Chapter 1653
Flattery is nothing but bootlicking
Wang An wanted to complain to his father, but Wang Dazhu didn't even respond. He just looked at the boiled fish and fish head soup and nodded, saying:
"This dish is really good. I must have a good drink with it at noon today. Hmm, not bad, really not bad."
Saying it was really good, Wang Dazhu turned around and walked towards the well platform.
Wang An hurriedly said:
"Hey, Dad, what are you doing?"
Without even hearing what Wang An said, Wang Dazhu had already walked far away. Wang An sighed helplessly, picked up the rice bowl, and went into the house.
After a while, Wang Xiaomei and Wang Xiaoli, along with Xiao Lai, came home from school. Once Shen Wei also came in, the family officially started their meal.
At the dinner table, Liu Guilan changed her previous attitude when she called Wang An a "spendthrift." While serving fish to Wang Xiaomei, Wang Xiaoli, and Xiao Lai, she praised Wang An, saying:
"Xiao An, your boiled fish is delicious. If Xue Qing likes it, you should make it every now and then. Don't be so lazy and do nothing all day long. Anyway, we have plenty of soybean oil at home."
Wang An looked at his mother with a surprised expression and was about to speak when Liu Guilan continued:
"Besides, there are still a lot of soybeans in the warehouse. We should take them to the oil mill to press them into oil one of these days. Otherwise, when it gets hot, a lot of those soybeans will be wasted if they start to rot."
The "niuzi" that Liu Guilan mentioned is a type of scale insect, also called "young larva" or "cow larva" in some places.
However, this thing is scientifically called a corn weevil, also known as a weevil, and it's only about the size of a sesame seed.
As soon as summer arrives, this filthy thing pops up. It appears out of nowhere in grains like soybeans, mung beans, corn, and rice, and it's incredibly disgusting.
After Liu Guilan finished speaking, Wang An was completely dumbfounded. The main problem was that his mother's attitude changed too quickly. Had she forgotten what she said before, such as "making boiled fish is wasteful of oil" and "making boiled fish is a waste of money"?
No wonder everyone around me has said I change my expression quickly since I was a child, that I'm a "sour-faced dog"—it turns out that "like mother, like son"!
That's what he thought, but Wang An smiled and flattered his mother, saying:
"Okay, Mom, from now on, whenever you and Dad want to eat boiled fish, just tell your eldest son, and he'll make sure you get everything you need."
When he finished speaking, Wang An patted his chest, displaying a loyal attitude of being ready to obey orders at any time.
Liu Guilan was quite satisfied with her eldest son's attitude, and a smile appeared on her face as she was about to speak when her younger sister, Wang Xiaomei, suddenly said:
"Brother, do you know what the word 'flattery' means?"
After Wang Xiaomei finished speaking, Wang An was stunned for a moment. Did they learn the word "flattery" in the second grade of elementary school?
Before Wang An could explain, Wang Xiaomei continued:
“Our teacher said that flattery means sycophancy and bootlicking, and what you just did was flattery.”
After Wang Xiaomei finished speaking, everyone at the table paused for a moment, and then they all burst into laughter. Wang An naturally joined in the laughter as well.
I must say, Wang Xiaomei's description is quite accurate, without a single flaw.
After laughing, Wang An pretended to be angry and said to Wang Xiaomei:
"Wang Xiaomei, how dare you say that about your older brother? You dare to say that I'm a sycophant and a bootlicker? I've been spoiling you for nothing all these years."
After Wang An finished speaking, the laughter at the dinner table grew even louder, with everyone laughing so hard they forgot to chew their food.
When dealing with his younger brother Wang Yi, and his two younger sisters Wang Xiaomei and Wang Xiaoli, Wang An always acted as a good older brother, and he would basically grant their every request.
In local parlance, Wang An spoiled his younger siblings rotten.
There was no way around it; in Wang An's previous life, he felt that as the eldest brother, he owed his younger siblings far too much in terms of taking care of their parents.
Therefore, as long as his younger siblings didn't make any outrageous requests, Wang An would agree to them. Otherwise, in the 80s, when bicycles weren't common, how could Wang An have so readily agreed to Wang Yi's request and bought him a motorcycle so readily?
Even in the 21st century, motorcycles are still the dream car for most families.
Therefore, apart from Wang Yi, who is now in junior high school and has become fully sensible and knows how powerful Wang An is outside, and also respects Wang An as his older brother, Wang Xiaomei and Wang Xiaoli are not afraid of Wang An at all. It is common for them to talk back to Wang An occasionally.
After Wang An finished speaking, Wang Xiaomei pouted and said in a serious tone:
"I'm not talking about you, I'm just stating a fact. What you just did was exactly the same as when our teacher was explaining flattery."
Wang An pretended to be angry and said:
"Hmph, Wang Xiaomei, let me tell you, I've made you sad. If you ever ask me for money to buy this or that again, I definitely won't bring it to you."
Wang Xiaomei could naturally tell whether Wang An was truly angry or just pretending, and said with a smug look:
"Then I'll ask you for it again when you're not sad anymore. Anyway, I still have some pocket money these two days."
After a pause, perhaps worried that her older brother, this ATM, might really stop giving her money, Wang Xiaomei suddenly blew Wang An a kiss in the air and then said in a cheeky tone:
"My older brother is the best to me, isn't he my older brother?"
Wang Xiaomei's sudden reversal caused the laughter that had subsided at the dinner table to erupt again instantly.
It must be admitted that Wang Xiaomei is very good at manipulating her older brother.
Wang An rolled his eyes at Wang Xiaomei and said, pretending to be annoyed:
"Get the hell out of here! I've seen through everything. There's no good thing about being your older brother."
At this moment, Wang Xiaomei shoveled the last mouthful of rice into her mouth, then picked up a piece of boiled fish with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. Then, shaking her little head, she said in a very exaggerated manner:
"It's so delicious! My older brother's cooking is so fragrant, it's making me dizzy with the aroma."
But after Wang Xiaomei finished speaking, no one responded. Everyone was watching Wang Xiaomei, this quirky little girl, and laughing. Everyone wanted to see how Wang Xiaomei would continue her performance.
However, Wang Xiaomei didn't mind. She put down her chopsticks, left her seat, and walked over to Wang An's place. Then she put her arms around Wang An's neck and said in a long, sweet voice:
"Big brother~~, big brother~~~, you've always been the best to me, haven't you? Please forgive me, okay?"
Wang An remained unmoved and silent. Wang Xiaomei then moved Wang An's head and kissed him on the big face.
Wang wiped his face with feigned disgust and said helplessly:
"Alright, alright, just stay away from me. If you stop making me angry a couple of times, you'll have everything you need."
Wang Xiaomei pinched Wang An's big face and said with a grin:
"So, brother, are you not angry anymore?"
Wang An tilted his head back, pretending to be annoyed by her, and said:
"Yes, yes, I'm not angry anymore, I'm not angry anymore, just stay away from me."
Wang Xiaomei, however, persisted:
"What if your closest sister asked you for money, would you give it to her?"
Wang An pushed Wang Xiaomei away and said with a helpless expression:
"Hey, here you go, take it or leave it, can't you just let me finish my meal in peace?"
The crowd laughed non-stop as they watched the brother and sister's comical antics. (End of Chapter)