At noon, twelve o’clock sharp.
Every household in Nanfeng Village began cooking.
Almost every chimney in the village sent up smoke.
Except the He family’s.
After coming back from work, the whole family stood in the main hall, staring at one another in a daze.
“That damned girl—it’s already noon and she still hasn’t come back to cook. She’s really gone mad with arrogance. Ugh… I’m hungry and exhausted. I don’t even want to move.”
Lu Guihua held her lower back, swayed unsteadily into the east room, kicked off her shoes, and collapsed onto the bed.
Chen Juan poked her head into the east room to take a look, then turned back to the west room.
Holding her belly with one hand, she kicked off her mud-covered cloth shoes and lay down as well.
“Big Brother, hurry up and bring that damned girl back to cook. I’m starving.”
He Yi followed her into the west room.
He didn’t even take off his shoes—dusty from head to toe— and flopped crookedly onto the bed.
With his hands tucked behind his head, he spoke weakly.
“What nonsense are you talking about? That girl has already split off and is living on her own. Why would she come back to cook for you?”
Chen Juan propped herself halfway up, shaking He Yi’s shoulder as she acted spoiled.
“Just ask her if she still wants to hold her big nephew. If she does, she’ll hurry back to cook.”
He Yi had nearly gotten a concussion from He Shiyi’s shovel blow earlier.
His head was still buzzing.
Even if you gave him ten guts, he wouldn’t dare provoke He Shiyi again.
“Forget it! That girl dared to hit Grandma, Dad, Mom, even her own brother and sister-in-law. You think she’d care about some unborn nephew? I don’t care anymore. I hoed weeds all morning—I’m dead tired. I’ll sleep first.”
In the scorching heat, neither the daughter-in-law nor the granddaughter-in-law went to cook.
And Madam He, an old woman, certainly wasn’t about to step into the kitchen herself.
“One lazy bone after another! Noon’s already passed and no one’s cooking—are you trying to starve this old woman to death?!”
She stripped off her shirt, sat bare-chested beneath the big tree by the door, fanning herself with a palm fan while cursing.
“Lazy, good-for-nothing women! If you don’t cook, are you expecting this old woman to do it? What did I marry you all in for? I’ve lived most of my life and never seen daughters-in-law as uneducated, unfilial, and unafraid of divine punishment as you!”
Not a single woman from the He family went into the kitchen.
He Zhu was so hungry his chest pressed against his back.
He circled the pots restlessly, grabbed a gourd ladle, bent over the water jar, and scooped half a ladle of water.
Gulp, gulp—he drank himself full.
“That damned girl—if she doesn’t come back to fetch water and cook right now, I’ll beat her to death!”
With water in his belly, He Zhu’s temper flared.
Red-faced and thick-necked, he grabbed an iron fire poker from beside the woodpile and stormed out to look for He Shiyi.
He searched the whole village and couldn’t find her.
Only after asking around did he learn that He Shiyi had built a thatched shed beside the team captain’s courtyard wall.
Earlier, when he passed by Luo Lingfeng’s house after work, he had noticed that crooked little shed.
He had assumed Luo Lingfeng built it himself and even cursed him inwardly.
“Born from livestock! Can’t even build a proper shed. All day long he just waves his authority around and bullies everyone in Nanfeng Village.”
Now realizing he had cursed himself as livestock,
He Zhu felt his liver ache with rage.
Gripping the fire poker, he ran red-eyed and frantic toward He Shiyi’s shed.
Inside the drafty thatched shed,
He Shiyi and her black dog Hunhun were fast asleep.
A gentle breeze drifted through, and one person and one dog enjoyed the cool cross-ventilation.
They couldn’t have been more comfortable.
Smoke also rose from Luo Lingfeng’s chimney.
Wearing a blue coarse-cloth apron, he was busy alone in the kitchen.
He had just stacked the rolled bean-and-bran dough sheets on the chopping board, knife in hand, about to cut them into noodles— when He Zhu’s hysterical roar exploded outside the gate.
“Damned girl! The whole family’s waiting for you to come back and cook, and you’re lying here playing dead! I’ll beat you to death!”
Immediately followed by the black dog’s ferocious barking.
“Woof! Woof woof woof—!”
“Ah—someone help! Save me!”
The pot of water had been boiling for quite a while.
Luo Lingfeng was eager to cut the noodles and drop them in.
With the dog protecting He Shiyi, he didn’t bother going out to look.
He focused on cooking.
After eating, he planned to take a short nap.
At two in the afternoon he still had to call everyone back to work—no time to waste.
Outside the gate came He Zhu’s heart-rending wails.
“Mother! It hurts—damned girl, tie up that dog! It’s going to bite your father to death!”
“Serves you right! Who told you to provoke it?”
“Damned girl! I’m your father! Letting a dog bite your own father—may heaven strike you down!”
“Strike me if it wants. I don’t care. Get lost. If you don’t, I’ll report you for trespassing.”
“Damned girl! Daring to talk back to your father—believe it or not, I’ll beat you to death! If you don’t want to die, hurry home and cook!”
“I’ve already split from your family and live on my own. If you want to eat, go home and cook it yourself. Don’t come looking for me.”
“Damned girl! You were born a He, you’ll die a He ghost. Your parents gave birth to you—you’ll serve us this life, and the next life too!”
“I, He Shiyi, have completely broken with the He family. I won’t serve you this life, and even less the next. If you want daughters to serve you, go home and have your wife give birth to a few more. Don’t come here making trouble. If you don’t get lost, I’ll let Hunhun bite you to death.”
Amid the shouting, Luo Lingfeng finished cooking the noodles.
He extinguished the fire, buried a few sweet potatoes in the hot ashes, and hearing how full of confidence He Shiyi sounded when she cursed— the corner of his lips lifted slightly.
He untied his apron, took out a large enamel basin from the cupboard, and poured all the noodles and broth into it.
He placed a big ladle inside, picked up two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks, and carried everything out toward He Shiyi’s shed.
“Captain—save me!”
Hunhun chased the battered, miserable He Zhu, circling Luo Lingfeng’s house again and again.
At that moment, Luo Lingfeng was “blind”— he saw nothing at all.
He walked straight into He Shiyi’s shed.
She sat on the edge of the bamboo bed, her peach-tinged face lit with a smug, triumphant smile.
Her hands braced on the bed, her legs swinging lazily.
“Heartless old bastard! You exploited me for over ten years and still want to keep squeezing me dry. I hope the dog bites you to death!”
“You did the right thing. This is exactly how it should be—I support you.”
Luo Lingfeng set the enamel basin on the bamboo mat and ladled a full bowl of bean-bran noodles for He Shiyi.
“Hungry? Just finished cooking. Eat while it’s hot.”
He Shiyi curved her eyes sweetly, a little shy, a little excited.
“I don’t have the conditions to cook yet, so I’ll mooch a meal from you for now. Once I settle down, I’ll cook for myself.”
Luo Lingfeng filled a bowl for himself and sat beside her.
Holding his chopsticks, he didn’t rush to eat.
His words were frank and easy.
“It’s fine. You can mooch as many meals as you want—I don’t mind.”
The noodles Luo Lingfeng made smelled delicious.
He Shiyi hadn’t eaten the night before, nor that morning—her stomach was already growling.
She didn’t hold back.
Holding her bowl, she slurped it down in no time.
Lowering her eyes, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and said politely,
“You might not mind, but I do. Even though you’re the team captain, you still live on work points. I can’t keep taking advantage of you.”
Luo Lingfeng set down his bowl and chopsticks and immediately ladled her another full bowl.
Reassuringly, he said,
“My advantage is yours to take—take it however you want. As long as you’re willing, you can take advantage of me for a lifetime, and I won’t have a single objection.”