quickly withdrew his hand and hurriedly explained, “It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding…”
“Are you all right?”
Gu Jianghan turned to Xiao Mandong. He had originally come back to confirm whether she would be going to see Xiaoli the next day and to offer her a ride. He hadn’t expected to see Tang Guanshan talking to her the moment he got out of the car—and it was obvious from Tang Guanshan’s manner that he had been treating her badly.
“I’m fine. Let’s go.”
As she spoke, Xiao Mandong took hold of Gu Jianghan’s sleeve and led him into the hospital. She was certain that Tang Guanshan was a petty and vindictive man. She didn’t want Gu Jianghan to clash with someone like that because of her.
“Second Uncle, are you all right?”
Tang Jing had never seen anyone act like that before—getting physical over a disagreement. But for some reason, her heart was pounding even harder now.
Her eyes remained fixed on the direction Gu Jianghan had left in.
Inside, she cursed Xiao Mandong viciously. Her second uncle had practically humbled himself to speak kindly to that woman, yet she had been completely ungrateful. Sooner or later, she would make Xiao Mandong regret it.
“You two have some kind of conflict?”
Only after they entered the hospital corridor did Gu Jianghan ask. He was worried that Xiao Mandong’s family background might cause her colleagues at the hospital to mistreat her. It had been one thing when he hadn’t known, but now that he did, he would not allow anyone to bully her. For no other reason than the fact that Grandpa Xiao had once saved his grandmother’s life, he would protect Xiao Mandong until the Xiao family was cleared of its accusations.
After the two of them agreed on when they would meet next, Gu Jianghan finally left again. He stepped on the gas and drove straight home, then called his cousin.
“Look into someone for me. Tang Guanshan, the section chief of the General Affairs Department at the municipal hospital. Find out whether he’s taken bribes or embezzled funds. I want hard evidence.”
While investigating Cui Lijuan, he had already noticed that something was off about Tang Guanshan. As the section chief in charge of general affairs and logistics, how could his hands possibly be clean? And now he had threatened Xiao Mandong. Someone like that in such a position would be a disaster for her. What if Gu Jianghan was sent out on a mission or transferred back to Hai City? What if Tang Guanshan took advantage of his absence to cause trouble?
Of course, he would never wrong an innocent person. Whatever the truth was, he needed solid evidence.
Xiao Mandong spent the entire afternoon busy at the hospital. After work, she went straight to the supply cooperative and bought some pork. By that late hour, there was no fatty pork left, so she was pleased to get what she could. She was planning to make a meat sauce, and leaner meat was actually better suited for it.
She also bought a pickling crock, sesame seeds, sesame oil, white sugar, and malted milk powder.
Xiao Mandong rode her bicycle toward Red Flag Brigade. There was no one around on the road, so she turned into a small grove beside it and put the pickling crock and seasonings into her space.
By the time she reached the village entrance, dusk had already settled in.
The first thing she did after entering the courtyard was take Diandian out of her space. The moment Diandian appeared, it ran twice around her feet before racing joyfully all over the yard.
Xiao Mandong paid it no attention. She rolled up her sleeves and went into the kitchen. Some dishes, she felt, could only achieve the right flavor when cooked in a large cast-iron pot like this one.
First, she diced the meat and put it into the pot to render out the fat. Then she added soy sauce and some chili peppers and let it simmer over low heat. Once the sauce had reduced, the meat sauce was ready. She transferred it to an enamel dish.
Next, she roasted the flour in oil.
As the white flour slowly turned pale yellow, a rich fragrance filled the kitchen. Finally, she toasted the sesame seeds and poured them into the flour, mixing in sesame oil. She had to wait until it cooled completely before adding some white sugar.
She filled a small basin with some of it and covered it with a lid. Then she took a small bag of white flour and wrapped up a packet of white sugar before leaving the house.
She knocked on the door of Zhou Qichuan’s home. She knew Xi Ran was still staying there. The little girl was pitiful enough, and Zhou Qichuan’s family wasn’t well-off either. Helping them a little would make things easier for everyone.
Zhou Xiaomei opened the door. The moment she saw Xiao Mandong, a smile spread across her face.
“Mandong, you’re back.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of a child’s delighted laughter came from inside, followed by Granny Zhou’s voice.
“Oh, Xi Ran, don’t run so fast. Be careful not to fall.”
From the sound of it, Xi Ran was doing quite well here.
Xiao Mandong handed the small basin and the sugar to Zhou Xiaomei.
“I just made some roasted flour. Have a taste. I get state-supplied grain at the hospital and don’t eat very much, so I brought you this flour.”
Zhou Xiaomei’s eyes immediately reddened. Over the past few days, the neighbors had kept bringing things over. Some gave them two eggs, others a head of cabbage. Everyone’s life was difficult, yet they still took food from their own rations to help, worried that Zhou Xiaomei wouldn’t have enough to feed Xi Ran. Even the auntie she had argued with before had brought over some dried mushrooms from home.
It was truly touching.
“Thank you, Mandong.”
Zhou Xiaomei took Xiao Mandong inside. The house was warm, and the heated brick bed was pleasantly hot.
Xiao Mandong had only just sat down when someone knocked on the door again.
Zhou Xiaomei hurriedly put on her shoes and climbed down from the bed, a smile appearing on her face.
“It must be one of the aunties bringing Xi Ran something to eat again. The villagers have been bringing her things all these days…”
As she spoke, she slipped on her shoes and hurried over to open the door.
The moment it opened, the smile on Zhou Xiaomei’s face froze.
Standing outside was none other than Cai Shufen. In just a few days, she had lost a great deal of weight. Dark circles ringed her eyes, her hair was a tangled mess, and her padded jacket was so filthy that its original color could no longer be seen.
Huzi stood timidly behind her, completely lacking his former liveliness. When he saw Zhou Xiaomei, he shrank even farther behind Cai Shufen.
Before Zhou Xiaomei could react, Cai Shufen grabbed Huzi from behind her as if he were a chick and shoved him forward. Huzi staggered two steps and nearly fell, but Zhou Xiaomei caught him.
Cai Shufen glared viciously at Zhou Xiaomei. “Don’t you like taking care of other people’s children? This one is Zhao Tiezhu’s child too. I’m giving him to you as well. Are you satisfied now?”
