Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Patching Up the Mess

Lin Xiaomeng cursed inwardly, thinking they deserved it. Xu Huaiyu wasn’t a good person either—serves him right if his marriage falls through. The old lady always favored the youngest, and who knew how much more biased she’d be after he got married. Lin Xiaomeng had no intention of letting her own hardworking “old ox” of a husband support the whole family.

Besides, she hadn’t meddled in today’s affair at all—it was all Xu Meiling’s doing. Watching the family turn on each other was truly satisfying, like a pack of dogs fighting. What a cathartic show.

Xu Huaiyu stormed over to Xu Meiling’s house, where the couple was still asleep. Ever since they’d moved in, Chen Jianghe, though extremely reluctant, had no choice but to share the same kang bed with Xu Meiling. After all, there was only one kang in the new house, and with the weather getting colder, sleeping on the floor was out of the question. His leg couldn’t take it, and Xu Meiling was pregnant—there was no way she could sleep on the floor either. Plus, if he needed to use the bathroom or get a drink of water, having Xu Meiling nearby made things easier. In short, he had to compromise. They simply drew an imaginary line down the middle of the bed and slept together.

Hearing Xu Huaiyu banging on the door outside, Xu Meiling had no choice but to get up.

“Third Brother, what are you yelling for so early in the morning?”

Xu Huaiyu was furious, practically glaring daggers at her. “Did you take the meat from home?”

Only then did Xu Meiling remember—today was the day Third Brother’s fiancée was coming over. She suddenly felt a bit guilty. On moving day, she’d been upset, knowing she wouldn’t be able to mooch off the family’s meat anymore, so she’d secretly taken Liu Guifang’s key and stolen the piece of meat Xu Huaiyu had brought home. At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it in her anger, but now that she’d cooled down, she realized how important that meat was. If her brother’s marriage fell through because of this, she’d be the villain for the ages.

“What meat? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied, her voice lacking confidence.

Xu Huaiyu’s eyes were bloodshot as he gritted his teeth. “I don’t believe you! Unless you dare to swear a curse—if you took the meat, may the child in your belly come to harm!”

He was using the same trick Lin Xiaomeng had suggested earlier. Sure enough, Xu Meiling’s face changed instantly, and she exploded with anger.

“Xu Huaiyu, are you even human? Cursing your own nephew like that? I don’t have a brother like you!”

“If you didn’t take it, what are you afraid of? Do you know this meat is tied to my whole future? If you ruin my marriage, don’t think you’ll get off easy! I swear, I could beat you to death right now!”

Xu Huaiyu raised his arm high, but seeing her slightly rounded belly, he gritted his teeth and lowered it, instead kicking the door hard with a loud bang.

Now that he was sure she’d taken the meat, Xu Huaiyu rushed straight into the kitchen and started searching everywhere. Xu Meiling couldn’t stop him—he looked like he’d lost his mind, and she was genuinely afraid he’d hit her, so she could only watch as he ransacked the place.

Finally, Xu Huaiyu found the last three taels of meat under the cupboard. Xu Meiling had been slicing off a bit each day to cook, so it was a miracle there were even three taels left.

Liu Guifang had followed Xu Huaiyu over and, seeing him find the meat, shot Xu Meiling a fierce glare.

“You little brat, you’ll eat yourself to death one day! Let’s see how you get out of this one. Your dad’s furious at home, and your third brother hates you now too! Don’t you know what you can and can’t take? Still hoping for help from your family in the future? You’ve already offended your eldest brother, and now you almost ruined your third brother’s marriage—what’s next, you think you can fly to the heavens?”

Liu Guifang pinched her hard.

Now Xu Meiling was really scared. She clung tightly to Liu Guifang’s arm. “What am I going to do, Mom? Please talk to Third Brother and Dad for me. I didn’t mean it—I’m just pregnant and craving meat!”

Xu Huaiyu had already stormed off with the meat.

“See if there’s anything in the house you can give your third brother as compensation. Help him calm down, and don’t forget to come over and help out later. I’m heading back—there’s a lot to do at home!” Liu Guifang said as she left.

After she was gone, Chen Jianghe was so angry he let Xu Meiling have it.

“If you ever pull another stunt like this, I’ll divorce you and won’t want the child either. I mean it!” he said coldly, his eyes fierce enough to terrify Xu Meiling.

She was the type to bully her own family but knew full well that while the Xu family might forgive her, Chen Jianghe would not. So she immediately backed down.

“Fine, I promise!”

The damage was done, so Chen Jianghe could only try to patch things up. He took out a five-tael meat coupon from his own stash—his parents had just sent it this month, along with thirty yuan and some grain coupons. Xu Meiling didn’t even know about this, but now it had to be used in an emergency.

“Here’s a meat coupon. Take it to your third brother and don’t pull any more tricks, or I really can’t stay with you,” Chen Jianghe sighed.

Xu Meiling took the coupon and trotted off, grabbing a pack of biscuits from the house on her way out."