Chapter 25

Liu Chunhua sat up feebly and glared at Xue Chengwen. "In the middle of the night, who would see? Does it mean that just because no one saw it, she didn't beat us?"

The entire family was being unreasonable, and Xue Chengwen felt a surge of disgust as he looked at them. He reckoned that they must have gone to cause trouble at the roofless house where Jiang and her two little cubs were staying, which was why they had been beaten.

"If that’s what you say, Second Sister-in-law, then go and confront the Jiang woman yourself."

With that, Xue Chengwen turned to walk toward his own home. Liu Chunhua pointed at his retreating back and shouted, "Look at that! There goes another one who’s had his soul bewitched!"

The children’s earlier cries had been loud enough to wake the neighbors, who had now arrived, brandishing torches. Seeing the crowd, the old matriarch called for Xue Chengxiang to return. She had him carry Liu Chunhua on his back, while she herself scooped up Xue Daniu, and they marched toward Jiang Li’s place.

"Jiang! Get out here!"

Jiang Li pretended not to hear. Xue Man and Xue Ning asked in hushed tones, "Mother, what should we do?"

"You two just go to sleep peacefully. Pretend you didn't hear anything and that nothing happened."

Seeing no response from within, the old matriarch began to pound on the door. Jiang Li suddenly flung the door open, causing the old woman to stumble forward, barely catching herself on the door frame.

The old woman raised her hand to slap Jiang Li, but Jiang Li caught her wrist, leaving her unable to move. "Old woman, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"You poisonous woman, how can you sleep peacefully after beating my second daughter-in-law and Daniu like this?"

Jiang Li furrowed her brows, her face a mask of confusion. "You say I beat you? Did anyone see it? Or are you cooking up another story like the one you used when you tried to kill me last time?"

"Old woman, I know you were unhappy that your son died right after I married in. If you can't stand the sight of me, your family can simply divorce me. I will leave on my own, and you can take these two children back. The thatched hut is falling down anyway, and I can leave Daqiu Village this very moment."

The crowd gathered there consisted of more than just the Xue family, and the expressions on their faces shifted.

"You wretch, you’re the one who beat my mother!"

In the torchlight, Jiang Li saw the bruised and swollen faces of Xue Daniu and Liu Chunhua. She felt like laughing—who told them to be so wicked?

"Oh, so you really were beaten. Since I didn't do it, could it be that even the Heavens couldn't stand your behavior and sent down retribution?"

A neighbor asked Xue Daniu, "Daniu, you and your mother were beaten down there. Did you really see who did it? Did they say why?"

Xue Daniu stammered and couldn't give an answer.

Liu Chunhua, steeling herself, pointed at Jiang Li and said, "You wretch, it was just some children playing and throwing a few stones. Did you have to be so ruthless?"

As soon as these words left her mouth, Jiang Li’s playful expression vanished. She scanned the crowd with a dark, somber face.

"I am pitiable; my husband died just after I married. The children are pitiable too; their mother died years ago and their father followed. We were driven to this thatched hut, which has now collapsed. The three of us have had the earth for a bed and the sky for a quilt!"

"Living like this, yet in the middle of the night, some beasts actually came to throw stones into our room!"

"If they hit me, it doesn't matter. But if they had killed the children, I would have failed their parents. In a fit of rage, I ran out, caught those two black-hearted wretches, and gave them a sound thrashing."

"Was it you?" Jiang Li asked, raising an eyebrow.

Liu Chunhua and Xue Daniu hung their heads in silence. The neighbors began to whisper among themselves. Finally, Xue Chengju’s eldest aunt spoke up: "Sister-in-law, Xiao Man and A-Ning are, after all, Chengju’s own flesh and blood. It doesn't matter if you don't love them, but allowing the second branch to bully them like this is truly shameful."

The old matriarch’s face flushed with shame. Reluctant to strike Xue Daniu, she instead dealt a heavy slap to Liu Chunhua. "You heartless thing, you deserve to be beaten for going out in the middle of the night to do such wicked deeds!"

"All of you, go back!"

Seeing them leave, Jiang Li couldn't be bothered to argue further. She had beaten them, and she had played the victim—that was enough.

After the Xue family left, the eldest grandmother pulled Jiang Li aside and said, "Child, it will be alright. Life is lived one day at a time; it will get better."

Jiang Li pressed her lips together and nodded slightly, a sight that made others feel a pang of sympathy.

Xue Daniu had now suffered at Jiang Li’s hands twice. The old matriarch was furious, yet both times someone had spoken up in Jiang Li's favor. In her heart, she believed Jiang Li was cruel, heavy-handed, and skilled at putting on a pathetic act.

Back at the yard, the old woman seethed. Xue Chengwen looked at the bruised Liu Chunhua and Xue Daniu and finally couldn't help but say to the old matriarch, "You can be biased—everyone has their favorites—but do you really want to wipe out the eldest brother’s lineage? They call you grandmother, just like Xue Daniu does. They are only to be pitied for losing their parents so young."

"Is it your place to lecture me?"

Xue Chengwen chuckled lightly. "How would a son dare to lecture his mother? Do as you please. I think it’s fine. I only wish that Jiang woman were a bit more ruthless; killing someone would be done in an instant. Suit yourselves."

With that, Xue Chengwen returned to his room. The old matriarch, angry at him for siding with outsiders, spat out a threat: "If they die, I’ll dump their bodies at her doorstep! If they’re crippled, she’ll have to support them for the rest of their lives!"

Xue Chengwen ignored her. With nowhere else to vent her rage, the old matriarch pointed at Liu Chunhua’s nose and cursed, "If you go provoke her again and get killed, I’ll drag you out and bury you myself! If you let Daniu get beaten again, I won't spare you even in death!"

With one absurd farce after another, the reputation of the Xue family was thoroughly ruined.

Upon learning that Liu Chunhua and Xue Daniu had gone to throw stones at Jiang Li’s room in the middle of the night, many villagers who had been watching the spectacle began to feel pity. The widow and orphans were already miserable enough without a roof over their heads.

However, sharp-eyed villagers soon noticed the foundation lines marked out on the ground. Someone asked Xue Man, "Xiao Man, is your family building a house?"

Xue Man nodded. The man asked again, "When? Have you hired workers?"

"Work starts the day after tomorrow. Everything is arranged."

The man clicked his tongue and walked away. Xue Man didn't bother to wonder what he meant.

The old matriarch, who had originally wanted to let the matter drop, felt her irritation flare up again upon hearing that Jiang Li had hired people to build a new house. Liu Chunhua was even worse: "Building a house? Where would they get the money? I want to see how she builds it without a cent!"

Xue Chengwen and Zhao Jiaxiu had known about it for a while. He finished the steamer he was making and had Zhao Jiaxiu send it to Jiang Li after dark.

Since construction was starting soon, Jiang Li needed to prepare grain and vegetables. They hadn't touched the five pounds of meat they bought earlier, but they only had about forty pounds of grain left, which certainly wouldn't be enough. She needed to buy more grain and meat.

Thinking she would head to town early the next day, she decided to head into the mountains today to forage for wild vegetables. She took her bow, a bamboo basket, and a hoe. She figured she would just take whatever she could find.

She hoped to find wild garlic, as she needed seasonings, but she didn't find any. Instead, she found a Sichuan pepper tree and filled half a sack with the peppercorns, intending to dry them and make pepper oil.

She continued through the brush deeper into the mountains until she entered a grove of banyan trees. Years ago, someone had cut down trees here, leaving behind rotting logs covered in damp moss. The trees weren't tall, and patches of sunlight filtered through.

Jiang Li approached and saw the logs were covered in wood ear mushrooms. Looking at the vast grove, she felt like she had struck gold! She didn't even know how much dried wood ear this would yield. She wondered about the price of dried wood ear in town; if it was low, she would just keep it as a food reserve.

This mountain truly felt like a gift from the heavens. If the village had more capable hands, the people of Daqiu Village could surely survive this difficult year by relying on this mountain.

Jiang Li worked tirelessly, frantically harvesting the mushrooms, all the while thinking: what if chaos broke out and bandits entered these mountains? That would be a disaster for her.

Once the house was built, she couldn't continue as she had been; she would have to enter the mountains daily. Whether it was game, wild vegetables, or forest produce, she had to get as much food home as possible.

After filling a basket with wood ear, she found two clusters of wild greens. These could be stir-fried or served cold, though they took time to harvest. She felt they tasted better than plantain, so she patiently picked them all.

She tied the sack of peppercorns shut and topped it with the wild greens. With her basket and sack full, she realized the dappled sunlight had vanished.

As dusk approached, she tied the sack to her basket with vines and prepared to descend. Harvesting had taken so much time; at this rate, she would need many trips to gather all the wood ear.

She had spent the day on this and hadn't seen any pheasants or rabbits. It was dangerous to descend in the dark, and with construction starting the day after tomorrow, she had to go to town tomorrow for supplies. She would have to wait until work began to hunt for game.

She reached the foot of the mountain at twilight. Xue Man and A-Ning were pacing in front of the house, looking out for her. Seeing her silhouette on the opposite slope, they instinctively wanted to run toward her but stopped themselves. Xue Man called to A-Ning, "Mother must be hungry. Let’s start the fire and prepare dinner."

The siblings busied themselves starting the fire and boiling water in an earthen pot, waiting for Jiang Li.

When Jiang Li arrived home, the water in the pot was just beginning to bubble. She put down her basket and drank a full bowl of water.

Xue Man and A-Ning looked at the black things in the basket, full of curiosity. "Mother, what is this? Is it edible?"

Jiang Li looked back and saw he was referring to the wood ear. She smiled, "It’s edible, and very delicious. It can be dried and stored as food reserves; whenever you want to eat it, just soak it in water."

Xue Man’s eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Of course. Why would I lie to you?" She loved stir-fried wood ear with eggs, and she planned to buy some eggs from the village later. "We’ll stir-fry some tonight for you to eat."

She was famished from a day of work, and since cooking rice took a long time, Jiang Li decided to make noodles. Once they started using the steamer for rice, they wouldn't have to wait so long.