“It hurts so bad—!”
“Where did this little thief come from? Don’t let Grandpa Liu catch you. You clearly don’t know who you’re messing with!”
“Awoooo…”
“Don’t move again! This medicine is expensive, and you can’t afford to pay for it if you spill it!”
“Granny Huang, is this medicine even effective? Why does it still hurt so much? Aaahhhh!”
Leaning against the wall, Xu Changnian listened to the wailing and screaming inside. The satisfaction was beyond words. This was just a little interest for today—there were still plenty of accounts to settle.
But someone was actually treating Liu Ermazi’s wounds?
Xu Changnian peeked through a crack in the wall and saw an elderly woman in a gray robe. Digging through the original memories, he remembered now—she was a spirit medium in the village. No idea what her actual name was, but everyone called her Granny Huang.
Whenever villagers had headaches or minor illnesses, they went to her for medicine. Whether it worked or not was another question. In ancient rural areas, proper doctors were rare.
People like spirit mediums and fortune-tellers held great influence. Though Xu Changnian knew most of them were frauds, bluffing with talk of spirits and ghosts, illiterate peasants in ancient times had no way of knowing better.
They hadn’t even gone through compulsory education…
…
As the sky darkened and the cold deepened, it was time to head home for wine and meat!
On the way back, Xu Changnian hummed a tune, walking with a spring in his step.
At the Xu household, Yun Niang—normally the busiest one—had an unusually relaxing afternoon after Shen Yourong stayed behind.
Washing dishes, scrubbing pots, and sweeping the courtyard were all tasks Shen Yourong rushed to do, leaving Yun Niang just watching.
“Sister, take a break—if you collapse, your man will come for me with a vengeance.”
“Sister-in-law, I’m not tired.”
“Aiya, fine, I won’t fight you for it. Let me teach you how to sweep.”
Yun Niang looked helpless.
Shen Yourong was clearly a lady from a wealthy family, having never done a day of hard labor. She was eager and hardworking, but clueless.
Holding the broom, she swept back and forth for ages with little effect. After much coaxing, Yun Niang finally took the broom and told her to just watch and learn.
“So I should go with the wind’s direction, not use too much force, and sweep in a zigzag along the ground… Sister-in-law, I got it now. Let me try again.”
Breathing heavily, Shen Yourong watched Yun Niang for a while and finally understood the trick. But Yun Niang ignored her and just kept sweeping silently.
If Shen Yourong were unreasonable, Yun Niang would have driven her out with a stick. But the more sensible she acted, the more Yun Niang’s heart ached.
She couldn’t bring herself to say a single harsh word. She genuinely liked these two sisters, but the Xu family couldn’t afford to keep them.
Shen Yourong glanced around, trying to find more chores to do… and ran to the well to draw water.
Meanwhile, her younger sister and Xiao Yue were in the room, whispering over half a book. They got along quite well. With Xiaoyue around, Shen Wei’s nerves had eased a lot.
Bang!
The front door was pushed open hard by Xu Changnian, slamming into the wall and nearly falling apart.
“Wife, I’m home! Sister-in-law, this courtyard looks spotless…”
Before he could finish, Yun Niang grabbed the broom and glared at him. He hadn’t noticed—the door was old and fragile.
“What are you yelling for? The door’s broken now. Go get us a new one!” Yun Niang grit her teeth, her chest heaving.
Seeing Xu Changnian made her furious. If Shen Yourong weren’t standing nearby, she would’ve smacked him with the broom already. This bastard—couldn’t he act like a decent person just for one day?
“Hey hey hey, Sister-in-law, look! I caught a wild rabbit on the mountain and brought back two jars of wine!”
“Tonight, we’ve got meat and drinks!”
Seeing Yun Niang about to strike, Xu Changnian quickly raised both hands, wearing a smug grin. First day back and he’d already brought meat for dinner—wasn’t that impressive? He waited, expecting praise.
“You went hunting? That wine and rabbit—who’d you steal them from? Return them now.”
Yun Niang eyed the rabbit, weighing over 1.5 kilograms, full of suspicion. You hunted that? More likely stolen!
“Xiao Yue gets to eat meat tonight~”
Shen Wei, inside the room, looked through the window crack and gently rubbed Xiaoyue’s cheek.
“Hmph!”
“Whenever Uncle has something tasty, he keeps it all to himself and never gives me a bite.” Xiao Yue pouted. But just thinking about stewed rabbit made her mouth water.
Ever since Grandpa hurt his leg, it had been ages since the Xu family had seen meat—thicker porridge was a luxury.
Shen Wei sighed and looked at her sister outside.
The two of them exchanged a silent glance.
Could they even have a say in matters of the Xu family?
“Where’d you find that Frozen Rabbit?”
Xu Changnian was still awkwardly standing there, mind racing for a way to explain things to Yun Niang. At that moment, Xu Tielin stepped out and spoke. He was an old hunter—one look and he could tell what happened.
The rabbit probably ran into a tree and got knocked out. In the freezing cold, it froze solid. The old man secretly let out a breath of relief. Though the third son was still unreliable, at least he had done something decent today.
“Uh, I was heading to the mountain to hunt, but found it at the foot of the mountain.”
“And this wine—it was originally ours. I didn’t trade away any more food… there were two jars left. I brought it all back.”
Xu Changnian raised an eyebrow, speaking with a trace of pride, though he felt a little guilty about mentioning the food-for-wine trade. Well, he couldn’t shake the blame—might as well own it.
“Eat meat? Save it to trade for Millet. That fat rabbit could get us 3-4 kilograms of grain. Those two jars of wine are worth quite a bit too.”
“Enough for the whole family to eat for several days.”
In truth, Yun Niang could also tell where the rabbit came from, but she just felt uneasy. Compared to “picked up while hunting,” she preferred to believe Xu Changnian had stolen it.
Especially seeing those two jars of wine—the anger in her chest nearly exploded. Still, that bastard at least had a shred of humanity this time and brought it back home.
“No need to trade for grain. Let’s eat the rabbit ourselves. Xiao Yue’s still growing. Father needs nourishment too. My two wives also look pale and skinny.”
Xu Changnian blocked Yun Niang’s way, rattling off several excuses, listing everyone in the family. Oh, mother of mine, not a single person in this family looks healthy… They all needed some good food and nutrition.
“No more wine. Stew the rabbit. Yourong, stop spacing out and fetch some water. I’ll skin it. This rabbit really is fat—nearly 2 kilograms.”
Yun Niang shot Xu Changnian a glare. For once, the bastard had said something reasonable. If he’d said it was just because he wanted to eat, she would’ve slapped him right away.
“Mm-hmm.”
Hearing Xu Changnian mention her, Shen Yourong’s nose turned sour, her heart warmed. Ever since their family fell on hard times, Xu Changnian was the first one to show her genuine care.
“You hear that? Your uncle’s getting you some nutrition. You’re having meat tonight.”
The tension on Shen Wei’s face eased a little as she pinched Xiao Yue’s cheek. Maybe that guy wasn’t a complete scoundrel—at least he brought the meat home.
“I don’t believe him. He’s tricked me before, more than once!”
“He got caught stealing food and, scared I’d tell Mother, promised me roast chicken in return. Hmph hmph hmph!”
Xiao Yue still pouted. Shen Wei froze—no wonder everyone called Xu Changnian a scoundrel. He even lied to children. What a piece of work.
Soon, the stove was lit.
Yun Niang skinned the rabbit and tossed it into the pot. There weren’t any spices in the house, only coarse salt, and she didn’t dare use much of it. Salt was expensive—a jin sold for over 100 coins, more than the price of meat.
In rural winters, with no farming or heavy labor, everyone ate light and used little salt. Yet even with this plain boiled rabbit, once the aroma spread, the neighbors couldn’t resist poking their heads out.
“Who’s stewing meat? Smells amazing!”
“From the Xu household?”
“They still have meat to eat? Weren’t they making a scene this morning, bringing back two sick wives?”
“Exactly~”
“Xu Tielin just got out of bed. You think he can go hunting already?”