Ling Huanwu went to the dock early in the morning to pick up sewing machine parts, but the comrade who was going out to sea told her that the batch of goods they had ordered in the city could not be delivered on time and would arrive a week later.
When the women went to work in the morning, they all took apart the sewing machine needles to replace parts, but they never expected to encounter this.
With no other option, Ling Huanwu began to take stock of the remaining parts; there were only enough left to keep the sewing machine running for one day.
"It's alright, I'll go to the city right away and see if other machine factories have any parts. The city is so big, there's bound to be some."
Ling Huanwu's words reassured the aunties, and they encouraged each other as they returned to their workstations to begin their day's work.
When Chu Mei heard Ling Huanwu say she was going to the city to find other parts manufacturers, a smug smile crept onto her lips.
You should know that there is only one manufacturer in the city that can produce these sewing machine parts, and she had already made arrangements to prevent them from selling them to the Wantan Island Cooperative.
Seeing Ling Huanwu rushing out, intending to go to the dock, Chu Mei quickly called out to her, "Little Ling, where are you going?"
When Ling Huanwu turned around and saw her, she didn't know how to address this new mother-in-law for a moment.
After all, Zhou Jiuzhen hadn't called her "Mother" yet, so she couldn't very well call him "Mother" before him.
"I'm going to the city. I'll probably be back by tomorrow evening."
Ling Huanwu explained, but Chu Mei held her tightly, refusing to let her go. "Don't go. There's no rush to go to the city anytime. Your mother came here specifically to teach you how to butcher ducks and how to make duck soup for Er Gou. He loved duck soup when he was little."
"Wait until I get back before you kill him, okay..."
Ling Huanwu quickly declined and waved her hand, but Chu Mei suddenly pouted and her voice choked up.
"I knew Xiaoling, you still wouldn't forgive me for making you faint. I just wanted Er Gou to drink more duck soup to help him recover his memory, and the duck I brought was seasick and almost dying, so that's why I thought..."
Ling Huanwu gasped, her mind flashing to the image of a large, fat duck, dizzy and half-dead.
Indeed, a dead duck doesn't taste good.
Besides, this was the first time her elders had made a request of her, so she couldn't refuse.
With no other option, Ling Huanwu decided to slaughter the ducks before setting off.
Back to the family compound.
Ling Huanwu looked at the big white duck flapping on the ground, and her legs were cramping.
In all her life, she had never even seen a live chicken up close, let alone killed a duck.
In the past, when we ate chicken or duck at home, the servants would clean it up perfectly; there was no need for her to kill it.
As for learning to cook later, it was Wang Guihua from her previous life who taught her step by step.
As for chickens and ducks, even eating eggs was a luxury in Stone Village at that time, so how could anyone have access to them, let alone kill them?
Ling Huanwu thought of the sewing machines in the cooperative that desperately needed parts, gritted her teeth, and cheered herself up.
Let's finish killing quickly and get to the city so we don't miss tomorrow's work.
Ling Huanwu took several deep breaths before meeting the gaze of the calm duck by the well, and saw contempt in its eyes.
It's as if it's saying, "You little brat, you wouldn't dare kill me even if you had ten lives!"
Ling Huanwu glared back at it, her eyes signaling, "If you want to die, then die on your own. Don't force me to do it."
Until a kitchen knife was shoved into her right hand.
Then another chipped porcelain basin was shoved into her left hand. Chu Mei pointed at the duck whose legs were tied and said in a strong voice, "Aim carefully and cut it right here at the neck. It'll bleed you out quickly!"
Ling Huanwu gripped the knife, her hand trembling like a leaf. She squatted in front of the duck for a long time, not daring to move. "Aunt Chu, this duck doesn't seem to be seasick. Should we kill it in a few more days?"
The big white duck by the well seemed to see through her cowardice, stretching its neck and quacking, and flapping its wings, splashing mud all over her trouser leg.
"Go ahead and chop!" Chu Mei stamped her foot anxiously from the side.
Ling Huanwu steeled her resolve, closed her eyes, and swung her knife downwards.
As a result, the knife missed the duck's neck but instead cut a small gash in his own trouser leg.
She jumped up with a cry of "Oh dear!" and the kitchen knife clattered to the ground.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the big white duck flapped its wings and ran out of the yard. Ling Huanwu hurriedly chased after it, but her shoes slipped in the mud and she almost fell face-first into the mud.
Chu Mei slapped her thigh in anger, "You little brat! You can't even catch a duck!"
Fortunately, the platoon leader's wife next door heard the commotion and ran out. She quickly grabbed a bamboo pole and stood in front of the duck, pinning it down in no time.
Looking at Ling Huanwu, who was covered in sweat, she couldn't help but laugh: "Comrade Ling, you're not killing a duck, you're putting on a circus performance for it!"
As she spoke, the platoon leader's wife took the cleaver and, with swift and skillful strokes, cleaned the duck in no time.
Ling Huanwu stood to the side, her face as red as a ripe apple, clutching several duck feathers she had pulled out while chasing the ducks.
Seeing that the duck had been killed, she glanced at the sun in the sky and said anxiously, "Aunt Chu, now that the duck is taken care of, I'll go to town first..."
"No, I still have a secret recipe for stewing duck to teach you, so hurry up and start the fire!"
Ling Huanwu had just picked up the small cloth bag when Chu Mei pulled her back and shoved a box of matches into her hand again...
*
At the cooperative, Zhou Shuyao brought a bag of seaweed flatbreads.
Zhou Shuyao got up early in the morning to make the same seaweed-flavored flatbread that Wang Guihua made. He burned his hands several times, thinking that when he shared it with his aunts, Ling Huanwu could also taste her mother's flavor.
The aunties took the flatbread and exclaimed in amazement, "Zhou's second son, your skills are just as good as your mother's! You could go to the city's food factory to make flatbread!"
The second aunt nudged the outspoken eldest aunt, signaling her to be quiet.
They certainly knew what Zhou Shuyao was thinking.
Ling Huanwu wouldn't let him work or record his work points, but he shamelessly stayed at the cooperative and wouldn't leave.
Who wouldn't know what's on their mind?
Zhou Shuyao distributed the flatbreads, but not seeing Ling Huanwu, he asked in surprise, "Where's President Ling? Why isn't she here?"
Just then, an auntie who happened to be passing by the family compound on her way to work rushed in, laughing so hard tears streamed down her face. "Do you know what I just saw on the way? I saw Director Ling's mother-in-law telling her to kill a duck, and Director Ling was holding a knife and his face turned white with fright, hahaha..."
The aunties who were pressing their sewing machines all looked rather grim. "Wasn't President Ling supposed to go to the city to pick up some goods? Why is he still at home?"
"I heard her mother-in-law isn't easy to get along with either. I heard it from my cousin who works at a hospital in the city. Don't spread this around, okay? I heard that Director Ling didn't come to the office a few days ago because of her mother-in-law. She drew two bags of blood from Comrade Ling, and she almost died..."
Hearing what his aunts said, Zhou Shuyao's head exploded.
He had always thought Ling Huanwu was sick, but he never expected that this was what had happened.
The thought of her being bullied like this made his eyes blaze with anger. He grabbed the leftover flatbread and stormed off to the family compound.
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