lcionline Chapter 17 A Pot of Fish in Soy Sauce
Chapter 17 A Pot of Fish in Soy Sauce
Just as Su Banxia was about to reach for the braised fish in Su Qingsong's hand, she heard him call out:
"Brother Feng, hurry up and bring the fish inside, lest Su Banxia snatch it away!"
Hearing this, Su Feng, who was watching Su Mo work in the yard, jumped up and rushed to the gate. He placed the fish from Su Qingsong's bowl in front of Su Mo and smiled at her:
"Little sister Su Mo, you've been working all morning, take a break! Look how well this braised fish is made, let's go eat some fish!"
Su Mo trembled uncontrollably whenever she saw Su Feng's face. She felt uncomfortable just now that he was watching her work, and now he was inviting her to eat fish, which made her even more uncomfortable.
Although Su Mo also really wanted to eat meat, compared to the fact that seeing Su Feng's face would remind her of the scenes of being imprisoned, beaten, and tortured in her past life, Su Mo would rather never eat meat for the rest of her life than have anything to do with Su Feng.
Su Mo had no choice but to put down her work and give Su Feng an awkward smile.
"This fish isn't for our second branch of the family, so I'd better head back now."
After saying that, he quickly turned around and rushed into the house.
Su Feng looked at Su Mo's retreating figure with disappointment. He could clearly feel Su Mo's aloofness towards him.
However, he was thick-skinned and thought that the current estrangement was because Su Mo was not familiar with him. He believed that as long as he visited Su Qingsong more often in the future, Su Mo would definitely accept him.
Su Banxia wasn't about to easily share her food with the Su family, so she didn't stand on ceremony. She grabbed Su Qingsong by the ear and dragged him in front of Su Feng, coldly looking at him and saying:
"The fish is mine, you have no right to eat it. Take the fish to the second room's door right now!"
Upon hearing that Su Banxia was from the second branch of the family, Su Feng immediately perked up and, without saying a word, brought the fish to the second branch's door and began knocking.
"Sister Su Mo, please open the door quickly. Your sister asked me to return the fish to your second wife's family."
Su Mo had just regretted refusing the fish, after all, she hadn't eaten meat for many years. She should have agreed to eat fish with Su Feng, and then ignored him after they finished eating.
Su Mo was surprised that Su Feng would actually deliver the fish to her door. Since she had no reason to refuse, she quickly opened the door, took the fish from Su Feng's hand, and smiled at him.
"Thank you."
Before Su Feng could speak, Su Mo turned around and closed the door. Seeing that the fish had been sent back to the second room, Su Banxia was too lazy to argue with Su Qingsong. She let go of his hand and swaggered into the second room.
Su Qingsong frantically rubbed his ears, which had been pinched red, and looked at Su Feng with some reproach.
"Brother Feng, how could you just give the fish to the second wife like that? We haven't even had any yet!"
Su Feng scratched his head and smiled.
"It's alright, I'm not very hungry anyway. I saw that Su Mo really liked the fish. You can ask Su Banxia how she catches fish later, and we can catch some ourselves. I'll head back now, and I'll come find you again tomorrow."
After saying that, Su Feng left, laughing and hopping on his feet.
Su Qingsong watched Su Feng's retreating figure, frowning as he muttered to himself:
"This Su Feng is completely different from what I imagined. Isn't he the tyrant of Su Family Village? Why is he acting like a gentle little lamb right now?"
Su Qingsong shook his head helplessly. The thought of Su Banxia snatching the fish he was about to eat back, and even having his ears pulled red for no reason, made him furious. So he turned and ran into Granny Liu's room, shouting:
"Grandma, come out and see! Su Banxia has some good food but isn't sharing it with you. She's taking it to the second wife's house to eat!"
Upon hearing this, Granny Liu, who was sewing shoe soles on the kang (a heated brick bed), threw the soles she was holding onto the edge of the kang, grabbed a broom from the table, and rushed out.
"What did that brat eat behind my back this time?!"
Su Qingsong pointed to the door of the second room.
"I just saw her bring a huge bowl of braised fish into the house. She's probably enjoying it right now!"
Fish? Granny Liu herself hadn't had braised fish in a long time. She never expected that wretched girl Su Banxia would be so capable as to manage to get fish. So, without thinking, Granny Liu rushed to the door of the second room and kicked it open.
At this moment, Su Mo was happily eating a large bowl of braised fish.
Su Banxia didn't want to give her any, but when she thought that Su Mo hadn't eaten anything good at the Su family either, and that she had several fish in her own space, she didn't argue with her and let her eat it.
Little did Su Mo expect that Granny Liu would arrive so aggressively. Su Mo was already feeling guilty for secretly eating fish, and this fright caused her to choke on a fishbone.
"Cough cough cough... Sister... I... cough cough..."
Seeing Su Mo's face turn red, Su Banxia knew that Su Mo must have a fishbone stuck in her throat, so she didn't care about anything else and went straight to pry open her mouth to check.
Granny Liu was about to explode, but Su Mo's antics threw her into a panic. Then she realized that Su Mo might be putting on an act just to get her to eat the fish in peace.
So he peeked into the fish basin and saw the few remaining pieces of meat, then called out to Su Qingsong who was following behind him:
"What are you all standing there for? Are you going to watch them put on a show? Hurry up and bring the fish to my room!"
Seeing that Granny Liu had spoken, Su Qingsong didn't hesitate and quickly took the fish away. Granny Liu, seeing that Su Banxia didn't stop her, became even more demanding and scolded:
"You brat, you've gotten so bold these days! You dare to bring delicious food to your second wife's house without permission! I'll beat you to death!"
As she spoke, she picked up the broom handle and started hitting Su Banxia. Su Banxia easily dodged the broom handle with one hand and, right in front of Granny Liu, broke it in half.
Then he stared at Granny Liu and said fiercely:
"I'm warning you, you'd better not mess with me. It's safest for you if we just stay out of each other's way."
Granny Liu froze for a few seconds, looking at Su Banxia, then at the broom handle broken in half in her hand. For the first time, she felt a feeling other than disgust towards Su Banxia—fear.
She really couldn't understand how Su Banxia, who was usually thin and weak from hunger, could so easily break the broom handle with her bare hands.
As expected, girls change a lot as they grow up. Now, Su Banxia has become so different that even Granny Liu feels like she's a stranger. Thinking this, Granny Liu dared not stay any longer and hurriedly backed away while stubbornly saying:
"Su Banxia, you just wait and see when your father gets back, I'll make him teach you a lesson! And you'll have to pay me back for the broom handle!"
As she spoke, she glanced around, grabbed a broom hanging on the wall of the second room, and ran out. She was in a hurry to finish the braised fish while it was still hot.