It was no wonder Jiang Chengzhou would think this way.
Before his aunt arrived, his uncle left early and returned late. With no one to look after him, he ate at the cafeteria all day.
Sometimes when his uncle went on missions and no one was home, Granny Chen and Ma Xiaobei's mother would call him over to their homes to eat.
Jiang Chengzhou never went.
It wasn't like the cafeteria didn't have food; why should he go eat at someone else's house?
But when his little friends were all called home for dinner by their parents, he could only return home alone. Hearing the sounds of voices and clinking dishes from other families, he would feel lonely and secretly hide under his covers to cry.
That night, Jiang Chengzhou and his uncle lay side by side on the bed, both sighing in unison.
"Uncle, why are you sighing?"
Su Lang rested his hands behind his head. "I want to move sooner."
This didn't matter to Jiang Chengzhou, so he just responded with an "Oh."
"What about you?" Su Lang asked.
Jiang Chengzhou mimicked his uncle, also placing his hands behind his head. "Uncle, you need to treat Auntie better."
Su Lang found it amusing. "Why say that all of a sudden?"
Jiang Chengzhou sighed. "If you don't treat Auntie well, what if she and my little sister leave?"
At first, Jiang Chengzhou had been wary of this sudden addition of an aunt and a little sister.
But now, his aunt and sister had become the dearest family members in his heart, second only to his uncle.
He wanted to stay together with his uncle, aunt, and sister forever. He didn't want to wait alone for his uncle to come home anymore.
Su Lang asked with a smile, "You brat, could it be you just can't bear to part with your aunt's cooking?"
"Of course not," Jiang Chengzhou gulped. "Even if Auntie didn't cook, I'd still like her."
Su Lang said, "Then should I get food for you from the cafeteria tomorrow?"
Jiang Chengzhou's heart bled, but to show his loyalty to his aunt, he nodded in agreement with a bitter face.
The next day at noon, Su Lang indeed went to the cafeteria to get food.
Ma Daniu had been tormented by the smell of the food from the opposite house these days. Seeing Su Lang appear in the cafeteria again, Ma Daniu smiled and asked, "Commander Su, did your wife not cook for you today?"
Su Lang raised the lunchbox in his hand with a half-smile. "I got food for Chengzhou, to let him recall past bitterness and appreciate present sweetness."
When Lin Zhilan was cooking lunch, she noticed Jiang Chengzhou was somewhat restless.
Unable to get anything out of him by asking, Lin Zhilan let it be.
Jiang Chengzhou stayed home playing with his sister, glancing at the door from time to time.
When he saw the lunchbox in his uncle's hand, his heart finally died.
Lin Zhilan saw it too and asked in confusion, "I cooked at home, why did you go get food from the cafeteria?"
Su Lang glanced at his nephew. "Chengzhou said last night that he wanted to eat cafeteria food."
Lin Zhilan: "Really?"
"Ask him if you don't believe me."
Meeting his aunt's questioning gaze, Jiang Chengzhou nodded heavily.
Resources on the island were not abundant; the most common food was various kinds of fish.
Fortunately, Lin Zhilan knew many recipes and often cooked them in different ways. Today, she happened to make a dish Jiang Chengzhou hadn't tried yet: fish with pickled mustard greens.
The aroma of the pickled fish stimulated his nose and mouth, making Jiang Chengzhou's mouth water incessantly. Whenever his chopsticks reached toward the pickled fish, Su Lang would cough lightly, scaring him into pulling his chopsticks back.
Lin Zhilan thought Jiang Chengzhou had made some mistake and his uncle was teaching him a lesson, so she said nothing.
However, after a long while, Jiang Chengzhou remained silent, bean-sized teardrops falling into his bowl.
Eating rice mixed with tears made him look pitiful.
Lin Zhilan couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? What mistake did Chengzhou make?"
As soon as the words fell, Jiang Chengzhou finally couldn't hold it in and burst out crying loudly.
Su Lang also realized the joke had gone too far and hurried to make amends. "Alright, alright, I'll let you eat it."
Jiang Chengzhou shook his head while crying. "I won't eat."
Seeing her brother cry, Little Linlin also began to sob softly.
Su Lang panicked and stood up to hold and coax her.
One older and one younger—one howling at the top of his lungs, the other whimpering softly—it was like a duet, very rhythmic.
Lin Zhilan sighed and pulled Jiang Chengzhou to wash his face.
Only after his face was washed clean did she ask for the reason behind the incident.
Jiang Chengzhou recounted what happened last night, then looked up at her aggrievedly. "Auntie, even if your cooking was terrible, I'd still like you."
Lin Zhilan felt both annoyed and amused, while also feeling a little touched.
She pinched Chengzhou's little face and smiled. "Me too. Even when you cry so hard that snot bubbles come out, I still like you."
Jiang Chengzhou's face turned red, and another snot bubble popped out.
"Pfft."
Lin Zhilan held back her laughter and told him to go wash his face one more time.
Seeing that her brother stopped crying, Little Linlin also stopped, letting her mother wipe her face with a wet towel.
Finally, the family of four returned to the dining table.
Little Linlin absolutely refused to let her father hold her, insisting on squeezing into the same chair as her brother.
Lin Zhilan moved the cafeteria food in front of Su Lang. "This is what you get for teasing the child. You have to eat all of this, no wasting!"
Su Lang pretended to be disappointed and sighed, making Jiang Chengzhou immediately look at him and smile.
Little Linlin didn't understand, but she followed her brother and looked at her father, smiling too.
Seeing his daughter giving him a good look again, Su Lang reached out to hug her, but Linlin turned her head away and hugged her brother's arm instead.
Seeing his aunt and sister taking his side, Jiang Chengzhou's previous grievance and sadness were swept away, and he happily resumed eating.
Because the new furniture hadn't been finished yet, the move was delayed for a while longer.
But another issue arose.
Liu Chunhua came looking for her in a hurry that day, saying there were rumors outside that Lin Zhilan was abusing Jiang Chengzhou.
Lin Zhilan pointed at herself in disbelief. "I'm abusing Chengzhou?"
Liu Chunhua lived right across from them; she knew exactly how Lin Zhilan treated Chengzhou.
Not to mention, just seeing Jiang Chengzhou happily acting like a little fool all day was enough to know he was living well.
Liu Chunhua said, "Exactly. They even came to ask me, saying you made Chengzhou help you babysit, and that Linlin was spoiled, always demanding Chengzhou carry her when they go out, and they also said...
Your family eats two different meals, only making Chengzhou eat cafeteria food, claiming it's to make him recall past bitterness and appreciate present sweetness. When he refused to eat, you and Commander Su even got physical, and Jiang Chengzhou was beaten until he howled and cried."
After hearing this, Lin Zhilan almost admired the person who fabricated this rumor.
Chengzhou carrying his sister, eating cafeteria food, crying...
These elements all matched, but the context was entirely wrong.
"Sister-in-law, do you know who spread this?"
"It definitely wasn't me." Liu Chunhua knew she was nosy and had a big mouth, but she had already reflected on her mistakes last time. Wanting to be on good terms with Lin Zhilan, she hadn't breathed a single word about the Su family's affairs to the outside.
Lin Zhilan smiled. "Sister-in-law, I didn't say it was you. I just want to find out who started it so I can personally visit them and explain."
Liu Chunhua was thrilled all over. She knew Sister Zhilan wasn't someone who would just swallow her anger.
"With gossip, one person tells ten, and ten tell a hundred. You definitely won't find the source, but I have a rough idea in my heart."
