“Mom, don’t worry, leave it to me.”
Song Sihai’s face was practically beaming with delight. As long as he didn’t have to work, he’d do whatever his mother asked.
…
As dusk fell, Old Mrs. Wang, with her raspy voice, shouted for Shen Xiuzhen to get up and cook.
In those days, to save on grain, most households in the village only ate two meals a day.
But Old Mrs. Wang didn’t care about that. Three meals a day had to be served on time, no exceptions.
As for whether there was enough grain to eat—that was the third branch’s problem to worry about. What did it have to do with an old woman like her?
Shen Xiuzhen heard her but pretended not to, continuing to stitch shoe soles by the dim lamplight.
“Mom, Xiuzhen isn’t feeling well. If you want to eat, you can cook for yourself.”
Song Shulin opened the door, informed Old Mrs. Wang, then decisively went back inside and shut the door.
Old Mrs. Wang was so furious she stomped her feet, redirecting her anger toward Song Dani and Song Erni.
“Dani, Erni, why aren’t you two rolling out of bed to cook? Are you waiting for a ready-made meal?”
Song Dani, being thin-skinned, felt deeply upset after being scolded by Old Mrs. Wang. She immediately opened the door and headed to the kitchen to cook.
“Sis, have you forgotten what Mom told us?”
Song Erni stopped her, but Song Dani said earnestly, “Erni, if I don’t cook, Mom and Dad will go hungry tonight too.”
With that, she pushed Song Erni aside and made for the kitchen.
“Fourth Brother, come quick! Big Sis isn’t listening to Mom and is going to work!”
Song Erni’s shout roused Song Sihai from his sweet dreams.
He got out of bed barefoot, hurried to the room where the two sisters lived, asked Song Erni for the lock, and promptly locked both sisters inside.
“Stay put and lie down. Missing one meal won’t kill you.”
Song Sihai yawned and returned to his own room.
Old Mrs. Wang witnessed this scene clearly and angrily cursed Song Sihai from head to toe, inside and out.
Song Sihai, thick-skinned, ignored her completely, lay down, and went back to sleep.
Since the third branch refused to cook, the first and second branches naturally refused as well.
What a joke!
Ever since Shen Xiuzhen married into the family, they hadn’t done any household chores.
Over twenty years had passed, and they had long grown accustomed to a life where clothes were handed to them and meals were served. Why should they start cooking now?
Whoever wanted to cook could do it—they certainly weren’t going to.
And so, that night, everyone in the Song family went to bed hungry.
The next day, as dawn broke, Shen Xiuzhen and Song Shulin got up.
The couple first went to the kitchen, simply made some coarse grain pancakes, cooked a pot of millet porridge, then served the food and brought it to their children’s rooms.
After having a few bites themselves, the couple took some coarse grain pancakes, rode Song Weimin’s bicycle, and headed straight for the coal mine where Song Dajiang worked.
Old Mrs. Wang and the couples from the first and second branches, hearing the clattering sounds from the kitchen, thought that after a night’s time, the third branch couple had returned to their old ways, getting up early to cook for them again.
Secretly pleased, they thought to themselves: Look at them—the third branch couple is just born to toil.
It was still early, so they turned over and went back to sleep.
Only after sleeping their fill did they lazily get up and get dressed.
“Dalin, after breakfast, let’s go to my parents’ house to borrow money. Weimin’s marriage can’t be delayed any longer.”
With the third branch unwilling to provide money, Zhao Guifang had no choice but to think of other ways.
Song Dalin nodded as he pulled on his pants. “First, let’s get the child’s wedding settled. As for repaying the money, we’ll leave that to the third brother.”
Zhao Guifang frowned. “Will the third brother really pay it back?”
“He has to, whether he wants to or not. It’s not up to him.” Song Dalin was brimming with confidence. With that lame leg of his, the third branch would have to serve them like oxen and horses for the rest of their lives.
As the couple chatted, Old Mrs. Wang’s scolding voice echoed from the courtyard again.
“Which lazybones cooked and didn’t clean up the kitchen? Why don’t they just die of laziness?”
Old Mrs. Wang’s head was buzzing. She had hoped to enjoy a ready-made meal, but when she entered the kitchen, there was no meal waiting—only a pile of unwashed pots, bowls, and utensils left for her to clean up.
Hearing the scolding, Liu Zhaodi also walked over to the kitchen to take a look.
“Mother, it must have been the third sister-in-law who did this.”
Old Mrs. Wang: “…”
Did she really need to be told who did it? Was Liu Zhaodi’s input necessary?
“I already told you that the third brother and his wife are possessed. You still don’t believe me.” Liu Zhaodi pursed her lips, showing no intention of cleaning up the kitchen herself.
With so many people in the household, it wasn’t her turn to clean up anyway.
Old Mrs. Wang suddenly remembered the few solitary graves near their family’s fields. The third branch couple worked there year-round, and it was entirely possible they had picked up something unclean.
Her eyes darted around as she pondered whether to invite the village shaman to perform an exorcism on the third branch couple.
“Where’s my bicycle?”
When Song Weimin came out of his room, he noticed the bicycle parked by the door was gone, and his expression instantly darkened.
He was in a hurry to go to the county town to find Wu Meili and discuss the marriage with her.
Without the bicycle, he would have to walk for half a day.
Old Mrs. Wang, forgetting the mess in the kitchen, immediately helped her precious grandson look for the bicycle.
“Isn’t it in your room?”
“No, it’s not!”
“Then where could it have gone?”
“Could it have been stolen?”
In an instant, everyone in the Song family rushed out of their rooms to help Song Weimin search for the bicycle.
This was their family’s most valuable possession. If it were lost, the loss would be immense.
“Third brother, third sister-in-law, come out here right now!”
Old Mrs. Wang shouted again at the top of her lungs for Song Weimin and Shen Xiuzhen, but they didn’t come out. Instead, Song Sihai emerged.
“Grandma, stop looking. My parents took the bicycle.”
“What?” Song Weiman was furious. “That’s my bicycle. How dare they just take it without saying a word?”
Song Sihai rolled his eyes so hard they nearly reached the sky. “What do you mean your bicycle? Does it have your name on it? That bicycle was bought with money my parents borrowed. Why can’t they ride it?”
Ever since Song Weimin started dating Wu Meili, he had been pestering the family for a bicycle and a wristwatch.
He claimed that without a bicycle and a watch, Wu Meili wouldn’t continue seeing him.
To secure their son’s future, the eldest branch couple had once again used the lame leg as leverage, forcing the third branch couple to borrow money to buy the bicycle for Song Weimin.
The borrowed money still hadn’t been repaid to this day.
“Where are Third Uncle and Third Aunt?” Song Weimin asked, his expression dark and brooding.
“How should I know? I’m not the worm in my parents’ stomachs.” Song Sihai snorted coldly. He wouldn’t tell, just to infuriate the little bastard.
Let him strut around arrogantly in front of me all the time. What a stupid fool.
“This is outrageous, absolutely outrageous,” Old Mrs. Wang exclaimed, grabbing a broomstick to strike Song Sihai.
Song Sihai reacted swiftly, slamming the door shut with a loud “bang.” Through the crack in the door, he said:
“Granny, I suggest you treat me better, or when my parents come back, I’ll tell on you, say you’re mistreating us siblings, and make them split from the family!”
With the third son and his wife not at home, Old Mrs. Wang wasn’t afraid of Song Sihai’s threats.
She’d beat him first and talk later.
“You little brat, you want to tell on me? Go ahead! When they get back, I’ll beat them too, those ungrateful wretches. Three days without a beating, and they dare to tear the roof tiles off…”