Li Yun kept his head down and didn't dare say a word. He'd already learned how ruthless Jing Shu could be, and he was terrified she might cancel his spot too. He knew damn well that the only reason he got to join the New Year gathering was because of his mother. If not for their blood relation, she wouldn't have been allowed in either. He'd warned her this plan wouldn't work, but no one listened.
Jing Shu smiled sweetly. "Go on, shout all you want. Even if you scream your lungs out, no one's coming."
Her grandmother was in the kitchen, busy preparing New Year's food. Between the exhaust fan and all the noise from the kitchen, there was no way she could hear anything.
"Mother-in-law, it's me, Da Zhuang!" Li Zhuang shouted more than ten times, but sure enough, there wasn't a single response. Instead, his yelling attracted another crowd.
Crack, crack.
The smell of popcorn filled the air, buttery and sweet, with a faint hint of chocolate. A baby started crying even louder. Soon after, the security guards brought in another group of people.
This group was moving even slower, their hands full of large bags and parcels. At the front, Paternal Eldest Uncle Wei Chang was pushing a cart piled high with goods.
Jing Shu hurriedly stood up when she spotted them. Among the crowd, Paternal Eldest Aunt Jing Pan was carrying a shoulder pole, clearly weighed down with something. Instinctively, Jing Shu stepped forward to help.
"Move, move! Don't get your new clothes dirty. It's fine, this isn't heavy, and we're already here anyway," Jing Pan said with a puff of white breath, wiping the sweat from her brow. She refused to let Jing Shu take it.
Jing Shu didn't insist. She frowned and scolded softly, "You came all this way? Auntie, you really walked here with the whole family? When did you even leave? I said I'd pick you up, it wouldn't have been any trouble. If Grandma finds out, she'll be heartbroken."
Wei Chang finally stopped pushing the cart, panting hard. He unscrewed his thermos and gulped down a few mouthfuls of water. Beside him, Wei Zheng was carrying a bunch of bags, while his wife, Qiao Lian, had their one-year-old daughter, Wei Shuen, strapped to her back. The baby was bawling from hunger, so Jing Shu stuffed all the popcorn into the baby's little hands, drawing envious looks from everyone around.
In the crowd, Jing Shu spotted her Second Aunt, darker and stockier than before, also carrying a shoulder pole. The change from her once plump figure was unbelievable.
When the two groups finally met, Second Aunt's family looked uneasy, avoiding eye contact.
"What's going on, Second Aunt? Tell me the truth. Second Uncle said you invited his whole family to spend the New Year here. We were almost out of space! I was about to go pick you up myself, but before I even left, you were already here?"
Jing Zhao slammed her shoulder pole onto the ground with a loud thud. The contents inside jostled and nearly spilled out. She stood with her hands on her hips, fuming. Jing Pan quickly stepped in to smooth things over and explained the situation.
"Your uncle found out gasoline's become almost impossible to get. Even a few liters can't be traded for several kilos of grain. If we'd used the car for a round trip, we'd have wasted hundreds of kilos of food. Grain's already rare enough, not to mention fuel. So we decided to walk. It's not that far anyway. Back when we were kids, we used to walk to school every day, remember? No need to waste precious gasoline.
Originally, your Second Uncle, Li Yun, and the rest were supposed to meet up with us the day before yesterday. But instead, his entire family came along. They said they brought food to celebrate New Year with your Second Uncle and that they even found stable jobs here in Wu City. I didn't believe it for a second. Looks like I was right. You'd better watch out, Shu'er, times are hard, and you can't just give away food like that."
Jing Shu nodded, finally understanding. So that's what happened. They'd walked all this way just to save gas—it must've taken at least two days. Still, in this apocalypse, people would do anything to save food.
So, it turned out Li Zhuang's family had tagged along uninvited.
Before long, Jing Zhao and her husband started arguing. Of course, it was mostly her shouting and him bowing his head, begging her to show some mercy. "Please, we've already come all this way. We can't go back now, can we? We'll freeze to death!"
Jing Zhao snorted. "Don't pin this on me! Two years ago, I was starving to death and your mother wouldn't even spare me a meal. It was my eldest sister who gave me something to eat. And now your whole damn family wants to come freeload again? What do you take me for, an idiot? If not for your mother, I'd have dumped you ages ago!"
"This isn't your call," Li Zhuang shot back. "Let's get the in-laws out here. Your sister's family isn't here eating for free, so why can't we?"
That was when Wei Chang couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Juh! I'd never stoop that low! Even when we spend New Year's at someone else's place, we bring our own food!" He yanked open one of the bags hanging from his shoulder pole, showing the old, slightly yellowed rice inside.
There was half a pig and all sorts of New Year's supplies on the cart too.
"We brought food too," Li Zhuang's mother protested weakly.
Wei Chang sneered and lifted the cover off their basket. "You call this food? Mixing worms and expanding clay into patties and trying to pass it off as something to eat? And you want to come here and feast off others?"
"We're relatives, real family!" she argued.
"Barely related," he snapped.
The two security guards standing by the door were watching like it was a soap opera. They'd seen plenty of people trying to fake family ties before, but rarely with such confidence.
Seeing that the truth had come out, Jing Shu sighed. She was tired already and still had a batch of cookies waiting to be baked. She waved her hand. "Alright, that's enough. Since it's all clear now, let's drop it. Eldest Aunt, Second Aunt, you've both traveled far. Go get settled first."
Li Zhuang quickly jumped in, laughing. "Exactly, let's just settle in and get something to eat."
Jing Shu smiled back. "Sure, except I only prepared space for Eldest Aunt's family and for you, Second Aunt, and your two kids. Since you've brought your own food and found work here, you can take care of them yourselves. Unless you really don't want to live with my aunt anymore? Actually, that works out fine. Grandparents were thinking the same. It's almost New Year, perfect time to get that divorce done. It's really easy these days."
Li Zhuang's jaw tightened in anger.
His mother started wailing. "Oh heavens, in-law! Look at your granddaughter! She dares to act on your behalf! Just a stray brat living under your roof, and she's ordering us around!"
Jing Pan snorted. "Wrong again. This house belongs to my niece. Everything you're eating and drinking comes from her efforts. If anything, it's our mother living under her roof. She's the one in charge here, the Patriarch, so crying won't help."
Li Zhuang's mother was dumbstruck.
"Go on in first," Li Zhuang said quickly, trying to defuse the tension. He herded his family away before things could explode further. He couldn't afford to fall out with Jing Shu yet.
Jing Shu looked at the whole bunch with disgust, her gaze briefly landing on Li Yun. Deep down, she made a new decision. She'd always cared too much about sparing the kids' feelings, but had anyone cared about hers?
"Let's go," she said flatly. "Move their stuff to grandparent's place. There's no room left in the villa."
She led them across the street to the first floor of Building No. 25, which she'd already cleaned up in advance.
Ah, she thought, "I'll deal with the rest tomorrow."