"Baik, Ibu! Little Zhi, Xiao Han, Yuanbao, cepat duduk makan. Ingat cuci tangan!" kata Mu Shuangshuang.
Ketiganya dengan patuh mencuci tangan lalu duduk.
Dalam sekejap, Yu Si Niang meletakkan dua telur ayam goreng yang baru dibuat di mangkukan Mu Shuangshuang.
Telur goreng berwarna keemasan, saat ditekan kuningnya meyembul keluar.
Mu Shuangshuang memandangnya, tiba-tiba terasa lapar. Ia mengangkat sepotong telur dengan sumpit, menggigit dengan mulut penuh kuning telur.
"Enak sekali, Ibu!" ujarnya.
"Kontol, tidak perlu berterima kasih kepada keluarga!" Yu Si Niang mengangguk kepalanya sambil menaruh dua butir telur lagi di mangkuk Shuangshuang.
"Ibu, cukuplah. Bagikan kepada Yuanbao, Little Zhi, aku sudah cukup!" Mu Shuangshuang mengibarkan tangannya berkali-kali!
"Belum perlu buru-buru, semua dapat empat butir, Ibu akan menggorengnya lebih perlahan!"
"Empat? Bukan berlebihan?"
Awalnya Shuangshuang mengira dua butir itu banyak. Empat butir justru membuatnya cemas terhadap pencernaan!
"Tidak berlebihan! Semuanya telur dari ayam kampung kami, Ibu tidak akan menjualnya di pasar. Kalau tidak dimakan, akan haram siaht!" kata Yu Si Niang.
"Baiklah kalau begitu!" ucap Shuangshuang, tidak melawan lagi.
Yu Si Niang perlahan menggoreng empat telur untuk setiap anak.
Jujur saja, hanya dengan makan telur saja sudah cukup mengenyangkan, apalagi ditambahkan dumpling, Shuangshuang khawatir anak-anak akan makan berlebihan.
Tiba-tiba, Little Zhi meregangkan lengan panjangnya ke lengan Shuangshuang dan menggilap jari.
"Tahu tidak, Ibu menggoreng begitu banyak telur hanya untuk mendapat balasan?!"
"Apa maksudnya?"
"Bukan untuk membalas dendam pada Bibi! Saat Bibi pulang, dia akan makan lima enam butir sekaligus, dan kalau tidak diberi, dia akan mencela Ibu. Sebelum pergi, dia bahkan mencuri dua tahil perak!
Ibu berkata, lebih baik kita yang makan daripada bibi yang serakah!
Itu semua karena amarah!"
Mendengar ini, Shuangshuang tiba-tiba merasakan sebuah kebangkitan!
Hari ini adalah hari libur, jadi aku memutuskan untuk tidak membahasnya sekarang, dan akan berdiskusi dengan Ibu lusa!
"Ibu, hampir lupa, bagaimana ya rumah kita jadi dihuni oleh orang Ma itu?" Bertanya Shuangshuang.
"Aku sendiri hampir lupa juga! Kayaknya, om dan si Ibu menjual rumah, lalu pada Hari Tahun Baru Kecil, Tuan Tua Ma datang untuk mengambil alih dan mengusir Xiangxiang!
Kebetulan kami pindah ke rumah baru sehari lebih dulu! Sebenarnya, seluruh desa tahu bahwa rumah-rumah cabang ketiga itu milik kita. Kami mencatatnya saat membagi harta!
Tapi... kami tidak bisa menemukan di mana kami menyimpan akta rumah dan akta tanah. Mereka memiliki akta rumah utama dan akta tanah, jadi..."
Ekspresi Yu Si Niang masih agak rumit saat berbicara.
"Om dan si Ibu menjual rumah? Itu mustahil! Mereka seharusnya sudah kembali dari kabupaten hari ini, kecuali ada hal tak terduga!"
Shuangshuang tidak berani berani-berani, namun klaim bahwa Tuan Mu dan Nyonya Tua Mu menjual rumah utama sulit untuk dipercaya!
Jika memang mereka menjualnya, Nyonya Tua Mu pasti akan memprovokasi keributan, bahkan enggan meninggalkan kabupaten, bukan?"
Dulu, melihat reaksi Kakek, ia tulus ingin kembali.
Jika tidak ada masalah dengan Nyonya Jin, mereka mungkin akan datang ke pelosok hari ini seperti yang dia sampaikan!
"Kembali? mengapa mereka akan kembali?" Yu Si Niang tertarik untuk bertanya sambil mengangguk.
"Itu cerita lain, Ibu. Mari selesaikan masalah saat ini dulu, baru kemudian kukatakan kepadamu!" Kata Shuangshuang.
"Baik!"
"Ibu, beritahu saya, apakah akta rumah utama dan akta tanah yang dibawa oleh Tuan Tua Ma itu asli?" Bertanya Shuangshuang.
"Pasti asli! Kepala desa telah melihatnya, ayah juga memeriksanya, dan keduanya setuju bahwa itu asli!"
Inilah yang membuat Shuangshuang penasaran.
Jika baik akta rumah maupun akta tanah asli, maka ini adalah transaksi yang sah!
Tapi itu bukanlah tindakan Tuan Mu dan Nyonya Tua Mu!
Mu Xiangxiang digiring keluar justru semakin tidak mungkin!
Siapa lagi yang bisa menjual rumah Tua Keluarga Mu?
Tiba-tiba, Shuangshuang teringat pada seseorang!
"Ibu, aku tahu siapa yang menjual rumah utama!" Ucap Shuangshuang.
"Siapa?"
"Bibi Keempat, Nyonya Liu!"
Dulu, aku perhatikan dengan cermat. Selain meminjam beberapa tahil perak dan 50 tahil dari penjualan Xiao Chu, cabang ketiga Tua Keluarga Mu menyimpan lebih dari tiga puluh tahil!
Dalam waktu singkat, untuk menabung sejumlah uang itu, hemat sangat tidak mungkin!
Mu Xiaxia bekerja dengan baik di kabupaten, tetapi hanya mendapatkan beberapa rATUS wen per bulan.
Mu Dajiang, lebih-lebih lagi, bekerja sebagai penata uang di pelabuhan, sebuah pekerjaan yang santai dan hanya sedikit lebih baik dibanding penumpang!
Nyonya Liu, tanpa lahan, dari mana pendapatannya?
Kecuali Nyonya Liu menjual rumah utama dan mendapatkan uang itu!
"Shuangshuang, apakah kamu yakin? Bibi Keempatmu... Bibi Keempatmu!"
Yu Si Niang sendiri tidak bisa mempercayainya bahwa Bibi Menantu Keempat yang jujur bisa menjual rumah utama Tua Keluarga Mu!
Dia jelas sangat takut pada Mertuamu dan Mama-mu!
Dan dia tahu dengan baik jika mereka mengetahui penjualannya, apa konsekuensinya!
"Pasti Bibi Keempat! Tidak ada cara lain!" Katam Shuangshuang.
Karena mengenal putrinya yang tidak pernah berbohong, Yu Si Niang akhirnya meyakinkan!
"Tapi Bio, bagaimana... Bagaimana dia bisa melakukannya tanpa takut terdeteksi? Mama tetap tidak mentolerir kesalahan dari menantu! Dengan kesalahan yang begitu besar, apa yang bisa kita lakukan?" Keluh Yu Si Niang!
"Ibu, ketika seekor anjing berada di sudut, ia akan melompasi tembok! Apalagi keluarga ke-empatku yang kami tekan berat sejak kami pindah!
Satu keluarga yang erat, terpecah belah hanya karena keperluan menjaga Bibi Kecil, yang kami pisahkan dari anak-anak, istri, dan suami! Kesal dan marah semakin menumpuk!
Dan si Bibi Kecil itu dulu tidak pernah jujur. Siapa tahu bagaimana dia meremehkan Bibi Keempat di rumah?"
Mu Xiangxiang memang sangat mirip dengan Nyonya Tua Mu.
Pemarah dan kasar, cocok sempurna dengan deskripsinya!
Berhubungan baik dengan Nyonya Liu di rumah pun tidak mungkin!
Ditekan dari luar, diganggu dari dalam!
Di lingkungan seperti ini, Nyonya Liu bisa saja meledak, menjual ak
"Got it, Mom! Little Zhi, Xiao Han, Yuanbao, hurry and sit down for dinner. Remember to wash your hands!" said Mu Shuangshuang.
The three little ones obediently washed their hands and took their seats.
In no time, Yu Si Niang placed two freshly fried eggs in Mu Shuangshuang’s bowl.
The fried eggs were golden in color, and when pressed, the yolk oozed out.
Mu Shuangshuang looked at them, suddenly feeling very hungry. She picked up a piece of egg with her chopsticks and took a bite, her mouth full of yolk.
"So delicious, thanks, Mom!" said Mu Shuangshuang.
"Silly child, no need to thank family!" Yu Si Niang shook her head and placed two more eggs in Mu Shuangshuang’s bowl.
"Mom, that’s enough. Give some to Yuanbao, Little Zhi, I’ve had enough!" Mu Shuangshuang waved her hands repeatedly!
"No rush, everyone gets four eggs, Mom will fry more slowly!"
"Four? Isn’t that too much?"
Mu Shuangshuang initially thought two were a lot. Eating four was really a concern for her digestion!
"Not too much! It’s all eggs from our hens anyway, and Mom won’t sell them in town. If we don’t eat them, they’ll be wasted!" said Yu Si Niang.
"Alright then!" Mu Shuangshuang said no more.
Yu Si Niang slowly fried four eggs for each child.
Honestly, just eating the eggs was filling enough, and with the dumplings, Mu Shuangshuang worried the kids might overeat.
At that moment, Little Zhi tugged at Mu Shuangshuang’s sleeve and beckoned to her.
"Do you know why Mom is making so many eggs?"
"Why?"
"Isn’t it to get back at Auntie! When Auntie came home, she’d eat five or six eggs in a meal, and if not given, she’d scold Mom. She even stole two taels of silver when she left!
Mom said then, it’s better for us to eat than the ungrateful aunt!" Little Zhi said.
Upon hearing this, Mu Shuangshuang suddenly felt a sense of realization!
It was out of anger.
Today was a holiday, she decided not to broach this topic now and plan to speak to Mom about it tomorrow!
"Mom, I almost forgot to ask, how did our house end up being occupied by that Ma person?" asked Mu Shuangshuang.
"Speaking of that, I nearly forgot too! It seems your grandparents sold the house, and then on Little New Year’s Day, Old Ma came to take possession and drove Xiangxiang out!
Coincidentally, we moved to the new house a day early! Originally, the whole village knew that those houses of the third branch were ours. We made a record when we divided the properties!
But... we can’t find where you put the house deeds and land deeds. They have the main house deed and land deed, so..."
Yu Si Niang’s expression was still a bit complex when she talked about it.
"My grandparents sold the house? That’s impossible! They should have been back from the county by today unless something unexpected happened!"
Mu Shuangshuang didn’t dare assert much else, but the claim that Mr. Mu and Old Mrs. Mu sold the main house was hard to believe!
If they really sold it, Old Mrs. Mu would kick up a fuss, refusing to leave the county, wouldn’t she?
Back then, seeing Grandpa’s reaction, he was genuinely intending to come back.
If not for the issue with Mrs. Jin, they probably would have come to the countryside today like she said!
"Back? Why would they come back?" Yu Si Niang was intrigued at once.
"That’s another story, Mom. Let’s tackle one thing at a time! Let’s resolve the current issue, and then I’ll tell you more!" said Mu Shuangshuang.
"Okay!"
"Mom, tell me, are the main house deed and land deed that Old Ma brought out real?" asked Mu Shuangshuang.
"Absolutely real! The village head saw it, your dad also looked, and they both said it’s real!"
This puzzled Mu Shuangshuang.
If both the house deed and land deed are real, then it’s a bona fide sale!
But it’s not something Mr. Mu and Old Mrs. Mu did.
Mu Xiangxiang being driven out made it even less likely!
Who else could have sold Old Mu Family’s house?
Suddenly, Mu Shuangshuang remembered someone!
"Mom, I know who sold the main house!" said Mu Shuangshuang.
"Who?"
"My Fourth Aunt, Mrs. Liu!"
Back then, I carefully calculated. Besides borrowing some silver taels and the 50 taels from selling Xiao Chu, the fourth branch of Old Mu Family had a savings of over thirty taels!
In such a short period, for the fourth branch to save that much money, it’s impossible!
Mu Xiaxia does decent work in the county, but she only earns a few hundred wen a month.
Mu Dajiang, even more so, works as a tally clerk at the dock, a relaxed job that pays only slightly more than a porter!
As for Mrs. Liu, without land, where’s the income?
Unless Mrs. Liu sold the main house and got that money!
"Shuangshuang, could you be mistaken? Your Fourth Aunt... your Fourth Aunt...!"
Yu Si Niang herself couldn’t believe it, that the honest Fourth Aunt-in-law would sell Old Mu Family’s main residence!
She was obviously so scared of her father-in-law and mother-in-law!
And she knew well if they found out she sold it, what the consequences would be!
"It must be my Fourth Aunt! There’s no escaping it!" said Mu Shuangshuang.
Knowing her daughter doesn’t lie, Yu Si Niang finally believed it!
"But your Fourth Aunt, how... how could she do this without fearing discovery? Your mother-in-law never tolerates any mistakes from daughters-in-law. Given such a big mistake, what can be done?" lamented Yu Si Niang!
"Mom, when a dog is cornered, it will jump over the wall! Let alone my Fourth Uncle’s family, who’ve been heavily oppressed since we left!
A well-knit family torn apart because the little aunt needed looking after, thus being separated from her children, daughter, and husband! This resentment and anger have only grown over time!
Plus, that little aunt was never honest. Who knows how she might have humiliated my Fourth Aunt at home?"
Mu Xiangxiang really was much like Old Mrs. Mu.
Greedy and sharp-tongued, she fit the description perfectly!
Getting along well with Mrs. Liu at home was not likely!
Oppressed from the outside, bullied from within!
In such an environment, Mrs. Liu might indeed have exploded, selling Old Mu Family’s deed was quite possible too!
"Shuangshuang, I didn’t see it before you mentioned it, but now I can sense it. Your Fourth Aunt indeed wasn’t in the best state during that time! She almost messed up the meals for the academy kids!
Several times, I caught her mistakes and changed the food in time, avoiding any real issues! As for your little aunt, she really did scold your Fourth Aunt every day, with various insults!" Yu Si Niang said.
"Messing up academy student meals, what was that about?" Mu Shuangshuang’s eyebrows furrowed immediately.
"It was actually your Fourth Aunt using almost moldy rice and lousy vegetables to cut costs, probably trying to save money!" said Yu Si Niang.
She remembered this very clearly.
Mu Xiangxiang made a fuss, turning good rice into yellow rice with a moldy smell.
The oil was low, and everything was a mess.
Back then, she didn’t think much and thought it was just due to moisture, she even sent over more rice on purpose.
Little did she know, a few days later, Mrs. Liu cooked yellow rice for the students!
Luckily, she discovered it early, or it would have been all over by then!
Komentar Chapter (0)
Login buat ikut berkomentar.
Belum ada komentar di chapter ini. Jadi yang pertama!