Seeing Tan Lin was about to cough again, Tan You picked up a lion’s head meatball and stuffed it into his mouth. "Eat more food, drink less soda."
Tan Lin immediately shut his mouth. ’It looks like Second Uncle is completely outmatched by my daughter,’ he thought.
"Speaking of which, Tan Lin bought a house in town. I haven’t had a chance to visit yet." Tan Desheng changed the subject, turning the conversation back to Tan Lin.
Tan Lin swallowed the meatball Tan You had fed him. He had no intention of letting Tan Desheng visit. "It’s just a small place, nothing much to see. It’s about the same as the house here."
’After the way Tan Desheng treated him and Cheng Wenhui in the past, how could he possibly suck up to him again? Besides, he wasn’t without support now. The once-capable Tan Desheng now seemed like nothing special in Tan Lin’s eyes.’
How could Tan Desheng not see what Tan Lin meant? ’My nephew has grown distant. In the past, whenever I came back, he would always return for a few days, no matter what, just to curry favor with me.’
’Even my nephew’s wife, Cheng Wenhui, who could never stand me, would come back with him. But I’ve been back for over half a month now, and Cheng Wenhui only came back once on the first day of the National Day holiday. After that, she claimed the factory was busy. Tan Lin even packs up dinner to take to her in town every night; she never comes back here.’
Tan Deming tried to smooth things over. "That’s just Tan Lin’s personality. He’s very independent. The old lady and I rarely go over there ourselves."
The implication was, what right did a mere uncle have to visit?
Tan Desheng looked at Tan You, then at Tan Lin. He suddenly felt that this family was no longer the poor, unreasonable, and dilapidated one he remembered. It now had a backbone of its own.
And that backbone was not Wang Hunv, nor was it Cheng Wenhui. It was Tan You.
Tan You slowly ate her steamed fish. "Second Grandpa, I don’t mind you staying here for a while, but you can’t live in my house while giving all your money to Tan Deji’s family. This isn’t a soup kitchen."
"Even at a cafeteria, people have to pay for their meals. The 1,000 yuan you gave my grandpa earlier can be counted as payment for half a month of food. We’re not even taking advantage of you."
"To be fair, you should eat at Tan Deji’s house for the same amount of time you’ve eaten at ours. Think about it. The money you gave his family is probably enough to cover your meals there for half a year, isn’t it?"
This time, Tan Lin didn’t dare to laugh. He just buried his head in his food. ’At this small table, perhaps only Tan Yue is too young to understand what Tan You is saying.’
Tan Desheng gave an awkward laugh. "I... I can pay."
"No need," Tan You said, waving her hand dismissively. "My grandma’s not a good cook; all she knows is how to boil things in plain water. My grandpa is frail and can’t stand the oily smoke from the kitchen. Eating with them would just be a disservice to you."
"Besides, any restaurant with a chef like that would be out of business in three days. We can’t let you pay for such an ordeal."
"If you eat at Tan Deji’s house, Cao Xiaojing will even prepare steamed sea bass, blanched prawns, and kelp tofu soup for you. My grandma doesn’t know how to make any of that. She’s just an old country woman. How would she know all those fancy tricks?"
Tan You deliberately emphasized the name "Cao Xiaojing." No matter how thick-skinned Tan Desheng was, he couldn’t help but flush a little upon hearing it.
The last sentence, in particular, was a double entendre. Tan Desheng vaguely felt that Tan You was hinting at something, but when he saw her normal expression, he wondered if he was just overthinking it. ’Or am I just seeing filth because my own mind is filthy?’
In short, Tan You’s meaning was simple: Tan Desheng was welcome to stay, but he could forget about eating here. He could go eat at Tan Deji’s house. It wouldn’t be right for Tan Desheng to pay them, only for her family to do all the work, would it?
Her family, Tan Deming’s branch, was doing all the hard work, while Tan Deji’s family reaped all the major benefits? How could anything be so unfair? Tan Deji and Tan Shanyun wanted to suck up, didn’t they? Well, now was their time to shine.
Tan Lin absolutely would not interject. If he chimed in now, he’d be facing Tan You’s iron fist later. He wasn’t that stupid. Besides, Tan Deji’s family had profited so much already; it was about time they put in some effort.
’When he thought about how his family had only gotten 1,000 yuan from Tan Desheng in total, yet had to provide him with food, lodging, and someone to chat with about anything and everything, Tan Lin felt they were getting a terrible deal.’
Tan You glanced at him. "Are you leaving with me in a bit? You can help me clean my dorm today. I haven’t tidied up in a few days."
Tan Lin couldn’t wait to leave. "Sure. I’ll check how much gas you have left. If it’s low, I’ll arrange to get you a new canister."
"I don’t cook much," Tan You said, completely ignoring Tan Desheng’s expression. "There should still be plenty left..."
Tan Deming looked at Tan Desheng, then at Tan You, and said nothing more. He might be an old softie, but he was ultimately unhappy with Tan Desheng’s blatant favoritism.
’He and Tan Desheng were full brothers, born of the same mother. And what was the result? Tan Desheng was close only to Tan Deji’s family, while being distant with his own son and granddaughter. And now he wanted to keep living here at Tan You’s place? Where did he get the nerve?’
’In any case, Tan Deming was definitely on Tan You’s side. He was just his younger brother; they hadn’t been one family for a long time. If he got offended, so be it. It’s not like they depended on him to get by.’
This time, Tan Desheng truly couldn’t force a smile. "Fine. I’ll eat at Tan Deji’s place from now on. It’s not like they’d refuse me a meal, would they?"
Tan You’s face broke into a smile. "Oh, that’s wonderful! I just wonder, Second Grandpa, how many meals your tens of thousands of yuan will buy you at Tan Deji’s house?"
She admitted to herself that she was doing it on purpose. If Tan Deji’s family managed to anger Tan Desheng enough to make him leave, Tan You would be even happier.
’Who isn’t a little petty sometimes?’
’What Tan You couldn’t stand most about Tan Desheng was his inability to distinguish between close and distant relatives. He spent money lavishly on Tan Deji’s family, but in the end, he ate and slept at her house, having given them only 1,000 yuan from start to finish. And this was his own blood brother—the preferential treatment was so obvious.’
’He even gave Tan Zhen’s family 5,000. Which of them didn’t get more money than Tan Deming? And then what? Tan Desheng received the best care here, yet when he went to Tan Deji’s place, he’d turn hostile and act as if he didn’t know them, tacitly agreeing that Wang Hunv and Tan Deming hadn’t treated him well enough.’
That’s why Tan You had been deliberately making special meals for Tan Desheng every day for the past few days—she was calculating how to use up that 1,000 yuan.
Once that 1,000 yuan for food expenses was spent, even if Tan Desheng didn’t say anything, Tan You planned to send him over to Tan Deji’s house before she left for school.
’She couldn’t just let them keep taking advantage behind their backs, could she?’
In the entire family, perhaps only Tan Desheng now understood Tan You’s true intentions. He had been wondering why Tan You was always making him special meals. He’d assumed she was just being a good hostess.
’It turned out she was indeed treating him like a guest. Once his money ran out, she unceremoniously kicked him out. Of course, she made it all sound so nice, with her excuses about Wang Hunv being a bad cook and Tan Deming’s poor health.’
’And if that wasn’t enough, there was Cheng Wenhui being too busy with work. How could she possibly have time to come home and entertain a guest?’