Pei's Eldest Aunt was left speechless, never expecting Su Wanwan to be so cunning. At the time, she had only been thinking about quickly getting rid of Pei Changfeng. Hearing that Su Wanwan was so effective at "overcoming" husbands—one after another—she hadn't considered anything else and had hastily brought her over.
Now it seemed this Su Wanwan was not someone to be bullied!
With a crowd watching, Pei's Eldest Aunt, however unwilling, could only let out an "oh" and said with a forced smile, "That's how it is. Changfeng fell ill, and those things were piled up at home with no one to tidy them. It would be a pity if they got dirty or ruined, so I moved them back first. When he recovers, I'll return everything. It's nothing much—just two quilts and two bags of rice. If you can carry them, I'll give them all to you."
"You child," Pei's Eldest Aunt began wiping her tears, "I treat Changfeng as my own son, and you are like my own daughter. How could I possibly take your things?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the villagers' gazes toward Su Wanwan turned uneasy.
"Thanks to Eldest Aunt," Su Wanwan muttered to herself as if unaware, "I heard that Xiucai can go to the government office every month to collect one dan of rice, and there's also a subsidy of five taels of silver per year. Since I've married into this family, I naturally have to manage the household. Tomorrow I'll go to town to collect the money and rice for the past six months. Once we have money, my husband and I can live well."
Pei's Eldest Uncle and Pei's Eldest Aunt exchanged glances, thinking to themselves that this was bad. They had already taken that money and rice long ago. The rice for six months, converted to silver, amounted to four taels, plus the government subsidy from the beginning of the year, totaling nine taels of silver.
If Su Wanwan went to collect it, and the government investigated Pei Changfeng's fall from the cliff, wouldn't everything be over?
The surrounding villagers chimed in, "Yes, take the money back and take good care of Pei Xiucai. If you serve him well, you'll have a comfortable life in the future."
Su Wanwan blushed, "Changfeng is my husband. Of course, I'll take good care of him."
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Pei's Eldest Uncle spoke up, "There is money, about five taels of silver."
Pei's Eldest Aunt tugged at Pei's Eldest Uncle.
"But we already took that money and used it for Changfeng's treatment," Pei's Eldest Uncle sighed. "When I carried him back, he was barely breathing. If it weren't for the medicine keeping him alive these past six months, he would have died long ago. Not to mention the five taels, I even spent a lot of my own money."
"If you want money now, we really don't have any."
Pei's Eldest Aunt caught on and began wailing loudly, "Is there no justice in this world? I worked so hard taking care of him for over half a year, and now I'm accused of embezzling their money! I don't want to live anymore!"
She rushed toward the wall, but Pei's Eldest Uncle pulled her back. "Forget it! Changfeng's parents are gone. We raised him as if he were our own son! It's just money. Take out the savings for Yaozu and give it to Wanwan for household expenses!"
"Have you gone mad? You've been spending money nonstop for the past six months, and now you want to use your own son's marriage savings! Fine! If you treat Pei Changfeng as your son, then Yaozu and I will leave!"
Pei's Eldest Uncle and Pei's Eldest Aunt began tugging at each other, while the people around started blaming Su Wanwan for being unreasonable. "You don't know how hard your uncle's life is, and as soon as you arrive, you demand money. Are you trying to drive them to their deaths?"
"That's right, young lady, don't be too greedy. Just take the quilts and rice back for now."
"So beautiful, yet so cunning, scheming to get into other people's money bags."
Hearing the surrounding voices, Pei's Eldest Aunt's face was full of smugness, watching to see how Su Wanwan would fight her!
Su Wanwan neither cried nor made a fuss. She waited until Pei's Eldest Uncle and Pei's Eldest Aunt had caught their breath, then she went limp and knelt on the ground, beginning to weep. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have come to ask without understanding the situation. Even if Changfeng and I starve to death, we shouldn't have come. Even if… even if there isn't even a water ladle at home, I shouldn't have come… sob… it's all my fault…"
She was naturally lovely, and when she cried, she looked pitiful and heart-wrenching. Pei Yaozu was the first to have his heart broken. He shouted at his parents, "Stop arguing! Sister-in-law is crying! Don't we have meat at home? Hurry and give her a couple of pieces!"
Before Pei's Eldest Uncle and Pei's Eldest Aunt could react, they saw their son come out carrying two large pieces of meat, along with the water ladle they had taken from Pei Changfeng's house!
"Sister-in-law, just use it. If it's not enough, come to our house and get more!"
Su Wanwan smiled gratefully. "No need, these are your family's things. How could I take them?"
"What do you mean 'your family' or 'my family'? My parents took all this from your house!"
Pei's Eldest Uncle was too slow to cover his rebellious son's mouth, and his old face flushed red instantly. "Nonsense! This is clearly ours! Do you think I'd even take a water ladle?"
Pei's Eldest Aunt quickly explained, "This child just loves to talk nonsense!"
Auntie Li leaned in to take a look. "If I remember correctly, this gourd ladle has been used in Changfeng's house for over ten years!"
"So it really was taken from Pei Changfeng's house?"
"This eldest uncle is too heartless!"
"Can't say that. Pei Changfeng can't move anyway, so he can't use a water ladle…"
"That makes sense too. It's just a water ladle. After Pei Changfeng's parents died, it was his eldest uncle and aunt who raised him. If not for them, who knows where he'd be begging for food."
Pei's Eldest Aunt grew anxious. "You don't know anything, so stop talking nonsense!"
Auntie Li went to help Su Wanwan up and said to Pei's Eldest Aunt, "If you have any conscience, give the young couple some rice, flour, and salt from your home. Changfeng never failed to show you respect before!"
"Yes, yes. Every month when Changfeng came back from school, he would buy rice and flour for them."
Everyone chimed in one after another. Pei's Eldest Aunt's face burned with shame. After trying to argue a couple of times and realizing she couldn't win, she threw a small half-bag of flour in front of Su Wanwan. "I must have committed sins for eight lifetimes to owe you people!"
She wanted to take the meat back, but Su Wanwan held it tightly, crying in Auntie Li's arms. Seeing she couldn't retrieve the items, Pei's Eldest Aunt slammed the door shut and went to scold Pei Yaozu.
"Are you crazy? Giving her all that meat—what will our family eat?"
Pei Yaozu grinned foolishly. "Pei Changfeng's situation has nothing to do with Wanwan. She's so thin; what's wrong with her eating some meat?"
Pei's Eldest Aunt was so angry she nearly fainted. "But you can't give it all away! And how could you tell everyone about us taking things from Pei Changfeng?"
"What's the big deal? It's just a water ladle."
"Enough!" Pei's Eldest Uncle interrupted them sternly and asked Pei's Eldest Aunt, "Didn't you ask the matchmaker about Su Wanwan before proposing the marriage?"
"No," Pei's Eldest Aunt said with a look of disgust. "It's all because of Su Wanwan's stepmother. As soon as she heard I wanted to marry her off, she praised Su Wanwan to the skies and even threw in three taels of silver as dowry. If I'd known that wretched woman would be so troublesome, I might as well have secretly smothered Pei Changfeng to death."
"Anyway, Su Wanwan is already married into the family," Pei's Eldest Uncle said, taking a couple of puffs from his pipe, his words carrying a hidden meaning. "No matter how Pei Changfeng dies later, it'll be because she brings misfortune to her husband. It won't have anything to do with us."
Pei's Eldest Uncle sneered coldly. If this nephew hadn't been so heartless, he wouldn't have resorted to such a ruthless move.
Outside the courtyard, Auntie Li took Su Wanwan's hand and gave her two eggs and half a basket of amaranth greens from her home. "Changfeng is a good boy. Take good care of him. If you run into any difficulties, just tell me. My family still has a few handfuls of rice to share with you."
The villagers weren't well-off either. Su Wanwan thanked Auntie Li sincerely. "Thank you so much."
The Village Chief's wife also gave her five eggs and half a small pumpkin, sighed a few times, and then left.
Carrying a pile of things back home, Su Wanwan broke into a sweat.
It was already dark, and her stomach rumbled like a drum.
Although she had achieved a preliminary victory today, she feared it would be difficult to get anything more from Pei's Eldest Uncle's family in the future. But it didn't matter—if she couldn't get it, she could just take it by force! After all, those things rightfully belonged to her husband.
Looking at Pei Changfeng, who now appeared much cleaner, Su Wanwan couldn't help but whisper, "It's a good thing you married me. Otherwise, all these things would have been stolen by your uncle's family!"
"You have to live on and repay me in the future, understand?"
After muttering to herself, Su Wanwan thoughtfully moistened Pei Changfeng's parched lips with a little water and then went back to work.
The Pei family courtyard wasn't too old, but it had seen better days. In the kitchen, there was half a bundle of firewood—just small twigs, without even any kindling grass.
Su Wanwan struggled to light the fire and sat on a chair with a half-broken leg, lost in thought.
"Sigh…"
Su Wanwan sighed. Whether for public or private reasons, she hoped Pei Changfeng would survive. Only by living on would anything be possible…
The water in the pot boiled, and the aroma of rice porridge gradually filled the air. Su Wanwan first drank a bowl of plain porridge herself. After the rice had cooked down, she cracked an egg into it, ladled it into a bowl, and went to feed Pei Changfeng.
She didn't know what kind of life Pei Changfeng had been living recently or what he ate every day. But judging by his condition, it must have been miserable—he was so thin he looked like a dried-up corpse. Even the dog her family kept was fatter than him.
Once the porridge had cooled enough, Su Wanwan gently pried open Pei Changfeng's jaw and fed him half a spoonful at a time, careful not to let him choke.
After patiently feeding him, Su Wanwan felt so exhausted she was seeing stars. Lying down beside Pei Changfeng, she felt herself being swallowed by drowsiness. Before falling asleep, she didn't forget to encourage him. "You must get better!"
With that, Su Wanwan, worn out from the day, closed her eyes and fell asleep.