Once Auntie Wang was released, she didn’t even think about getting revenge. She spat several times, trying to get the sand out of her mouth, then hurried off as if a ghost were chasing her.
News of Xiaoxue putting Auntie Wang in her place spread through the whole village in no time. Everyone looked at Tang Hongxi with sympathy, while some of the people he had turned down wore faintly gleeful expressions.
All evening, Madam Zhao kept sneaking glances at Xiaoxue, thinking she was being subtle. In the end, Xiaoxue couldn’t take it anymore and asked, “Mother, if there’s something you want to ask, just ask. You keep sneaking looks at me, and it’s making me uncomfortable.”
“Cough, cough. Is it really that obvious?” Madam Zhao said awkwardly. After thinking it over, she began, “It’s just that Mother feels you’ve changed a lot, Xiaoxue.”
Xiaoxue’s heart gave a jolt. It seemed she had been careless lately. She pressed her lips together and explained, “Mother, it’s nothing. Going through life and death changes a person. And the things Granny and Third Uncle did really broke my heart. I realized I’d been too weak before, which made people think they could bully me. Now I want to grow stronger and protect Father, Mother, and Xiaoxi.”
Madam Zhao stroked Yan Chuxue’s hair. “All right, all right. Mother’s Xiaoxue has grown up.” But the ache welling up inside her was impossible to suppress.
When they went to bed, Madam Zhao told Yan Dajun what Yan Chuxue had said, then added, “I’ve been no use as a mother. That’s why Xiaoxue has had to suffer so much.” With that, she leaned against Yan Dajun’s shoulder and sobbed.
Yan Dajun sighed heavily. “Let it be, then. We’ll just do our duty by Father and Mother[1]Filial piety is a longstanding Chinese ideal emphasizing respect and responsibility toward one’s parents, including support after an adult child establishes a separate household. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717456_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717456_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); from now on, and Xiaoxue and Xiaoxi can live their own lives.”
When Xiaoxue woke the next morning, she found that Third Uncle Yan’s family still hadn’t gone back to town. She was surprised. Their general store stayed open even on New Year’s Eve[2]In a traditional Chinese setting, New Year’s Eve generally means the eve of Lunar New Year, a major occasion for family gathering; the chapter provides no exact calendar date. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717456_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717456_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });; they were so afraid of losing a little silver that they wouldn’t close for even one day.
Now Third Uncle Yan’s family was leaving the store unattended. They must have something substantial in mind.
Xiaoxue didn’t want to waste too much time thinking about them. She had already learned that Madam Zhou controlled the Yan family’s finances, and her own father probably didn’t even have ten copper coins to his name.
She had already decided that the family needed to split off[3]Splitting off from an extended family meant forming a separate household, often with distinct finances and a division of property, without necessarily ending kinship ties. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717456_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717456_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, but without any money, her Father and Mother would never agree. So the most important thing now was to earn some.
With money, everything else would be easier. But she had no capital, so starting a business was out of the question. The best option for her was to hunt on Dalian Mountain.
Hunting required no capital, and while she couldn’t claim to dominate Dalian Mountain, she could manage in the outer reaches.
Once she had made up her mind, Yan Chuxue packed her things into a back-basket, told Madam Zhao, then set off with the basket on her back.
Chuxue passed through the village, and the villagers gave her strange looks, but after seeing how fiercely she had dealt with Auntie Wang the day before, no one came looking for trouble.
Yan Chuxue made it up Dalian Mountain without incident. As soon as she entered the mountain, she tossed the back-basket into her space and began searching for signs of prey.
Perhaps no one had hunted up there in a long time, because there were plenty of animals, and they seemed foolishly unafraid of people. That turned out to be a real stroke of luck for Yan Chuxue.
By the end of the day, Chuxue had made a fine haul: one deer, two rabbits, and three pheasants.
Yan Chuxue put the game into her space, where time stood still and the meat would stay fresh.
After storing the game, Chuxue took out her back-basket, gathered some wild greens, and headed back down the mountain.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, she heard Madam Zhou berating someone. Madam Zhao silently picked vegetables, while Madam Deng leaned against the doorframe, cracking sunflower seeds and watching the show.
Yan Chuxue set down her basket. “Mother, I brought back some wild greens. Let me help you.”
Madam Zhou cast a disdainful glance at the greens in the basket. “You were gone half the day and came back with this little bit of greens. Who knows where you went to laze around?”
Yan Chuxue gave a soft snort. “Even if I’m lazy, I’m still better than those who freeload.” She shot Madam Deng a sidelong glance, then said, “Third Aunt, how do the sunflower seeds taste? Granny usually can’t bear to eat them, but now she’s giving them to you. Granny really is so good to you, Third Aunt.”
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