Su Yi asked worriedly in a low voice.
The family’s money had always been managed by her mother‑in‑law. In the past, her mother‑in‑law was extremely frugal, reluctant to eat anything nice. Su Yi barely got to eat fruit or snacks.But ever since the day her mother‑in‑law saved her from Zhang Qian, she seemed to have become a completely different person.
Clothes she once refused to wear, she now wore.Meat, which used to appear only after a very long time, now showed up on the table every few days.Snacks she would never have bought for herself—now, every time they passed the supply and marketing cooperative, her mother‑in‑law would definitely buy something for her.
If not for the fact that the woman looked exactly the same, Su Yi would have suspected her mother‑in‑law had been replaced by someone else.
“Don’t worry, girl. Wasn’t I always stingy before?” Wang Guifen held up three fingers. “All these years, Zhi Jun’s wages and grain coupons, plus the money I saved myself, I’ve kept them stored away properly. Altogether… there’s still three thousand yuan.”
She had been thrifty since the day she got married, saving little by little for more than thirty years. If not for occasional expenses, she would have saved even more.
Su Yi felt a little dazed.
Why would her mother‑in‑law openly tell her how much money they had? She had rarely heard of a mother‑in‑law who didn’t guard the family assets from her daughter‑in‑law.
“What is it? Surprised?” Wang Guifen laughed. “So from now on, you don’t need to scrimp and save. If you want to eat something, just buy it. This family can afford to feed your appetite.”
“Mom, aren’t you afraid I’ll run off with the money?” Su Yi joked.
Wang Guifen lifted the pot lid to check the food. “If you really ran away, then it means our Wang family didn’t treat you well enough to keep you.”
Su Yi suddenly felt her throat tighten, though she pushed her emotions down.
She teased, “Mother‑in‑law treats me too well. Even if I run, I’ll drag you along with me.”
Wang Guifen burst out laughing. “Fine. If you try to drag me away, I’ll definitely go with you.”
After dinner, she began planning to enter the mountain the next day. Her daughter‑in‑law was pregnant, carrying twins, yet she had nothing good to nourish her with. The doctor said twins required more nutrients, and after thinking it over, she decided on chicken soup.
But they didn’t raise chickens. The new chicks they bought still needed a long time to grow. Buying a hen from someone in the brigade would cause jealousy and gossip—and hens were precious egg layers, so people might not want to sell them.
Recently the harvest had just ended, and the leftover grains in the fields had attracted many wild pheasants. If she could catch one, she could make pheasant and mushroom soup for her daughter‑in‑law that very evening.
The plan was workable, but Su Yi wouldn’t let her enter the mountain. If she told her, Su Yi would insist on coming along.
So Wang Guifen suddenly said, “Yi Yi, Mom has to visit the next village tomorrow. I heard that Carpenter Zhu Jianguo’s dog had a litter of puppies. I’ll go and see if I can bring one back for us. If we have a puppy, it will bark when people come and alert us.”
Su Yi splashed the wash water onto the vegetable roots in the courtyard. “Alright, Mom, go ahead. I’ll watch the house.”
The next morning, after breakfast, Wang Guifen slipped out holding an iron arrow.
Once outside, she looked around furtively. Seeing Su Yi didn’t follow, she relaxed and headed up the slope.
The Tang River water flowed down from the mountain. Villagers sometimes went up to gather firewood, but they rarely entered the deep forest—only the nearby areas.The deep forest had many good things, but it was dangerous. If someone went in alone, they usually didn’t come out.Wang Guifen only wanted to catch a pheasant to nourish her daughter‑in‑law. As for the treasures deeper inside, those required luck to survive, and she wasn’t going to risk her life for them.
There was a narrow path leading up the mountain, made by people from the Tanghe commune when inspecting water flow. It was the safest route.
She followed the trail into the woods. In the area that should’ve already been picked clean, she unexpectedly found mushrooms—thick, meaty ones that everyone loved.Strange that they were so close to the outer forest.
She had brought a basket, so she picked the mushrooms, thinking pheasant and mushroom soup would be perfect.
Further in, the light dimmed, and the air grew heavy. Sensing something wrong, she was about to turn back when she suddenly found a pheasant right in front of her, pecking at insects.
She gripped the iron arrow tightly, lowered her body, moved one step forward, and threw it like she was skewering a spy.
“Geh—geh—geh…”
The pheasant was pierced clean through and pinned to the ground.
She stepped forward and pulled up the arrow with the pheasant on it, weighing it in her hand. “At least seven or eight jin,” she muttered, satisfied.
She turned to leave—she had gotten what she came for. There was no need to stay longer in a dangerous place.
She had only taken two steps when she froze, her ears twitching.
“Help… help…”
A weak cry came from deeper in the forest.
Wang Guifen didn’t turn back.
She kept walking toward the exit.
She was just a rural woman.
Her daughter‑in‑law carried twins—if anything happened to her, that girl would suffer terribly.Moreover, she had already died once before; she knew the value of life. If she died again, heaven wouldn’t give her another chance.
She still had soup to make. And what if the voice belonged to a spy? Saving him could bring trouble to the commune.
She quickened her pace—then suddenly stopped, gripping the iron arrow hard.
She turned toward the deep forest.
She would just take a look.If it was a good person and she could save him, she would.If not, she’d leave immediately.
As she entered deeper, she recognized the person—wasn’t he that educated youth who had ridden the tricycle back to Tang River with them?What was he doing here?
“Help… help me…”
The moment she stepped forward, she froze.
Not far from the young man was a wolf—mouth open, sharp teeth showing, drool dripping onto the ground as it glared at its prey.
“Auntie, help me!”
The educated youth’s leg was injured, and his face was full of terror.
Wang Guifen tightened her grip.
The wolf wasn’t large. If she seized the right moment, one punch—two punches—three punches—would be enough to kill it.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m here. This beast won’t hurt you.”
The wolf heard her and lunged at her with its jaws open.
She took a big step forward and punched it, knocking it to the ground. Without hesitation, she drove the iron arrow into its neck, killing it instantly.
Panting, she grabbed it by the head, shook it twice to be sure it was dead, then dropped it.
She went over and helped him up. “Aren’t you one of the educated youths sent down to the countryside? The deep forest is dangerous—what were you doing in here, child?”