“The taste of this pastry is excellent. May I ask what it’s called?” As Xie Hanshuo tasted the soft, sticky, and sweet zeng gao, a genuine flicker of curiosity appeared in his eyes.
Ye Yao smiled. “It’s called zeng gao.”
She hadn’t made it in a long time, so her technique was inevitably a bit rusty, but fortunately, the taste was mostly acceptable. Weighing her words carefully, she probed, “I was thinking… that if I made a few more batches, I could set up a small stall in the city to sell them. What do you think?”
She actually wanted to start a food business? Xie Hanshuo was slightly surprised. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded and said, “With your excellent skills, if you are willing to try, it is certainly feasible.”
Seeing that he did not oppose it, a genuine smile blossomed across Ye Yao’s features, making her expression appear much lighter. In her previous life, whenever she wanted to go out and make a living, Xie Moyan would claim that as a scholar, his wife showing her face in public was improper, and thus he would oppose it in every possible way. The fact that Xie Hanshuo was now so reasonable—not letting his own preconceived notions constrain her—genuinely warmed her heart.
“Then shall we go down the mountain tomorrow and enter the city together the day after?”
Ye Yao was in a pleasant mood, so much so that even Xie Hanshuo’s perpetual cold face looked much more pleasing. “Tonight, I’ll make you scallion and egg pancakes and boil a pot of pumpkin porridge.”
“Hmm, okay.” Xie Hanshuo’s reply was as brief as ever, but a warm current surged through his heart. He could clearly feel that the invisible barrier between them was quietly dissolving. This easing of tension was not the “mutual respect” Ye Yao had deliberately cultivated, but something truly tangible. Xie Hanshuo had always loathed insincerity; if she wasn’t genuine toward him, why would she bother forcing it? He should have been content to have married the person he longed for, but the human heart is greedy, and he always wanted more. Xie Hanshuo’s gaze couldn’t help but follow Ye Yao’s figure; the scorching passion that he had desperately suppressed and hidden in the depths of his heart for over a decade was now nearly ready to break out of its cage.
The next morning, as the first light of day appeared, the two rose to pack their belongings. Before leaving, Ye Yao carefully hid all five taels of silver earned from the snakes in the crevices of the bricks behind the bed in the east room. Since this room would be hers to inhabit from now on, that spot was as secret and secure as it could get. She wasn’t doing this entirely out of suspicion of Xie Hanshuo; it was simply because the family had not yet divided their assets! Mother Xie and Xie Moyan would inevitably set their sights on this income. If it came to a direct confrontation, she could manage, but she only worried that Mother Xie would resort to soft, pleading words, acting weak and pitiful. Even if Xie Hanshuo’s character was unyielding, when faced with his closest kin, he might not always be able to harden his heart. Ye Yao did not intend to divide the household or burn bridges yet, but she didn’t want him to be torn in the middle over this matter, so she could only hide the money to handle things calmly later. After all, only by securing the silver could there be room for maneuver.
Sure enough, when Mother Xie saw the cart loaded with game entering the courtyard, with Xie Hanshuo leading a mountain goat by the rope, she immediately walked up with a face full of smiles, greeting them warmly: “Oh, Second Son, you’ve finally returned! Have you eaten this morning? Hurry back to the room and rest; Mother will make dumplings for you at noon. What filling would you like?”
As Mother Xie spoke, her muddy phoenix eyes were already glued to the pheasants and hares on the cart. She calculated incessantly: just how much silver was this entire cart of game worth…? If the goat in the yard were sold, it would be exactly enough to pay for Moyan’s tuition and buy a few more doses of restorative medicine. If she could keep a leg of the goat to stew into a soup, it would be perfect for nourishing Moyan’s health. By the way, she could have him take some to the county school to share with his classmates, so those rich children who looked down on others would see that her son’s scholarship was the most outstanding. If it weren’t for the burden of their family’s poverty, how could he have struggled so much? Thinking of this, the bit of empathy Mother Xie had felt upon seeing Xie Hanshuo return vanished without a trace. Now, the most important thing was to exhaust everything to pave the way for her precious eldest son; everything else was insignificant.
“Mother, let’s have cabbage and pork dumplings for lunch. Please make plenty.” Xie Hanshuo was completely oblivious to Mother Xie’s thoughts. He simply pulled the cart to the backyard, tied the goat in the cowshed, and set off again with his bamboo basket to cut grass. The sheep and rabbits at home needed to be fed; they couldn’t be left hungry.
After he left, Ye Yao watched Mother Xie’s impatient and greedy behavior with cold eyes, a trace of mockery crossing her lips. At this moment, Ye Hanzhu came out of the room at the sound. Having not seen her for half a month, Ye Yao almost failed to recognize her: the woman before her was sallow-faced and haggard, her fingers swollen like radishes and incredibly rough—gone was even a trace of her former beauty. Seeing Ye Yao, a venomous hatred erupted in Ye Hanzhu’s eyes. These past two weeks, she had been working like a beast of burden at home; the autumn river water was icy, and Xie Moyan demanded extreme cleanliness, meaning his clothes had to be washed daily—her hands were almost frozen through because of it! Meanwhile, that bitch Ye Yao had been able to go up the mountain with the second Xie son, enjoying leisure, eating meat, and living well! Look at her—her face had rounded out, her complexion was rosy, and her figure was plump; Ye Yao hadn’t suffered the slightest bit! Looking at herself, being bossed around by Mother Xie and having endless chores the moment she opened her eyes—how could she not hate her!
“Sister and Brother-in-law are back,” Ye Hanzhu forced out a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “In the time Sister was gone, all the household chores fell on me; it was truly exhausting. Now that you’re back, I can finally get some rest.”
This was a blatant attempt to push all the chores onto Ye Yao. Before Ye Yao could speak, Mother Xie had already preempted her with complaints: “Exactly! With so much work at home, you were off hiding and enjoying yourself with the Second Son! You should take on more for the next few days; Zhu’er is exhausted and needs a good rest.”
With that, Mother Xie’s eyes rolled, and she added naturally: “By the way, remember to tell the Second Son to leave two rabbits and two chickens for his eldest brother and sister-in-law to nourish their health—they’ve been worn out these past few days. Also, leave a leg of the goat; I have a use for it.”
Ye Yao couldn’t even bother to retort to Ye Hanzhu; she was stunned by Mother Xie’s shameless calculating! She wanted to use her as a tool and make her open her mouth to ask? So even Mother Xie knew these words were hard to say? The calculations of the three of them were almost jumping off their faces; how truly shameless! If one talks about hardship, who isn’t suffering? Xie Hanshuo had spent half a month deep in dangerous mountains, risking his life to hunt—wasn’t he tired? Yet now, the three of them wanted to claim the spoils with empty mouths—where did they get the gall!
Ye Yao sneered inwardly, but on the surface, she feigned misery: “Mother, I don’t mind doing more chores at home. But as for this game… I cannot make the decisions.”
“Useless thing, I knew I couldn’t count on you!” Mother Xie scolded viciously and simply charged into the backyard, picking out the fattest two chickens and rabbits and carrying them away impatiently, as if the meat would fly away if she were even a second slower. Ye Hanzhu followed closely behind, looking as proud as if the items had been theirs all along. After Mother Xie finished, she strutted over to Ye Yao and boasted:
“Sister, you probably don’t know yet, right? My husband achieved first place in the county school’s essay exam a few days ago! Even the county magistrate praised his scholarship and rewarded him with many books!”