When children are quiet, they are surely up to no good.
Shen Man knew at a glance that these two little brats were definitely plotting something. She decided to leave them dangling right where they were, hanging like ornaments on a branch, while she went back to her room to retrieve some ingredients from her private cache.
After two days on the train and two hours on a ferry, Shen Man felt hungry enough to eat an entire ox. She used the rice from Shen Ling’s home to steam a large pot of rice with a crispy crust, then stir-fried three big platters of vegetables using the cured meat, cured fish, and pork cracklings that Yang Fangyun had been saving for months. Once she brought the food into the main room, she felt that eating without a drink just wouldn't be right. After a brief thought, she opened a bottle of Moutai that Shen Jianye had intended to gift to his superiors and poured herself a glass.
Taking a sip of the clear liquor and a bite of meat, Shen Man squinted her eyes in pure bliss and shook her head. "Ah! So good!"
Watching her devour the meat in the main room, Huo Lin and Huo Zhi were driven nearly mad with temptation.
"It smells so good! What is she cooking? Why does it smell like that?"
"Brother, I’m so hungry. I want to eat that rice, too. It looks so delicious. I don’t want to eat Grandma’s coarse grain porridge anymore."
Huo Zhi swallowed hard, his resolve crumbling. Seeing this, Huo Lin kicked him.
"Have some backbone! Are you really going to be bought off by a bit of food? Have you forgotten how she bullied us just a moment ago? Hurry up and shout for help with me."
With that, Huo Lin took the lead and started yelling, "Help! Someone is going to kill us kids!"
Huo Zhi didn't know what his brother was planning, but he followed suit perfectly. "Come help! The wicked woman is trying to kill the children!"
In truth, the neighbors on either side had noticed when Shen Man first arrived, but since she was a new bride and Commander Huo was away, they found it difficult to interfere in the family's business. However, with the children screaming like that, they could no longer just stand by and watch.
In a short while, two middle-aged women walked into the yard.
Shen Man turned to look. Far from being rattled, she walked straight out with the platter of stir-fried cured meat and garlic sprouts.
"Hi there! Are you our neighbors? You two aunties look so dignified; one can tell at a glance that you are kindhearted, warm people. As it happens, I brought some local specialties from my hometown today. Would you like to taste some?"
By immediately singing their praises and offering such a generous platter of meat, she caught the two women—who had come over intending to scold her—off guard. Their stern expressions vanished, and they ended up laughing and walking into the house with her.
"Oh my, you are far too polite, child."
"Mmm, this cured meat is delicious! So fragrant! Truly, Commander Huo is a lucky man. Your cooking skills are impeccable. He’s going to have a blessed life with you, hahaha!"
Seeing the two neighbors not only refusing to help them but also chatting and laughing with Shen Man, Huo Lin felt completely defeated. He struggled a few times, trying desperately to make his presence felt. "Hey! Auntie Li! Auntie Zhang! Didn't you come here to help us? Hurry up and take us down!"
He shouted loudly, but Auntie Li and Auntie Zhang only glanced at him once before returning to showering Shen Man with compliments.
"Comrade Shen, these two kids have always been unruly; they have bad tempers and don't know when to stop when they fight. It’s a good thing you arrived. Finally, someone is here to keep them in check."
"Indeed, they need to be reined in like this. Maybe they’ll finally learn to listen. Truly, Commander Huo has great fortune to have married such a beautiful and capable wife."
Having eaten their fill and enjoyed the hospitality, the two aunties were too embarrassed to be critical. Not only did they praise Shen Man, but they also went home to fetch dried scallops, dried shrimp, and shrimp paste, insisting she accept them.
Shen Man had no choice but to take the gifts and promised to stay in touch.
After the two aunties left, Huo Lin and Huo Zhi wilted like frosted eggplants, completely motionless. They couldn't understand why Sister Lu had been so useless, or why their neighbors liked Shen Man, this wicked woman, so much.
She had bullied them, after all!
"Are you two hungry? Do you want to eat?"
Seeing that it was about time, Shen Man pinched one of the dried shrimp Auntie Zhang had given her and chewed it right in front of them. When she saw they were still stubbornly ignoring her, she held the shrimp right under their noses and waved it back and forth."Oh my, how does this dried shrimp get more fragrant the more you chew it? Can you guys smell it?"
"Gurgle, gurgle~"
Two poorly timed sounds echoed one after another, and both little boys flushed completely red in an instant.
"If you want to eat, apologize to me. Say 'I'm sorry' three times, or stay hanging there."
The fence was too high, and their clothes were of such high quality that there was no way for them to get down on their own. However, Huo Lin couldn't stand the sight of her smug face. He gritted his teeth, turned his head away, and stubbornly refused to make a sound.
Huo Zhi, on the other hand, couldn't take it anymore.
He glanced at Huo Lin, then at the fragrant dried shrimp. Finally, unable to bear the hunger, he closed his eyes and shouted, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I won't ever bump into you with my head again! Please let me down, I want to eat the dried shrimp too! And that specialty snack you were eating earlier!"
"Huo Zhi! You!"
Seeing his younger brother surrender, Huo Lin was both shocked and furious.
Huo Zhi didn't dare look at him. Once he was let down, he simply ran into the house, sat down, and started gobbling up his food. Before long, his mouth was covered in oil.
Seeing him eat with such relish, Huo Lin's stomach growled even more violently. Yet, he kept his chin up, refusing to give in or utter a single apology.
Shen Man wasn't in a hurry. She simply pulled over a rattan chair, sat in front of him, and started cracking melon seeds and eating milk candies. Feeling that the temptation still wasn't enough, she turned around and brewed a bowl of Malted Milk.
"Wow, so sweet."
She took a small sip, and Huo Lin felt as if he could taste that bold fragrance and sweetness himself. Seeing him involuntarily lick his lips, Shen Man smiled.
"Want some?"
"I don't!"
Huo Lin still had a backbone. But that backbone was quickly crushed to dust.
Because Shen Man turned around and handed that bowl of Malted Milk straight to Huo Zhi.
Huo Zhi had been craving it for a long time; he took the bowl and, without a second thought, downed it all in one go, even licking the bottom of the bowl clean.
At this, Huo Lin finally broke down.
He had never had Malted Milk in all his years! Before he turned four, he had been dumped by his own father with neighbors who only fed him rice water and rice paste. After he turned four, even though he came to the Huo family, Commander Huo had no idea how to raise children; he only knew how to give money and ration coupons to the grandmother to buy things. But the grandmother never liked to go out, let alone take a boat to the city!
So, not to mention Malted Milk, there were many things he had never even seen, let alone tasted.
Now, with such a large bowl of Malted Milk right before his eyes and him not getting to drink any, he finally couldn't take it and shrieked in despair.
"Ahhh! You bad woman, I want to drink Malted Milk too! I want to drink it!"
After breaking down, Huo Lin's voice was filled with sobs, but Shen Man remained calm, quietly pulling out a tin of Malted Milk and shaking it.
"When I asked you to apologize earlier, you wouldn't. Now, just saying 'I'm sorry' three times won't work anymore. You have to say 'I'm sorry, Mommy' three times; otherwise, I’m only going to give this tin to Huo Zhi."
As soon as those words were out, Huo Lin's eyes nearly popped out of his head with rage. He gritted his teeth, let out a huff, and glared at Huo Zhi indignantly. "Why?"
Shen Man pouted and, deliberately in front of him, gently stroked Huo Zhi's head. "Because I only like well-behaved children. Who told Xiaozhi to be better behaved than you? Isn't that right, Xiaozhi?"
She was good at fighting and had great strength, but she was fair-skinned and beautiful. As long as she didn't throw a punch, her gentle and delicate face was enough to win anyone's favor.
Huo Zhi had already been dizzied by her sugar-coated bullets. Now, being lightly touched by her soft hand and meeting her gentle smile, he was instantly dazed, thinking he had seen the mother who only appeared in photographs.
Without a second thought, he hugged Shen Man's thigh and betrayed his brother for the second time.
"Yes! I'm super well-behaved! Mommy, you have to give me everything to eat from now on!"
Never expecting that Huo Zhi would even call her 'Mommy' for a bite to eat, Huo Lin was so angry he kicked his legs wildly, wishing he could kick him to death.
"Damn it! Huo Zhi! You are truly shameless!"