Chapter 20: My Lady, Have a Bite

Pushing his wheelbarrow, Chen Jie quickly returned to the village.

The county where Chen Jie lived was named Mianshui County, situated adjacent to the Mianshui, a tributary of the Yangtze River. It governed eight large towns, each consisting of three to five villages.

For instance, Chen Jie lived in Xiantao Village, Xiantao Town, within Mianshui County; under Xiantao Town, there were also three other villages: Shangtao, Zhongtao, and Xiatao.

Chen Jie soon arrived back in his own village.

When Chen Jie returned pushing the small wheelbarrow, all the villagers stared at him in shock because he had bought far too much this time—enough to fill an entire wheelbarrow.

Moreover, the cart was filled with good things: bags of grain, large chunks of pork fat tied with hemp rope, and various oils, salts, soy sauces, and vinegars. All these items combined would likely cost two or three taels of silver.

Chen Jiusi had struck it rich!

Chen Jie pushed his cart through the village amidst the envious gazes of the villagers.

"Uncle Erba."

On the way, Chen Jie saw Chen Erba and called out to him. Chen Erba immediately exclaimed in astonishment, "Jiusi, you... what is this?"

Chen Jie replied, "Oh, we ran out of food at home, so I bought some."

As he spoke, he continued walking toward his house. Meanwhile, not far away under the roots of a large tree, Chen Jie's other cousin, Chen Sanliu, was complaining that Chen Jiusi was a spendthrift who had squandered his uncle's legacy. He muttered that if he had known, he would have preferred his uncle to leave the legacy to him; how could he have let the family estate fall into ruin?

The people listening to Chen Sanliu's complaints wore smiles on their faces, but in their hearts, they felt nothing but disdain. *On what grounds?* they thought. *Old Man Chen had a daughter; why would he give everything to you? Besides, with your ungrateful and heartless ways, if those assets had fallen into your hands, they would have been gone like a meat bun thrown to a dog. Would you have even cared whether Chen Jiusi lived or died?*

However, knowing this was one thing, but as neighbors, they had to maintain a superficial harmony, so they all just laughed it off.

Just then, Chen Jie passed by pushing his wheelbarrow, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

"Hey, look, it's Chen Jiusi."

"Hey, it really is Jiusi. He... he's struck it rich! Look at those things he bought—grain by the bag! Buying it by the bag! How much must that cost?"

"Yeah, look, there's even pork! Chen Jiusi has made a fortune!"

"This whole cart must be worth two or three taels. When did Chen Jiusi become so wealthy?"

"What's so strange about that? Even a starving camel is bigger than a horse. Old Man Chen's family had deep pockets; even with all the squandering, isn't it normal to have a few taels left? Who knows, maybe he stumbled upon something valuable in some dusty corner?"

"That's true!"

As the people spoke, Chen Sanliu's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

*How does his family still have money?!*

*Hasn't Chen Jiusi squandered it all away yet? Just how much money did his uncle actually leave behind!*

*If only that money were mine.*

Jealousy turned Chen Sanliu's eyes green. Listening to the surrounding chatter, he snorted coldly, "Hmph, what a spendthrift. Even if he has money, he shouldn't spend it like this! How can a farming family eat meat like that? He doesn't know how to manage a household."

The people cooling themselves in the shade could smell the bitter scent of jealousy from a distance. They exchanged glances but said nothing.

Chen Jie didn't care what others said. He pushed the cart directly to his doorstep. Upon arriving, he saw Xiaodouding sitting on a small stool by the entrance, staring intently at something on the ground.

After watching for a while, she seemed to find something; she reached out, pinched a bit of it, put it in her mouth, and savored the taste, muttering, "Little ants, don't get lost, or you'll be eaten!"

"Ruirui, I'm back."

Chen Jie called out. Sitting by the door, Ruirui looked up and suddenly saw Chen Jie, and then her eyes were immediately drawn to the items on the small wheelbarrow.

"Meat! Meat!"

Ruirui jumped up instantly and ran over quickly, shouting "meat, meat," but once she reached him, it immediately turned into: "Brother-in-law~"

To an outsider, one might think she was incredibly fond of her brother-in-law.

The courtyard gate opened, and Chen Jie pushed the cart inside. Ruirui stared at the items on the cart and shouted, "Sister, Brother-in-law is back!"

"Brother-in-law brought so many things back!"

Hearing this, Su Yunjin came out of the house. She saw Chen Jie and the items on his cart, her face filled with shock.

"This?!!"

She knew well that they didn't have a single penny at home. Where on earth did Chen Jiusi get this money? She looked on in disbelief.

Chen Jie said nothing else and handed the seasonings directly to Xiaodouding. "Help carry these into the house."

"Okay!"

Xiaodouding was thrilled and began helping Chen Jie carry the seasonings inside.

Chen Jie hoisted a bag of rice and then carried most of the pork into the house, saying to Su Yunjin, "Don't just stand there, help me move things!"

Su Yunjin hesitated for a moment before immediately replying, "Okay~"

She went over to help, and soon everything was moved inside. Only then did Su Yunjin ask, "Where did this come from?"

Chen Jie smiled. "Haha, I had good luck today. I found a ginseng root in the mountains, sold it in town for some money, and bought this rice and flour."

After saying this, Chen Jie pulled a handful of broken silver from his robe—about eight mace—and said, "This is the leftover money. You keep it safe!"

"Me!?"

Su Yunjin was stunned. Chen Jie smiled and said, "Of course. You are my wife; what is mine is yours!"

With that, Chen Jie went back out to continue moving things. Su Yunjin stared at the silver in her hand, completely dazed, with his words echoing in her mind: *You are my wife; what is mine is yours.*

*Wife?*

She looked back at Chen Jie, who was busy moving things, and at Su Ruirui, who was as happy as a little butterfly, and tears fell once again.

It wasn't that she liked to cry, but because she had experienced darkness, she was moved to tears by even a tiny glimmer of light.

She didn't actually care about the money; what she cared about was that Chen Jie had her in his heart. She was even more moved that now that he had money, he hadn't gone gambling, but had instead bought the food the family desperately needed. He had truly changed for the better!

"Sister, Brother-in-law bought so much meat, why are you crying?"

Xiaodouding saw her sister secretly wiping away tears and asked in confusion. Usually, when she cried, it was because she was hungry. But now that there was food, she was still crying? She didn't understand; she just didn't understand.

Chen Jie finally finished moving everything into the house. There was a cellar in the house that used to be for storing cabbage. After putting the items inside, Chen Jie looked at the pork and said to Su Yunjin, "Cut some to make salted meat, and render the rest into oil."

Su Yunjin nodded. Chen Jie found a knife and began butchering the fat. First, he cut a large piece of pork belly, about five catties, to make salted meat.

Then he cut off another two and a half catties of belly, leaving that for Uncle Erba.

After that, he began cutting the pork fat into large chunks. Once washed, he started rendering the lard and cracklings.

Almost as soon as the meat hit the pot, Xiaodouding was leaning over the stove watching, asking every few seconds, "Brother-in-law, is it ready yet?"

Seeing Xiaodouding looking so hungry, Chen Jie couldn't help but laugh. Su Yunjin, standing nearby, said, "It won't be that fast."

Xiaodouding pouted. "Why isn't it ready yet?"

Chen Jie didn't say anything. He watched as the fat in the pot slowly shrank, rendering out the lard and turning a golden brown. He knew it was ready.

Using a strainer, he scooped out three pieces, blew on them, and gave one to Xiaodouding.

Xiaodouding impatiently stuffed it into her mouth, her face covered in oil. Chen Jie also ate one. *Mmm, delicious.*

Looking at the last piece of pork crackling, Chen Jie picked it up with his hand and offered it to Su Yunjin.

"Taste it."

Su Yunjin was slightly startled, but she did not resist. She opened her mouth and bit the crackling Chen Jie held out, accidentally brushing against his finger.

In an instant, her face turned bright red...

(End of Chapter)