Zhang Meiyu had people secretly investigate Xue Yi's educational background, determined to uncover the truth.
Tang Yiyi had become much more subdued lately. After being neglected by her family, she began to tread the same path as Tang Xiaomin.
She learned to cook, do housework, and tried to appease her family.
At the dinner table, Tang Xiaomin looked at the few dishes Tang Yiyi had prepared with disdain.
Without even trying them, she declared without exaggeration, "Even a dog wouldn't eat this food."
Tang Zhongcheng frowned upon hearing this.
While the presentation wasn't great, saying something like that was too much.
"Xiaomin, if you don't want to eat it, fine, but you don't have to say that about Yiyi."
Tang Xiaomin sneered, "Of course, I wouldn't dare eat it. What if someone poisoned it and killed me? Then this marriage would be a freebie for someone."
Tang Xiaomin's words were pointed, implying Tang Yiyi had tried to poison her with arsenic.
Tang Yiyi said pitifully, "Sister, I know you don't like me, but you can't slander me like this without any evidence."
Tang Zhongcheng also chimed in, "Exactly. If you slander her like this without proof, people might think Yiyi actually wanted to kill you."
Heh…
Tang Xiaomin laughed.
Tang Zhongcheng had a short memory, and she needed to remind him. Su Dan Novel Network.
"Mr. Tang, when you were ill before, she threw away your medicine and left you to die. You won't forget that so quickly, will you?"
"Well, since you're still alive, you can forgive her."
"When you're dead and in the underworld, I hope you'll still say the same thing."
Tang Xiaomin's words starkly exposed Tang Yiyi's wrongdoing.
Tang Yiyi cried pitifully, tears streaming down her face.
"Wuwu…"
"I already know I was wrong, and Father has already disciplined me. Why do you keep bringing this up?"
"All I want now is to make amends for my mistakes. Can't I even do that? Wuwu…"
Zhang Meiyu simply watched Tang Zhongcheng and Tang Yiyi, remaining silent and not scolding Tang Xiaomin at all.
Seeing the tense atmosphere at home, Tang Yu tried to diffuse the situation.
"Stop arguing. It's just a meal, not a conspiracy. Let's eat."
Tang Yu tasted a dish, and a strange flavor spread through his mouth.
This was Tang Yiyi's cooking. He didn't want to seem too disgusted and upset her, so he forced himself to swallow it.
His stomach wasn't very good, and it churned incessantly.
He ladled a bowl of soup and drank it, hoping to alleviate the discomfort in his stomach.
However, the soup's flavor was even more overpowering. His stomach was already in turmoil, and Tang Yu could no longer hold back. He covered his mouth and ran to the bathroom to vomit.
…
Seeing this, Tang Xiaomin said with a smile,
"I told you even dogs wouldn't eat it, yet you dared to try it. Heh…"
Tang Xiaomin went to the kitchen herself and made a bowl of Zha Jiang Mian. The fragrant sauce sizzled as it was poured over the noodles, and a delicious aroma filled the air, whetting the appetite.
This taste was something everyone in the Tang family missed; it was what Tang Xiaomin had occasionally made for them over the past six months.
Now, thinking about it, it had been a long time since they last tasted it.
Tang Xiaomin only made one bowl of Zha Jiang Mian for herself and a clear soup with chopped green onions.
She brought it to the table and ate hers, occasionally blowing on it and taking a sip of soup with a sigh of satisfaction.
Tang Zhongcheng and Zhang Meiyu looked at Tang Xiaomin's Zha Jiang Mian and then at Tang Yiyi's dishes. They were truly nothing to compare.
Tang Yu was too embarrassed to ask if there was any more noodles. He secretly peeked into the pot in the kitchen. There was still soup, so he poured some into a bowl and drank it.
Although the taste wasn't as good as pig trotters soup, it was still very comforting, and his stomach felt much better after drinking it.
While Tang Xiaomin was washing the dishes, Tang Yu suddenly said, "Um… Xiaomin, my stomach hasn't been feeling well lately. Can you teach me how to make pig trotters soup?"
Tang Xiaomin shook her head, "You're not cut out for it."
Tang Yu: "…"
"I can learn. As long as you teach me, I'm sure I can learn it."
Tang Xiaomin looked at Tang Yu, determined to make things difficult for him.
"Alright. You need to wake up at four in the morning tomorrow and go to the slaughterhouse to buy fresh pig trotters. I'll teach you when I wake up."
Tang Xiaomin thought Tang Yu would back down, but the opposite happened.
Tang Yu said, "No problem. I don't have to go to the company tomorrow."
…
Tang Xiaomin couldn't be bothered with him.
The next morning, Tang Yu was woken by his four o'clock alarm and drove to the slaughterhouse early.
It was his first time in such a place. As he approached, he heard the screams of pigs.
The road was damp, the air was filled with a strong smell of blood, and blood flowed in the ditches beside the road.
At midnight, while everyone else was asleep, scenes of slaughter were unfolding in the slaughterhouse.
The screams of the pigs created a terrifying atmosphere.
Tang Yu successfully bought fresh pig trotters from a vendor. On his way back, his steps were almost a run.
It was hard to imagine what Tang Xiaomin felt, a young girl, coming to such a place alone at four in the morning.
What had sustained her, compelling her to come to this place again and again to buy pig trotters?
It was just for a pot of pig trotters soup; it wasn't necessary.
People take things for granted when they become habit.
Only after experiencing it himself did Tang Yu truly understand Tang Xiaomin's hardships back then.
He returned home at five o'clock, and his family was still asleep.
Tang Yu sat alone in the living room, contemplating.
Before, after Tang Xiaomin bought the pig trotters, what did she do?
The family woke up at six, and she had to prepare breakfast at five.
With seven people in the family, each with different tastes, she had to cater to everyone's preferences, making a variety of breakfasts.
Was one hour really enough?
What if it wasn't done well?
How would they react?
First, his mother would surely say she couldn't even do a small thing properly.
And he himself would likely have thought the same.
The chef woke up and busied himself in the kitchen preparing breakfast for the family, the scent of cooking filling the air.
Tang Yu listened to the sounds, as if seeing a petite figure, an apron tied around her waist, bustling about in the kitchen.
At six o'clock, the family members woke up one by one.
Tang Yiyi, dressed exquisitely, was driven to school by the family chauffeur after breakfast.
Her father left for work early, and her mother was still sleeping for her beauty nap.
Everything seemed the same, yet different.
Tang Xiaomin woke up. As she was about to eat something and go out, she saw Tang Yu sitting in the living room.
"Xiaomin, I bought the pig trotters. Teach me how to stew soup today," Tang Yu said.
Tang Xiaomin looked at the pig trotters Tang Yu had bought. She hadn't expected him to actually go.
Seeing how much he craved it, she reluctantly agreed to teach him.
"Since you bought them, use tweezers to pluck out the pig hairs one by one. I have something to go out for."