“You two should eat less venison and more of the other dishes. Don’t blame me if your noses start bleeding tomorrow morning.”
Although venison tasted great, it was known to cause internal heat if eaten in excess. Even in modern times, people were cautious with farm-raised deer—let alone wild ones like this in such an era.
Xu Feng gave a reminder but still couldn’t control his hand from picking up another bite of venison. He needed to nourish his body in advance—otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to handle the two sisters in the future.
Just as the meal was winding down, Aunt Li arrived with Madam Wang and walked straight into the main hall—rural folk didn’t care much for formalities.
“Aiyo, no wonder it smelled so good. Turns out you cooked three meat dishes at once!”
Aunt Li’s eyes lit up as she looked at the table full of food. This good-for-nothing Xu Feng had really become capable. Still, in her mind, he was wasteful—who cooks all the meat in one go?
But this only solidified Aunt Li’s plan to marry Lin Xixue into her family. If this reckless guy kept bringing home meat, wouldn’t he naturally give some to his sister-in-law? Her whole family could benefit from it.
Unlike Aunt Li’s scheming, Madam Wang’s attention was fully on the meat. The closer she got, the stronger the aroma, making her—who hadn’t touched a single bite of meat for months—swallow involuntarily.
She didn’t dare meet Xu Feng’s eyes and just stood quietly, waiting for Aunt Li to speak first.
“What is it? Something you need?”
Xu Feng hadn’t expected these two uninvited guests. He couldn’t recall them ever visiting before. Now that he had meat in the house, here they came. His tone carried no courtesy at all.
Aunt Li wasn’t fazed. It was as if she had never argued with Xu Feng days ago.
“Xu Feng, Aunt Li wants to discuss something with you…”
She got right to the point, presenting the proposal as if letting Lin Xixue remarry into her family was a heavenly favor.
Just as the sisters were about to speak, Xu Feng raised his hand to stop them.
“Really? I’ve been troubled by this lately too. I didn’t expect Aunt Li to help me solve such a headache.”
Hearing this, Aunt Li’s eyes sparkled. It was settled. A beautiful wife for her eldest son, for free—this would stop all the family arguments.
Lin Xiyue immediately frowned. Having lived next door for so long, how could she not know what kind of person Aunt Li was? If her sister married into that household, she would definitely suffer.
She quickly tugged on Xu Feng’s sleeve, giving him desperate looks to signal not to agree.
Lin Xixue had just begun to change her opinion of her brother-in-law—perhaps even her future man. But hearing those words crushed her. Was her fate truly that pitiful? Was she meant to be tossed around like an object?
Tears welled up in both sisters’ eyes.
“That’s wonderful. Since she’s a second marriage, there’s no need for formalities. Tonight she can share the wedding bed with my son…”
Aunt Li reached out to grab Lin Xixue’s arm as she spoke—her filthy mouth really dared to say anything. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“Wait, Aunt Li, there’s one thing I forgot to mention. You know Wang Jun left behind a mountain of debt. Now that he’s gone, it naturally falls on Xixue. If she marries into your family, your son would be responsible for repaying the 133 yuan.”
As soon as he said that, Aunt Li quickly pulled her hand back from Lin Xixue.
“That was Wang Jun’s debt. Why should my family pay for it?”
The mention of 133 yuan terrified Aunt Li. Meat was only 0.8 yuan per kilogram. Even the Village Chief couldn’t afford to fork over that much. And the debt collectors were gangsters from the city—how could a village woman dare get involved?
“There’s no point telling me. You’ll have to speak to the creditors yourself. That’s why I said I’m grateful Aunt Li wants to help me solve this huge problem. If she weren’t my sister-in-law, I wouldn’t bother with it.”
Only then did the sisters realize Xu Feng was using a tactic—retreating in order to advance.
Lin Xixue caught on immediately and stood up. “Mom, I’ll go back with you now. I can’t bear to drag my sister down anymore.”
“Wait—don’t call me Mom! I’m not your mom!”
That one “Mom” scared Aunt Li to the core. She bolted out of the house without looking back, terrified the 133 yuan debt would stick to her.
Watching Aunt Li flee in such a panic, the sisters couldn’t help but laugh.
With the annoying woman gone, it was now Madam Wang’s turn.
Xu Feng glanced at her but said nothing.
Why had he fallen in with her late husband in his previous life? Honestly, it was because he’d been lusting after Madam Wang.
It wasn’t that she looked better than his wife—he was just foolish and ungrateful.
He didn’t cherish the good woman he had, and instead, coveted another man’s.
In the end, he hadn’t even gotten a taste and was completely ruined by that dead man.
Luckily, Xu Feng had no money and couldn’t afford a prostitute, so only her husband ended up executed by firing squad.
When he learned the man had died, past-life Xu Feng had been overjoyed and often found chances to flirt with the widow.
Unfortunately, being tall and handsome wasn’t enough—without money, she wasn’t interested.
Madam Wang didn’t have the nerve to ask Xu Feng directly, so she turned to Lin Xiyue.
“Xiyue, sister came today with a bit of an awkward request.”
Maybe even she felt embarrassed. Her already tanned face flushed slightly.
Sure, Xu Feng had hit and yelled at her, but wasn’t her man partly to blame for corrupting him?
Seeing that Xiyue wouldn’t answer, Madam Wang’s face fell.
Thinking about her hard life, tears welled up in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Sister Xiyue…”
She didn’t want to bring up the meat anymore. She knew exactly why Xiyue hated her.
Just as she turned to leave, Lin Xiyue called out to her.
Seeing the tear-filled eyes of this unfortunate woman, the kind-hearted Xiyue softened.
Maybe it was sympathy, or maybe it was that she couldn’t blame a widow for her man’s sins.
No matter what, her own husband had changed—while this woman’s never would again.
“The meat was brought back by my husband. Ask him.”
Xu Feng looked at his kind-hearted wife and said, “You decide.”
This was something Xu Feng truly couldn’t make a call on—not because of the meat itself.
If he gave it, Xiyue might suspect he still had feelings for the widow.
If he didn’t, she might feel her compassion had no place to go.
Xiyue said nothing more and went to the kitchen with a bowl. She scooped some leftover chicken and mushroom stew.
Xixue had made a large pot, and although she’d already picked out most of the meat, there were still mushrooms and a few scattered chicken pieces left.
“My child was crying, saying he had no father and no meat to eat. I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I came shamelessly to ask for some. Xiyue, I’m sorry…”
As she spoke, Madam Wang’s tears fell into the bowl.
“It’s all in the past. Go give it to your child quickly.”
Xiyue didn’t want to say any more. The past was the past—they still had a life to live.
…
{Venison = the meat from any kind of deer; originally, the term referred to any kind of edible game. Venison resembles beef and mutton in texture, colour, and other general characteristics. It has virtually the same chemical composition as beef but is less fatty.}