Chapter 21: Envy, Jealousy, and Hate!

“Sister, sister~”

“Huh?”

Just as Su Yunjin felt her cheeks flushing with heat, she felt the little kid tugging at her clothes.

“Sister, what does lard crackling taste like? Is it good?”

The little kid stared at her with wide, watery eyes, looking at Su Yunjin expectantly. It would have been even better if the corners of her mouth weren't so greasy.

“Didn't you just eat some?”

“I ate too fast, so I couldn't taste it.”

Hearing this, Chen Jie laughed. This had become a tradition; it was the same way last time when they had fish soup.

Chen Jie smiled and said, “Alright, Yunjin, go scoop out some sorghum. Let's make sorghum rice. Today we'll have sorghum rice with lard crackling, okay, my little glutton?”

As he spoke, Chen Jie gently pinched the little kid's cheek.

The little kid nodded vigorously. “Mhm, mhm!”

Su Yunjin didn't say anything and went to fetch the rice. Chen Jie then said to her, “By the way, Yunjin, scoop out ten catties of sorghum separately. I'll take it to Uncle Erba in a bit. Last time, Uncle Erba gave our family five catties of rice. Now that we have grain, we should pay him back.”

“Mhm, we should.”

Su Yunjin went into the house to pack the rice.

Chen Jie continued refining the oil, and soon the rice was packed.

Carrying the bag of rice, he also took two catties of pork belly.

“Yunjin, I’m heading to Uncle Erba’s house. Keep an eye on the oil in the pot.”

“Okay, I got it.”

With that, Chen Jie headed out. On his way, he passed the large locust tree where people gathered for shade. The villagers all greeted him. Seeing that Chen Jie was carrying both rice and meat, someone asked curiously, “Jiu Si, you've got rice and meat—where are you headed?”

“Ah, I just bought some rice and meat to bring to Uncle Erba.”

Hearing this, the man laughed immediately. “Haha, Jiu Si, you really are good to your uncles!”

Chen Jie caught the implication in his words. *Uncles?* He wasn't the only uncle; wasn't Uncle Sanliu sitting over there too?

If it were the old Chen Jie, he might have found it awkward, but the current Chen Jie was not someone to be trifled with.

Chen Jie chuckled and said, “Haha, yes. But when I was in trouble, only Uncle Erba reached out a hand to help. An uncle isn't just any uncle, is he?”

Having said that, Chen Jie added, “Anyway, I'll be going. My family is waiting for me to eat.”

As Chen Jie walked toward Uncle Erba’s house, Chen Sanliu’s face turned green with rage watching his retreating back. *What do you mean, an uncle isn't just any uncle?*

This Chen Jiu Si was truly a man emboldened by sudden success. It was just some pork; who cared?

And that Chen Erba—what kind of person was he? So calculating, trying to show off. He deserved to be a cripple; damn him, a born bad seed.

The more Chen Sanliu thought about it, the angrier he got. He stood up and started walking home. Someone sitting nearby for shade called out, “Old Chen, aren't you going to sit a while longer?”

“No, I'm hungry. Going home to eat.”

“Eh? Didn't you say you weren't lighting the stove this noon?”

“Can't I change my mind? This noon, I'm not just eating; I'm eating well. I'm going back to eat salted meat with wild vegetables!”

...

Watching Chen Sanliu’s retreating figure, several old friends exchanged smiles and pointed at him.

“That fellow is full of schemes. When Jiu Si was down and out, he wanted to hide at the edge of the world. Now that Jiu Si is doing well, he wants to come back and reap the benefits. Sigh...”

The crowd shook their heads, their faces filled with mockery. In truth, everyone had their own little calculations, but to be this shameless was rare.

Chen Jie arrived at Uncle Erba’s house. He pushed open the courtyard gate and called out, “Huzi, Uncle Erba, are you home?”

Huzi and Uncle Erba were weaving baskets. Hearing the voice, they walked out. Chen Jie held up the rice and meat in his hands.

“Uncle Erba, I've come to return the rice.”

Uncle Erba and Huzi were stunned. Auntie Erba, who had heard the voice from inside, also came out. Seeing Chen Jie with both rice and meat, she was also taken aback.

Chen Jie explained his intention again. Uncle Erba leaned on his crutch and said, “Jiu Si, your family was in difficulty; you could have kept eating it. No need to return it so soon.”

Chen Jie replied, “No need. I've found a way to make a living. I bought quite a lot of things today. This rice still needs to be returned. Come, Auntie.”

Chen Jie pressed the rice into Auntie Erba’s hands.

“Oh my, Jiu Si, this must be ten catties! It's too much, too much!”

Auntie Erba knew the weight of the flour and rice just by lifting the bag. Chen Jie said, “It’s not much, not much. Please take it. You've looked after us quite a bit lately. And this meat, take it too. Huzi is growing; use it to nourish him.”

“Oh, Jiu Si...”

“Alright, let's not talk about this. I'm leaving. Don't see me out. Huzi, go on, go on. We're family, no need for this. I'm off...”

Chen Jie walked away briskly.

Auntie Erba looked at the rice and meat in her hands, her face filled with shame.

“Husband, this...?”

Chen Erba hesitated slightly but eventually nodded. “It's Jiu Si's kind intention. Let's accept it.”

“But... this isn't right. Before, I...”

Auntie Erba felt a wave of regret, remembering how she used to look down on Chen Jiu Si.

She was a typical rural woman; if others tried to take advantage of her, she would haggle, but if she benefited from others, she felt uneasy, as if she owed them.

After thinking for a moment, she went into the house and quickly picked up a bowl of large yellow apricots.

“Huzi, take these apricots to Jiu Si. Tell him to let them soften before eating; they're a bit sour.”

Huzi replied, “Okay!”

He then chased after Chen Jie.

He caught up to Chen Jie quickly and explained the reason. Chen Jie didn't refuse. Feeling the somewhat hard apricots, he said, “Alright, thank Auntie Erba for me. Go on back.”

With a wave of his hand, he said goodbye. As Huzi ran back, he soon passed by Chen Sanliu’s house.

Just as he reached the door, he saw Auntie Sanliu standing there. Previously, this woman would avoid Chen Jie as if he were a plague, but today she was exceptionally warm.

“Oh, Jiu Si! You're busy, aren't you? Come sit in our house when you have time. Your Uncle Sanliu was just mentioning how he missed you yesterday.”

Chen Jie nodded casually to get through the interaction, thinking to himself, *She saw me bringing meat to Uncle Erba's house and got greedy, didn't she?*

Chen Jie couldn't be bothered to deal with her.

Seeing Chen Jiu Si walk far away, Auntie Sanliu went back inside and said to the sulking Chen Sanliu, “I just saw Chen Jiu Si. It looked like he was coming from Erba's house.”

Chen Sanliu sneered, “Must be that deep uncle-nephew affection.”

“Hey, that's not right. You're his uncle too. Why did he bring meat to Erba's house but not ours? Is that how a nephew should act?” Auntie Sanliu said angrily.

“Hmph! Even when Chen Yongwang was alive, he was biased. He helped Chen Erba learn a trade but wouldn't teach me medicine. If he had been willing to teach me, I'd be a doctor by now, living the high life, instead of farming every single day!”

Chen Sanliu was so angry he even shouted his grand-uncle's name. But he failed to realize that most of his family's wealth had been given by Chen Yongwang. Chen Erba's family had only learned the trade of weaving baskets; anyone could see who was actually being favored back then.

Yet here he was, acting aggrieved. Truly, a man's greed knows no bounds.

(End of Chapter)