“Fine, if you won’t make it for me, then I’ll… Da Ya, Er Ya, get over here and make me some steamed egg custard!”
Da Ya and Er Ya spoke timidly,
“Grandma said we’re not allowed to touch the food casually…”
Right.
The two girls were too scared to touch any food.
The original owner had always been domineering and vicious. She never needed to lock up the family’s food because without her permission, nobody dared touch it.
Previously, Cheng Qian simply disdained bothering with it. After all, the best food was always reserved for him anyway.
But now, after missing lunch and working half the day, he was starving.
“I’ll make it myself.”
Cheng Qian headed toward the kitchen to cook himself some eggs.
Just then, Ye Manshu strode in.
“Who gave you permission to touch the eggs?!”
Startled, Cheng Qian dropped the egg.
Crack!
It shattered on the ground.
Madam Yang rushed over heartbroken, scooping it into a bowl with her hands. Bits of firewood ash and leaves were mixed in.
“Luckily… luckily there’s not much dirt.”
“You dare steal eggs to eat? Where’s Second Son?”
Madam Yang replied,
“Second Brother went to catch frogs.”
“Boss! Get over here!”
Cheng Yuan answered quickly and stepped out from his room.
“Mother, I didn’t steal any eggs.”
“I’m not blind. Here—beat Third Brother twenty times.”
Ye Manshu tossed a thorny switch into Cheng Yuan’s hands.
Cheng Qian’s face instantly turned pale.
At that moment, he finally realized his mother was truly serious this time.
“Mother, don’t hit me! Don’t! The egg wasn’t wasted—ahhh!”
Cheng Yuan gave him no chance to continue. The switch lashed sharply across Cheng Qian’s back.
Ahhh—
Internally, Cheng Yuan was shouting too.
He had wanted to beat Third Brother properly for years, but Mother had always favored him, so he never dared.
Finally, his wish had come true.
At that moment, his dizziness vanished, his exhaustion disappeared, and he felt like he could take on ten Cheng Qians.
Wherever there are people, there’s conflict—even within families. It simply manifests differently.
Cheng Qian’s fantasy that his mother would soften was completely shattered by the whipping. His fragile spirit finally broke under the pressure.
“Mother! I’ll never steal food again! Please spare me!”
“It’s not impossible to spare you…” Ye Manshu deliberately dragged out her words.
Only when the beating nearly reached twenty strikes did she finally say,
“Tomorrow, the village will open a small school. You’ll be the teacher and teach the children basic literacy. Are you willing?”
Cheng Qian agreed immediately.
“Yes! Yes, I’m willing!”
The moment the twentieth strike landed, Cheng Yuan eagerly ran back to Ye Manshu like a loyal lackey.
“Mother, should I keep beating him?”
Ye Manshu replied,
“Yes.”
“Alright, I’ll beat him!”
Just as Cheng Yuan lifted the switch again, Ye Manshu suddenly grabbed another thorny branch and lashed it hard across Cheng Yuan’s arm.
“AHHH—!”
She had used full force. Instantly, a bloody welt appeared across his exposed arm.
Before his scream even ended, the second strike came down.
After taking ten blows in a row, Cheng Yuan finally remembered to run.
“If you dare run, I’ll break your legs!”
“Ah Yuan! Ahhh! Mother, stop hitting him!”
Madam Yang dropped to her knees with a thud, pleading desperately.
“Mother, what did Ah Yuan do wrong?”
Hiding by the wall, Cheng Yuan cried out miserably,
“Mother, what did I do?!”
Though Cheng Qian had no idea why his elder brother was suddenly being beaten, he inexplicably felt avenged.
“What did you do?” Ye Manshu barked. “Tell me—where did all the medical fees for my Uncle go over the years?”
“What medical fees? I didn’t hide anything!”
Cheng Yuan absolutely refused to admit it.
“You still won’t confess? I’ll beat you to death!”
Ye Manshu had no intention of letting her sons deceive her in the future. She charged forward and resumed beating Cheng Yuan mercilessly.
“Mother! Mother! I’ll talk! I spent it bit by bit buying meat buns!”
The moment he heard “meat buns,” little Cheng Yunfan—who had been hiding in fear earlier—licked his lips.
“Father, I want meat buns too…”
“Oh, wonderful! So all of you eat meat buns while your old mother eats wild vegetables? Unfilial children and grandchildren!
You’re all just ungrateful dogs! Every one of you bullies this old woman! Sons and grandsons eating meat buns and attending feasts while leaving your lonely old mother at home chewing husks and vegetables! Wuwuwu!
I’m going to ask Village Chief Uncle for justice! I’ll have those ungrateful wolves beaten to death!”
Ye Manshu unleashed her tirade exactly like the original owner possessed by rage.
Cheng Yuan and Cheng Qian both panicked.
If she really brought this matter before Village Chief Li Daoshun, the two of them would likely be skinned alive.
Everyone in the village knew that anyone who bullied Ye Manshu would face retaliation from both the village chief and the Ye clan leader.
Even her own husband and children were no exception.
Ye Manshu herself could behave outrageously and torment her relatives endlessly, but nobody else was allowed to mistreat her.
“Mother, I’ll never do it again! I’ll work honestly and earn all the money back for you!”
Cheng Yuan kowtowed repeatedly.
Cheng Qian also knelt despite the pain.
“Mother, I’ll obediently teach at the school. Every coin I earn will go to you.”
“Good.”
After disciplining her two troublesome sons, Ye Manshu felt refreshed.
Just then, Cheng Kang entered carrying several frogs.
At the thought of spicy stir-fried frog meat, Ye Manshu suddenly craved it.
“Boss, go to Butcher Qian’s place and buy two jin of pork fat and one jin of pork belly. Your mother wants to nourish herself.”
“Third Son, go light the fire. Second Son, skin the frogs, remove the organs, and chop them up. Boss’s wife, once the pork fat is rendered into oil, we’ll stir-fry the frogs.”
During her herb-gathering trip earlier, she had picked some Sichuan peppercorns, which doubled as both medicine and seasoning. She also found angelica root, though she still lacked many ingredients needed for a true thirteen-spice blend.
She had also gathered wild garlic and dried wood ear mushrooms.
Thinking about it, Doctor Li probably possessed most of the ingredients for thirteen-spice seasoning anyway, since many of them were medicinal herbs.
“Boss’s wife, go to Doctor Li’s house and ask for some herbs.”
Ye Manshu entered Cheng Qian’s room and took out brush and ink.
Unused to writing with a brush, her handwriting came out crooked and ugly. Hopefully Doctor Li would still recognize it.
Fortunately, the original owner’s handwriting had also looked terrible, so nobody would suspect anything unusual.
“Go get these. Take money with you.”
That way Madam Zhao wouldn’t feel upset again.
Although Madam Yang had no idea why, she obediently left.
Doctor Li assumed Ye Manshu wanted to learn to recognize the herbs, so he generously handed them over without charging anything. He even sent along one of his illustrated herb manuals for Madam Yang to bring home.
Madam Yang returned utterly bewildered.
Ye Manshu immediately stored away the herb manual and began grinding the seasonings together into a crude version of thirteen-spice powder.
Soon Cheng Yuan returned with the meat, and Cheng Kang finished preparing the frogs.
Meanwhile, Cheng Qian struggled to light the fire for half the day and still failed. Ye Manshu kicked him several times before Da Ya finally took over and got the fire burning perfectly.
“You’re a grown man and less useful than a little girl,” Ye Manshu mocked.
“Mother, a gentleman stays away from the kitchen…”
Immediately, she kicked him again.
“If you’re so capable, stay away from the dining table too. You study without understanding anything. Even I, someone barely educated, know that ‘a gentleman stays away from the kitchen’ originally meant avoiding unnecessary killing and preserving compassion.
Though honestly, that saying itself isn’t entirely right. The important thing is not to torture animals or waste food. They’re part of the food chain after all—it’s not like humans can stop eating.”
Cheng Qian was stunned.
Was that really what the phrase meant?
“Mother, you know so much,” Madam Yang praised sincerely—though she was also shamelessly flattering her.
Ye Manshu’s lips curled upward proudly.
Girl, you have no idea how much more I know.
She instructed Madam Yang to cook a whole pot of rice.
Madam Yang nearly jumped in fright.
“Mother… are we not planning to save money anymore?”
“From now on we’ll eat good food every day. Without Third Son wasting money on studies, he can earn money instead. Why would we still starve?”
Hearing that, Madam Yang suddenly felt it made perfect sense.
Right—Third Brother’s education had always been the family’s biggest financial drain.
“Mother, maybe we should at least make thick porridge instead? Plain white rice is too extravagant…”
Madam Yang still felt pained.
“I told you to cook rice, so cook rice. Otherwise I’ll make a portion for myself and none for you.”
“No, no! I’ll cook it all!”
Madam Yang was craving it too.
Another smaller pot was used to render the pork fat into oil.
Once the lard was ready and some oil remained in the wok, Ye Manshu guided Madam Yang through cooking.
Stir-fried frogs.
Minced pork with long beans.
Braised eggplant.
“My heavens, Mother… why does it smell so good?!”