“Mother, I could hear you shouting from a long way off. Please, stop talking, lest the neighbors laugh at us!”
It was a very deep and rough male voice, but compared to the voice Madam Jiang produced next, it paled in comparison.
“Laugh? What if they laugh? Isn’t it all because of your ‘good’ daughter? Our Ding family’s face has been completely lost because of her! Second son, I’m telling you, aren’t you the one who arranged this marriage? Once it’s settled, it must be kept! But that ‘good’ daughter of yours actually defied you so much—don’t you think you should discipline her properly?”
Madam Jiang let out a rapid-fire barrage of words. Not satisfied after her lecture, she turned toward the room and grumbled unhappily again:
“Just accept this marriage and stop with those daily daydreams. Look at him—do you think he’d even bother with you? I advise you to give up on that idea! Second son, go back and teach her well!”
With that, she let out a cold snort, and this time, Madam Jiang truly departed.
Lying on the bed, Ding Baozhu felt another slight headache. The original owner had naturally been quite strong; when she hit that wall, she hadn’t held back any strength at all, and had simply breathed her last.
If she hadn’t come here, the girl would likely have remained in a permanent coma, and no medicine or spirit medium would have been of any use.
However, in the next moment, the wooden door to the room creaked open, and a powerfully built man appeared.
He wore brownish-grey cloth clothes and came directly to the bedside, carrying a faint scent of blood.
His face was weathered and weary from travel, but he quickly assumed a stern expression and asked in a deep voice:
“Baozhu, do you know your mistake yet?”
Liu Ping silently turned her face away to the side. This time, she also felt her daughter had gone much too far, so she did not speak.
Ding Baozhu lowered her eyes and spoke in a sincere tone:
“Father, Mother, I know my mistake. There won’t be a next time.”
This man was Ding Baozhu’s father, Madam Jiang’s second son, Ding Hong. As a butcher, Ding Hong had to wield a knife every day and occasionally carry heavy loads. Over time, he had developed a body of solid muscle and a loud voice. Even when he lowered his volume, it completely filled the room, possessing a deterrent force that could not be underestimated.
But upon hearing Ding Baozhu immediately yield and admit her fault, a look of surprise—incongruous with his appearance—suddenly flashed across Ding Hong’s face, and he glanced at Liu Ping sitting nearby.
But Liu Ping herself wasn’t sure what to make of it, so how could she respond? She only shook her head.
In truth, a single thought appeared in both their minds: How does this daughter seem like a completely different person?
In the end, Ding Hong sighed:
“Father will take it that you’ve admitted your fault. You are never allowed to do this again! As for that marriage…”
Hearing this, Liu Ping couldn’t help but frown and ask:
“What did the Xu family say?”
The original owner had been unconscious for a full two or three days. In that span of time, it was long enough for the entire matter to spread through the village. It was currently unknown how the villagers were ridiculing Ding Baozhu, let alone the situation with the prospective in-laws.
Right now, only the betrothal gifts had been delivered. Setting aside whether Madam Jiang would even be willing to return them, once the gifts were returned, it would become a broken engagement. After that, Ding Baozhu would definitely never be able to marry anyone else in this village.
Fortunately, Ding Hong and Hunter Xu were sworn brothers of different surnames, and their relationship was very good; that was how this marriage had come to be.
Although such a thing had happened and Ding Hong certainly felt ashamed, he had still gone to see the Xu family.
The Xu family naturally held some grievances, but Ding Hong’s sworn brother felt that part of the reason lay with his own family as well. This was because his eldest son was coarse in appearance and possessed a perverse temper. Although matchmakers had visited in the past, in the end, nothing ever came of it.
Aside from his appearance being a factor, there was another point: Uncle Xu was a hunter. Every time the hunting season arrived, he would often be away from home for more than half of every ten days. The Xu son was his only son, so naturally, he had to follow and work with him.
Although the work of a hunter involved contact with animals, it was much harder and more dangerous than being a butcher. There was no telling if something might happen in the deep mountains and old forests one day. Combined with the previous reasons, the Xu son had been unable to find a wife.
But if this marriage truly fell through, it would have a bad impact on both children. Moreover, Madam Jiang would definitely not take those betrothal gifts out to return them.
One must know that when other families sent betrothal gifts, it was at most some grain or cloth, and perhaps a small bag of rock sugar to seal the deal.
But in the Xu family’s betrothal gifts, the wedding cakes and cloth were custom-ordered from the town and picked up personally. The animal skins and dried meat were from their stock, but the pair of wild geese had been caught by the father and son themselves. This batch of gifts was more than double what other families provided.
Therefore, even if they wanted to do as Liu Ping said and return double the amount, the Ding family couldn’t scrape it together for the time being—but in truth, Ding Hong didn’t want to break off this marriage either.
He just hadn’t expected Ding Baozhu to be so obedient in admitting her fault, and… she didn’t seem resistant anymore.
Ding Hong couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief.
During the days Ding Baozhu was unconscious, he had come back early every day to visit. Fortunately, as a butcher who had been in the business for many years, he had many regular customers and had even had meat orders reserved in advance, which allowed him to return early.
Every time before had been a disappointment, but today, he finally let go of most of his worries.
Seeing his daughter with a gentle demeanor she never had before, he was moved even further. His original intention to give her a stern scolding faded significantly.
Hearing Liu Ping mention the Xu family, Ding Hong sighed again:
“Old Xu didn’t say anything, but his wife was a bit unhappy. Originally, it was settled that they would come to receive the bride within the first lunar month, but now, who knows when it will be.”
The wedding date and the timing for those rituals couldn’t be set at will; one had to consult the almanac to find an auspicious day. Now that Ding Baozhu had disrupted the process, if they wanted to continue, they would have to set a new date.
Liu Ping’s frown deepened. She turned back and asked solemnly:
“Zhu’er, have you really thought it through this time? You can’t change your mind again. If something like this happens again, it won’t be that simple!”
Ding Baozhu felt her head still throbbing, likely because of the swelling pain from too many memories flooding her mind. But hearing Liu Ping’s question, she nodded and said:
“Father, Mother, after this ordeal, I have come to understand. Besides, I am not young anymore. In the future, I will definitely not make you worry.”
She knew from the original owner’s memories that the Xu family lived at the westernmost edge of the village, nearly at the foot of the mountain, which was convenient for entering the hills.
Even though Ding Hong was close with Hunter Xu, the original owner had only seen the latter a few times when she was a child. As she grew up, she didn’t see him much, and since she liked “Little Woodworker,” the son of Carpenter Lin, she had never maintained contact with the Xu family.
Particularly, the son of Hunter Xu didn’t even have a shadow of a presence in the original owner’s memories. Therefore, this marriage was truly a “blind marriage” for either Ding Baozhu.
Ding Hong and Liu Ping looked at each other and felt temporarily at ease. Only then did the former ask:
“Baozhu, are you hungry? You haven’t eaten for several days.”
“I just made a bowl of soup for her. Since she just woke up, she can’t eat much else,” Liu Ping said from the side.
“How can soup and water fill a stomach? Besides, our daughter looks much better; she should be properly nourished.”
As Ding Hong spoke, he pulled a large oil-paper bundle from the breast of his clothes and smiled:
“Look at what I brought back this time.”
According to her memory, every time Ding Hong went out for business, he could always bring back some unsold items or specific pieces he set aside as a special treat for the family. However, what he brought back was usually not lean meat, but offal and similar parts.
Ding Hong deftly unwrapped the oil-paper bundle and took out the item inside—it was an entire fresh, raw pig stomach!
Although it was considered offal, one could still taste some meat flavor. Liu Ping smiled and said:
“This is good stuff, and the quality is excellent. I’ll go simmer it into a soup later to nourish Baozhu.”
“I kept this specifically with our daughter in mind, so how could it not be good?” Ding Hong also laughed.
Hearing this, Ding Baozhu had a flash of inspiration and interjected:
“Father, Mother, why don’t you let me prepare this pig stomach?”
Liu Ping had already taken the pig stomach. Upon hearing this, she shook her head:
“Silly child, you only woke up today and your body is weak, how could we let you do it? Besides, you don’t usually cook. You should rest quietly, and you can eat it by tonight.”
Logically speaking, no women worked in the butcher trade. However, Ding Hong and Liu Ping only had three daughters. After giving birth to the third daughter, Baoqin, Liu Ping’s health hadn’t been very good. But the former’s skills had been hard-won through learning, and someone had to inherit them.
Thus, Ding Baozhu, being the eldest, had stepped up without hesitation. By now, her butchery skills had actually yielded some small results.
Because she hadn’t given birth to a son, Liu Ping had felt regret and shame, which made Madam Jiang even more dissatisfied. After all, in the current Ding family, Ding Hong could be said to be the most successful one. As for the grandchildren, it would be some time before their potential showed, so Madam Jiang valued him most.
Of course, she also sought him to bring honor to the Old Ding family, or for some other reason.
However, facing this second daughter-in-law she was already dissatisfied with, she stubbornly believed that the latter had completely cut off the ancestral line for the second branch, so her attitude was naturally unpleasant.
As mentioned before, Liu Ping hadn’t originally been a submissive character. It was entirely because a daughter-in-law had to show filial piety, otherwise, she would inevitably be the subject of gossip. Yet her mother-in-law never gave her a kind look, and her sisters-in-law ostracized her, which led to her current state.
But Ding Hong didn’t think too much of it. He only believed it was because he worked in this trade—full of murderous aura and debt of blood—that he had ended up with a fate of having no sons. Therefore, he still supported Liu Ping.
However, after so many years, the two of them had likely grown used to Madam Jiang’s difficulties and basically just ignored them.
Seeing Liu Ping say this, Ding Baozhu hurriedly said:
“Mother, I am much better now, and my head doesn’t hurt anymore. Besides, this is the delicious food Father brought for me; I want to make it the way I like it.”
She had to find a way to leave this room and walk around the courtyard. Although she already had the original owner’s memories, she wasn’t sure if they were muddled; many were quite blurry, so it was better for her to see things for herself.
Ding Hong stared at her for a few moments and laughed loudly:
“The color has returned to Baozhu’s face, and she looks completely different from before; she truly must be much better. Besides, a person can’t just lie in bed all the time; one needs to move around. Wife, just agree to her request.”
Liu Ping gave him a helpless glare, put down the pig stomach in her hand, and said with a complaining tone:
“Fine, fine, fine. Whatever I say is wrong and no good. You two can handle this pig stomach yourselves!”
Having received permission, Ding Baozhu got off the bed, put on her clothes according to her memory, and took the paper bundle to head out.
Seeing her brisk and energetic manner, Liu Ping didn’t suspect anything anymore. She only called out from behind:
“Oh, slow down! Watch your wound!”
“Alright, I see that Baozhu seems to have truly changed after this ordeal. She runs faster than a rabbit; her body must be fine.”
Ding Hong said as he pulled Liu Ping along:
“Since she’s fine, I’ll go to Old Xu’s place again to feel things out. This whole mess is our family’s fault, after all.”
Hearing this, Liu Ping also remembered something and sighed:
“True. Then remember to bring some things; you can’t show up empty-handed.”
“There are also the consultation fees and medicine money for Doctor Qiu; those have been settled. Afterward, we invited Auntie Yang, and it’s strange to say—she just chanted a few mantras, and Baozhu actually woke up. You should find a time to go and thank her. If the matter with the Xu family works out, we’ll need her to carefully select an auspicious day again.”
Ding Hong answered solemnly: “Anyway, I’ve finished my business for today, so I’ll go now.”
With that, he also left the room. Liu Ping followed him out, partly to keep an eye on Ding Baozhu and partly because she also had her own chores to do and couldn’t stop.