Early in the morning, the crackling sound of firecrackers exploded loudly enough to shake the ears.
Meng Yu covered her ears and burrowed deeper beneath the blanket.
The bedroom door rattled from being slapped repeatedly, followed by Wang Cuilian’s voice outside.
“Third branch, get up and start helping already!”
Xu Chunhua shot upright from the bed, her pretty face filled with heavy resentment.
“If I don’t eat my fill today, then waking up this early was for nothing!”
Meng Qiushi dressed himself with lifeless, unfocused eyes. Turning to glance at the dark sky outside the window, he buried his face into the blanket in despair.
“It’s not even daylight yet,” he wailed.
Meng Qiufeng dragged Meng Qiushou and Meng Qiushi around the village borrowing tables and stools from every household.
The September weather was pleasantly cool.
Wearing only a little red bellyband, Meng Yu lay on the bed with her chubby legs crossed behind her, propping up her chin as she stared boredly out the window, listening to the lively commotion outside.
Suddenly, her toes felt warm.
Turning her head, she discovered Meng Che chewing on her foot.
Meng Yu silently looked away, planted one foot directly onto Meng Che’s face, and rolled to another spot.
Meng Wei and Meng Qing loved excitement and had already run outside to play.
Only the two babies remained in the room.
Wang Cuilian had spent money to hire Kang Youcai, a well-known private banquet cook from the surrounding villages.
“Master Kang, thank you for your hard work today.” Wang Cuilian forced a smile onto her sharp, mean-looking face, making it appear somewhat friendlier.
A banquet chef absolutely could not be offended.
This was her precious Zhuzhu’s first birthday banquet. Wang Cuilian was counting on Kang Youcai to show off his skills and amaze the entire village.
Kang Youcai was a man of few words. He merely nodded and continued working silently.
Inside the kitchen, Xu Chunhua and Wang Yun helped with prep work while Wang Cuilian entertained guests outside.
Wang Cuilian proudly carried Meng Zhu around for everyone to admire.
The little girl was fair, plump, and adorable like carved jade and snow, except for the large patch of caterpillar sting scars still covering half her face. It would take at least another ten days or half a month to heal.
Inside the kitchen, Wang Yun sat before the stove feeding the fire. The blazing flames dyed her face red.
Xu Chunhua clumsily chopped vegetables.
Before marriage, she had never entered a kitchen. After marrying into the Meng family, Wang Cuilian had forced her to cook, and Xu Chunhua had thoroughly demonstrated her “talent” by burning down the kitchen.
From then on, Wang Cuilian never again dared let Xu Chunhua into the kitchen alone. At most, she was allowed to help on the side.
Meanwhile, Chen Rou sat chatting in the courtyard with the village aunties and older women.
Her voice was soft and gentle, making her especially eye-catching among the crowd.
As Meng Qiufeng carried tables around, he couldn’t help glancing back at her, a foolish grin hanging on his face.
Sitting beside Chen Rou, Wang Cuilian wrapped an arm around her shoulders and announced to everyone:
“After some time, Xiao Rou and my eldest son Qiufeng will get married. You all must come then too.”
The women who had been noisily cracking sunflower seeds all froze mid-motion. The chatter abruptly fell silent as everyone exchanged looks.
Auntie Li from next door was the first to speak.
“Did I hear that right? Chen Rou is marrying that boy Qiufeng?”
Wang Cuilian lifted her chin proudly.
“Yes. Being able to marry Xiao Rou is Qiufeng’s blessing. Even though he’s not worthy of her, at least he’s considerate.”
Everyone laughed and agreed politely.
They were already used to Wang Cuilian’s favoritism. She always placed Chen Rou on a pedestal while belittling her own children, practically wishing her sons and daughters would serve Chen Rou like oxen and horses.
Anyone unaware of the truth would think Chen Rou was Wang Cuilian’s actual daughter.
Wang Cuilian’s eyes reddened slightly.
“I’m mainly worried Xiao Rou might encounter an unreasonable mother-in-law again. Her former mother-in-law was vicious and heartless. The moment Zhao Ming died, she couldn’t wait to throw pregnant Xiao Rou out of the house.”
The crowd sighed sympathetically.
Chen Rou’s situation really had been miserable. Her husband died while she was pregnant, and instead of caring for the mother and child, her mother-in-law spread rumors that Chen Rou brought misfortune and kicked her out.
Chen Rou lowered her head, wiping away tears with reddened eyes.
Every time she thought about it, hatred gnawed at her heart.
The moment Zhao Ming’s compensation money arrived, the Zhao family had driven her out without giving her a single cent, then spread rumors everywhere claiming Zhao Ming had been cursed to death by her.
Seeing her cry, the women all comforted her one after another.
But privately, they remembered the rumors too.
People said Chen Rou carried a hard fate that harmed relatives. Both her parents had died in accidents, and Zhao Ming’s death only reinforced that belief.
People in this era were still fairly superstitious.
The women quietly studied Chen Rou, strange looks flickering in their eyes.
Even so, Wang Cuilian still wanted Meng Qiufeng to marry her.
That really was true love.
Inside the kitchen, Xu Chunhua stared at basin after basin of freshly cooked meat dishes, the rich aroma filling her nose.
She poked her head out and silently waved toward Meng Wei and Meng Qing, who were squatting outside playing with copper coins.
The siblings stuffed the coins into their pockets and sneaked into the kitchen.
The children often found old copper coins buried in the dirt and used them to play games like rolling coins, flicking coins, and smashing coins.
The coins themselves weren’t valuable. Every household had some lying around, and you could even dig them out of the soil.
Meng Wei was especially skilled at coin games and had already won an entire jar full of copper coins, all hidden beneath the bed.
“Uncle Kang, let me taste whether this braised pork is salty enough.”
As Xu Chunhua spoke, she scooped a huge spoonful of braised pork straight into a bowl.
Wang Yun beside her was utterly dumbfounded.
Kang Youcai merely glanced at Xu Chunhua, the corners of his lips lifting slightly as his spatula moved even more energetically.
“Eat a little less. There’s twice-cooked pork coming later too.”
The meat and vegetables belonged to the Meng family, and Xu Chunhua was a daughter-in-law of the Meng family. Eating a few bites of meat wasn’t a problem.
“Alright!”
Xu Chunhua picked up a piece with chopsticks and popped it into her mouth first.
The moment the soft fatty pork melted on her tongue, she narrowed her eyes in satisfaction and gave Kang Youcai a thumbs-up.
“Uncle Kang, your cooking is just as amazing as ever.”
“Heh, little Chunhua’s even using idioms now. So educated.” Kang Youcai’s smile widened.
Kang Youcai came from the same village as Xu Qiang. The two had been close friends for many years and often worked together. He had practically watched Xu Chunhua grow up.
“Mom, we want some too,” Meng Wei and Meng Qing pleaded from the side, staring up eagerly.
Xu Chunhua laughed sheepishly, then stuffed another piece of meat into her own mouth first.
“This meat smells so good I almost forgot about you two. Come on, Mommy will feed you. Open wide.”
Beside them, Wang Yun watched enviously.
Though she had a domineering personality, she was still somewhat afraid of Wang Cuilian. She couldn’t compare to fearless Xu Chunhua.
Catching Wang Yun’s longing expression out of the corner of her eye, Xu Chunhua rolled her eyes.
“Can your stomach fill up just by staring? Hurry and scoop out a bowl already. If you used the same fierceness on Wang Cuilian that you use on Meng Qiushou, would you still be scared of her?”
Wang Yun was only fierce inside her own household, strong only against Meng Qiushou.
Probably because her husband was too weak-tempered, Wang Yun had gradually become increasingly overbearing and always suppressed him.
But Wang Cuilian was even more domineering than Wang Yun, so Wang Yun remained suppressed by her instead.
In short, she bullied the weak and feared the strong.
Another reason was that she didn’t have a powerful natal family backing her up.
Before marriage, Xu Chunhua had been the treasured jewel of her entire family. Growing up spoiled like that made her fearless.
After she first married into the Meng family, Wang Cuilian had tried repeatedly to suppress her, but failed every single time.
“What are you scared of? There’s still so much meat left. Scooping out a little won’t even be noticeable. It’s not like Wang Cuilian’s going to pour out the soup and weigh everything piece by piece.”
As she spoke, Xu Chunhua grabbed another slice of perfectly layered pork belly and stuffed it into her mouth.
Wang Yun hesitated uncertainly, then turned to look outside.
Her two daughters were playing in the courtyard, looking especially thin and weak compared to the other village children.
Pressing her lips together, her eyes gradually hardened with resolve.
Then she picked up a bowl and filled it generously with braised pork.
This was the first banquet the Meng family had ever hosted since she married into the family.
Holding the steaming bowl of pork belly, Wang Yun didn’t eat first.
Instead, she called Meng Sang and Meng Liu into the kitchen.
The moment Meng Liu saw the meat in Wang Yun’s hands, her eyes lit up. Shoving Meng Sang aside, she squeezed forward first.
“Mom, I’m so hungry.”
She stared eagerly at the fragrant braised pork.
Meng Sang obediently stood behind her sister.
“Mom, you should eat first.”
Wang Yun rubbed her eyes and forced out a bitter smile.
“You two eat first. Mom already ate earlier.”
Meng Liu unceremoniously grabbed the bowl and stuffed several pieces of pork belly into her mouth.
Only after Wang Yun reminded her did she reluctantly pass the bowl to Meng Sang.
But before Meng Sang could eat more than two pieces, Meng Liu snatched the bowl back again.
Meng Sang didn’t get angry. Instead, she said worriedly:
“Xiao Liu, slow down. There’s no rush.”
Meng Liu chewed even faster, shoving more meat into her mouth.
If she ate slowly, Meng Sang would get more pieces.
Did Meng Sang really think she couldn’t see through her little scheme?