"He's still young, he won't eat if we don't feed him. What if he starves?"
Su Jinhua paid no heed to her daughter-in-law's words, utterly engrossed in the moment.
"Han Fei likes these meatballs, be careful not to burn him."
Ling Junmo carefully scooped some meatballs with a spoon for his grandson.
Su Jinhua quickly extended her bowl to catch them.
No one took Jiang Shiyou's words seriously.
Beside her, Ling Yuhong held his wine glass, drinking with the elders as he pleased.
Jiang Shiyou's breath hitched. She put down her chopsticks, utterly exasperated.
If the second branch didn't care, the eldest branch certainly wouldn't interfere.
"Honey, this sweet and sour pork rib is delicious."
Ling Laofuren, finding the dish quite good, used serving chopsticks to place some on Xia Wantang's plate.
Xia Wantang immediately picked up her bowl and accepted it, sweetly saying, "Thank you, Grandma."
"Grandma, Grandma, I want sweet and sour pork rib too."
Ling Hanfei suddenly looked up, pointing at the dish in front of Ling Laofuren, demanding to eat it.
Everyone looked over.
Su Jinhua smiled and said, "Okay, Grandma will give it to you. Will you eat this bite of rice now? Look, these meatballs are your favorite."
"I don't want to eat that. I want the sweet and sour pork rib, right now."
With that, he threw his phone aside and started kicking his legs, making the table bang.
Fortunately, the table was large and sturdy, or the dishes on it would have spilled.
Even so, the clatter of bowls and plates could still be heard.
"Ling, Han, Fei."
Jiang Shiyou, unable to bear it any longer, roared and rushed forward, yanking him off the chair and onto the floor.
She yelled hysterically, "Who taught you to be so ill-mannered? Who do you think you are, daring to kick the dining table?"
Ling Hanfei recoiled, then scrambled into his grandmother's arms, his neck retracting, a little scared.
Su Jinhua put down her bowl and hugged her grandson with concern, exclaiming, "What are you doing? You've scared the child."
"You need to change your temper, why are you yelling at a child?"
Ling Junmo admonished her, then stood up and directly moved the entire plate of sweet and sour pork ribs in front of his grandson.
"What's all this fuss? Such an embarrassment," Su Wanling said, looking displeased at Jiang Shiyou, clearly annoyed.
"Alright, alright," Ling Chengzhi frowned, then said to Ling Chengfeng, "Apologies to Elder Brother for the spectacle. Raising children is like this, always a commotion."
Ling Chengfeng smiled without a word, taking a sip of his wine.
Ling Yuchen and Ling Junye hadn't glanced at the second branch the entire time, as if the events happening were none of their concern.
They were all doing one thing: peeling shrimp for their wives.
Coincidentally, both Xia Wantang and Zhu Yunfei loved shrimp.
The others continued eating, as if nothing had happened.
Su Jinhua sat her grandson on her lap and continued feeding him.
Meanwhile, Ling Hanfei was using his hands to grab the sweet and sour pork ribs directly from the plate, getting brown sauce all over his hands, mouth, and the table.
Now, the entire plate was his.
Jiang Shiyou stood there alone, unsure whether to sit or not.
It was always like this. Everyone indulged the child, and she was the bad guy. The child didn't even like her.
She desperately wanted to let go, but he was still her flesh and blood. How could she not care?
Knowing this would harm him for life, she felt helpless.
How many times had she spoken to Ling Yuhong about it, but he simply didn't take it seriously. She knew clearly that this was due to his inaction.
Life was just like this, always a mess of trivialities.
She once thought marrying into the Ling family would lead to a good life, but who knew it would turn out like this.
Her eyes welled up, and she fought back tears.
Finally, Zhu Yunfei couldn't stand it and sighed, "Youyou, come and sit down to eat."
Xia Wantang looked at her with a hint of sympathy but didn't interfere.
However, Ling Hanfei reminded her of Xia Yichen.
Xia Yichen had also been spoiled like this when he grew up, which was why he had turned into the useless person he was now.
At twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, he was good at nothing and had never worked.
The Xia family had gone bankrupt, so he would likely have to rely on Xia Wanfu for support, or return to their hometown to live off their parents.
Thinking this, she almost felt pity for Xia Wanfu, having such a grown-child brother. She wondered how miserable she would become.
Given Xia Yichen's shamelessness, she would need to be extra careful to avoid being entangled with him.
Jiang Shiyou forced a smile and said softly, "Thank you, Aunt. I'm full, so I'll be leaving now."
She turned and left, and the people from the second branch made no move to stop her.
As soon as she left, Su Jinhua couldn't help but complain.
"You see her, getting angry at the child. How old is he?"
No one agreed with her.
"Alright, Mom, say less," Ling Yuhong said impatiently, rolling his eyes. He felt utterly embarrassed.
Su Jinhua pouted and continued to coax the child, "Han Fei, be good, eat your food. Mommy is bad, we don't want Mommy."
Ling Hanfei actually said, "I don't like Mommy. I like Grandma the most."
Su Jinhua's smile was irrepressible.
Xia Wantang's worldview was shattered.
The meal ended hurriedly, without much enjoyment.
She was now worried that if she had children in the future, Ling Yuchen's grandparents and parents might spoil them like this.
Then she would be as helpless as Jiang Shiyou today.
Moreover, she had no maternal family to support her.
Just like Han Wenjuan, she had no family support, and her brother was far away in a remote province.
She remembered that many years ago, Xia Linfeng often fooled around outside. One time, he even brought someone home.
Han Wenjuan dared not speak her mind, yet had to greet them with a smile.
She sat absentmindedly in the living room.
Others chatted in twos and threes.
Ling Yuchen sat beside her, holding her hand.
Su Jinhua had just finished cleaning up her grandson, who had eaten like a little wildcat.
Ling Hanfei was already engrossed in playing games on his phone.
As soon as she sat down, Su Jinhua couldn't help but say, "Wantang, I heard your adoptive parents' family went bankrupt. How are things now? Yuchen is a skilled businessman, you can ask him to help you."
The living room fell silent, as if the air had frozen.
Su Wanling chimed in, "This is a small matter for Yuchen, after all, Tengkong Group is the number one group in Country L."
The two of them, singing each other's praises, made it sound as if Xia Wantang had married Ling Yuchen solely for money.
Xia Wantang's expression remained unchanged, a faint smile on her face.
"I imagine Auntie doesn't know that I had already severed ties with my adoptive parents before getting together with Yuchen. As for the bankruptcy, it's irreversible, and I don't want the Ling family to get involved in this mess."
Su Jinhua was about to say something more.
Then Ling Yuchen's voice was heard, "I heard Cousin's company lost another ten million recently. Counting carefully, how many times has this happened?"
Ling Yuhong's face paled, his water cup trembled, and water spilled all over him.