Back to the 1980s: Transmigrated as the Bigshot's Pampered Wife-Chapter 103: White Lie

Gu Jiaojiao pretended not to see the two mothers’ surprised gazes. That way, she wouldn’t have to explain.

She deftly placed the remaining half of the loaches in boiling water to cook them, then scooped them out to drain. She heated oil in a wok, stir-fried some ginger slivers until fragrant, then added the loaches and pan-fried them until golden brown before setting them aside.

When it was almost time to eat, she would just need to stir-fry some minced garlic in an oiled wok and toss in the pan-fried loaches before serving.

Gu Jiaojiao also stir-fried a chicken, made some braised pork belly, and served a plate of the stir-fried river snails left over from lunch, making a total of five meat dishes.

Mr. Sheng and Song Zijie hadn’t tried the stir-fried river snails yet, and the others hadn’t had their fill either.

Gu Jiaojiao had several pounds of river snail meat in her interdimensional space, which would also be delicious stir-fried with finely diced green peppers.

It would never spoil no matter how long it was kept in her space. Whenever she had a craving, she could just take some out and stir-fry a small dish.

Su’s mother was exceptionally good at making vegetable dishes. She prepared a large bowl of cucumber salad, a dish of dry-fried green beans, stir-fried luffa, and braised eggplant.

Sheng Shiwu came straight to the Su family’s house after school. He had told his parents he was having dinner at a classmate’s place tonight.

Gu Jiaojiao had told him they were having stir-fried river snails tonight and that he should come over for dinner right after school.

Over the past few days, he had not only helped Gu Jiaojiao sell spicy gluten strips, but today he had also tried his hand at selling ham sausages.

Jiaojiao said these ham sausages wouldn’t be on the market for another few years. They were a Western food that Mr. Gu had tried abroad.

She had made them based on Mr. Gu’s description and told him to be careful, selling them only to his most trustworthy contacts.

If he could establish a market for them, they would start mass-producing the ham sausages, and he could manage the factory after he graduated from college.

’Just thinking about it is so exciting! One ham sausage sells for twenty cents, and it tastes just like meat, even though Jiaojiao said it’s more flour than meat.’

’But they taste great. Jiaojiao gave me thirty of them today, and just three of my classmates bought them all up.’

Sheng Shiwu strode into the Su family’s living room with his head held high, looking proud and full of himself.

"Grandpa Gu—ah! Dad... Wh-what are you doing here?"

Mr. Sheng watched his third son swagger in, looking as if he’d just accomplished something extraordinary for the Su family.

Seeing the boy’s panicked expression, Mr. Sheng figured it couldn’t be any big secret. ’He’s just selling snacks at school.’

"Xiao Wu, how much did you make selling those new snacks for Jiaojiao today?"

"Dad! How did you know I was selling ham sausages today? These things are way better than—"

Sheng Shiwu was just about to brag when he caught Su Shuochi’s glance and immediately clamped both hands over his mouth.

He glared, wide-eyed, silently accusing his father of foul play. ’How could you bait your own son like that!’

He was panicking because his father had caught him in a lie.

Seeing that his son wore every emotion on his sleeve, Mr. Sheng rubbed his nose in embarrassment. He was just about to say that a little white lie was harmless.

Just then, Mr. Gu, Second Brother Gu, and Su Qinchun returned from selling their fried crepes.

Sheng Shiwu immediately dropped his hands and bounded over cheerfully. "Uncle Gu, how much did you make today?"

"We haven’t counted it yet. You can help us after dinner, and you’ll find out," Mr. Gu said, his sallow face breaking into a wide smile.

"Hehe, I bet it’s more than yesterday," Second Brother Gu chimed in. "Xiao Wu, we’re thinking of selling outside your school tomorrow. Think anyone would buy them?"

Second Brother Gu said with a grin, holding up the cardboard box full of cash for Sheng Shiwu to see.

"Whoa, that’s so much money! People will definitely buy them outside my school. Your fried crepes are amazing!"

The two of them, one chubby and one thin, stood in the middle of the living room chattering nonstop, even flailing their arms and legs in their excitement.

Mr. Sheng watched his lively, cheerful son, feeling as if he had been transported back a year.

"Dinner’s ready!" Gu Jiaojiao yelled from the kitchen.

Mr. Su, Mr. Gu, Second Brother Gu, and Sheng Shiwu immediately sprang into action, setting up the tables and chairs.

Others went into the kitchen to bring out the food. Soon, two tables were groaning with dishes. The Su family was eating at two separate tables tonight.

The smaller table only had five people, so the portions there were slightly smaller.

Mr. Sheng was stunned to see that the Su family had made nine dishes for a single meal, but he noticed that the Gu Family and Song Zijie were all perfectly calm.

Even Xiao Wu wasn’t making a fuss, which suggested that life in the Su household was always this good.

He calmly took his seat next to Old Sir Gu at the head of the table and composedly drank the delicious egg and loach soup.

It was only when he tasted the stir-fried river snails that his composure finally cracked. They were just too delicious.

Eight people sat at the main table: Mr. Gu, Eldest Brother Gu, Second Brother Gu, Mr. Su, Mr. Sheng, Song Zijie, Su Shuochi, and Gu Jiaojiao.

Eldest Brother Gu and Song Zijie were both in poor health, but that didn’t stop them from eating quickly and heartily.

Mr. Sheng was a man of few words on a normal day, and with such delicious food in front of him, he was even less inclined to speak.

The only ones talking at the table were Su Shuochi and Gu Jiaojiao, who occasionally murmured a few words to each other.

Su Shuochi attentively placed food on his wife’s plate and would occasionally use the serving chopsticks to add some to the elders’ bowls as well.

No one would ever guess that this cheerful man had, until recently, been moody and unpredictable.

Five people sat at the smaller table: Su’s mother, Mrs. Gu, Sheng Shiwu, Gu Jingtai, and Su Qinchun.

Gu Jingtai and Sheng Shiwu chattered away nonstop, even while eating.

Su’s mother and Mrs. Gu chatted occasionally, helping the younger ones to food from time to time. Su Qinchun, however, said nothing and simply focused on her meal.

Everyone in the living room ate with great relish. The atmosphere was warm and cozy, even in silence.

The Sheng family home, in contrast, was cold and cheerless. Mr. Sheng had sent word that he wouldn’t be home for dinner, claiming he had a social function to attend.

Sheng Shiwu had already announced that morning that he was eating at a classmate’s house.

Sheng Yueyue wasn’t sure if her father was actually at a social function, but she was positive that ’the third idiot’ had gone to the Su family’s house.

"Mom, did Third Brother say which classmate’s house he was going to?"

"I didn’t ask. Xiao Wu has a lot of friends, and they all live in the compound anyway. Yueyue, are you worried about your brother?"

Mrs. Sheng said gently, eagerly placing more food in her daughter’s bowl. "Yueyue, eat up. Why don’t you take tomorrow off as well?"

"Mom, after dinner, why don’t we go check on him at the homes of the classmates he’s closest with?"

’Sheng Yueyue desperately wanted her mother to find out that the third idiot was at that bitch Gu Jiaojiao’s house.’

’But she didn’t want to say so directly. If she was wrong, it would be an awkward mess. It was better to let her mother discover it for herself.’

"Xiao Wu will come back on his own. He’s almost twenty years old, you don’t need to worry about him. Here, have some more."

Mrs. Sheng picked the few pieces of meat out of her own bowl and placed them in her daughter’s. Sheng Yueyue, for her part, gobbled them down without a shred of guilt.

She took a bite of meat, then a bite of rice, eating with gusto. All the while, her eyes darted back and forth as she plotted how to expose ’the third idiot.’

Only three people were present for the Sheng family’s dinner, and there were only three dishes on the table: green beans stir-fried with pork, a luffa soup, and plain stir-fried pumpkin threads.

Sheng Shiwen hadn’t had an appetite at lunch, and his appetite soured even more when he saw his mother give all the meat to his sister. He listlessly picked at the vegetable dishes.

"Mom, has it ever occurred to you that Third Brother might not have gone to a classmate’s house at all?"

Sheng Yueyue asked, her cheeks puffed out as she chewed her meat.

"Yueyue, if Xiao Wu didn’t go to a classmate’s house, where else would he be?" Mrs. Sheng asked gently in return.

’He’s a grown man, it’s not like he could be kidnapped and sold,’ she really wanted to say, but held her tongue, considering her daughter’s delicate constitution.

"How should I know where he went? What kind of mother are you? You don’t care about your son at all."

Mrs. Sheng was left speechless.