The food tasted so delicious that Ling Chengyan accidentally ate too much that night.
The next day, Ling Chengyan realized that there was still some leftover fabric from yesterday. Zhao Er'ni and Zheng Xiaotian said that this fabric was enough to make a few pairs of shoes, thus Ling Chengyan asked them to make a pair of shoes for both her and Xiao Xing. The two women were allowed to do whatever they wanted with the rest of the fabric once they completed the shoes.
Zhao Er'ni and Zheng Xiaotian were quite happy that they were given this work. There was still a generous amount of fabric left. When they were done making Ling Chengyan's and Xiao Xing's shoes, they could make a few more pairs of shoes for their children. Compared to the bright-colored cotton fabric, Zhao Er'ni and Zheng Xiaotian preferred the thick navy blue one. The fabric was water-resistant and easier to work with, not to mention it could last for a good period of time.
After they took Ling Chengyan's and Xiao Xing's shoe sizes, the two women discussed how to cut the fabric. Not wanting to distract them from their task, Ling Chengyan picked up Xiao Tian and left along with Xiao Xing.
Qu Cui, who was waiting for the three of them to come out, walked up and whispered, "You should go back to the East Court and talk to them nicely. Here, take this bucket of fish and give it to them. It'd be better for you to just shut them up using this rather than deal with their dog-like tantrums. It's not worth it to waste your energy on those people."
As Qu Cui said that, she handed over the bucket filled with a few fish to Ling Chengyan.
"Don't worry, Eldest Aunt. I know how to deal with barking dogs." Ling Chengyan remarked.
"Forget about the fish, it won't turn out well if I were to only bring it back now."
Qu Cui thought for a bit and realized Ling Chengyan was right. If Ling Chengyan only brought the fish back after last night, the people in the East Court will use it to complain and criticize her.
So, Qu Cui didn't pursue the idea anymore. She put down the bucket of fish and sent Ling Chengyan and her children out.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Granny Qu." Xiao Xing waved her hand and left.
"See you tomorrow, Xiao Xing and Xiao Tian." Qu Cui smiled.
As Ling Chengyan entered the door of the East Courtyard, she could feel a strong sense of oppression.
More than a dozen people, both young and old, were eating in the main room. The moment Ling Chengyan and her children stepped through the door, the lively scene suddenly became silent as if a mute button had been pressed.
Xiao Xing felt uncomfortable and subconsciously hugged Ling Chengyan's legs, sticking close to her mother.
Ling Chengyan patted Xiao Xing's head and went over into her room.
When they were back in her room, Ling Chengyan changed Xiao Tian's diaper and threw the dirty one out. Then, she picked up the oil lamp to go and pick out a new diaper. The light was very dim, but Ling Chengyan still noticed that something was wrong. She brought one of the diapers into a brightly-lit room to look at it closely. She saw that the diaper was covered in dust, and there were obvious footprints on it. Furthermore, the diaper had also been cut with a pair of scissors. Most of the diapers had been cut into pieces, and some of them completely turned into rags! They couldn't be used diapers anymore!
Ling Chengyan maintained a calm expression as she turned to Xiao Xing. "Stay in the house and watch over your little brother. I'll be back in a while."
Xiao Xing blinked her eyes and nodded her head in agreement. Then, she watched as her mother carried the pile of dirty and tattered diapers out of the door and closed it.
Moments later, a series of rustling sounds came from the main room!
Ling Chengyan's gaze swept across the people in the room. Some looked confused, some sent her glares, and of course, there were also some who looked away with guilt and fear.
Ling Chengyan nonchalantly threw the diapers in her hand onto the ground. The diapers piled up into a mess.
"Ling Chengyan, how dare you throw such dirty things in the main house…" one of the brothers, Wang Lianzhong, yelled as he pointed to Ling Chengyan.
Ling Chengyan's eyes were as sharp as a knife, making Wang Lianzhong go silent as half of his words were stuck in his throat.
"Ling Chengyan, you shouldn't be so selfish by not sharing good food with others, no?" Wang Lianhua, who hadn't shown her face all this time, said tactfully.
"If you won't let me live well, then why should I let you live well?" Ling Chengyan interrupted him.
"You… you shrew!" Zhou Xiuying held onto the door frame of the inner room, gasping as if she was about to die. She was shouting in a hoarse voice.
Ling Chengyan's expression was still indifferent. She walked closer to Zhou Xiuyung and said, "These diapers are ruined, and now I can't use them anymore. I need to get new ones."
Her expression was calm along with her words, as if she didn't feel the tension in the room.
"You, you… Lianzhong, Lianhua, go and call your Eldest Uncle over. Today, we'll disown this unfilial daughter-in-law from the family." Wang Guitang said angrily while sitting on his bed.
Wang Lianzhong and Wang Lianhua were very obedient and immediately left.
Ling Chengyan didn't pay any attention to these people and went straight to the cabinet in the inner room.
Wang Lianxiang cowered at the corner of the door, trembling and not daring to make a sound. Wang Guitang's leg was injured, so he couldn't move. Zhou Xiuying, on the other hand, didn't care about being 'angry' anymore. She rushed up to Ling Chengyan and pulled her back, "What do you think you're doing? This is daylight robbery..."
Ling Chengyan didn't even turn her head. She picked up Zhou Xiuying with one hand and effortlessly threw her onto the bed. She turned around and saw Shao Darong, who was about to enter the room. "I only wanted to take a diaper, but I'll take more if any of you dare to come forward!"
Shao Darong looked at the old couple on the bed and Wang Lianxiang, who was shivering in the corner. She was smart for once and decisively retracted her foot. She wasn't the one who started this, so why was she in a hurry to offend Ling Chengyan?
Wang Liansheng's wive and children was not as easy to bully as before. Ever since Ling Chengyan hit her head, she had become similar to a porcupine. If Shao Darong wasn't careful, she'd get pricked.
Ling Chengyan opened the cabinet and saw that it was filled to the brim. Pushing aside some old clothes and bed sheets, she saw two brightly colored quilts, and several pieces of fabric with a variety of colors. There were also snacks, sugar cubes, and several transparent glass jars. She had seen these things in the department store before. It contained various kinds of consumables and was called 'canned food'.
What surprised Ling Chengyan the most was that there was a straw nest in the corner of the cabinet. It was filled with at least 50 eggs.
Ling Chengyan casually took out a new piece of cotton fabric with white patterns on it and closed the cabinet with a bang.
Back in her room, Ling Chengyan tore up an old jacket from inside one of her boxes and used it as Xiao Tian's diaper. As for the new fabric, she kept it somewhere safe. One of these days, she planned to ask Zhao Er'ni and Zheng Xiaotian to help make some new hairpins for Xiao Xing to replace her old ones.
She had just finished and was about to wash the dirty diapers when she heard footsteps. Wang Lianzhong and Wang Lianhua had invited their Wang Futang and a few other elders back.
Ling Chengyan called out "Eldest Uncle." Wang Futang held his tobacco pipe and said with a kind face, "News was brought that something had occurred in the East Court, so the other elders and I came over to take a look."
Ling Chengyan then greeted the elders ."Fifth Elder, Seventh Elder, please come in and have a seat."
As she spoke, she took the initiative to go forward and push the door open for the elders. She brought out chairs for them to sit down and poured a few glasses of water before leaving quietly.