Chapter 94: Returning the Gift

For dinner, Mrs. Fang prepared several dishes: cabbage, radish, and even scrambled eggs with chives. There were plenty of eggs and not so many chives, unlike before when, to save, a handful of chives would be paired with just one egg.

Now, the hens at home were laying well, and there was no need to hoard eggs to exchange for money. Mrs. Fang followed her daughter-in-law’s advice and brought most of them out for the family to eat, whether fried, boiled, or steamed. Whatever the form, everyone felt happy and content.

Tang Xin actually liked cabbage, but she preferred it with vinegar—like sweet and sour cabbage—rather than the current version, which was simply boiled with salt. Unable to hold back, she suggested, “Mother, you can use more oil next time you cook. If people don’t eat enough fat, they’ll lack nutrition. And shouldn’t you add some vinegar when stir-frying cabbage?”

Before Mrs. Fang could reply, Li Xiyue’s eyes turned red. “I did use oil,” she said.

Tang Xin’s eyes widened in surprise. “You cooked tonight’s meal?”

Li Xiyue nodded, still looking unhappy. It was rare for her to take the initiative and help out, only to be criticized by her sister-in-law. The troublesome younger sister-in-law was upset again, convinced her sister-in-law was impossible to get along with—a sly fox. She completely forgot that her own temperament was hardly exemplary.

She knew that using more oil made dishes tastier, but with the New Year approaching, many things had to be saved, and she worried that her mother would feel distressed if too much was used.

“Oil is expensive. We should use it sparingly.”

“That’s your idea, not mine. I need to supplement my nutrition—I think my health needs it.”

Li Xiyue stared in disbelief, shocked by her sister-in-law’s shamelessness.

But their partial mother said, “Xiyue, just listen to your sister-in-law. She’s in charge now.”

Mrs. Fang told her youngest daughter seriously, “Just be obedient. You don’t need so many opinions.”

Heavens! Was there any justice left in the world? Li Xiyue felt a pang in her chest and turned her sorrow into appetite, attacking the best dish of the night: scrambled eggs with chives.

She ate in big mouthfuls; indeed, with more oil and more eggs, the dish tasted so much better.

Despite Tang Xin’s hunger, her appetite wasn’t large; perhaps she was too hungry to eat much. In Mrs. Fang’s eyes, she pecked at her food like a chick, eating only half a bowl—less even than the twin brothers.

After dinner, Tang Xin brought out her things, unpacking a large bundle for everyone to see. Though she didn’t want her useless father to gain a good reputation, with no other option, she gave him the credit. She explained she’d happened to stop by the post office and collected the package—saving the postman another trip to the commune.

Tang Xin knew this couldn’t go on forever; after the New Year, she needed to find a way to take a family visit leave. She’d bring her husband back to the city, resolve issues with her father and Old Bai, and rescue her mother from her suffering.

“I brought back quite a lot today. These pastries and canned goods I bought at the supply and marketing cooperative; the rest were sent from my family.”

Tang Xin really liked the canned food and pastries from the cooperative. The products of this era weren’t tainted with additives like those of later times, retaining their original flavors.

She gave the malted milk powder to her mother-in-law for safekeeping. “From now on, every day the family can have a competition—whoever recognizes more characters, writes well, or reads correctly gets a reward: a cup of malted milk.”

Mrs. Fang complained, “Didn’t Sheng buy a lot last time? Why did you buy more?”

“Mother, the ration tickets are about to expire if unused. Besides, it’s New Year—we should enjoy good things!” Tang Xin replied with a cheerful smile.

She knew her mother-in-law too well: persuading her to use up good things was unrealistic. Having been poor for so long—even though the family was doing better now—Mrs. Fang habitually hoarded food. Those who survived the three years of famine knew the pain of hunger, and their greatest fear was that someday there would be nothing to eat again.

So asking her to bring out the good stuff was impossible; it was better to simply keep providing more. When there’s plenty on hand, who wouldn’t want to show off generosity by sharing good things?

Li Kai, Li Xiyue, Li Jiang, and Li Hai all stared at the malted milk powder, unable to look away. In these times, malted milk was a real treat: expensive and prone to shortages. You couldn’t always buy it at the cooperative, even if you happened to drop by. Tang Xin had only managed to grab the last two cans today by chance—otherwise, she would never have bought them all at once.

She’d spent nearly twenty yuan, enough for Brother Sheng to buy a pair of leather shoes.

They watched Tang Xin take out one good thing after another, knowing they were all sent from her own family. Mrs. Fang felt a deep unease; her daughter-in-law’s family treated their girl so well and, by extension, treated them well too. But their own family was poor, with little to reciprocate. Would this make them seem ungrateful? And over time, would her in-laws resent them and think her son was useless?

No wonder her daughter-in-law insisted on going to the county alone, to save her son’s pride. Otherwise, it would always seem as if they depended on her family’s assistance, which was embarrassing.

Mrs. Fang resolved to try her best, to save up some good things over New Year and see if they could send a package in return after the holiday.

Luckily, Tang Xin was unaware of her mother-in-law’s worries; otherwise, she would have regretted it even more. Ever since her marriage, her useless father treated her as if she didn’t exist: no money, no ration tickets, no letters or phone calls.

Her own “golden finger”—some good things she managed to take from the space farm—had to be attributed to her useless father. It made her in-laws believe her father was generous and kind, which was enough to infuriate her.

Hmph, after the New Year, she was determined to resolve this!

Of course, the Li family didn’t know any of this. They were simply delighted to see Tang Xin bring out so many good things.

They didn’t think too much; they were just happy that there was so much delicious food at home now.

The younger children were excited just for the pastries, while the older, more sensible Li Kai and Li Xiyue understood that the real treasures were the bags of rice, white flour, and oil.

To their family, those were the true luxuries.

Especially Li Xiyue—rarely, she felt just a hint of guilt in her heart.