Chapter 10 Theft

The Cai family had long hated Yin Huaixi and her daughter for refusing to exchange houses with them. If the village chief had not warned them several times, they would have taken advantage of the large number of men in their family to cause trouble.

At present, they had no house and could only live in a straw hut. The food they were given had long been eaten. Earlier, they saw that everyone in the village went to the beach and followed them to dig some clams. As a result, they roasted a few clams and their mouths were full of sand. They were so angry that they almost vomited blood.

At this time, they actually heard that the Yin family had both fish and eggs to eat, and the fire of jealousy almost burned away their rationality.

"Yin Huaishan said earlier that he had no money left and that he dug the grave for his parents with his own hands. He is really good at pretending."

"How can this be possible? They made us sleep outdoors in the mountains while they themselves are enjoying a good life. God is so unfair!"

"We can't let them have it easy! Brothers, keep an eye on that family. When they go out again, we can sneak in and look for the money."

The two brothers of the second wife didn't care about the first and third wives, and they finalized the plan themselves. Cai Laoye's son neither objected nor agreed. Anyway, he would benefit from his grandson, so if he didn't say anything, he would have no stain.

The eldest couple opened their mouths, wanting to intervene but were laughed at by their three nephews.

"My eldest cousin is in such bad shape that he has to gasp for air even if he pulls up a blade of grass. We can't rely on him."

The second wife has risen, and the first wife is being suppressed.

There are more than ten people in a family, and each has different thoughts.

Yin Huaixi had already returned home. She put away the things in her hands, took the mugwort and went to Xiaoman's house again. It is very easy to make mugwort water. Just wash the leaves and put them directly into the water to boil. Mugwort can inhibit bacteria and relieve itching. It is the best to use it now.

I don't know if it was a psychological effect, but Xiaoman was very surprised after the bath, and she felt much more comfortable. Aunt Qiufang was so happy that she almost knelt down to Yin Huaixi again.

Paper and pens were very precious in the village, so Yin Huaixi was unable to write out the prescription and could only dictate it to the mother and daughter to write down and go to the city to get the medicine.

This disease can be cured in about seven to ten days by taking both approaches, and you can just come back for a follow-up consultation then.

Yin Huaixi didn't ask for anything else from Xiaoman's house, and only borrowed a kitchen knife. He had to borrow it, because he couldn't cut the bamboo shoots at home by hand.

"Little sister, do you really want to do it? Auntie Niu said that this thing is bitter and astringent and can't be eaten."

"That's because they don't know how to eat it. I've lived in the backyard for a long time and have thought of many foods on my own. These bamboo shoots are delicious. You'll know when I make them and you try them."

Yin Huaixi grabbed the bamboo shoots that had been stripped clean and started to slice them. Yin Huaishan's eyes turned red inexplicably when he saw her skilled look.

小妹從小嬌養着哪下過什麽廚，嫁給江誠那狗東西後居然又是學醫又是學廚。一想到嬌嬌妹妹呆在油煙彌漫的竈房裏辛苦做菜的樣子，他就想把江誠拉出來狠狠揍一頓。

When the bastard married my younger sister, he showed deep love for her, but he didn't cherish her after marrying her. He divorced my younger sister as soon as he was imprisoned, and he didn't even want his daughter Wanwan. He is so heartless.

Sooner or later he will...

Uh, I'm overthinking it.

He is now an exiled pariah.

Yin Huaishan secretly hated him. After being exiled, he could never return to Kyoto. He couldn't beat him even if he wanted to. He just hoped that God would have a good end for that bastard!

"A-choo! A-choo!"

Jiang Cheng, who was working, sneezed several times in succession, spraying saliva at the woman under him, and she confessed inexplicably.

"cousin……"

The woman cried out in resentment, turned around and wiped her face with clothes in disgust. Jiang Cheng lost interest all of a sudden, so he simply turned over and lay on the bed waiting for his cousin to clean his body.

"Cousin, did you catch a cold?"

"Of course not. I am in good health and don't have any headache or fever at all. Someone must have scolded me just now."

Jiang Cheng's face darkened, probably thinking of who would scold him at this moment.

"Cousin, you are not allowed to think about your cousin's wife~"

A slender arm came up to him, and Jiang Cheng's face immediately became much better. He turned around and kissed his cousin, coaxing her, "Don't worry, Yingying, your heart is with you."

That woman Yin Huaixi was fat and boring. If it weren't for her family background, he wouldn't have married her. Now that he was a fourth-rank official with a chance of promotion, that woman had also vacated her position. God was really helping him.

"Cousin, when are you coming home to propose? I haven't taken birth control pills in the last few times, so maybe I'm pregnant."

"What?! You didn't drink?!"

Jiang Cheng turned over and sat up, his face full of displeasure. Qian Yingying thought to herself that this was not good, and her cousin's reaction was not right.

"What's wrong? Didn't you say you would marry me after the divorce? Now that Yin Huaixi is gone, there is no obstacle for us to get married. Isn't it normal to stop taking the contraceptive soup?"

Qian Yingying had a bad suspicion in her heart, but she still looked like she was completely dependent on her cousin. Jiang Cheng gritted his teeth and endured it again and again before saying anything unpleasant.

I am about to be promoted to the third rank, but my uncle is only the sixth rank. How can such a cousin be worthy of the position of my wife?

Such a precious position of wife should be given to a woman who can help him rise in the social ladder. Forget about my cousin, she is a widow, and she will have to follow me no matter whether I marry or not. I will take her in as a concubine after I marry a proper wife.

"There's no rush. The Yin family incident just happened. If I rush to remarry, how will others see me? Divorcing my wife before could be considered a righteous act, but if I remarry too quickly, there will definitely be a lot of unfavorable rumors spread. Yin Huaixi has several good friends in Kyoto, and I'm afraid they will say something unpleasant about you and affect your reputation."

Jiang Cheng's words were well-reasoned, so Qian Yingying had no choice but to believe him, and turned around and lay down again. She gave Jiang Cheng her gentleness, but hatred gradually filled her eyes.

It was all Yin Huaixi's fault. If she hadn't seduced my cousin at Qingtan Temple, he would have been engaged to me long ago. I wouldn't have been betrothed to a sickly man by my stepmother and become a widow.

I guess she has already arrived at Lizhou Island, so I can give her a gift. There is no way she can live a stable life!

Although it would take some time for them to reach Lizhou Island, which was thousands of miles away, Yin Huaixi's family was happily cooking bamboo shoots.

There are several ways to get rid of the bitter taste of bamboo shoots.

A simpler method is to soak it in clean water and change the water frequently, or boil it in water for a while. The taste of the fish soaked in clean water will be crisper, while the fish boiled in water will not be so crisp.

The conditions at home are limited now. I don’t have enough things to put the bamboo shoots in, and it’s troublesome to change the water every two hours.

Jiang Wan did suggest soaking the bamboo shoots in a ditch and surrounding it with stones, but they met a few children in the ditch, and all of them stared at the bamboo shoots in Yin Huaishan's hand.

Yin Huaishan was worried that the kids would take out the bamboo shoots to play with as soon as he left, so he had to take them back.

The fire in the kitchen soon started, and two clay pots took turns boiling water to cook the bamboo shoots.

Yin Ning was making a fire inside, while Jiang Wan was outside washing the palm leaves she had brought back with her mother.

The palm leaves dried quickly after being washed, so the mother and daughter picked them up one by one, cut them a few times, and started weaving them.

There were too many things missing at home, and the mother and daughter had limited skills and could not weave anything complicated and delicate. They simply stacked the palm leaves in a tic-tac-toe shape and crossed them to weave a large rectangle.

With it, it is much more convenient to dry things. It can be used as a pad to dry the cooked bamboo shoots.

After only one day in the village, they already had clams, crabs, and conches, bamboo shoots, duck eggs, and plenty of wild vegetables. This situation was much better than other families.

"Let's boil duck eggs tonight, one for each of us!"

When they heard that they had to cook so many duck eggs, Yin Huaishan and his wife felt a pang of pain in their hearts, and no matter how greedy they were, they refused to agree.

"Little sister, these duck eggs were obtained by you during your consultation. We cannot accept them. When you return, take a clay pot with you and put some stones on it to cook them."

"Brother and sister-in-law, are you alienating me? Wanwan and I eat here, and we don't have to fetch water or firewood. Should we pay extra compensation? You have to divide the family so clearly. Brother, you don't want to acknowledge me as your sister anymore."

The words were so serious that Yin Huaishan became so anxious that he began to stutter.

"No, no! Little sister, that's not what I meant!"

Of course Yin Huaixi understood that her elder brother did not mean that, but for the sake of peace in the future she still had to speak more seriously, otherwise she would not be able to cure her elder brother.

Song Wenhui patted her silly husband. Her husband was very smart because of his studies, but he was always led by the nose when it came to meeting his younger sister.

"Little sister, your elder brother is not good at talking, so ignore him. We will cook duck eggs for him later."

Yin Huaixi walked down the stairs and started speaking softly.

"Brother, you've seen the room Wanwan and I live in. It's not convenient for cooking here. I'll disturb you and your sister-in-law in the future. If you're going to be distant with me, I'll be embarrassed to bring Wanwan here to eat in the future."

"There's no estrangement! We are one family!"

Yin Huaishan no longer dared to say anything about taking it back.

"That's right, we are a family. When our conditions improve and we don't have to worry about food anymore, and we have a new stove, I won't eat even if you want me to stay here to eat."

Yin Huaixi's words made the whole family want to laugh.

When will we no longer have to worry about food and when will we be able to build a new house?

Jiang Wan felt that it wouldn’t take long.

Because the sea is a treasure, you can find a lot of edible seafood as long as the tide goes out.

If I'm lucky enough to pick up some valuables, money won't be a big deal. Besides, my mother's medical skills are so good, once her reputation spreads, there will definitely be many people seeking treatment. Wouldn't it be easy to collect some medical fees and build a house?

She didn't want a mud house, she wanted a few houses made of stone and a circle of flowers in front of them. Facing the sea with flowers blooming in the spring, those days were simply too beautiful.

"Wanwan? What are you thinking about? The leaves are about to be torn off."

Jiang Wan quickly let go and turned to clean out the moxa and mint leaves. With these treasures fumigating the house tonight, there will be no mosquitoes at night.

"Hey, what's in your pocket, mom?"

It seems to be something one by one.

"Oh! I almost forgot about that."

Yin Huaixi took out the beans from his pocket and put them in the cupboard.

"That's croton, I picked it in the mountains. Don't eat it, it can cause diarrhea at best and death at worst."

So serious!

Lian Yin Ning perked up and looked carefully at the beans in the cupboard, determined not to touch them.

"We don't have any boxes or cabinets at home right now, so we can only put it in the cupboard for now. Just don't move it."

Yin Huaixi gave instructions again and again, and only after making sure that everyone in the family had taken them to heart did she continue to work with peace of mind.

The diligent family cooked all the bamboo shoots in the afternoon and spread them on the woven palm leaves. In the evening, they cooked five duck eggs and drank wild vegetable soup, which barely filled their stomachs.

The Cai brothers never found an opportunity, and when it got dark they became blind and had to return to the straw hut reluctantly, waiting to sneak over again early the next morning.

The next morning, it was low tide again, so the whole family went to the beach to hunt for treasures. The clams and conches we dug up yesterday had been spit out all night, so they were perfect for eating today. Tomorrow's food depended on today.

Mao Cuifang did not come today, but Aunt Lao Niu and Aunt Qiufang came instead.

They knew that the Yin family had just settled down and knew nothing about the seaside, so they took the initiative to give them some guidance. In addition, they also wanted to let the villagers see that this family had good relations with others and not to bully them.

"Mother, I still want to look for it myself with my cousin today. Can you lend me a bucket?"

Without waiting for Yin Huaixi to reply, Aunt Qiufang quickly untied the basket around her waist and put it on Jiang Wan's back.

"It's too heavy for a little girl to carry a wooden bucket. You can take this bamboo basket."

Aunt Qiufang was grateful to Yin Huaixi, and she saw that Jiang Wan was also very kind to her. She secretly thought that she had to ask the head of the family to weave two more baskets tomorrow.

"Thank you, Grandma Qiufang. My cousin and I are leaving now~"

"Go, go, don't run too far."

Yin Huaixi was very confident about her daughter, but she still couldn't help but remind her. She only came back to work after watching the two little girls run away.

At this point, almost all the idle people in the village went to the beach to pick up things. Half of the Cai family members also went, and the rest stayed at the intersection to keep watch for the two brothers from the second branch.

The two brothers from the second branch were young, strong and courageous, and they easily sneaked into the Yin family's house.

They were looking for money, so they searched the main house first. But they took apart the bed boards in both rooms and found nothing.

"Impossible! They bought eggs and fish yesterday."

"Is it possible that the last bit of money you have is being spent?"

The second brother licked his lips unwillingly, searched the house carefully again, and then gave up and went to the kitchen.

"Even though they don't have money, they still have food. They must not have finished eating the eggs and fish from yesterday."

When the two brothers entered the kitchen, they immediately saw the salted fish hanging on the wall and the duck eggs in the cupboard.

Having not eaten eggs for a long time, the two were so hungry that they immediately picked up the duck eggs one by one and took the salted fish away. They also cleaned the wild vegetables and herbs inside.

"Brother, there are still some beans here!"

"Take it away, don't leave any food for them!"

Humph, Yin Huaixi and her daughter have lost their own house, so they don’t deserve to have anything to eat.

"Let's go home and cook it all for dinner."

I still feel a bit guilty after stealing something, so I have to eat it quickly to destroy the trace.

The two brothers returned happily with a lot of things.