Chapter 4: Grandma
Grandma Su’s harsh face was full of impatience: “Is there any place for you to speak here? A little girl buying a man outside, and still bold enough to say it out loud, aren’t you ashamed?”
“What’s wrong with me buying a husband?” Su Yaoguang came out and said loudly, “I bought a husband, no matter what he’s like, I like it, I’m happy with it. And you? You’re my biological grandmother, yet you want to marry me off to an idiot to be a daughter-in-law for your own daughter, to serve that idiot with his shit and piss from now on. What kind of ruthless grandmother are you?”
Grandma Su was furious, pushed Zhang Zhaodi aside, grabbed the broom nearby, and swung it at Su Yaoguang: “Stinky girl, haven’t been beaten for three days, skin itching, right? I’ll beat you to death, you cheap wench. Your dad isn’t here, so as your grandma, I’ll discipline you in his place. You disrespectful thing, today I must make you know what obedience is, what filial piety is.”
“Hit me, beat me to death! My dad isn’t here, so you bully me, a child without a father. My mom has kept chastity for my dad for over a decade, how hard it has been, yet you bully her too, wanting to take her farmland and real estate. Is this trying to force our mother and daughter both to death? If you beat me to death today, let everyone in the village see how vicious the Su family is, unable to tolerate an orphan and widow.”
Su Yaoguang shouted loudly, wishing the whole village could hear. In her previous life, whenever she suffered grievances, she swallowed them down, and when others asked, she pretended nothing was wrong, losing face and suffering alive. Reborn into this life, what was there to be hung up about? Whoever dared bully their mother and daughter, she would make a big noise, to see who would want the reputation of bullying an orphan and widow.
Zhang Zhaodi burst into tears with a wail: “My poor child, who made your dad leave so early, leaving us orphan and widow, and now others want to force you to serve an idiot!”
“You… you mother and daughter are really something.” Grandma Su saw several neighboring families watching the excitement outside, couldn’t save face, threw away the broom in her hand, and left.
Su Yaoguang closed the door and shouted loudly: “Mom, don’t do anything stupid, don’t seek death, Mom…”
Zhang Zhaodi, who was just about to get back up: “…”
She glanced at the tightly shut door, felt there was no need to lie back down, just stood there tilting her neck and howling dryly: “Let me die, let me go see your dead ghost dad, tell him what kind of days we mother and daughter have lived these years. Back when they were conscripting soldiers, he had just gotten married, clearly not on the conscription list, but insisted on going in place of his younger brother, abandoning us mother and daughter…”
Zhou Wangshu lay on the wooden bed in the wood shed, listening to the mother and daughter crying and howling outside, his tense body slowly relaxing.
He didn’t believe there was kindness without reason in this world, nor inexplicable good deeds. That mother and daughter wanted something from him, which instead put him at ease.
Zhou Wangshu looked at the thin porridge placed nearby, laboriously reached out, held it, and moved it over bit by bit. He was covered in wounds, even moving a finger hurt terribly. But no matter how painful, he had to survive.
He had to stay alive and go back to kill those who bullied and humiliated him.
The sounds outside stopped.
Su Yaoguang supported Zhang Zhaodi as they walked inside, asking with concern: “Mom, did she push you just now? Are you hurt?”
“How come you’re so bold today?” Zhang Zhaodi glared at her. “Aren’t you afraid she’ll cause you trouble?”
“I used to respect her, but she never treated me as a granddaughter! Now she wants to give me to an idiot as a wife, why should I still fawn over her?” Su Yaoguang pouted. “From now on, I only care if my mom is happy or not, who cares about the others, let them die.”
Things from her previous life were somewhat distant, many matters not remembered clearly. Back then, when she bought Xiao Yanci home, her grandma had also been relentless. To make her grandma give up, she begged Xiao Yanci to write a marriage contract and become nominal husband and wife. Her grandma saw it was done and stopped forcing her. But this time, she didn’t want to write a marriage contract with Zhou Wangshu.
Zhang Zhaodi was already ill, and after this commotion from Grandma Su, she felt weak all over, her head hurting even more.
Su Yaoguang helped her back to rest.
“Mom, you rest first, I’ll bring the food over once it’s ready.”
She went to the kitchen, rummaged through boxes and cabinets, found half a jar of salt hidden tightly, cornmeal almost at the bottom, the last bits of lard, a few handfuls of dried mushrooms, and some still-fresh wild leeks.
She went out and checked the chicken coop, and sure enough, got an egg.
Now there were only two chickens left at home, occasionally yielding an egg. Before, her mom always saved the eggs for her to eat, but today she had to make her mom replenish her strength no matter what.
Zhang Zhaodi was awakened by the aroma.
“What did this stinky girl cook, how is it so fragrant?” Zhang Zhaodi got back up and shouted toward the kitchen, “Spendthrift girl, use oil sparingly.”
Su Yaoguang brought in the corn cakes: “Mom, try my cooking.”
“What did you make, how is it so fragrant?” Zhang Zhaodi looked at the bowl she handed over. “You spendthrift girl, there’s only that little cornmeal left, and you dared to make cakes. And this color, clearly used too much oil. Do you want to anger me to death!”
“Mom, I saved you two taels of silver today!” Su Yaoguang said, “Tomorrow I’ll go into town for procurement, definitely won’t go hungry.”
“You still dare to mention that.” Zhang Zhaodi snorted.
“This is mushroom soup, try if it’s fresh.” Su Yaoguang used a spoon to feed Zhang Zhaodi the soup.
Zhang Zhaodi snatched it over: “I didn’t lose my hands or feet, why do you need to feed me. Go eat, don’t stay here watching me.”
Zhang Zhaodi took a sip of soup, surprise flashing in her eyes: “Not bad.”
But soon, her face darkened again: “You wasted salt again, didn’t you? I told you, normally don’t use salt, once every three days is enough. And that little oil, just a thin layer is sufficient.”
“Mom, I’ve already thought of a way to make money, definitely will let you live well from now on.” Su Yaoguang said.
Zhang Zhaodi: “…”
What was wrong with this girl today, that mouth like smeared with honey, making it hard for her to scold her.
“Don’t stand there, go eat quickly.”
“Then I’ll send some to Wangshu first, then come back to eat with you.”
“That one you picked up?” Zhang Zhaodi snorted coldly, “Name sounds nice, but beaten like that and sold, who knows what kind of person he is?”
“Wangshu looks a bit younger than me, what bad things could such a child do? Mom, anyway it was bought for ten copper coins, just treat it as doing a good deed!”
Zhang Zhaodi bit into a cake, the more she chewed the more fragrant it got, muttering: “This girl’s cooking skills have improved! No, did you put an egg in it? You you you…”
Su Yaoguang saw the situation turning bad and slipped away quickly.
“Just one egg, eating it replenishes the whole family.”
Zhang Zhaodi watched Su Yaoguang slip away like a mud eel, both angry and amused. Thinking again of how hard these years had been for the mother and daughter, how much grievance she had suffered following her, she felt heartbroken.
