Yang Ruoqing bit her lip in anger, cheeks puffed, brows tightly furrowed, saying nothing.
Sun-shi quickly lifted the lid of the jar, and a strong wave of pungent spice rushed out, making her sneeze as she covered her face and stepped back.
When she turned back, illuminated by the firelight, she saw that the chili paste inside the jar was almost gone!
"What happened here?" Sun-shi looked up at Yang Ruoqing, utterly confused.
"Hmph! What else could it be? Someone snuck into my room this afternoon!" Yang Ruoqing said angrily.
The moment she entered her room earlier, she had sensed something was off.
There were clear signs of someone having rifled through things. Even the straw in the chicken nest had been disturbed, and the old hen was nowhere to be seen.
Then she heard clucking from above. Looking up, she saw the old hen perched on a beam, staring wide-eyed in alarm—it gave her quite a scare.
"What? We were robbed?" Sun-shi's face changed immediately. She was so shocked that her voice stuttered. "Th-then... the things Aunt Guihua brought over...?"
"I hid those beforehand!" Yang Ruoqing replied.
At noon, on an impulse, she had hidden the eggs, white rice, and dried mushrooms.
"Good thing you hid them! What about the hen…?" Sun-shi asked.
"The hen is still there," Yang Ruoqing said, but she knew that once the thief got into her room, they must have seen the hen. They probably didn't manage to catch it because it had quickly flown onto the roof beam, and perhaps they didn't want to risk alerting Yang Huazhong in the next room. The hen had narrowly escaped this time.
But now, the hen had a target on its back.
And that chili paste—she thought no one would bother stealing it. It wasn't some rare delicacy. But that thief wasn't picky!
Sun-shi bit her lip and stayed silent for a long moment. The little kitchen was briefly filled with heavy silence. Only the small pot bubbling merrily on the stove could be heard, and the mixed scent of wild vegetables and matsutake mushrooms slowly spread through the room.
After a while, Sun-shi quietly asked, "Ruoqing, do you have any idea who might have done it?"
"Hmph, who else? It must have been someone from the old Yang family!" Yang Ruoqing replied bitterly. Her number one suspect: Fourth Uncle Yang Huaming.
"This afternoon, the only person who came by was my fourth uncle—he's the most likely—mmph…" Her words were cut off by Sun-shi, who quickly covered her mouth.
Glancing nervously toward the kitchen door, Sun-shi whispered, "You can't make accusations without proof! If someone hears you and it reaches your fourth uncle's ears, it'll be big trouble!"
Her fourth brother-in-law's reputation in the village had never been good.
Lazy, dishonest, and constantly up to no good. Sun-shi remembered clearly—back when she was still in postpartum confinement after giving birth to Ruoqing, Ruoqing's grandma had brought over a bowl of chicken soup and left it on the table. Then she'd gone to the pond at the village entrance to wash baby diapers.
Sun-shi was sitting up in bed, nursing Da'an, when Yang Huaming snuck in by the wall.
She had seen him but didn't dare call out. After all, she was the sister-in-law, and he was an unmarried young man at the time. She had her blouse undone while breastfeeding. If she called for help and others came, the shame would fall on everyone.
So she held her tongue, didn't even turn her head—just hoped he'd at least leave her a little so she could eat and produce milk for Ruoqing.
But no. He finished the whole bowl—didn't leave a drop.
This kind of sneaky behavior wasn't rare for Yang Huaming. He'd done it many times.
At least this time with the chili paste, he'd left a bit at the bottom. After some scraping, there would be just enough to mix with the shepherd's purse for dinner.
Sun-shi finally removed her hand from Yang Ruoqing's mouth and sighed before turning back to finish preparing the shepherd's purse mixture.
Yang Ruoqing was seething.
"Mom, we're the victims here! We left with nothing, barely getting by. Aunt Dayun was kind enough to bring us a few things, and these people still have the nerve to covet them? And we're not even allowed to talk about it? I can't swallow this!"
"You have to swallow it even if you can't," Sun-shi said, eyes red. "Look at your father now, and your two younger brothers are still so small. The burden of this household is on the two of us. Life is long, and we might still need help from your grandfather or uncles one day. If we tear the relationship apart now, living under the same roof will be unbearable for everyone."
Yang Ruoqing fell silent.
In this backward and isolated mountain village, when the man of the house collapsed, no matter how capable the women were, they would always be at a disadvantage.
Take the two mu of paddy fields, for example—working them and driving the ox to plow was beyond what she or Sun-shi could handle.
But Yang Ruoqing's silence didn't mean she was giving up or backing down. She would find another way to make that thief reveal himself!
Now that he had tasted success, there would surely be a next time. Hmph! If he dared come again, he'd be in for a surprise!
That night's dinner was eaten in a heavy silence. After bathing, Yang Ruoqing returned to her room, locked the door from the inside, and even moved a table and chair to barricade it before climbing into bed.
—
In the front yard, inside the house of the fourth family, Yang Huaming was lounging in a chair, letting out a satisfied belch while picking his teeth with a piece of straw.
His feet were soaking in hot water, while Liu-shi, heavily pregnant, was squatting awkwardly in front of him, washing his feet.
"He's father, you're amazing! That big bowl of chili paste you got and hid in our room—now our meals will finally have some flavor!" Liu-shi gazed at her husband adoringly, growing more and more fond of him. The more she looked, the more impressive he seemed.
"Of course I am. You think I'm just anybody? If I want something, I get it!" Yang Huaming burped again, full of smug satisfaction. Then he suddenly remembered something and scowled. "That fat girl's room still has an old hen. I was going to grab it to make soup. Damn thing was too quick—it flew straight up to the roof beam and almost pecked my eye out!"
"He'er's father, are your eyes okay? Let me have a look!"
Liu-shi was immediately flustered and got up to examine his face.
Her man had such a good-looking face—there wasn't a more handsome one in all of Changping Village. If it got pecked and scarred, that would be a tragedy!
But Yang Huaming wasn't moved. He swatted her hand away and glared. "What are you fussing about? You think I'm that soft? That hen—I'll figure out a way to catch it sooner or later. It's nice and plump—perfect with wine!"
(Author's note: Sorry for the lack of updates recently—I wasn't feeling well.)
(End of Chapter)