Chapter 14 p1
Ye Qingzhi followed Auntie Lin and the others to Wei Youliang’s house and saw a stout woman in her thirties pounding on the door and shouting curses.
“You old vixen, get out here! Don’t think you can hide in your turtle shell! You old worn-out shoe, still acting slutty at your age! The foxy smell on you could kill a person! Can’t your man get it up? If he can’t, why don’t you use a rolling pin…”
Ye Qingzhi was dumbfounded. Old Niu the Third’s daughter-in-law was a formidable curser.
“You tramp, come out! You slut, you whore, you old vixen…”
Auntie Ye hurried over. Seeing Ye Qingzhi standing on a rock, watching with great interest, she pulled her aside.
“Still watching the show? Anmin and Anjie are here too. Hurry up and take them home. These words are too foul for children to hear.”
Ye Qingzhi followed Auntie Ye’s gaze and saw her two sons watching with great excitement. Forgetting about the drama, she quickly went over and took them away.
“What are you two doing here? Come home with me,” she said, tapping them lightly on the head.
“Mama,” Wei Anjie said, his eyes darting around, “Stepmother-Grandma ran out the back door.”
Ran away? She hadn’t expected that.
“Where’s your grandpa?” Ye Qingzhi was more curious about where Wei Youliang was hiding.
“I don’t know,” Wei Anjie said, shaking his head.
“I do,” said Wei Anmin, who had been silent until now, pointing to the corner of the house.
Ye Qingzhi looked over and saw Wei Youliang peeking out with just one eye. If Wei Anmin hadn’t pointed him out, she really wouldn’t have noticed him.
Her eyes darted around, a faint smile touching her lips. She told the two boys to go home first, then she stealthily stood next to Auntie Wang and said casually, “Is that the children’s grandpa? Why is he hiding there?”
Auntie Wang’s gossip radar instantly went off. What, what? Where is Wei Youliang hiding?
She followed Ye Qingzhi’s gaze and, sure enough, found him hiding at the corner. She then walked over and grabbed him.
“Uncle Youliang, what are you doing hiding here? Did you know Auntie Fang is having an affair? The other man’s daughter-in-law is here to make a scene,” Auntie Wang asked with great concern.
Wang Cuiyun, who was blocking the door, also heard this. She spun around and charged straight at Wei Youliang.
He wanted to run, but Auntie Wang had a firm grip on his arm, and he couldn’t get away.
Only when Wang Cuiyun was almost upon him did Auntie Wang let go. Unfortunately, he had missed his chance to escape.
“Don’t you run! Where’s Fang Xiaomei? Tell her to come out! You coward, can’t even control your own woman! Did you tell her to have an affair? Are you after my family’s property?” Wang Cuiyun demanded furiously.
“You’re talking nonsense! Xiaomei is not having an affair! Don’t spread rumors!” Wei Youliang said, trying to sound tough as he shook off her hand. Seeing the looks of sympathy, pity, and schadenfreude from the crowd, he turned to run.
But Auntie Wang grabbed him again. “Uncle Youliang, that’s not right. You yourself said last time that Auntie Fang was having an affair. Now the wronged party is here. Aren’t you going to get to the bottom of it?”
Wei Youliang shot her a hateful glare. If it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t have been exposed and wouldn’t be the laughingstock of so many people.
Just then, Old Niu’s son, Niu Wanfu, arrived. He glanced at his wife, not reprimanding her, but he didn’t want the situation to escalate either.
An affair wasn’t a one-person matter. Fang Xiaomei was at fault, but was Old Niu blameless?
If this blew up, both of them would be paraded through the streets with signs of shame. The Niu family’s reputation would be ruined, and Old Niu might even lose his job.
“Control your wife,” Niu Wanfu said to Wei Youliang, then pulled his wife away.
Auntie Wang had disappeared at some point. She was just someone who loved to stir up trouble.
Seeing that the show was over, the crowd dispersed, leaving behind a Wei Youliang who seemed to have aged ten years.
Ye Qingzhi felt no sympathy for him. It was normal to remarry after one’s wife died, but he shouldn’t have been in such a hurry to bring another woman home right after the first seven-day mourning period, and even kick out his own son and pregnant daughter-in-law.
That was right after the famine. Besides the house they got with the help of relatives and clan elders, he had only given them a dozen or so catties of grain, not even a pair of chopsticks. Seeing these memories of the original owner, Ye Qingzhi felt a pang of sadness for her.
Meanwhile, Niu Wanfu pulled his wife out of the village and said irritably, “Didn’t I tell you not to blow things up? It’s not good for us either.”
Wang Cuiyun shook off his hand. “You think I like to cause trouble? But isn’t your dad being too unreasonable? He’s not thinking of leaving his job to his own grandson, but wants to give it to the son of a vixen he just met. I’ve already asked around. That vixen’s current man abandoned his own son for her. You just wait and see. If she marries into our family, your dad won’t just abandon his grandson; he’ll abandon you, his son, too.”
Niu Wanfu frowned. “Dad wants to give his job to someone else? Who did you hear that from?”
“Uncle Zhang heard it with his own ears. Could it be false?” she said furiously.
Niu Wanfu shook his head. “No. Dad just discussed it with me the day before yesterday. He is planning to marry Auntie Fang, but before they get married, he’s going to give his job to Xiaobao, and the house will also be transferred to Xiaobao’s name.”
Wang Cuiyun’s eyes lit up. “Are you serious?”
He shot her a sideways glance. “Dad went from being a country butcher to working at the meat processing plant, and he even arranged jobs for me and my sister. Do you think he’d be fooled by a country woman? Use your brain. And that Uncle Zhang, talk to him less in the future.”
He was probably trying to get Old Niu fired so there would be an open position at the plant for his own son.
Wang Cuiyun wasn’t stupid. She thought of that too and broke out in a cold sweat.
“But that Fang Xiaomei is no good,” she said, still worried.
“Tsk, you’re so naive. Auntie Fang is young and healthy, and she’s not very worldly. After she marries into the family, as long as my dad provides for her and gives her a few yuan for pocket money every month, she’ll serve him hand and foot. When Dad gets old and can’t get out of bed, there will be someone to take care of him. What, you want to do it?” he glared at her again.
It finally clicked in her head. That’s right. Without a mother-in-law, she, the daughter-in-law, would have to take care of her father-in-law in his old age. But if he had a wife, then of course his wife would take care of him.
Even better, this wasn’t a real mother-in-law. She had her own son. Once her father-in-law passed away, if she was still alive, she could just have her son take her back.
Wang Cuiyun’s eyes shone as she looked at her husband. “Honey, how are you and father-in-law so smart?”
“Alright, let’s go home. No more trouble, understand?” he said with a smug glance.
She nodded repeatedly. Not only would she not cause any more trouble, but she would also find a way to make this marriage happen.
Ye Qingzhi, who was already home, had no idea about the Niu family’s calculations. Even if she did, she would just say that they and Fang Xiaomei were two of a kind, a match made in heaven.
He Qiming was returning to the base the day after tomorrow. She planned to make some chili sauce and mushroom sauce for him to take with him.
She added pheasant meat and peanuts to the chili sauce, and rabbit meat to the mushroom sauce. The strong flavors of the chili and mushrooms masked the smell of the meat, so no one noticed.
“Mama, it smells so good!” Wei Anjie said, leaning over the stove and swallowing hard.
While making the chili sauce, Ye Qingzhi had also stewed a chicken. Seeing his greedy expression, she opened the aluminum pot, took out the two drumsticks, and told the two brothers to eat them behind the stove.
“Mama, you eat too,” Wei Anmin said, holding a drumstick to her mouth.
She took a small bite of the skin and smiled. “Alright, go eat with your brother.”
The two brothers took a bite of their drumsticks and grinned at each other. Muntjac meat yesterday, chicken today—they had eaten better these past few days than during the New Year.
Ye Qingzhi glanced at them, a faint smile on her lips. She then thought of He Qiming’s two children. When they met next year, she would take their measurements.
He Qiming had bought the cloth and cotton. It wouldn’t be right for Anmin and Anjie to have new clothes while his own children had none.
After a whole afternoon of work, the chili sauce and mushroom sauce were finally done. After they cooled, she packed them into pickle jars, keeping one of each for themselves and giving two jars of chili sauce and one of mushroom sauce to He Qiming.
“Mama, the chili sauce is so delicious,” Wei Anjie said, not afraid of the spice, and ate a spoonful directly.
“You can’t eat it like that, even if it’s delicious. You’ll get a stomachache,” she said, scooping out a bowl to eat with their rice.
With the good food recently, she had finally put on some weight. She was no longer just skin and bones, and her hip bones didn’t hurt when she slept on her side.
Especially her skin, it was getting fairer and more tender. Looking closely at her features, they seemed more refined than before.
After washing his face, Wei Anjie came into the room and saw his mother looking in the mirror again. He asked, puzzled, “Mama, what are you looking at?”
He had looked carefully. His mother’s face was fair and clean, with nothing on it.
Ye Qingzhi turned to look at him. “Nothing. Anjie, do you think my face has changed at all?”
He leaned in and looked closely for a long time, then shook his head. “No.”
Wei Anmin, who had come in after tidying up, also looked carefully and said seriously, “You’re a little fairer than before.”
Ye Qingzhi looked at herself in the mirror again. Just a little fairer?
The original owner’s skin was actually not bad, but with the constant sun and wind, poor diet, and lack of rest, it had become a bit dull and rough, with some spots on her cheekbones.
Now, her skin was fair, delicate, and radiant. The spots were gone. Not just her face, but her arms and legs too. And her hands, which used to be rough, were now much smoother.
She suspected it had something to do with her transmigration; otherwise, there was no explanation.
Well, becoming more beautiful was always a good thing. And since she could transmigrate into a book, becoming a little prettier didn’t seem so strange.
Putting down the mirror, she hugged Wei Anjie and asked softly, “Are you nervous about meeting the He family’s brothers tomorrow?”
“Why would I be nervous? Is the older He brother very fierce?” he asked, looking at her in confusion.
“No. Although he doesn’t talk much, he’s not a difficult person to get along with. As for the younger He brother, he’s a very cute little boy. You’ll like him,” she said, thinking of He Jingyang. She wondered if he had looked for her after he woke up in the afternoon.
The next day, Auntie Ye came knocking before dawn and whispered to her, “I’ll go directly to He Qiming’s aunt’s house. You take the children on the mountain path from Qianxi Village. Do you know the way? Turn left at the persimmon tree. Don’t go the wrong way.”
After sending off the fussing Auntie Ye, Ye Qingzhi washed up and made breakfast. No matter what, she had to fill their stomachs first.
The two boys were clearly a little nervous, especially Wei Anmin, who was a more sensitive person and tended to overthink things.
“Mama, will Grandpa and Grandma He like me and my brother? Are the He brothers easy to get along with?” he asked uneasily as they were about to descend the slope into Dayang Village.
“Don’t worry. Anmin and Anjie are so wonderful. Who wouldn’t like you? And even if they don’t, your Uncle He has already split from his family. We’re two separate families. If we get along, we’ll see each other more. If not, we’ll see each other less, just like with your real grandpa,” she said, stroking his head and comforting him gently.