Shen Nian grabbed the wooden stick she had prepared earlier, keeping a wary eye on the approaching figure.
The shadow drew closer, and suddenly a familiar voice rang out: “Mad girl…”
Shen Nian felt her heart instantly relax. Who would have thought that after being driven out, the first person to appear by the thatched hut would be Li Hong?
Li Hong came up to her, still catching her breath.
“Li Jie, why is it you?”
Li Hong had walked quickly to get there and was now focused on catching her breath, not even noticing that Shen Nian was behaving differently than usual.
“Mad girl, this afternoon I washed your clothes and hung them out to dry. I even patched the holes in them. I also brought you ten jin of potatoes. Don’t run off for the next few days—just make do with these for now.”
Li Hong’s eyes were full of concern. She was a woman without a husband, forced by her in-laws to live in the old house.
She had no support herself and already struggled to raise her two children alone. Seeing Shen Nian also without care, she couldn’t help but want to help.
After all, better to live badly than die well. Shen Nian might seem unstable, but she was actually very obedient.
Shen Nian felt grateful and took the potatoes from Li Hong’s hands with both of hers.
Before Shen Nian could speak, Li Hong patted her hand gently, almost in a comforting gesture, and anxiously said, “Be good, don’t run off. I’ll come see you again tomorrow.”
Li Hong wanted Shen Nian to sleep with the three of them, but if her mother-in-law found out, she would likely kick all four of them out.
Then, not only Shen Nian but the three of them would be homeless.
Li Hong’s mind was still on her children, so she repeated her warnings two or three times as she hurriedly left.
Shen Nian lowered her head, looking at the neatly folded clean clothes and the ten jin of potatoes in her arms, then back at Li Hong’s anxious retreating figure. Tears welled up in her eyes.
She would repay Li Jie’s kindness someday.
She placed the clothes and potatoes inside the thatched hut, then covered the fire pit with soil to make sure it wouldn’t reignite, and finally stepped into the hut.
She propped the wooden door shut with a few thick sticks, lay down in the pile of straw, and covered herself with a straw mat.
She was truly exhausted—within minutes, she fell soundly asleep.
Meanwhile, in the Shen household, the dimly lit room smelled foul. Wang Dahua sat on the kang wiping her tears, while Shen Dafu looked furious.
“What did you say? The silver bracelets in the box, the money, the ration coupons… all gone?”
“Shen Dafu, how many times have I told you? Our house really was robbed! Do you think I’m lying? This isn’t a joke!”
Shen Dafu tore at his hair in frustration.
“I thought you were making this up so we wouldn’t have to pay Old Man Liu! Ancestors above… how are we supposed to live after this as a family? Are you an idiot? Who leaves money just lying in an iron box? Why didn’t you throw yourself in instead?”
The old lady, Huaikua, was so angry she nearly spat blood.
“Cursed! Truly cursed! I should have drowned that madwoman in a chamber pot when she was born. Ever since she came into this world, our family’s life has been miserable. Both mother and daughter are jinxes. Why take the old one and not the young one? What are we going to do now? The money’s stolen, the pig’s gone… cursed!”
Huaikua ground her teeth in rage, wishing she could turn back time and strangle Shen Nian with her own hands.
She slammed her cane heavily onto Wang Dahua. “You’re useless! Can’t handle even a small thing. What else can you do? Now the money’s gone—how will your daughter’s dowry be prepared? What about my precious grandson Er’Duan’s tuition?”
Wang Dahua, already furious, grabbed Huaikua’s cane and snapped it with her knee with a loud crack.
“How should I know? The money wasn’t lost on purpose! Try hitting me with this thing again, and I’ll take my grandson and remarry!”
Wang Dahua’s warning made Huaikua furious.
“See if I don’t dare! If I’m pushed, I can do anything!”
The family had been huddled together all afternoon. Wang Dahua hadn’t even cooked dinner, and that damn girl Shen Nian had eaten all the chicken in the pot, not leaving a single drop of soup.
The house reeked; tonight, it was probably unlivable.
Shen Dafu returned that afternoon and patched the walls with yellow soil.
Huaikua glared viciously at Wang Dahua, then whispered to Shen Dafu, “Come with me, son. I need to talk to you.”
Wobbling, she went to the backyard, with Shen Dafu following closely.
In the pitch-black room, Huaikua sat by the kang and whispered, “Son, the money’s gone. Life’s going to be difficult from now on. I’ve thought about it. If it comes to it, we could just kill her and toss her in the lake. Once she’s gone, she won’t cause us trouble again. But thinking it over, just letting her die like that seems like too easy an escape for her.”
Shen Dafu was frustrated. “Mother, I’m worried too. What should we do?”
“I think, if necessary, tie her up and lock her in the old courtyard. There are plenty of bachelors in this village with no wives. Charge them a little fee for a night, and when it’s over, just kill her and bury her. That’s all.”
Shen Dafu’s mind went fuzzy, suddenly recalling a rainy night from years ago.
Huaikua, seeing he didn’t respond, continued: “Son, she’s mad. After this stunt with Old Man Liu, who’d want her? Keep it secret, and as long as there’s money to spend, it’s fine.”
Her tone was casual, as if speaking of nothing more than an insignificant weed, easily plucked.
A door slammed in the front yard, snapping Shen Dafu out of his thoughts. His voice sounded weak.
“Mother, let me think a bit more.”
Hearing this, the old woman was immediately displeased, scolding him with frustration: “Bah! You’re useless! I already thought of the options for you. You just won’t try. There are only two choices: either strangle her and throw her in the river, or tie her up to make money. I gave birth to you. Before you, I had two daughters. Your father said daughters are money-losers—one was smothered by your grandmother, the other drowned in a chamber pot. You decide.”
Huaikua’s voice was calm, devoid of any emotion, as if the matter had nothing to do with her.
These were the things their grandparents had told them about when they were young. Listening now, Shen Dafu felt an indescribable mix of emotions.
He hated Shen Nian, yes—but after all, she was his own flesh and blood.
Seeing he didn’t speak, the old woman grew impatient.
“Well, speak up!”
“Mother! I’ll think about it. You should get some rest.”
“Rest? Ha! Sleep? I haven’t eaten yet. Your wife is getting more outrageous, not even cooking a meal. I worked my whole life in your Shen family, and now at my age, I can’t even get a single meal? If you don’t deal with her, she’ll think she can boss people around. If I were you, I’d beat her—make her obey, train her like livestock!”
Shen Dafu, already angry, grabbed a wooden stick nearby and stormed toward the front yard in a fury.