Chicken soup tasted wonderful when it went into your stomach, but when it was poured all over your head and body, it was nothing but greasy and disgusting.
He Fengying let out a shrill scream as her vision blurred from the soup.
“You just wait! Just wait!”
Shouting, she stormed toward the door. Unfortunately, her vision was obscured, and she tripped over the threshold on her way out, tumbling into the courtyard and rolling through the mud.
“He Erhong, are you dead or what? Can’t you help me when you know I can’t see?” He Erhong was her elder brother’s daughter and called her Aunt. Ordering her around had always come naturally to He Fengying.
What was He Erhong doing?
She was squatting on the ground picking up pieces of chicken that had fallen.
The soup couldn’t be salvaged, but the chicken could be washed and eaten.
So when her aunt called for her, she barely reacted.
So what if it was her aunt?
It wasn’t her mother.
“Can’t you see I’m busy?”
He Fengying was so furious that smoke nearly rose from her head.
If she hadn’t personally arranged it back then, would this marriage ever have fallen into the lap of a fool like He Erhong?
Although she constantly looked down on her second sister-in-law Lin Qinfen, she had to admit that Lin Qinfen’s two children were exceptionally capable.
The daughter was a tailor who earned money with every piece of clothing she made.
The son was a soldier who received a monthly allowance.
Otherwise, why would she have gone to the trouble of arranging for her niece to marry into the family?
Lin Qinfen only had one son, Shen Xiangdong. As long as He Erhong gave birth to a grandson, wouldn’t the Shen family’s property eventually belong to the He family?
Originally, she had also wanted Shen Yueliang to marry her nephew.
But Shen Xiangdong had a fiery temper.
He had charged into their house carrying a kitchen cleaver and brought it down on the Eight Immortals table with a single chop.
The incident frightened her so badly that she had nightmares for an entire week.
In every dream, Shen Xiangdong chased her with a cleaver, hacking her into a bloody mess.
Only then had she stopped interfering in Shen Yueliang’s marriage.
Now that her niece was ignoring her, He Fengying didn’t dare make too much trouble.
Mainly because her husband, Lin Caisheng, forbade her from constantly coming to her sister-in-law’s house to freeload.
Every visit was disguised as a trip to see her niece.
Fortunately, Lin Qinfen never complained to her younger brother.
Watching her leave, Shen Yueliang rubbed her chin gloomily.
Back then, after their widowed family had been driven out of the Shen household, one sentence—”a married daughter cannot return to her natal home”—had left her mother forever indebted to He Fengying.
It had even cost her brother his marriage.
“Mom, let me say something. We can’t deny that Uncle and Aunt helped us back then. But so many years have passed. Whenever Aunt’s family has a problem, big or small, she comes here asking for things. Over the years, she’s taken plenty of money from us. She even forced Brother to marry her niece. If we’re talking about repaying a favor, we’ve already repaid enough.”
Mother Shen patted her daughter’s hand.
How could she not understand?
Debts were hard enough to repay, but debts of gratitude were even harder.
However, yielding on her son’s marriage had already been her final compromise.
If He Fengying tried interfering in their family’s affairs again, she wouldn’t endure it silently.
Not wanting to make her mother uncomfortable, and knowing the matter stretched back many years, Shen Yueliang chose not to press further.
“Let’s not talk about that. Where have you been these past two days?” Mother Shen knew her daughter wasn’t irresponsible.
On the contrary, she was too sensible.
That was why she felt heartache for her.
Since the matter had been resolved, there was no need to hide it anymore.
“I went to—”
“I’ll wash the chicken meat. Since none of you want it, I’ll eat it myself.”
He Erhong suddenly interrupted.
She didn’t look at Mother Shen or Shen Yueliang.
She simply announced it.
After speaking, she didn’t wait for an answer and immediately ran toward the kitchen. The flesh on her body bounced with every step.
Halfway there, she turned around and added in a commanding tone,
“The ground is dirty. Clean it up. This house will belong to Xiangdong and me in the future, so pay attention.”
Shen Yueliang used every ounce of self-control she possessed not to slap her.
“Don’t be angry. You just got back. Go put your bundle away and wash your face. I’ll clean up here and cook some noodles for you later.”
Mother Shen truly had nothing left to say.
He Erhong had been like this from the moment she entered the family.
If she had been even slightly hardworking, Mother Shen wouldn’t feel so sorry for her son.
“Mom, let me do it. I made the mess.”
“No need. It’s not like I’m missing my hands and feet. I can handle this.”
A woman who had raised two children by herself had never been lazy.
As long as she could manage the work, she never ordered her daughter or daughter-in-law around.
Besides, her daughter was already nineteen.
She wouldn’t stay by her side much longer.
Once she married, life would never be as comfortable as it was in her natal home.
Even if Mother Shen wanted to spoil her, she only had a couple more years to do so.
Seeing she couldn’t help, Shen Yueliang returned to her room.
She needed a chance to rest anyway.
After putting down her bundle, she checked the money she still carried close to her body.
Part of it was her brother’s allowance, which she would later hand over to Mother Shen.
The rest was the money she’d taken when she left, mostly the sixty yuan returned by the Luo family.
Thirty yuan of it she had left in the jeep.
Ji Yanchuan would probably find it.
It wasn’t that she wanted to solve everything with money.
She simply felt that after traveling such a long distance, it could count as payment for fuel and vehicle maintenance.
Thirty yuan wasn’t a small amount.
It should be enough.
As for the remaining thirty yuan, she’d originally planned to lock it away in a drawer.
Then she reconsidered.
The money would still be useful, so she slipped it back into her pocket.
The moment she stepped out of her room, she saw He Erhong sitting at the table eating noodles.
Honestly, Shen Yueliang was impressed.
The woman had just consumed half a pot of chicken soup and now had another enormous bowl of noodles.
Was her stomach some kind of bottomless pit?
She told herself to pretend she hadn’t seen it.
Unfortunately, He Erhong spoke first.
“What are you looking at? Is there anything in this house I’m not allowed to eat?”
“Eat all you want. If that’s not enough, there’s plenty of manure in the latrine out back. More than enough for you.”
To be honest, Shen Yueliang was feeling malicious enough that if He Erhong really wanted it, she wouldn’t mind scooping it out herself.
Of course, He Erhong wasn’t that stupid.
She merely rolled her eyes dramatically.
What could Shen Yueliang do?
Everyone had moments in life when they had to endure things.
Besides, it was true that her uncle had taken them in after they were driven out by the Shen family.
And in the current circumstances, they couldn’t leave Qinghe Village.
No other village would accept their household registration.
Just endure it.
Though the more she endured, the angrier she became.
She went into the kitchen.
Mother Shen had already cooked the noodles. Two bowls sat on the stove.
Seeing her daughter enter, she beckoned.
“I don’t feel like eating outside. Let’s eat here.”
Shen Yueliang felt the same.
The two women stood in the kitchen, each holding a bowl.
After stirring her noodles a few times with her chopsticks, Shen Yueliang discovered two fried eggs hidden beneath.
“You’ve been gone for two days. It looks like you’ve lost weight. Tell me, where exactly did you go?”
After some thought, Shen Yueliang cautiously replied,
“I had a dream. In the dream, Brother got injured in an accident in the army. I was worried about him, so I went to find him.”
Since her son was stationed far away and only came home a few times a year, Mother Shen thought about his last visit two months ago.
He had taken three days of accumulated leave.
Seeing him stronger and sturdier than before had filled her with relief.
At least she hadn’t failed her late husband.
“They say dreams are the opposite of reality. If you dreamed your brother got hurt, that just means he’s healthy and fine.”
Shen Yueliang: …
She knew nobody would believe her.
Just as expected.
“So you saw your brother?” Despite everything, Mother Shen was still concerned about her son.
Taking two bites of noodles, Shen Yueliang decided the flavor wasn’t bad.
Though if she cooked them herself, they would probably taste even better.
Maybe she’d try next time.
“Yeah. Brother’s doing well.”
Mother Shen nodded with relief.
“Your brother’s army unit is so far away. How did you get there and back so quickly? Did someone help you? We need to remember to thank them.”
Shen Yueliang had been waiting to bring this up.
She set her bowl down and took out thirty yuan, handing it to Mother Shen.
“Mom, take this money and trade with the villagers for eggs. As many as possible. If anyone has old hens, buy two as well.”
Thirty eggs could be given to Su Zhiqing and her husband.
They’d be good for restoring their health.
As for the extra eggs and hens…
She estimated Ji Yanchuan wouldn’t accept them anyway.
In any case, she hadn’t planned on giving them to him.