Chapter 11: Sneaking Meat

The spare ribs fell at Xu Yuanyuan’s feet. She held back for a long time before stopping herself from reaching out to grab them.

“Xu Qingmo, are you treating your own aunt like a dog?” Xu Yuanyuan growled angrily.

Her fat face twisted into a vicious expression.

Xu Qingmo called over Little Yellow from next door. Drawn by the smell of meat, Little Yellow ran straight to Xu Yuanyuan’s feet and picked up the rib from the ground.

The sound of teeth crushing bone rang out continuously. Little Yellow wagged its tail happily at Xu Qingmo.

Xu Qingmo smiled faintly. “You’re not even as good as Little Yellow.”

The next second, she picked up another rib and tossed it into the air. Little Yellow leaped straight up, caught it neatly in its mouth, and wagged its tail again in delight.

Only then did Xu Yuanyuan understand the difference between herself and the dog. What Xu Qingmo threw to her were leftovers, but what she gave Little Yellow were whole, untouched ribs.

She wasn’t even as good as a dog.

Fury surged in Xu Yuanyuan’s chest. Her hands, hanging at her sides, clenched into fists, but she didn’t dare step forward recklessly.

These past few days, she had already seen how formidable Xu Qingmo could be.

“You treat a dog so well, but you probably don’t treat your own parents this well! Someone like you will never amount to anything!” Xu Yuanyuan cursed angrily.

Since she couldn’t beat the little brat in front of her, she tried to suppress her with words instead.

Xu Qingmo picked up another rib and tossed it to Little Yellow. The dog happily caught it.

Xu Qingmo said calmly, “Some people really like to compare themselves to dogs. Are you that starved for affection?”

“You little brat, what did you say?!”

“See this? When I throw a rib to Little Yellow, it knows to wag its tail at me. When I throw one to you, all you do is bare your teeth at me. Compared side by side, why would I want to look at you snarling?” Xu Qingmo couldn’t be bothered with Xu Yuanyuan anymore and lowered her head to keep eating.

After she was full, she poured the remaining ribs and meat broth into the dog bowl so Little Yellow could eat its fill.

Xu Yuanyuan was so greedy she was about to go mad. She simply plopped down on the ground, staring at the dog bowl with ravenous eyes.

She smacked her lips unconsciously, wishing she could snatch the bowl away and eat to her heart’s content herself.

That urge kept circling in her mind. She held herself back for a long time before finally not acting on it.

Wang Xiuzhi came back, exhausted and panting. Not only had she failed to bring back even an ounce of meat, she had nearly been chased home with a broom.

“Mom, come quick and look! Xu Qingmo actually gave all the ribs she didn’t eat to the dog. She wouldn’t even give me a single bite!” The moment Xu Yuanyuan saw Wang Xiuzhi, she burst into tears and complained.

When news of Xu Yuanlong’s death arrived, Xu Yuanyuan hadn’t cried this hard.

“What?! That damned little wretch! Giving meat away for free is bad enough, but she even pours it out for a dog to eat! Are you trying to piss me off to death?” Wang Xiuzhi shouted as she went to find a stick to beat the dog.

She saw that there were still a few bones left in the dog bowl. If she washed them, they should still be edible.

“This wild boar was caught by me. I can give it to whoever I want,” Xu Qingmo said coldly, stopping Wang Xiuzhi from chasing Little Yellow away.

Xu Qingmo dreamed every night—dreams filled with scenes of the original owner and Wang Jing living in this house.

Back then, in order to force Wang Jing to hand over more money and food coupons, Wang Xiuzhi made everyone in the house take turns watching her, refusing to give Wang Jing and Xu Qingmo even a single bite of food.

She deliberately threw corn buns to the feral cats by the stove, right in front of them.

She forced them to watch as the cats ate.

Wang Jing could endure hunger herself, but three-year-old Xu Qingmo couldn’t. She tried to rush over and snatch the bun back, desperate to fill her stomach.

Wang Jing fell to the ground, reaching under the feral cat’s mouth to grab the food, and the cat slashed the back of her hand with its claws.

Ignoring the pain, she broke the clean half of the bun and gave it to Xu Qingmo to eat.

Wang Xiuzhi and Xu Yuanyuan spread this incident throughout the entire village, mocking the “rich young lady from the city” for actually snatching food from a feral cat’s mouth.

During that period, Wang Jing was constantly ridiculed by the villagers.

Because Wang Jing’s hand had been clawed by the cat, Wang Xiuzhi refused to spend money to get her an injection. Afraid she might get sick, she directly locked the mother and daughter in a side room.

They were given no food at all. Only after three full days—once she was sure Wang Jing hadn’t fallen ill—did she let them out.

That was why Xu Qingmo now refused to let Wang Xiuzhi cook, and even more so refused to let her and Xu Yuanyuan sit at the table.

“You damn little bitch! You waste food like this—you’ll get your retribution!” Wang Xiuzhi screamed as she watched Little Yellow lick the dog bowl completely clean, her heart bleeding with pain.

Xu Yuanyuan shouted from the side, clamoring to beat Xu Qingmo to death.

Xu Qingmo glanced at her. “You two haven’t gotten your retribution yet, so I definitely won’t.”

“You—you—you…” Wang Xiuzhi was so angry her eyes nearly rolled back. She was furious and starving, and with Xu Yuanlong’s death weighing heavily on her, she suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe.

Xu Qingmo yawned. “I’m sleepy. I’m going to bed.”

Xu Yuanyuan glanced at the pork in the kitchen and immediately felt much happier.

Once Xu Qingmo fell asleep, she would fry some meat to eat.

She would also hide some for later.

“Oh, right,” Xu Qingmo added casually, “I’ve counted all the meat. Don’t you dare sneak any. If you do, I definitely won’t let it slide.” With that, she turned and went back to her room.

The thugs who had come during the day had searched everywhere except Xu Qingmo’s room. The reason was simple—once anyone got close, they felt as if they were being scorched by raging fire.

Several of them tried, then even dragged Wang Xiuzhi over and told her to go inside and fetch things. Wang Xiuzhi made such a fuss about wanting to die that they didn’t dare force her in.

Xu Qingmo lay on the bed. She could hear soft rustling sounds outside. Without thinking, she knew it must be that mother and daughter preparing to sneak meat.

She didn’t bother with them, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

In the kitchen, the cautious mother and daughter thought Xu Qingmo hadn’t heard anything. Xu Yuanyuan’s courage grew.

Not only did they eat their fill of meat, they also took more than ten jin and hid it in their room, then slept soundly.

Early the next morning, Grandma Liu and Grandma Wang came over from their homes to cook for Xu Qingmo. As soon as they entered, they sensed something was wrong.

“Heavens, there’s been a theft! The meat’s been stolen! Everyone, come take a look!” Grandma Liu immediately flung open the wooden door, slapped her thigh, and shouted outside.

Grandma Wang joined in, and passersby quickly gathered around, asking what had happened.

Grandma Liu vividly described the situation.

Xu Qingmo came out rubbing her eyes and calmly said what she had seen. “I remember seeing a mother and daughter go into the kitchen last night. Not only did they sneak food, they also hid the meat in their own room.”

With those words, everyone present immediately understood that the ones who stole the meat were Wang Xiuzhi and her daughter.

Xu Qingmo asked Grandma Liu and Grandma Wang to search the room. Inside, Wang Xiuzhi and Xu Yuanyuan bolted the door, bracing it with their backs to keep people from breaking in.

Wang Xiuzhi’s mouth was still sharp. “This is my house! The wild boar was caught by my granddaughter. What’s wrong with a grandmother eating a bite of meat? What right do you muddle-headed people have to shout here?”

“Get out! All of you, get out!”