Chapter 25
◎Black Dog Blood◎
Building a house, the most important part is raising the beam.
Su Huimin personally took charge, carefully planing the surface of the main beam with a plane, polishing all the fine burrs until they were smooth and flat.
The moment they watched the main beam being lifted into place, Yu Juanfang’s family all breathed a sigh of relief. With the beam raised, the next step was to lay the tiles, and then the new house would be ready to live in.
For the past month, they had been spinning like tops, and it was truly exhausting.
Tangtang was now in the fourth grade at Yuhuai Village Primary School, which also meant that she had been at the Su family home for four years. She had just finished reviewing her day’s lessons when she saw Yu Juanfang pour half a ladle of white flour from a bag. She quickly put down her pen, rolled up her sleeves, and went into the kitchen to help.
“We’re having cabbage and minced pork pancakes tonight.”
Tangtang’s eyes lit up, and she couldn’t help but swallow her saliva. “Alright, then I’ll go wash and prepare the cabbage.”
Dinner was cabbage and minced pork pancakes with corn grits congee. The pancakes were pan-fried until golden and crispy on both sides. One bite felt like it would crumble. Inside was hot cabbage and pork, and you could even taste the delicious meat juice. Taking a bite of the pancake and then a sip of the thick corn grits congee, the taste was indescribably good.
…
Before the family was divided, the Su family had raised a total of ten chickens, three of which were laying hens. In those days, laying hens were precious. Not only could they be eaten, but they could also lay eggs. The other branches all vied for the hens. After arguing for a long time, everyone finally agreed to draw lots to choose the chickens.
Of the three hens, two were drawn by Zhang Guixiang, and one was drawn by Yu Yahong. The third branch’s family didn’t get any hens, only two roosters.
After the family was divided, Yu Juanfang specially spent money to buy two laying hens from a villager. Eggs were the most affordable source of protein, and it was good for the children to eat more eggs. When the two hens first arrived at their home, Tangtang specially went to the fields to catch insects to feed them. Yu Juanfang also specially scattered a handful of old corn kernels for the chickens to eat. The chickens were also cooperative, laying an egg every day, and the eggs were large and of good quality.
Yu Juanfang would collect the fresh eggs from the chicken coop and make steamed egg custard for Tangtang and the others. The steamed egg custard was watery and tender, not fishy at all.
But recently, there had been no eggs in the chicken coop. At first, Tangtang thought the chickens were in a resting period, but after observing for a few days, she found that the two hens would squeeze through a hole at the base of the wall and go outside. Tangtang and Su Juesheng both suspected that the chickens were laying their eggs outside.
“Found it.” Tangtang followed the chicken tracks and stopped in front of a patch of grass. She reached out and pushed aside the half-human-high grass, and saw the hen squatting leisurely next to a pile of dry grass. Underneath its body, a few eggs were faintly visible. “So you’ve been secretly laying eggs here!”
She felt both angry and amused. She took a step forward and gathered the few eggs in her arms.
Just as she was about to call her third brother to go home together, she saw a figure in the twilight carrying a bucket of something and walking towards their new house.
Judging by the figure, it seemed to be her eldest aunt, Zhang Guixiang.
“Brother Juesheng.” She lowered her voice and pointed in Zhang Guixiang’s direction.
Su Juesheng sneered. “She’s definitely up to no good. Let’s go, let’s see!”
Su Juesheng’s attitude towards Zhang Guixiang was very bad. He had not forgotten how this woman had forced them to divide the family after their father’s leg was broken.
Tangtang found a safe place to put down the eggs in her hand and followed behind Zhang Guixiang with her third brother.
“It looks like Eldest Aunt is carrying some kind of animal blood.” They were about ten meters away from Zhang Guixiang, and the fishy smell was drilling into her nose. Just smelling it was uncomfortable.
Tangtang now knew Zhang Guixiang’s purpose. Today was the day their house’s beam was raised. Her eldest aunt was carrying a bucket of some unknown blood to their new house in the dark. Wasn’t this an attempt to bring them bad luck in secret?
She clenched her fists. The fact that this house could be built was the wish of her parents for many years, and it was the result of the hard work of their family of six for countless days and nights. Her eldest aunt was actually going to destroy their efforts on the day of the beam-raising. This was too vicious!
Zhang Guixiang twisted her body and carried a bucket of black dog blood to the front of the third branch’s new house at the west end of the village.
Her parents’ family had killed a black dog today. She had specially asked her family to save this for her. Black dog blood could dispel the auspicious atmosphere of a house and destroy the feng shui of the third branch.
The beam of the house had already been raised, and only the roof tiles were left to be laid. The house was built very spaciously, probably with seven or eight rooms, and the courtyard was also very large.
“It’s even a brick and tile house, so impressive.” Zhang Guixiang clicked her tongue, her eyes full of jealous red streaks. Seeing the black dog blood in her bucket, a strange smile appeared on her lips. “Let’s see you show off, let’s see you build a big house. I’ll make sure you won’t have a good life in the future!”
Zhang Guixiang looked around and saw no one. She spat on her hands, struggled to lift the bucket of black dog blood, and was about to splash it on the main beam of the house.
“Eldest Aunt, what are you doing!” Tangtang suddenly raised the flashlight in her hand and shone it in her direction, shouting sharply.
Zhang Guixiang didn’t expect someone to suddenly appear. She was so startled that her wrist went limp, and the bucket of black dog blood in her hand splashed all over herself with a whoosh.
A nauseating fishy smell rushed into her nasal passages. The sticky black dog blood flowed down her hair, cheeks, and neck, all the way to her clothes, instantly soaking them and forming a dark, foul-smelling puddle on the ground.
Zhang Guixiang stood there, completely stunned.
“Eldest Sister-in-law, what are you doing in front of our new house in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?” Su Juesheng had gone back to the old house to call Yu Juanfang and Su Huimin. They had made quite a commotion, and a few villagers had also come over to watch.
“I’ve heard from the old people that splashing black dog blood on the main beam will destroy the feng shui of the house. Eldest Brother’s wife is…”
“We’re all family, after all. We see each other every day. This is going too far.”
“The feng shui of a house is just superstition, but a bad heart is a real bad thing!” one of the old men said with a frown, his tone full of meaning.
The villagers whispered to each other, their eyes full of disdain and contempt as they looked at Zhang Guixiang.
They were all farmers, and everyone knew that building a new house was a major event in a farmer’s life. Yet, on the day of the third branch’s beam-raising, the eldest brother’s wife had tried to splash black dog blood to bring them bad luck. This kind of behavior was simply too vicious.
“Zhang Guixiang, what are you doing!” The eldest son, Su, glared, his eyes wide, and rushed forward in a few steps.
Noticing the strange looks the villagers were giving him, his face turned red, then white, then red again. He wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
Zhang Guixiang was still a little afraid of the eldest son, Su. She knew that he valued his face the most. She guiltily glanced at the empty bucket on the ground, not caring that she was still covered in black dog blood, and stammered, “I was just passing by and accidentally fell, and the bucket overturned. I… I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Passing by? Passing by with black dog blood? Do you think we’re three-year-olds who are easy to fool?” Yu Juanfang laughed in anger.
“I saw it just now. Eldest Aunt was carrying black dog blood and was about to splash it on our main beam.” Tangtang’s voice was childish but clear and powerful.
“What does a child like you know!” Zhang Guixiang thought of how Tangtang had just scared her, causing her to splash all the black dog blood on herself. Her face instantly turned ugly, and she was about to rush forward to point and scold Tangtang.
The eldest son, Su, had already had enough. He roared, “You shut up!”
“If you say another word, I’ll divorce you. Take Tiedan and Gousheng and go back to your parents’ house!”
Zhang Guixiang stood comically in front of the villagers, covered in black dog blood. She stood there in disgrace, reeking and looking miserable.
After a long while, the eldest son, Su, finally sighed. He stood in front of Su Huimin and bowed deeply. “Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law, this matter is our eldest branch’s fault. I will definitely control my wife in the future and not let her do such a despicable thing again.”
After apologizing, the eldest son, Su, didn’t dare to look up at Su Huimin and the villagers’ gazes. He lowered his head and led the reeking Zhang Guixiang away in disgrace.