Sigh, her big brother was a person who thought everything through. Why did he have a silly son like Erzhu?
"Let's not care about her anymore. Let's go out and play." suggested Chen Xiaosang, moving her arm. Both Dazhu and Erzhu, quickly followed her outside.
Darong's wife was left surprised. She called out to them several times, but the children didn't even glance back.
Darong's wife was furious. She got up and ran towards the wall. Halfway through, she stood up and sat on the ground, crying loudly.
Why was her life so pitiful? She was bullied not only by her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law but even by Xiaosang.
No one in the Chen family was kind. All were selfish, taking advantage of her! She sobbed uncontrollably...
The more she thought about it, the more upset she became, sitting against the wall and crying her heart out.
Meanwhile, Chen Xiaosang led the three kids, gathered around a bowl of quails, inspecting each one.
"Auntie, this one's weak," one of them said.
"This one can't be saved either."
"And this one, it doesn't eat its food. It's surely doomed."
The kids caught a couple of quails struggling to escape, their eyes sparkling as they handed them to Chen Xiaosang.
Chen Xiaosang carefully examined them. She put four of the quails back into the bowl, saying seriously, "We need to look for those who are truly at death's door. The ones that can survive need to be kept for laying eggs and hatching more quails."
The three kids nodded in agreement, their eyes shining brightly. They each caught a few more flapping quails, presenting them to Chen Xiaosang with delight.
Chen Xiaosang hesitantly accepted two of them, asking the kids to tie up the selected four quails and put them aside.
"Will we have quail soup tonight?" Erzhu asked, his mouth watering.
Chen Xiaosang shook her head, "This is for your big brother and the others. They've been working too hard. I'll send them the soup tomorrow."
"We can't have any?" Sanzhu mumbled in disappointment.
The three kids didn't understand the hard work of carrying loads, they just knew they wouldn't get any soup.
Chen Xiaosang comforted them, "We've bought lots of rice and flour. Father said we'll get a pound of meat. You'll have plenty of good food and meat tonight!"
Upon hearing about the meat and the grain, the three kids started jumping around the courtyard with joy.
Seeing them, Dazhu, pale-faced, quickly cautioned, "Stop jumping. I feel dizzy!"
"I feel like throwing up..." Erzhu clutched his chest.
Sanzhu looked helplessly at his two brothers, then turned his gaze towards Chen Xiaosang.
With determination, Chen Xiaosang selected two male quails and took them to the kitchen. She swiftly butchered them with a kitchen knife and initiated the three boys to help boil water for plucking the feathers.
She efficiently plucked all the feathers, cleaned the internal organs, and dropped them into a clay pot. To this, she added ginger and water and set them to stew.
While she had Sanzhu keep an eye on the fire, she headed to the backyard. She plucked two white radishes, chopped them up, and added them to the stew.
Soon enough, the tantalizing aroma wafted from the pot, drawing out Darong's wife, who had been inside the house.
Standing at the doorstep, Darong's wife fixed her gaze on the clay pot. She swallowed hard, and in a somewhat envious tone, she commented, "So you all get to enjoy soup now, while all I get at home is sweet potatoes."
Chen Xiaosang puckered her lips in discontent, responding, "My nephew, Dazhu and Erzhu, are injured. They need to regain their strength."
Darong's wife replied sarcastically, "My son is also injured and yet he's only eating coarse grain. Your children are certainly pampered."
Ignoring her bitter remarks, Chen Xiaosang continued with her task, grabbing the salt jar to season the stew.
The house didn't have many condiments, so she had to make do with what was available.
Once the stew was nearly done, Chen Xiaosang scooped out four portions into bowls and covered the pot. She and her siblings sat down, each cradling a bowl, engrossed in their meal.
The fresh and sweet taste was invigorating, lifting the spirits of Dazhu and Erzhu.
No longer feeling dizzy or weak, they relished their meal.
Seeing this, Darong's wife frowned, turning to the children to ask, "I haven't had lunch yet. Aren't you going to offer me a bowl?"
All eyes turned to Chen Xiaosang, who shook her head in refusal, "We barely have enough for ourselves. Sister-in-law Darong, you should go back and prepare your own meal."
After all, she was Chen Xiaosang's sister-in-law. Not repaying her money was one thing, but not offering her food while she was in the kitchen was another.
Recalling the rotten sweet potato she had for breakfast, Darong's wife secretly swallowed her saliva. As she was about to help herself to a bowl, a furious shout came from behind, "I've been wondering why you took money this afternoon and haven't returned home yet."
Darong's wife shrunk back, hastily stepping aside, her head bowed as she explained, "Second Aunt isn't home... I... I don't know where she keeps her money."
Mrs. Qian shot her a fierce glare, expressing her disdain, "You're utterly useless. How on earth did I let my Darong marry you?!"
She had already made her way inside the house by then. Her greedy eyes were fixed on the clay pot. Paired with the bruises on her face, she looked rather menacing.
The delicious aroma filled her senses. It had been quite a while since she last tasted meat.
Chen Xiaosang quickly stepped in, shielding her nephew behind her. Seeing Mrs. Qian lift the lid of the pot to take a few whiffs before picking it up and hurrying towards the cupboard, Chen's eyes flickered.
"This is for my parents and two sisters-in-law," Chen Xiaosang declared, standing her ground.
Hurriedly savoring her soup and meat, Mrs. Qian didn't have a moment to spare for Chen Xiaosang. As she opened the cupboard to grab a bowl, her eyes fixated on a piece of fatty meat.
Her mouth watered. Swiftly, she tucked the pound of meat that Old Chen had recently purchased into her embrace. All the while she murmured resentfully, "A family of good-for-nothings! Spending my family's money on meat. Do you think you're even worthy of such a luxury?"
Simultaneously, her hand found a bag of white flour which she thrust at Darong's wife. "What are you waiting for? Can't you see there are grains and flour here? Quickly, take it home!"
Darong's wife moved forward, her sight briefly interrupted by a fleeting shadow. It was Dazhu, who had sneakily grabbed a handful of flour and dashed past her.
She instinctively reached out to stop him, but Dazhu was nimble. Bending low, he sprinted towards the courtyard.
Mrs. Qian shouted, "Why are you standing there? Go after him! That flour was purchased with our family's money!"
Panicked, Darong's wife rushed after him into the courtyard.
"Offspring of a worthless woman, daring to use my family's money to buy grains and flour! And even meat!" Mrs. Qian fumed, cradling a small bag of refined rice in her arms.
She then picked up a large soup bowl and approached the earthen jar, her hand poised to strike Chen Xiaosang. Erzhu quickly shielded his Aunt, pleading urgently, "Don't hit my Aunt!"
Mrs. Qian's hand smacked Erzhu's already pale face, retorting angrily, "Stay out of other people's affairs!"
Erzhu, who was frail to begin with, swayed dizzily from the force of her slap.
Chen Xiaosang's eyes reddened with fury. She held Erzhu tightly, asking with concern, "Does it hurt?"
"It hurts…" Erzhu mumbled, covering his face with a pained expression.
The sight of Chen Xiaosang further stoked Mrs. Qian's rage.
It was this troublesome girl who had instigated the disaster last night, causing her family to lose eight hundred coins. She had even been beaten up by Chen Qingshan later that night.
A child with no proper manner!
Mrs. Qian raised her hand to slap Chen Xiaosang, but she shouted, "I know where Mom's money is!"
She stopped her hand, grabbed Chen Xiaosang's hair and pulled her head up. "Where?" she asked.