Yang Zhigang smiled. “Alright, Laoliu, just take it. Just drive more steadily in the future, that’s all. I’m busy today, but I’ll invite you for a drink this weekend.”
“Then I won’t stand on ceremony.” Song Laoliu laughed and accepted the fish, thinking that Yang Zhigang and Han Xiaorui were very generous; a single large yellow croaker was worth over ten yuan.
After Yang Zhigang left, Han Xiaorui led Pingping and An’an inside. “Wash your little hands, let’s eat. Mommy made something delicious for you today.”
When Han Xiaojing heard her sister say there was good food, she immediately started salivating. “Sister, what are we eating today?”
Han Xiaorui smiled. “The giant grouper I caught yesterday. I made five dishes, come and eat quickly.”
Han Xiaojing served the rice, her eyes fixed on the dishes on the table. “Sister, this is braised giant grouper, and this… oh my, is this fish skin? Can you eat this?”
Han Xiaorui swallowed. “This cold-dressed giant grouper skin has the best texture. Its skin is very thick and full of collagen, translucent and jelly-like. It’s slippery, fragrant, crisp, and chewy—it makes you feel refreshed when you eat it.”
“There’s also steamed giant grouper head and belly in a lotus leaf cage, our favorite pickled mustard green giant grouper slices, and braised giant grouper fins with garlic and pork belly. Since children can’t eat spicy food, I didn’t add chili, but I prepared a spicy dipping sauce for you. If you don’t think it’s spicy enough, you can dip it in the sauce.”
Han Xiaojing nodded repeatedly; the food at her sister’s place was truly excellent. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s eat!”
Giant grouper has very few bones, so Han Xiaorui quickly picked out a lot of meat for the two children and put it in their bowls. Seeing their mother and aunt eating so happily, Pingping and An’an began to eat as well. When they tasted the delicious grouper meat, the children’s eyes lit up, and their small spoons kept scooping it into their mouths. Pingping liked the braised grouper meat, while An’an preferred the cold-dressed grouper skin. Eating such delicious food, their big eyes were sparkling, and they were enjoying it immensely!
Just as Han Xiaorui finished her meal, she heard a hurried knocking at the door outside.
“Xiaojing, watch the kids, I’ll go see who it is.” Han Xiaorui set down her bowl and chopsticks and went to open the door. Looking through the gap in the door, she saw that it was actually Zhang Xiufang.
“Aunt Zhang, what are you here for?” Han Xiaorui was very polite; even though Zhang Xiufang was despicable, she wanted to set a good example for her children.
Zhang Xiufang shouted irritably, “Did Yang Zhigang give you the money from selling the fish? That’s over seven thousand yuan! You heartless thing, you’re already divorced, yet you’re still snatching money from our family. I don’t know what kind of love potion you fed Yang Zhigang.”
When Han Xiaorui heard this, a wave of anger rushed to her head. “What are you talking about! Who are you listening to? I caught over seven hundred jin of large yellow croakers myself; everyone at the village pier knows it.”
“Pingping and An’an’s grandfather saw that Song Laoer was trying to cheat me with a low price, so he offered to help me sell them. They were my fish, so of course the money belongs to me!”
Zhang Xiufang jumped up. “You think I don’t know you? You’re so thin that a gust of wind could blow you into the sea, yet you can catch fish? You talk a better game than you can play. Open the door and give me the money, or I’ll stand here at your door and curse you.”
“You shameless harlot, since Jianguo doesn’t want you anymore, you’ve started seducing your father-in-law. Truly shameless and vulgar. No wonder Yang Zhigang treats you so well; it turns out he wanted to take my place and push me out!”
…
Hearing Zhang Xiufang say things that were becoming increasingly outrageous, three black lines appeared on Han Xiaorui’s forehead. If she didn’t teach this unreasonable, foolish woman a lesson today, she would really think Han Xiaorui was easy to bully.
She didn’t open the door or get into an argument. Instead, she went inside to call the police, reporting that someone was spreading rumors and attempting to steal money. Han Xiaorui found the number Ye Feng had left her and called him, asking him to testify that those fish were caught by her. Ye Feng received the call and indicated that he would immediately come with the local police to provide testimony.
Additionally, she called Yang Zhigang’s aquatic wholesale shop. When Yang Zhigang heard that Zhang Xiufang was cursing at Han Xiaorui’s door, he was so angry his eyes went dark, and a salty, metallic taste filled his throat. Yang Zhigang had been a proud man his whole life—why was he cursed with such a wife and son?
“Xiaorui, I’ll be there immediately.” Yang Zhigang gritted his teeth. “Some bastard must be running their mouth to your mother-in-law—no, to Jianguo’s mother!” He had only intended to help Han Xiaorui, but he hadn’t expected to bring so much trouble upon her.
Seeing that Han Xiaorui wouldn’t open the door or argue back, Zhang Xiufang thought she was feeling guilty and began cursing even more fiercely. Han Xiaojing wanted to go out and fight with Zhang Xiufang, but Han Xiaorui pulled her back. “Don’t go. If a dog bites you, can you bite the dog back?”
Han Xiaojing was infuriated, her brows furrowed. “Are we just going to let her curse? If we don’t handle her, how will we be able to hold our heads high here in the future?”
It was already hard enough for a divorced woman to be gossiped about and bullied! She really wanted to help her sister; she couldn’t let her be mistreated.
Han Xiaorui smiled and shook the cassette recorder she was holding. “We’ll record her voice. This will be the evidence that she cursed and slandered me. As long as I refuse to forgive her, she is very likely to be detained. Isn’t that more satisfying than us cursing until our mouths are foaming?”
Yang Jianguo had bought this recorder; now it was being used to deal with his mother, which was making the best use of it. She had replaced it with new batteries and a new empty tape and pressed the record button. All of Zhang Xiufang’s foul-mouthed insults, threats, and the sounds of her kicking and pounding on the door were recorded in their entirety.
Han Xiaorui sneered inwardly. The louder Zhang Xiufang cursed now, the harder it would be for her to get out of this later. Zhang Xiufang was getting more and more excited, and many people from the neighborhood had gathered to watch the spectacle.
Wu Cuicui had heard that her second aunt was cursing at Han Xiaorui’s door and rushed over. “Second Aunt, please go home. You don’t care about Xiaorui, but don’t you care at all about Pingping and An’an? Those are our Yang family’s children!”
Zhang Xiufang was a show-off; the more people there were, the more she fueled her ego. She used to worry that Han Xiaorui wouldn’t divorce her son and would cling to him. But now that Han Xiaorui was divorced, she had no reservations, so she naturally did whatever made her happy.
“Han Xiaorui, you shameless thing, you cheated us out of our money. That old man, your father-in-law, has many tricks up his sleeve, and he’s long been bewitched by this fox spirit. The seven thousand plus yuan from selling the yellow croakers was all given to this little vixen!”
The onlookers whispered to each other.
“Yang Zhigang is an honest man, surely he wouldn’t do that, right?”
“Who knows? I see Yang Zhigang coming here often. They’re divorced, yet he still comes to his former daughter-in-law’s place. Maybe there really is something going on. After all, Zhang Xiufang is his wife; she would know best.”
“I think Zhang Xiufang might have misunderstood. I was at the pier at noon too. Han Xiaorui came back first with hundreds of jin of large yellow croakers. Yang Zhigang just helped her sell them; he didn’t catch them.”
…
Yang Zhigang rode his motorcycle and arrived quickly. Seeing the layers of people crowded in front of Han Xiaorui’s house, he rushed in. “Zhang Xiufang, have you lost your mind? What kind of nonsense are you spouting! Those fish were caught by Xiaorui, I just helped her sell them.”
Zhang Xiufang didn’t believe Han Xiaorui was capable of that at all; she firmly believed that Yang Zhigang had given the money to her. “Oh, you call her ‘Xiaorui’ so sweetly! Yang Zhigang, have you been bewitched by this new fox spirit?”
Yang Zhigang was enraged and raised his hand to strike her. “If you spout nonsense again, I’ll beat you to death.”
Zhang Xiufang threw a tantrum, grabbing Yang Zhigang’s hand and pulling it toward her own face. “Go ahead, beat me, beat me to death, and that will just make room for this little fox spirit! You aren’t even afraid of being drowned in spit!”
Just then, a military-green jeep stopped at Han Xiaorui’s door.
“The police are here!”
Han Xiaorui smiled; it was her turn to take the stage! The show was about to start. If she didn’t teach Zhang Xiufang a lesson and make her behave, she wouldn’t be Han Xiaorui!