Chapter 596: Li Ruhai: A Bit of Idle Chatter

‘Who would’ve thought? We had just left by car, and right after us, that Zhao Youcai left by car too.’

And what happened? All the people who went out of province for doctors’ appointments and shopping were back, but Zhao Youcai still hadn’t returned.

‘Thinking about it now,’ she mused, ‘never mind that the food on the table isn’t much to look at. If it weren’t for Wang Qiang’s wife and Lin Xiangshun’s wife, the three kids and Li Dayong wouldn’t have even gotten this much.’

Jin Xiaomei’s heart ached for the children too. She raised a hand, gave Li Dayong a light push, and whispered, “Why don’t you go out and buy something to eat?”

“I don’t have any money either,” Li Dayong replied without a second thought. He followed Zhao Youcai’s lead in everything. The cunning Zhao Youcai was like a crafty rabbit with three burrows, always having multiple places to hide his money. Naturally, Li Dayong also had his own secret stash, but he couldn’t reveal it.

Otherwise, if Jin Xiaomei remembered later and pressed him on it, he would be in for a world of hurt.

“You…” Jin Xiaomei was rendered speechless. She tilted her head to look at Li Dayong and said irritably, “Can’t you just go to the Wang Family’s place and grab a few cans of food? We can pay them back later.”

“Our family never runs a tab!” Li Dayong said, full of self-righteousness.

“Brother!” Seeing that the couple was about to start squabbling, Wang Meilan quickly tried to change the subject. At the same time, she was also concerned about her two daughters, so she asked Li Dayong, “What did you guys have for lunch?”

“For lunch?” Li Dayong said. “Xiaomei steamed some rice this morning. I picked up a couple blocks of tofu, and we had it with dipping sauce.”

“Ah.” Wang Meilan nodded slightly at his words. ‘It was a pretty slapdash meal, but at least they could get it down,’ she thought.

“SIGH!” Just then, Jin Xiaomei sighed and said to Wang Meilan, “Alright, Meilan, you haven’t lit your stove either. Let’s just do it at my place. Bring in those dried noodles we bought, and we’ll boil some hot noodle soup. We can just make do with a quick bite.”

“Okay.”

Wang Meilan had just agreed when Jie Chen stepped forward and called out to Li Dayong, “Uncle.”

Then, Jie Chen turned to Jin Xiaomei, called her “Aunt,” and finally asked, “Aren’t you guys missing someone?”

“Ah!” It suddenly dawned on Jin Xiaomei. Her eyes widened in a glare. She strode forward, gave Li Dayong a hard shove, and roared, “Where’s Ruhai?”

Li Dayong was stunned for a moment. He subconsciously glanced left and right before looking down at Li Xiaoqiao to ask, “Where’s your brother?”

Li Xiaoqiao’s reply was blunt: “I don’t know.”

“Who are you asking?” Jin Xiaomei was truly frantic now. She went up and shoved Li Dayong again, barking, “When did our son leave?”

Li Dayong said, “Didn’t he head out right after breakfast?”

“And he never came back?” Jin Xiaomei pressed.

Li Dayong tried his best to remember, then shook his head. “No.”

Hearing this, Jin Xiaomei flew into a rage and screamed at Li Dayong, “Our son has been gone all day, and you didn’t even think to look for him?”

Li Dayong started to panic as well, beads of sweat popping out on his forehead. He shot back, “I was busy with the three little ones all day! I just forgot about him!”

“Alright, alright!” In this moment of crisis, Wang Meilan stepped forward to take charge. She first tried to placate the couple, saying, “Stop arguing. This isn’t anyone’s fault. If you have to blame someone, blame that husband of mine—he never does anything useful all day.

“Alright, no more arguing. Let’s not worry about eating. We need to get out there and ask around, see if he’s run off to someone’s house.”

Even as Wang Meilan said this, she wasn’t confident at all. ‘It’s already past eight o’clock,’ she thought. ‘Where could Li Ruhai have possibly gone?’

But just then, Zhao Jun heard his dogs, Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon, barking in his yard. He turned, and just as he stepped out of the entryway, he saw the door to the Li Family’s home being pulled open from the outside.

Right after, Li Ruhai walked in, all smiles.

Li Ruhai didn’t look at all like a lost child. His face was ruddy and beaming, and he was carrying a large roe deer leg that looked to weigh nearly ten pounds.

When Li Ruhai saw Zhao Jun, he grinned and asked, “Brother Jun, you guys are back? How come you bought so much stuff? Was it free?”

“You little brat.” Hearing the commotion, Jin Xiaomei stormed out of the room, grabbed Li Ruhai by the collar, and smacked him hard on the shoulder a couple of times. “Where have you been all day?” she yelled.

As she spoke, Jin Xiaomei’s eyes fell on the roe deer leg in his hand. Her expression changed instantly, and she demanded, “Did you go fooling around on the mountain again?”

“You little bastard!” Li Dayong heard this, bent his left leg up at the knee, and yanked the cloth shoe off his foot, ready to give Li Ruhai a beating.

“Whoa, whoa!” Seeing this, Li Ruhai quickly tossed the roe deer leg to the ground, raised his hands in surrender, and yelled, “I didn’t go to the mountain! Brother Chen gave it to me!”

“Brother Chen?” Jin Xiaomei froze, then frowned and asked, “Which Brother Chen?”

“Chen Dalai,” Li Ruhai said. “I forgot his real name.”

The moment Li Ruhai said this, Zhao Jun, Wang Meilan, Li Dayong, Jin Xiaomei, and Li Baoyu were all taken aback. They called the man Chen Dalai every day, but none of them had any idea what his real name was.

“Why would he give you a roe deer leg?” Li Baoyu asked. “And how come you’re just getting back now?”

Li Baoyu pelted him with two questions in a row, but Li Ruhai just grinned and said, “It’s a long story.”

Jin Xiaomei’s expression hardened. She pointed at Li Ruhai and said, “Cut the nonsense.”

“Alright,” Li Ruhai began. “This afternoon, I was hanging out by the little general store, chatting with that group of old ladies… I mean, with the aunties. I happened to see Elder Chen’s wife heading out to buy vinegar, soy sauce, and some liquor, so I helped her carry it all home.

“I had just gotten to their house when her husband came back, dragging two roe deer behind him. I helped them skin the animals, and they absolutely insisted I stay for dinner. And Mom, you won’t believe it, Elder Chen’s wife is really something else—she whipped up four whole dishes for me.”