Chapter 8 Reality is Cruel
Zhao Dashan was chopping firewood in the yard.
The aroma of rabbit meat made his mouth water instantly.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he quickly wiped himself clean. Turning his head, he saw the fourth brother sticking out his tongue, licking the aroma in the air like a hungry puppy.
“It smells so good…”
Zhao Sidan kept swallowing his saliva, but he couldn't swallow it all.
He only drank two bowls of porridge this morning, so he shouldn't be hungry. Why is his stomach still rumbling?
His feet moved uncontrollably toward the kitchen. He saw bubbling in a pot, rabbit meat with radish, a big pot full, with soup constantly seeping out from the crack in the pot.
Cheng Wanwan was also having a headache. The pot wasn't very big to begin with, and now it had a hole in it. She would have to buy a new pot from the mall when she had the chance.
She put the pot lid on, cracked an egg on the stove, poured it into a bowl, and stirred it, preparing to make a wild mushroom egg soup.
There's also a big bunch of long beans, which can be stir-fried and eaten directly; they should taste pretty good.
Seeing her like this, Wu Huiniang was numb. Her mother-in-law had been acting strangely since yesterday. She would finish everything in the house in one meal, as if she didn't want to continue living together...
Well, let's eat what we have at home. Once we've eaten, we'll feel at ease, so my mother-in-law won't send it to the Cheng family again...
Wu Huiniang quickly and efficiently helped.
Cheng Wanwan turned her head and saw Zhao Sidan standing at the kitchen door, drooling all over his clothes.
She chuckled as she lifted the pot lid, and a delicious aroma immediately filled the air. She picked up a piece of rabbit meat and said with a smile, "Four Eggs, open your mouth."
Zhao Sidan stared blankly, his mouth agape.
Cheng Wanwan blew on the rabbit meat and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Hmm!"
Zhao Sidan's eyes widened. My God, it's so delicious! He had never eaten anything so delicious before. He wished he could swallow his tongue too.
Cheng Wanwan asked him, "Is rabbit meat delicious?"
Zhao Sidan was stunned again. Was this rabbit meat? Should he spit it out...?
As he was thinking, Cheng Wanwan stuffed another piece of rabbit meat into his mouth: "Go and call your second and third brothers back for dinner."
Zhao Sidan swallowed it whole; it tasted so good… He could only silently apologize to the rabbit in his heart…
He ran out quickly to find his second and third brothers to come back for dinner.
Wu Huiniang deftly ladled out a large pot of rabbit meat, then, under her mother-in-law's direction, made a mushroom and egg soup, stir-fried a long bean, and finally poured millet into the pot to simmer.
On the small wooden table were three dishes and six bowls of millet rice.
Zhao Dashan didn't even want to chop firewood anymore; his mouth was constantly watering, and his eyes kept glancing at the dining table.
Wu Huiniang went out to wipe his sweat and whispered, "Dashan, is it really okay for you to eat like this...?"
Last night I ate so much white rice in one meal, and today I ate all the millet and stewed all the rabbit meat. I'm full today, but what about tomorrow? What will we eat? Are we really going to starve?
Zhao Dashan forcefully chopped the firewood: "There must be a reason why Mother arranged it this way. Just listen to Mother."
Wu Huiniang stopped thinking about it and bent down to pick up the chopped firewood and put it neatly into the kitchen.
Cheng Wanwan sat on a stool in the main room, fanning herself with a large leaf. The weather was so hot. After fussing around in the kitchen for a while, she was covered in sweat. She was determined to take a shower tonight.
After sitting for a while, Zhao Sidan came running back: "Mom, Brother Tiezhu said he saw Second Brother and Third Brother go to Chengjia Village."
Chengjia Village is the village where the original owner's mother lived. It is not far from Dahe Village, about an hour's round trip.
What are those two lads doing in Chengjia Village?!
Cheng Wanwan threw away the leaves and stood up: "Dashan, come with me to the Cheng family!"
Last night, the second and third sons wanted to go to Chengjia Village to collect debts. After she objected, she thought the two boys would calm down, but unexpectedly they secretly went there.
Everyone in Chengjia Village is surnamed Cheng, and they are all one family for three generations. How could they possibly allow two boys surnamed Zhao to run wild?
Cheng Wanwan and Zhao Dashan didn't even have time to eat before heading to Chengjia Village under the blazing midday sun.
In the original owner's memory, Chengjia Village was not far away. The original owner would go back to her parents' home every few days, but Cheng Wanwan felt it was very far away. She couldn't walk anymore, and she still hadn't seen a single tile of the Cheng family.
People in ancient times had it so tough. They had to travel on foot, and sometimes they would even question the meaning of life.
When she has money, she will definitely buy a horse-drawn carriage.
Thinking of this, Cheng Wanwan couldn't help but smile bitterly. One minute she wanted to buy a big cotton quilt, the next a pot, then she wanted to build a house, and now she even wanted to buy a horse-drawn carriage. Her ideas were quite beautiful, but reality was cruel...
After walking for an unknown amount of time, we finally saw a village.
Chengjia Village has a larger population than Dahe Village and appears to be wealthier. The only thing they have in common is that both villages lack water, and the rice paddies are completely dry.
Cheng Wanwan walked familiarly to the Cheng family's door.
Before she even went inside, she saw a scene that made her eyes widen in horror.
Zhao Ergou and Zhao Sanniu were tied to the locust tree in the yard with ropes. Under the direct sunlight, without any water, the two children's lips were cracked and bleeding, and their faces were extremely pale, as if they would faint at any moment.
"Ergou!"
"Three oxen!"
Zhao Dashan stormed in angrily.
When the two saw their older brother coming over, they thought he was there to rescue them. But when they looked up, they saw Cheng Wanwan walking in with a sullen face, and they turned even paler with fright.
A long, long time ago, my mother was mistreated at the Cheng family's house. They came to her aid, but in the end, my mother turned around and beat them up.
In short, no matter how bad the Cheng family is, Mother will not allow them to cause trouble for the Cheng family.
But they were so angry that they came secretly. It didn't matter if they didn't get the twenty taels of silver back; they just wanted to make the Cheng family suffer some loss...
But it seems they messed things up. Will Mother side with the Cheng family even more...?
Zhao Ergou and Zhao Sanniu leaned weakly against the big locust tree. Their lips were cracked and it hurt terribly when they moved them slightly.
"Grandma Cheng, you've come at the perfect time!" Old Mrs. Cheng stormed out of the house, her face contorted with anger. "Those two Zhao boys are utterly despicable! They actually dared to steal a chicken from our Cheng family! The last hen in our family was killed by those two scoundrels who snapped its neck. That hen laid one egg a day, thirty eggs a month, enough to exchange for dozens of copper coins, and now it's gone..."
Cheng Wanwan looked at the two boys who were tied up. The two boys didn't dare to look at her, which meant that what Old Madam Cheng said was true.
Old Mrs. Cheng said matter-of-factly, "This chicken is a great contributor to our Cheng family. Your eldest nephew is able to study entirely because of the eggs this chicken laid! I don't want much, just two taels of silver, give it to me now!"
Hearing this, Cheng Wanwan laughed.
The Cheng family is really something else. Yesterday they beat the original owner of the body so badly that he bled to death from blood loss. Today they tied up the original owner's two sons, and now they still have the nerve to ask for exorbitant prices!
Even now, when food is scarce, large hens on the market aren't selling for this much; two taels of silver can buy dozens of chickens.
Furthermore, Cheng Zhao was able to go to school thanks to her aunt's subsidies over the years. What does that have to do with this hen?
Since we're going to settle accounts, let's settle them one by one!
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