Free Web NovelChapter 484: Chapter 480: A Cornered Beast
"Have a seat!"
Gu Jiaojiao gestured for Lu Yuanbin to sit down.
Lu Yuanbin immediately sat down in the spot between Xiao Yang and Leng Yuan. The aroma of the food was so tantalizing he could barely control his drooling.
He looked just like Chen JianShe in that moment.
Unable to stand Lu Yuanbin’s pathetic display, Leng Yuan kicked him.
"Spit it out! Didn’t you have something important to discuss?"
Leng Yuan put extra emphasis on the word "important."
Lu Yuanbin was fully convinced his Brother Leng was just being stingy and didn’t want him eating there. However, he pretended not to notice. ’After all, I’m a businessman—I have to have a thick skin!’
"Brother Leng, we can talk business after we eat. This fish soup won’t taste as good if we don’t drink it while it’s hot."
Leng Yuan: ...
’Isn’t that obvious?’
’As if I don’t know it tastes better hot.’
Seeing Leng Yuan’s sour expression, Gu Jiaojiao deliberately placed the largest, fullest bowl of fish soup in front of him when she served it. Everyone else got a small, identical bowl.
It was blatant favoritism.
Leng Yuan looked at the bowl in front of him, and his expression visibly softened.
Lu Yuanbin watched, dumbfounded. He hadn’t seen him in a while, but his Brother Leng had gotten a lot pettier. And forget being petty—his mood swings were ridiculously fast! He was completely pacified by a single bowl of fish soup.
Something like this would have been absolutely impossible in the past.
’No wonder his sister-in-law has Brother Leng wrapped around her little finger,’ he thought. Even he was envious of that kind of favoritism.
Meals at Gu Jiaojiao’s table were always quiet. Everyone was too busy desperately grabbing for food to talk, afraid that if they moved too slowly, they’d miss out on a few bites.
Gu Jiaojiao was the least aggressive of the group when it came to eating, but thankfully, she didn’t need to fight for her food.
While eating, Leng Yuan would occasionally place food on her plate. And even if he didn’t, no one would touch the dishes closest to Gu Jiaojiao.
As gluttonous as everyone was, they knew to let the chef eat her fill.
Lu Yuanbin was incredibly satisfied after the meal. Rubbing his belly, he felt a pang of envy for Chen JianShe, who lived in the same village as Brother Leng.
’That guy is a classic freeloader, too. He must come over for free meals all the time!’
The thought made him burn with jealousy.
While Lu Yuanbin was feeling jealous of others, he failed to notice the resentful glares from Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang. They had been planning to save the big buns for another meal later that evening!
But Lu Yuanbin had eaten seven of them all by himself. Staring at the empty plate, Sweet Girl felt like crying but had no tears left.
After dinner, Sweet Girl eagerly took on the task of washing the dishes, and Xiao Yang cleaned up the kitchen. Lu Yuanbin really did have business to discuss with Leng Yuan, so the two of them went elsewhere to talk.
Gu Jiaojiao, finding herself with nothing to do, went back to her room to busy herself with some sewing.
In those days, people had few clothes, so if something got a hole in it, they would just sew it up and keep using it. Gu Jiaojiao noticed that a seam on one of Leng Yuan’s shirts had come undone and decided to mend it for him.
As she took out her needle and thread, her gaze fell upon Leng Yuan’s boots. ’It seems this man only has two pairs,’ she thought. One pair was already very old and worn at the edges. The other, while still in decent shape, looked to be a couple of years old as well.
She still had some of the fabric she bought last time; she could make a pair of shoes for Leng Yuan.
The only problem was, she didn’t have any black fabric.
’That’s alright,’ she mused. ’I’m a slow worker anyway. In a couple of days, when I go to the County Town to buy supplies for the New Year, I’ll ask Chen Sanmei if she has any black fabric.’
Meanwhile, Leng Yuan had taken Lu Yuanbin to Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang’s quarters. Their rooms were separated by a small living area with a stove, which was a good place to talk.
Lu Yuanbin couldn’t wait to speak as soon as he entered the room.
"Brother Leng, that bastard Old Nine found someone to copy sister-in-law’s face soap. The imitation is actually pretty convincing, but its quality is poor. Some people have had bad reactions from using it."
"I counterattacked just like sister-in-law told me to, and Old Nine suffered a huge loss. I suspect he’s going to do something desperate."
