Chapter 18: The Commotion Caused by a Bowl of Chicken Soup
When Zhou-shi was called, her mind went hot with agitation, and without a second thought, she followed after them.
Yang Santie was, after all, a slippery child; he ran so fast that even Qian-shi couldn't catch up. He soon surged to the very front, and as they neared the house, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Mother, hide the chicken! Second Aunt is coming to snatch the food!"
Hearing that from behind, Qian-shi was absolutely livid. Because she was chasing Yang Santie, she was also out of breath, unable to even form complete sentences while cursing. By the time the family burst into the courtyard, they hadn't even seen a single chicken feather. Qian-shi grew impatient and angry, "Sister-in-law! We're all one family, and you have the nerve to hog the food for yourself?"
Jiang Ning was actually laughed out of anger. "Oh! So now we're one family? Datou, Erdan, did you all hear that? Your Second Aunt says we're one family! In a moment, we'll head over to your Second Aunt's room and take whatever we fancy. After all, we're one family, right!"
"You!" Qian-shi jumped up in rage. "Sister-in-law! You've gone too far! The family has already been split! And you still want to come and scavenge my things! Where do you get the face for that? I'm not arguing with you—where's the chicken? My Fugui wants to eat chicken!"
As she spoke, Qian-shi sniffed the air vigorously. She sniffed all around but couldn't catch a scent. She intended to search everywhere, but she was blocked by Yang Datou and the others.
"Second Aunt, our house does not welcome you!" Yang Datou said coldly.
Although he hadn't liked Qian-shi before, he had always shown her respect because she was an elder. However, ever since he had been beaten by her during her unreasonable tantrum at the old residence last time, his mindset had changed; he no longer regarded Qian-shi as an elder at all.
Qian-shi hadn't expected Yang Datou to dare speak to her like that. Enraged, she prepared to roll up her sleeves to beat him.
Jiang Ning was quick-handed. She rushed forward and shoved Qian-shi far away. "I'm not dead yet! It's not your turn to come into my house and act high and mighty!"
"You dare hit me! I'll fight you to the death!" Qian-shi scrambled up from the ground in shame and fury, rushing toward Jiang Ning recklessly.
Jiang Ning had no patience for a scuffle. She immediately rushed into the house, grabbed a sickle, and swung it toward Qian-shi.
Qian-shi thought Jiang Ning was just bluffing and didn't take it seriously at all. She never expected Jiang Ning to actually swing the blade, even clipping a few strands of her hair.
Qian-shi was instantly scared witless, her eyes glazing over.
When Zhou-shi and Li-shi rushed over, they happened to witness this scene, and both felt their legs go weak.
Li-shi said with a trembling voice, "Eldest Daughter! Let's talk this through! The Second Daughter's wife is just a hooligan, you know that! Let's not stoop to her level. Mother promises to teach her a lesson once we get back! Let's just put the sickle down, alright?"
Zhou-shi's teeth were chattering; she was even more terrified than Li-shi. She forced herself to speak, "S-s-s-sister-in-law! D-d-d-don't be impulsive..."
Jiang Ning stared coldly at Qian-shi and barked sharply, "Get out! If you dare step into my courtyard again, next time I will definitely take you down with me!"
As she spoke, she swung the sickle fiercely again. The sound of the blade cutting through the air terrified Qian-shi once more.
Yang Fugui and his siblings had already slipped away to the bottom of the slope when they saw things turning sour during Jiang Ning's outburst.
Seeing that Qian-shi was motionless, Li-shi gritted her teeth, went over, and dragged her out of the courtyard, cursing her all the way.
Once they withdrew, Jiang Ning immediately regained her composure. She said to Yang Datou, "Follow them. Bring our bowl back. And as for my things—the Second Branch is not worthy of enjoying them!"
"Mother, I understand," Yang Datou replied, following them out of the house.
The others were still shaken. Liu Ye quickly rushed over to take the sickle from Jiang Ning's hand, her eyes slightly red. "Mother, Second Aunt is a piece of work; it's not worth ruining yourself for her!"
She had truly been terrified just now! She was afraid that in a fit of rage, her mother-in-law might actually kill Qian-shi, and that would cost a life!
Jiang Ning turned back and gave Liu Ye a reassuring look. "I know what I'm doing! With a scare like this today, Qian-shi should behave for a while. However, we need to build a wall around this courtyard so that any stray cat or dog can't just barge in!"
Liu Ye nodded hurriedly.
***
Back at the old residence.
The Second Branch was cursed all the way home by Li-shi. Even so, Qian-shi was thick-headed and only had the bowl of chicken soup on her mind. To her surprise, she saw Old Man Yang hand half a bowl of chicken soup and a piece of chicken to Li-shi in front of everyone. "Eat! Once you're done, have Datou bring the bowl back."
"Father! Why did you eat it? You didn't even leave a bite for Fugui! He is a grandson of the Yang family!" Qian-shi was resentful and dissatisfied, as if a duck had flown right out of her mouth.
Old Man Yang couldn't be bothered to deal with her. He looked at Yang Datou, who was standing behind Li-shi, and urged, "Hurry and eat, Datou needs to head back!"
Only then did Li-shi notice Yang Datou, who had followed them back, and he proceeded to finish the chicken and soup cleanly in front of everyone.
Yang Datou's expression improved significantly. Taking the bowl, he said, "Grandpa, Grandma, it's getting late. I'll head back first."
Li-shi wiped the corner of her mouth and said, "Wait a moment, take two cabbages back with you."
Qian-shi was so angry she couldn't even curse anymore; she slammed the door and went into her room in front of everyone.
After seeing off her eldest grandson, Li-shi also returned to her room. Seeing the half-bowl of chicken soup hidden in the cupboard, she felt conflicted and whispered, "I knew you didn't eat it!"
Old Man Yang remained expressionless. He let out a long sigh and said earnestly, "The Eldest Daughter has finally changed her ways after so much difficulty. I didn't want her to say we were biased again, so I had to hide it. I originally wanted to save it for Fugui and Laigui, but the Second Daughter's wife is too much of a troublemaker; it would have been hard to give it to them!"
Once Yang Fugui drank the chicken soup, Qian-shi would definitely find out. With Qian-shi's wretched character, she would surely shout about it everywhere, and it would soon reach Madam Jiang, causing nothing but trouble for them and making her resent the old couple.
Yang Laigui was the grandson of the Third Branch and was even younger than Yang Fugui. He couldn't keep a secret. If they gave it to Laigui but not Fugui, once the child let it slip, there would inevitably be another uproar. The Second Branch might even turn against them. No matter what they did, it wasn't quite right.
Li-shi gritted her teeth and said, "Then eat it yourself! You've worked hard your whole life! You've been angered by the Eldest Daughter for over a decade. It's rare that she eats meat and still remembers us; it's only natural for you to eat her food!"
Ultimately, under Li-shi's persuasion, Old Man Yang finally ate that half-bowl of chicken soup.
When Yang Datou returned with the empty bowl, Yang Erdan and the others immediately brought out the hidden chicken and porridge. After warming it up, the whole family enjoyed a delicious meal of savory chicken soup.
This meal seemed to awaken the food-loving nature of the children; they began running into the mountains even more frequently.
Yang Santie, meanwhile, put all his energy into making sun-dried mud bricks.
When Jiang Ning asked curiously, he replied, "I'm listening to Mother. I want to build a very high wall and have Second Brother make a thick, heavy gate to keep Second Aunt out, so she can't enter our home!"
Jiang Ning burst into laughter.
Hunting wild game relied entirely on skill and luck. Every day, before dawn, Yang Datou would go into the mountains to set traps before heading to the fields. He would patrol once at noon, and upon returning, he would weave fish baskets and winnowing trays, busy from dawn till dusk.
The others were busy making mud bricks, striving to build a house after the autumn harvest.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day before the big market.
(End of Chapter)