Chapter 53 Wu Huiniang Wrestling
Smoke from cooking is curling up.
The soup was being simmered in the kitchen, made with pork bones and bamboo shoots—a nutritious and well-rounded soup.
Stir-frying pig's blood and wild vegetables together with plenty of oil tastes quite good.
Cut the pork belly into small, square pieces, put them in a pot and stew until tender to make sweet and savory braised pork.
White rice was simmering in the pot, and the aroma of the rice mixed with the smell of meat filled the courtyard.
Zhao Sidan was chopping up wild vegetables to feed the ducklings. He couldn't resist the aroma and his mouth watered.
Cheng Wanwan glared at him: "We can only eat when your eldest brother, second brother, and third brother come back."
Zhao Dashan went to the fields to weed and fertilize. No matter how much money he earned during the day, the first thing he did when he got back was to go to the fields. For farmers, the land is the most fundamental thing.
Zhao Ergou went up the mountain to fetch water. The village head arranged for someone to dig a reservoir halfway up the mountain. It was very close for the people of Dahe Village to fetch water; it took about fifteen minutes for them to go back and forth.
After Zhao Ergou carried four buckets of water back, he went up the mountain to help Zhao Sanniu chop firewood. The firewood was piled up in the yard, and he would chop it again after dinner.
Cheng Wanwan walked to the gate of the yard, preparing to call Zhao Dashan back for dinner. Just as she stepped out, Aunt Wang from next door whispered to her, "Dashan's mother, after you left, Dashan's wife went to the field to pull weeds by herself and slipped and fell on the ridge. Luckily, my Damai saw her and helped her up, otherwise she might have been in serious trouble."
Cheng Wanwan was stunned for a moment.
After she returned from town, Hui Niang seemed no different than usual. She even directed Hui Niang to cook, keeping her very busy.
"Thank you, Mudfish Girl."
Cheng Wanwan turned and went into the house.
She saw Wu Huiniang sitting on a stool resting. As soon as she saw her come in, Wu Huiniang immediately stood up and quickly checked the meat in the pot.
Her eyes narrowed; her eldest daughter-in-law was putting on a brave face.
She walked over and pressed Wu Huiniang down to sit: "How are you feeling?"
Wu Huiniang quickly shook her head: "Mother, I'm fine, nothing's wrong."
"Four Eggs, go and invite Doctor Zheng over," Cheng Wanwan ordered, forcibly pulling Wu Huiniang to lie down on the bed. "If something like this happens again, you're not allowed to try to tough it out on your own."
Wu Huiniang's voice choked with sobs: "Mother, I'm so useless. I have no ability whatsoever. I can't help with making money at home, and I even fell and made you worry..."
“Who said you can’t help?” Cheng Wanwan said. “Didn’t you help prepare the ice jelly every night? Didn’t you cook every meal at home? Cleaning the yard and washing clothes, you did everything. When we went to town to sell ice jelly during the day, you even dug up so many wild vegetables… If you fall ill, no one will do these chores, and the house will be in complete chaos. Hui Niang, from now on, you must not look down on yourself.”
Wu Huiniang's eyes were red.
She was really scared today. She originally wanted to go to the field to pull weeds so that she could relax a bit after Dashan came back, but the ridges of the field were wet. She lost her footing and fell to the ground. Luckily, Damai passed by, otherwise she didn't know how long she would have been lying in the paddy field.
When she got back, she found that she was bleeding. She was so scared that she lay in bed for two hours before she recovered. After she felt better, she quickly went up the mountain to dig wild vegetables to feed the chickens and ducks, and then started cutting cloth and making clothes... In short, she was busy all day long and forgot about the bleeding.
It wasn't until her mother-in-law asked that she realized she had been experiencing a dull ache in her lower abdomen.
She suddenly became afraid. What if she lost the baby?
Before long, Physician Zheng arrived.
Zheng Langzhong was a barefoot doctor in Dahe Village, but the harvest was bad and every household was poor. If anyone had a headache or fever, they would just have to tough it out on their own. Zheng Langzhong hadn't made any house calls in a long time.
Hearing that Wu Huiniang was in trouble, some of the village's unemployed women came along.
A doctor named Zheng attracted seven or eight women who were waiting in the courtyard to see what was going on.
There were no strict rules about the separation of men and women in the village. Doctor Zheng placed his fingers directly on Wu Huiniang's pulse and said after a long while, "Your pulse is a little unstable, but it's not serious. I can prescribe some medicine to prevent miscarriage. However, the medicine is not cheap. If you are sure you want it, have Sidan come back with me to get the medicine."
Cheng Wanwan nodded: "Of course we will. Doctor Zheng, just name your price."
Doctor Zheng said slowly, "The consultation fee is three coins, and the pregnancy-preserving medicine is five coins per packet. Da Shan's wife needs to take it for at least three days, three times a day, which is a total of nine packets of pregnancy-preserving medicine, totaling forty-eight coins."
Wu Huiniang's face turned pale: "Mother, I feel much better now, I don't need any more medicine to prevent miscarriage..."
"You have no say."
Cheng Wanwan pressed her back down, then turned and went to the next room to get the copper coins. The copper coins she had earned today were all locked in the cabinet. She counted out forty-eight coins, came out, and handed them to Doctor Zheng.
The women standing at the door saw dozens of copper coins clattering into Doctor Zheng's pocket.
"Who said that Da Shan's mother abused her daughter-in-law? I'll spit in the face of anyone who says that again."
"Grandma Dashan must have made some money. Smell it, there's a meaty aroma coming from the kitchen. In this day and age, you can still eat meat, so you must have made a lot of money."
"I just peeked at it, and it's pork bone stew with bamboo shoots. Pork bones aren't expensive; you can buy a big one for ten coins."
In the kitchen, a broken pot was simmering bone broth, while the other meat and rice were covered by the pot lid. No one else dared to lift the lid to see what was inside, assuming that the aroma of meat in the yard was coming from the pork bones.
"It's not like we can't afford ten coins. We have bamboo shoots at home, so we'll make a soup with them later."
"Oh dear, I remember now. Yesterday, my maid brought over two catties of lantern grass. Aunt Dashan still owes us four coins. Dashan's wife hired a doctor. Could it be that Aunt Dashan doesn't have the money to pay us?"
"Speaking of which, Grandma Dashan hasn't given us the eggs from a few days ago yet!"
Cheng Wanwan sent Doctor Zheng out, and Zhao Sidan followed her to get the pregnancy-maintaining medicine.
Wu Huiniang was relieved to find that she was alright, and a smile appeared on her face: "Please wait a moment, ladies and aunts, I'll settle the accounts for everyone now."
After she said this, many people came to the village. The lanterns were brought by the children, and the adults who came to settle accounts were the ones who came.
Cheng Wanwan asked Zhao Ergou to move a table to the yard. One bowl contained forty or fifty copper coins, and the other bowl contained seven or eight eggs.
She smiled and said, "Take it one at a time, don't rush."
"Loach Girl, four coins and two eggs, here you go."
"Tiezhu's mother, two coins for an egg..."
Cheng Wanwan has a great memory and remembers everything exactly as she remembers it, so she quickly settled all the accounts.
The village women were worried that Cheng Wanwan would renege on her debt, so they came in person to collect it. Now that she had settled the account in full, the women couldn't help but ask with some concern, "Sister-in-law Zhao, are you still going to take the lantern?"
Cheng Wanwan still smiled and said, "Of course I'll buy it, at the same old price, two coins a pound."
The village women were very satisfied with the price. There were plenty of lanterns on the mountain, and as long as they picked them, they would make money. This money was all free.
On the other hand, Mrs. Zhao worked hard all day and earned a few coins with great difficulty, but after seeing a doctor and settling her bills, she had nothing left.
A discordant voice came from the crowd: "Sister-in-law, isn't two coins a pound too little?"
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