When shouting didn’t work and persuasion failed, she directly grabbed the bamboo broom nearby.
“I’ll count to three. Go finish the porridge in the main hall immediately—one bowl each.”
“One, two…”
Wu Yulan raised the broom high.
Seeing this, Chun Ni quickly ducked her head and dragged Song Yinhua and Song Qianhua toward the main hall.
Song Dalang and Song Erlang, afraid of being beaten too, hurriedly pulled Wang Guiqin and Song Zhiyong along with them.
The second daughter-in-law, Zhao Lijuan, didn’t dare lag behind and followed them into the main hall.
Looking at the large sea bowls filled with sweet potato porridge, everyone stared at one another in disbelief.
Song Yinhua licked her lips, tugged at Wang Guiqin’s sleeve, and blinked as she asked, “Mother, is this really for us?”
Wang Guiqin looked at the porridge on the table, equally incredulous.
Turning around, she shrank her neck and asked timidly, “Mother… this porridge…”
“What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and finish it, then get to work! All of you are just thinking about slacking off!”
“Do you even know what time it is? Keep dawdling and see if I don’t deal with you!”
As Wu Yulan spoke, she waved the broom again.
The children in the family all had bruises to varying degrees. It was clear the original owner of this body had beaten them harshly.
Hearing this, everyone hurriedly picked up their bowls and drank, afraid that a second’s delay would bring the broom down on them.
Of course, they were also afraid Wu Yulan might suddenly change her mind and refuse to let them eat, so they kept glancing at her from time to time.
After finishing a large bowl of porridge, everyone felt full—especially the younger children, whose faces unconsciously revealed satisfied expressions.
After quickly washing the dishes, some took baskets, some shouldered hoes, and others grabbed sickles.
Wu Yulan noticed Chun Ni had also picked up a small basket, clearly intending to go gather firewood and cut pigweed. She quickly stopped her.
“Chun Ni, you don’t need to go. Stay home and take care of your mother.”
“If your mother needs water or anything later, there won’t be anyone to help her.”
At this, Chun Ni’s body stiffened slightly.
Wang Guiqin looked at her with sympathy, thinking that her mother-in-law was finally going to make a move against Chun Ni.
Wu Yulan immediately saw through their thoughts. She went into the woodshed, rummaged around for a while, and came out with a long wooden stick and a bucket.
She planned to catch a few crucian carp from the river to make crucian carp tofu soup for her third daughter-in-law, Li Xiuyun.
“Chun Ni, lock the door and stay home with your mother.”
With that, she followed the others out.
Seeing Wu Yulan leave, Chun Ni let out a long sigh of relief.
After locking the door, she ran into her mother’s room.
…
When Song Zhishu woke up, he was so hungry his head felt dizzy. He thought that after being angry all night, his mother’s anger should have subsided and she would bring him food by now.
But after waiting and waiting, there was no movement at all.
When he opened the door and came out, his mother was nowhere to be seen.
“She must have left food for me in the kitchen!”
Clutching his stomach, Song Zhishu hurried excitedly to the kitchen—only to find not a single grain of porridge left.
“Clang—!”
In anger, he swept the bowls and chopsticks off the table.
“Where’s the food?”
“Where’s my food?!”
Hearing the roaring from the kitchen, Li Xiuyun tightly hugged her two daughters, not daring to make a sound.
After venting for a while, Song Zhishu slammed the door and stormed out.
…
When Wu Yulan arrived at the riverside and saw Song Dalang and the others heading toward the mountains, she called out to stop them.
“You few, wait a moment. Go find me some earthworms!”
They didn’t dare disobey her. Upon hearing this, they hurried off to look for earthworms.
After they had gone some distance, Wu Yulan took out the fishhook and bait from the bucket—items she had bought from the Medical Mall for twenty Mall Coins.
Although the mall also sold fish, a two-jin fish cost twenty to thirty Mall Coins. Thinking about sustainable development, Wu Yulan chose to buy the hook and bait instead.
The geographical location of Song Family Village was quite good—water in front, mountains behind. Following the memories in her mind, Wu Yulan came to the village’s Chuanxi River.
The Chuanxi River was about six to seven meters wide, with depths reaching three to four meters in some places. There were plenty of fish in the river, and villagers often came to fish.
At this moment, several half-grown children were also fishing by the riverbank.
Wu Yulan looked around and noticed that the fishhooks the children were using were bent from iron wire. Without barbs, the fish could easily slip away.
She observed for a while, found a good spot, scooped up some water, and began preparing bait to chum the area.
Perhaps because the bait was especially fishy and pungent, as soon as she threw it in, quite a few fish were drawn over. Seeing this, Wu Yulan felt reassured.
After chumming the spot, Song Dalang and the others returned.
“Grandma, the earthworms.”
Song Dalang handed over a small bundle of earthworms wrapped in taro leaves.
“Good. Off you go and get busy!”
Wu Yulan took the earthworms and paid them no further attention. Although Song Dalang and the others were only half-grown children, they were already capable of doing quite a bit of work.
She herself was still unfamiliar with the tasks in the fields, so for now she let them handle things. Once she became more practiced, she didn’t plan to keep them tied down—if they were willing, they could help a little; if not, they could go out and play.
Seeing this, Song Dalang and the others went about their tasks—some headed to the fields, others went to cut pigweed.
Standing by the lake, Wu Yulan noticed her reflection in the water and bent down for a closer look.
To her surprise, it was still the face she knew so well—only aged by more than twenty years.
Though she had been thirty-five before, she had taken good care of herself and looked no more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight.
Now, however, she appeared to be in her fifties. The corners of her eyes drooped downward, and wrinkles had crept across her face. Still, considering the original owner was forty-six, she was actually regarded as well-maintained in this small mountain village.
Wu Yulan shook her head and refocused on the water’s surface.
Splash!
Water rippled outward.
Wu Yulan quickly tied the fishing line, picked up a small stick to use as a float, baited the hook, and cast it into the chummed spot.
Afraid she might not catch anything, she used two hooks—one with bait purchased from the marketplace, the other with an earthworm.
Not long after casting, the hook with the purchased bait began to move.
The small stick floating on the surface dipped again and again. Wu Yulan waited for the right moment, and when the fish had taken the bait firmly, she jerked the line upward.
Flop! Flop!
A crucian carp weighing over a pound was hauled up, thrashing on the ground.
Wu Yulan’s eyes curved with delight as she hurried forward to grab the fish and poured some water into the bucket.
“Crucian carp tofu soup—guaranteed!”
With her first success, she felt even more motivated. She rebaited the hook and cast it back into the same spot.
She glanced at the other hook baited with an earthworm—it remained completely still.
She figured that since the villagers all used earthworms for fishing, the fish in this river were no longer particularly tempted by them.
The fishy, pungent bait, on the other hand, clearly had the advantage.
Before long, she caught another fish—not a crucian carp this time, but a grass carp weighing three to four pounds.
After that, it was as if she had stumbled into a grass carp nest—one after another they came.
In no time, the bucket was filled to the brim with fish.
Seeing the float still moving, Wu Yulan decided to carry this bucket home first and then return with another.
…
“Chun Ni, open the door!”
Chun Ni was pulling weeds in the vegetable patch. Hearing Wu Yulan’s voice, she shrank her neck slightly.
After hesitating for a moment, she ran over to open the door.
“Grandma…”
When she saw the bucket full of fish, she couldn’t help letting out an astonished cry.
“So many fish!”
Wu Yulan poured the fish into the large cracked water vat in the courtyard, then grabbed another bucket and headed out again.
Before leaving, she instructed, “Chun Ni, keep an eye on these fish. Don’t let them jump out. Later Grandma will cook fish soup for you and your mother!”
Chun Ni blinked her dark eyes and leaned over the vat, staring at the fish inside.
Thinking that her mother didn’t yet know the good news, she skipped happily into the house.
“Mother!”
“Grandma caught so many fish! She even said she’ll make fish soup for us later!”
Her eyes curved with joy as she spoke.
Li Xiuyun had vaguely heard some of it. Seeing the happiness on her daughter’s face, she couldn’t help but smile as well.
But then, as another thought crossed her mind, her brows were clouded with worry once more.
…
Wu Yulan returned to her previous spot and, within half an hour, filled two more buckets with fish.
Figuring it was about time to prepare lunch, she stopped there, packed up her fishing rod, and carried the two buckets home.
On the way, she calculated that in the afternoon she would take these fish to town to sell and buy some cotton cloth to make small clothes for the baby at home.
When she arrived back home, she found the courtyard gate open.