Unexpected Motherhood: Marked by the Elite Alpha - Chapter 7

When Li Sangyue returned home in the afternoon, Li Zhi and her daughter were still there, specifically waiting for her.

Sister Tuan and Lin Yin also disliked this relative of the Li family who held a government position in the county. After exchanging brief greetings, they headed back to the attic to rest.

“Xiaoyue, you’ve been busy all day. You must be exhausted. Sit down and rest,” Li Zhi said.

Li Zhi’s sudden warmth startled Li Sangyue. However, her mother had already called to give her a general overview of the situation. Her eldest aunt had also called her in the morning, but she had been too busy to answer and forgot about it once she finished her work.

“It is okay, I am not that tired. I am used to it,” she replied, sitting down with a polite attitude.

Pained to see her granddaughter sweating from the heat, Li Shuang reached out to wipe her forehead and brought over a cup of dandelion tea brewed specifically for her. Dandelion leaves, when dried and steeped in water, have the effect of clearing heat and reducing internal fire; the family had dried a large amount of it recently.

Only when facing the grandmother who cared for her did Li Sangyue act like a child, grinning foolishly. “Grandma, it really was scorching today. My arms felt sun-scorched and stinging. Luckily, there is a big tree where we sell the fruit; we stayed in the shade to keep a bit cooler.”

In the past, she thought that because her elders were old, she should not tell them things that would make them worry. Later, she realized that even if she did not speak up, they would ask anyway. If they did not get answers from her, they would ask Sister Tuan and Lin Yin. They just wanted to know if she was being bullied, if she was eating on time, or if the work was too hard. Knowing they cared, she now took the initiative to “complain” a little.

“Your mother showed us your livestream today. I saw you were indeed under the shade of a tree.”

The elderly couple also used smartphones, though they did not quite understand the trendy social platforms. Usually, Li Ningjun set things up for them. They did not watch anything else; they only watched their granddaughter. Every day, Yang Huahua would wear her reading glasses and comment under the videos, typing out long sentences character by character. She talked about her granddaughter’s daily work and how the agricultural products she sold were all high quality.

Li Ninghuai chimed in, “Xiaoyue’s videos are getting better and better. Rural construction really needs young people like Xiaoyue.”

In all her years growing up, Li Sangyue had never been praised by this eldest aunt. She wanted to be happy about it, but the events of the previous day left a bad taste in her mouth. She could not bring herself to act overly enthusiastic. She realized she still needed more practice in social niceties.

“Xiaoyue has been smart since she was a child; she can do anything well,” Li Shuang said, her face beaming with genuine joy and a loving smile.

Li Ninghuai echoed with a smile, “Yes, Xiaoyue is an excellent child. Back in school, she was first in every exam.”

She used to hold Li Sangyue in some regard, but later, when Li Sangyue could not even take the college entrance exam and was forced to drop out and return home to have a child, the matter became the laughingstock of all Yangtoubu. Even now, people still pointed fingers behind her back. Naturally, that bit of regard had faded.

Having reached this point in the conversation, Li Ninghuai was not going to let the topic stray from her purpose today. She smoothly brought up the people from yesterday.

Li Sangyue knew she would ask and did not hide anything. She told the truth. Then, she watched as the smiles on Li Zhi and her daughter’s faces faded visibly. After all that fuss, it turned out they were just passing tourists whom she did not know at all.

“So that is how it is,” Li Ninghuai said, losing interest in staying any longer.

Li Zhi lowered her eyes and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Just moments ago, she had been chatting with Li Shuang about Taiyang’s future schooling; now, she stopped. She did not mention bringing Taiyang home for lunch and a nap anymore either. Fearing Li Shuang might bring it up, she was in a hurry to leave. She did not even take the meatballs Yang Huahua had just fried and wanted them to take home; they left in a rush.

Li Sangyue saw them to the gate. Before their car had even pulled away, she turned back into the house. Seeing her grandmother standing at the door holding that basin of fried meatballs with a look of helplessness, her heart ached.

These meatballs were made by her grandmother, who had spent the afternoon mincing meat and frying them bit by bit. Her clothes were soaked through from the heat in the kitchen. No matter how much the eldest aunt and her daughter looked down on her, they should not have trampled on her grandmother’s kindness like that.

She put on a bright smile and ran over. Without even washing her hands, she grabbed a meatball and popped it into her mouth, praising it as she ate: “Grandma’s fried meatballs are still the best! I have been craving these for ages, but I was too embarrassed to ask you to do it. Frying meatballs is such a hassle and uses so much oil. You are even using this year’s fresh peanut oil!”

The meatballs her grandmother fried were made with high-quality meat, definitely better than those sold outside. Instead of mixing in flour, she would crumble up large steamed buns and mix them into the meat stuffing. She also added mashed steamed potatoes to increase stickiness so the meatballs would hold their shape and not fall apart in the fryer.

The seasoning was also meticulous: eggs, white pepper, Sichuan peppercorn water, five-spice powder, and soy sauce. The resulting meatballs were crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. The meat juices exploded in the mouth with a rich savory aroma.

Today, Grandma had also fried tofu meatballs. Frying tofu meatballs was even more troublesome than meat ones. You had to steam the tofu in a steamer for over ten minutes first. Once steamed, you had to wait for it to cool and drain the water before using a rolling pin to crush it into a smooth, lump-free paste. Then you added dried shrimp, green onions, ginger, cilantro, peppercorn powder, eggs, sweet bean sauce, and chopped fresh cabbage. You had to stir it vigorously in one direction with chopsticks until it became elastic before shaping them into balls. Finally, a coating of dry starch before frying ensured they would not break apart.

Her family usually only fried meatballs during New Year, festivals, or when important guests visited. Normally, her grandmother found it too troublesome because it took too much time and oil, so she rarely made them. If Li Sangyue wanted them, she usually had to buy ready-made ones in town or the county seat.

The ones sold outside had too much flour, making them flour balls rather than meat balls. As for tofu meatballs, which required even more care than meat ones, they were rarely sold. Shopkeepers said they were too much work to make, and in the summer heat, tofu soured easily and would not keep.

Grandma rarely fried tofu meatballs either. She had set aside more than half for the guests, but now that they were gone, they could keep them all.

Grandma had been feeling a bit gloomy, but seeing her granddaughter’s appetite, that gloom was swept away. A smile returned to her face as she hurriedly pulled her granddaughter back into the house, not forgetting to nag: “Grandma’s meatballs are good, right? The ones outside cannot touch Grandma’s skill. Eat more if you like them; they are best fresh out of the pot. They get soft if left too long. Just do not let your mother see you. She does not like you eating too much fried food. That Southern lifestyle of hers is the reason; she thinks fried food is too heaty and causes internal fire, sore throats, and such.”

That was indeed exactly something her mother would say.

Li Sangyue had already eaten three or four meatballs before entering the house. She licked the oil from her fingers. “Where are Mom and Taiyang?”

She had not seen them when she got back. She knew her mother did not like her eldest aunt; every time the aunt visited, her mother would head out. Grandma said it was better that her mother was not home; otherwise, just listening to the aunt speak would make her mother want to jump up and hit someone.

“They went out after lunch. I do not know where, probably to watch people fishing,” Grandma said.

“Your mother probably took Taiyang up the mountain to see wild pheasants,” Li Shuang, sitting on the sofa watching TV, interjected.

Li Sangyue picked up a tofu meatball and sat down. “Grandpa, have one. Grandma’s cooking is delicious. Up the mountain to see pheasants? Where are there any?” She went up the mountain every day and had never seen so much as a pheasant feather.

“Do not listen to your grandpa’s nonsense,” Yang Huahua glared at her husband, blaming him. “You must have told Taiyang there were pheasants on the mountain, which is why she clamored to go. How else would a child know? Stop telling her those things. Taiyang is still so small; what if she gets curious and runs up the mountain by herself?”

Li Shuang bit into the meatball his granddaughter gave him and did not dare speak further. He was afraid of his wife. He had been since they were young, and he was often teased for being henpecked.

Li Sangyue went outside and called up to the attic twice, telling Sister Tuan and Lin Yin to come down and eat meatballs. Then, she called her mother.

Upon receiving the call, Li Ningjun returned from the riverside with Taiyang, carrying a carp in her hand.

The fish they caught yesterday had stuffed the whole family, and there was more today!

Li Sangyue was horrified by the sight of more fish. “Mom, are you the reincarnation of the Dragon King? Every time, fish just deliver themselves to you.”

“Yes, I am the Dragon King, and my Dragon Palace was flooded,” Li Ningjun joked, flicking her forehead.

“Grandma, the Dragon Palace is underwater!” Taiyang chirped.

“How does Taiyang know that? Even Grandma did not know.”

“It is in the cartoons! The Dragon Palace has shrimp soldiers and crab generals.”

Li Sangyue picked up Taiyang, who was happily sharing her knowledge. “We are Grandma’s shrimp soldiers and crab generals.”

Taiyang clearly liked this role; her eyes lit up. “Okay! Then I can protect Grandma!”

Li Ningjun followed them into the house. The carp had already been taken by the old lady and placed in the water vat in the yard.

The family sat on the living room sofa eating fried meatballs, along with the seaweed pork floss cakes and pineapple buns Li Sangyue had specially bought back.

She had bought a lot. Grandma thought about taking a few over to her younger sister’s house. Her younger sister had suffered for most of her life and had not eaten many good things; as the older sister, Grandma always thought about sending her something.

However, the younger great-aunt had a foul temper and loved finding excuses to pick fights with Grandma. She also liked coming over to cry about how she had married poorly, claiming Grandma had ruined her life.

Grandpa was still brooding because the eldest aunt had not taken the fried meatballs. Even as someone who was not very observant, he could tell they looked down on such things.

So, he was a bit unhappy now. His face darkened. “Take what? Our family does not owe her anything.”

“Little sister is indeed pitiful, living like that, and Chuntao is unwilling to reconcile with her,” Grandma sighed.

“Whose fault is that? It is all Li Yuan’s own doing. She had a terrible temper when she was young. Her first husband’s temper was good enough, was it not? He could not stand her either, so they divorced. Later, you introduced her to Chuntao. Chuntao was capable and quite tolerant of her, but look at how it is now? She made life so difficult that she forced Chuntao to move out and live in the old house. The two of them are like enemies now.”

Among the three Li sisters, Li Zhi was the eldest and Li Yuan was the youngest. Li Yuan had been married twice but never had children of her own. Her current partner was Zhang Chuntao.

Zhang Chuntao had a daughter from a previous marriage named Zhang Mei, who was a high school teacher in the county. After starting her own family, she rarely returned to the village. Li Sangyue had attended the high school where Zhang Mei taught, and her forced withdrawal from school was somewhat related to this younger aunt, Zhang Mei.

Grandma had been the matchmaker for the younger great-aunt’s current marriage. Because life had not gone well after the marriage, the younger great-aunt hated Grandma. She felt that Grandma had lived a smooth life and had a comfortable old age while she herself suffered. Driven by jealousy, she had spent the last few years finding trouble for their family whenever she could. She only behaved after Li Sangyue’s mother went to her house to “reason” with her once.

Every time the younger great-aunt looked for trouble, Grandma would get angry and they would argue. But Grandma was kind-hearted and soft-eared; a few days later, she would forget the grievance. Whenever there was good food at home, she would think of sending a portion to her younger sister. When she went to the market to buy new clothes, she would pick up a couple of items for her too. During festivals, it went without saying; what she gave to the younger great-aunt was always double what she gave to the eldest aunt.

However, these were the grievances of the older generation. Li Sangyue, as a junior, could not say much. Whenever she was asked to deliver something, she went.

Because of her mother, the younger great-aunt did not dare give her a cold face. As for whether she grumbled behind her back, Li Sangyue did not know and could not control it. But if Aunt Zhang Mei was home, she would not go.

It was not that she was afraid of this aunt; it was because when her pregnancy was discovered during the college entrance exam physical, the aunt, in order to be selected as the grade director, suggested the school make her drop out first to preserve the school’s reputation.

Because of this, her mother hated Aunt Zhang Mei to death. If the aunt dared to show her face in front of her mother, her mother would surely slap her. How could her mother possibly allow her to deliver things to the younger great-aunt’s house then?

“Do not give her anything. There are not many to begin with. If you do not eat them, save them for Taiyang,” Grandma said, taking the seaweed pork floss cakes away from her husband.

Li Shuang was not angry; he just gave a helpless smile and said, “Alright, alright. We will not take them. We will leave them for our Taiyang to eat.”

It was not that he insisted on being the good guy, but Li Zhi and Li Yuan were his sisters-in-law. It was hard to let go. But if his family was unhappy, he would naturally prioritize their feelings.

There was another sales livestream tonight, and Li Sangyue had to get busy. Conveniently, since her mother was watching her to prevent her from eating too many fried meatballs, she used it as an excuse to slip away. She, Sister Tuan, and Lin Yin began moving the lights needed for the livestream to the small warehouse.

The small warehouse was a villager’s house she had rented and simply renovated. It was mainly used to store the agricultural products she collected, and packing and shipping were also done there. She hired temporary help from the village for packing, paying them by the day.