Chapter 155: Freely Discretionary

After Wang Dongliang offered repeated thanks, he said with a wry smile, "Every time I finish a trip, every single penny I make has to be handed over to my wife. If I dared to spend even a little bit, that tigress at home would skin me alive."

Recalling the steamed buns that Li Sheng's wife had bought for them before their departure, he remembered that it was precisely those meat buns that had saved them from going hungry on their very first meal in the provincial capital.

Thinking of it now, Wang Dongliang still felt a warmth in his heart and couldn't help praising, "Your wife is really something else—so gentle and considerate."

Although Li Sheng didn't voice his agreement, judging by the smiles playing around the corners of his eyes, it was clear he was feeling quite proud inside.

Watching him, Wang Dongliang felt a mixture of envy, jealousy, and admiration.

As the old saying goes, good things take time. Did that apply to having a good brother like this?

Li Sheng was accustomed to walking that mountain path, and being a strapping man with a fast pace, whereas the other group consisted of the elderly and children.

Therefore, despite leaving the provincial capital quite late, he managed to reach the production team at almost the same time as his mother, wife, and the others.

A woman's intuition is remarkably sharp. As the group was walking back, chatting and laughing, Tang Xin suddenly had the feeling that someone was watching them.

Turning around, she saw a tall figure standing less than ten meters behind them—her husband, Li Sheng.

Since they were outdoors and nearly back at the brigade, and especially because many people at this hour would come outside to catch the cool evening breeze or carry their dinner bowls out to eat, they still needed to be mindful of public appearances. Thus, Tang Xin could only stay where she was and offer a gentle smile.

The little ones, however, were overjoyed. Especially Li Jiang and Li Hai, who dashed forward eagerly, impatient to show off their newly received gifts to their eldest brother.

Whenever the eldest brother returned from a trip in the past, he would bring them gifts, but never anything like toys.

So now, both brothers found it all terribly novel and wanted to share what they considered the most important treasures with their beloved big brother.

Li Sheng first patted his two younger brothers on the head one by one, then scooped up Gu Nan, gave him a little toss in the air, and smiled, "Little fellow has grown taller."

Gu Nan froze for a moment. Once he was set back down on the ground, he scurried back to Fang's side.

Looking utterly bewildered, he whispered, "Mom, the eldest brother has changed."

Perhaps from spending more and more time hanging out with Li Jiang and Li Hai, the bonds between the boys had grown steadily closer. Gu Nan had now dropped formal titles and started calling Fang directly "Mom."

Fortunately, he hadn't gone so far as to call Li Zhirong "Dad," otherwise Gu Changfu would have coughed up blood.

To think, after all these years of raising that little rascal, the boy had practically turned into someone else's family member?

Li Sheng had brought back quite a lot of things this time. Supplies in the provincial capital were far more abundant than here, so he had bought a great deal, ultimately filling two large duffel bags to the brim.

After speaking with his mother for a moment and greeting his younger siblings, Li Sheng handed the heavy bags over to Li Kai to carry.

As for himself, he reached out and took Tang Xin's delicate hand in his, openly and proudly leading his wife home.

Li Kai shouldered the heavier loads, while the three little ones eagerly stepped up to help carry the pastries and candies.

Along the way, when they bumped into children from other families and caught sight of the sweets in the hands of Li Jiang, Li Hai, and Gu Nan, the other kids drooped with envy, their mouths watering uncontrollably.

Li Jiang and Li Hai looked immensely pleased with themselves, while Gu Nan cautiously asked Tang Xin, "Sister-in-law, can I share some of the candy with them?"

Tang Xin smiled and replied, "The things belong to you, so you have the freedom to decide how to use them."

Hearing this, Li Jiang immediately declared, "No giving it away! If we give it to them, we'll have less for ourselves."

Li Hai looked somewhat conflicted. He bit his finger and muttered, "But if they play with us and let us be the leaders, can we give them some then?"

Now that was a possibility. Gu Nan immediately trotted over to gather the neighboring children, organizing them into a neat little line while whispering instructions to them.

After witnessing the entire process, Tang Xin couldn't help but marvel. No wonder Gu Nan would turn out to be an elite student capable of scoring exceptionally high on the college entrance examination in the future.

Just look at that child's brain and execution capability! In reality, he was younger than Li Jiang and Li Hai, yet in terms of speech and action, he seemed far more mature and capable.

So, under Gu Nan's direction and allocation, the three little fellows each had their own followers, divided into different factions.

Before going to bed that night, Li Hai even whispered to his sister-in-law that Gu Nan had established a strict set of rules specifying who was allowed to eat a whole piece of candy and who could only have half.

He even outlined the exact conditions under which a follower could be promoted and earn a larger share next time.

At the time, Tang Xin was utterly dumbfounded, realizing once again how her own cognitive bias had caused her to underestimate this child from an impoverished rural background who was not yet even eight years old.

At that moment, Tang Xin was still completely unaware of such things; she was simply walking blissfully along the path toward the Li family courtyard, her little hand held securely in Li Sheng's.

Children always skipped and ran quickly when walking. Though they had just been distributing candy to the other kids a moment ago, by the time Li Sheng and Tang Xin arrived home, the boys had already beaten them back.

Li Hai still had a few pieces of candy in his hands, while Li Jiang clutched a pastry, insisting on feeding it to his parents.

Gu Nan pulled out a flaky pastry and handed it to Tang Xin, saying, "Sister-in-law, have some."

Seeing that her father-in-law and mother-in-law each had a pastry in their hands as well, Tang Xin finally accepted hers and took a bite.

In truth, the Tang Xin of her past life would never have touched pastries of such simple, crude craftsmanship that appeared to contain so much cooking oil. But ever since arriving here, with less oil and grease in her daily diet, her appetite had grown remarkably keen.

With Li Sheng back, everyone was in high spirits.

Especially Fang, who seemed as though the little old lady had suddenly grown much more energetic. That evening, she enthusiastically prepared several more of her signature dishes.

There was braised pork with vermicelli—though they had already eaten that a few times—along with fried eggplant boxes stuffed with chive and pork filling, which tasted just as delicious no matter how many times they had them.

Additionally, she stewed dried bamboo shoots with cured meat. Tang Xin ate without stopping, clinging to Fang's arm and showering her with sweet praise:

"Mom, you are simply the best! Your cooking just keeps getting better and better. Oh my, Mom, I feel like I'm going to keep eating more and more. What am I going to do if I turn into a round, chubby ball?"

As she spoke, Tang Xin blinked shut, then snapped her eyes open again, filled with exaggerated panic: "If I get fat and ugly, will Big Brother Li Sheng stop wanting me?"

Fang knew this was the exact moment for her son to make his entrance, so she shot Li Sheng a glare.

Li Sheng didn't say much else, simply picking up another piece of cured meat and placing it into Tang Xin's bowl. "Eat."

Tang Xin pouted her lips, looking thoroughly unsatisfied.

"I love you for who you are, whether you're fat or thin."

Well, knowing how difficult it was for this man to utter words of affection, Tang Xin stopped putting on airs.

She happily resumed eating. Acting a little spoiled was charming, but being overly finicky all the time would make anyone lose interest.

After dinner, it was still early and time for bed hadn't yet arrived, though wandering outside after dark wasn't very convenient.

So the little ones came up with an idea: they would play games like hide-and-seek or hawk catching the chicks right in the courtyard, joined by the eldest brother, eldest sister-in-law, second brother, eldest sister, and second sister.

Li Xihua refused to participate, feeling she was too old for such games, so she simply stayed inside the main room with her mother, refusing to come out.

Earlier, her younger sister-in-law had bought fabric for the household, and during this trip to the provincial capital, her eldest brother had also brought back some more. Li Xihua was now discussing with her mother what they could make for the family members.