Chapter 51: Punishment
Second Aunt Su blocked Zhang Zhaodi, not allowing her to barge in.
“We didn’t see any rabbit.”
“I asked people in the village, and they all said they hadn’t seen any rabbit, but our family’s two rabbits are missing. This is driving me crazy. Those two rabbits are sick and cannot be eaten!”
Second Aunt Su’s eyes darted away, and she glanced back inside. Seeing Zhang Zhaodi about to leave, she grabbed her and pretended to ask casually: “You said those two rabbits are sick—what sickness? Tell me. If I see them, I can help you catch them.”
“The reason we kept those two rabbits is precisely because they are sick, and eating them would cause problems. Forget it, since you didn’t see any rabbit, what’s the use in telling you?”
Zhang Zhaodi turned to leave as she spoke.
Seeing how anxious Zhang Zhaodi was, Second Aunt Su believed it a bit more. She came out of the courtyard to block her: “Then explain clearly! If someone else catches them, I can still remind them.”
“A rabbit? I think I heard the sound of a rabbit from your house.” Zhang Zhaodi turned and ran into the courtyard.
Second Aunt Su realized something was wrong and hurriedly chased after Zhang Zhaodi.
Zhang Zhaodi ran into the kitchen and rummaged around in the kitchen.
Grandma Su ran out, picked up the feather duster, and swung it over: “Get out! Didn’t we sever ties? Don’t step into my house again.”
Zhang Zhaodi certainly wouldn’t let Grandma Su hit her.
She retreated while saying: “I warn you, if you see those two rabbits, you must return them to me—don’t eat them.”
“Get out, get out, get out—don’t let me see you again.” Grandma Su cursed and chased Zhang Zhaodi out, slamming the courtyard gate shut with a bang.
Second Aunt Su saw through the door crack that Zhang Zhaodi had left, then said to Grandma Su: “Mom, she couldn’t be telling the truth, right? If those two rabbits are sick, we wouldn’t dare eat them.”
“If she didn’t say that, who would return her rabbits?” Grandma Su said. “Go check those two rabbits. They’re so fat—how could they be sick?”
“Mom is right.” Second Uncle Su walked out from inside. “That mother and daughter aren’t so kindhearted. To put it bluntly, they just want to trick the rabbits back.”
“Exactly. If they were really sick, she’d just let them be lost—why bother looking? She’s deliberately scaring us, hoping we’ll return the rabbits we got! What a pipe dream.”
Grandma Su waved her hand: “Second Son, kill the rabbits. Today the whole family eats meat.”
Su Dabao clapped and laughed: “Yay, yay, we get to eat rabbit!”
“Shh, shh, shh!” Grandpa Su made a silencing gesture. “Those two shrews are so fierce. We’ll eat them on the sly—no need to let them know.”
Grandma Su looked disdainful: “What a coward.”
That night, the two rabbits all went into the Su family’s bellies. The Su family’s bellies were stuffed round, and they sat in the courtyard enjoying the cool air, feeling all the pent-up frustration of these days dissipate.
“My belly hurts so much…” Su Dabao held his belly, crying out in pain, “Belly… my belly…”
“Ah… my belly… those two rabbits couldn’t really be sick, could they? Oh God, it hurts so much… Help, help!”
It started with Su Dabao shouting about his belly pain, followed by Grandma Su. The other Su family members looked terrified, and under such fright, they soon showed symptoms too.
The five family members cried out in agony.
Second Uncle Su was an adult man after all and managed to hold on, crawling to the doorway. He had just opened the door when he saw Su Yaoguang passing by and shouted: “Yaoguang girl, help.”
Su Yaoguang pretended to be passing by. Seeing Second Uncle Su like this, she said in surprise: “Second Uncle Su, what’s wrong with you?”
“I… I’m not feeling well. Help me fetch the doctor.” Now that he needed her help, he didn’t dare act superior and could only humble himself.
Su Yaoguang eyed Second Uncle Su: “This symptom of yours looks like poisoning. Our family lost two sick rabbits—did you catch and eat them?”
“No, I didn’t eat any rabbit. My belly just suddenly hurts—must be a common cold.” Second Uncle Su stubbornly denied it.
“Oh, just a common cold? No rush then—take your time fetching the doctor. I have urgent business. My two lost rabbits have a serious illness—if someone eats them, it could kill. I need to find them quickly. If I’m too late and someone eats them, that would be a grave sin. But it wouldn’t be our fault. Our courtyard gate was shut tight, the cage was shut tight—who knows which disobedient child sneaked in and took them for me. Kids these days really don’t know the height of heaven or the depth of earth.”
“Niece, niece, save us quick—or we’ll die.” Second Uncle Su took Su Yaoguang’s words as gospel truth.
“A common cold won’t kill anyone. I’m still going to look for the rabbits!”
“We ate the rabbits!” Second Aunt Su shouted. “Stop looking—we ate the rabbits.”
“Quick, save us—or I’ll accuse you of murder,” Grandma Su cursed.
“My mom came earlier asking, and you said you didn’t eat them! Now to trick me into fetching the doctor, you tell such a lie.” Su Yaoguang was displeased.
“We really ate them. Dabao was naughty and went to your house to catch them.” Grandpa Su lay on the ground, reaching out to Su Yaoguang. “Yaoguang, save us quick.”
Su Dabao wailed loudly, crying and shouting how much it hurt.
“Mom told me to catch them. Mom said your family had rabbits, and if I caught them, I could eat meat. Waa… my belly hurts so much… I don’t want to die…”
“If you still don’t believe us, go look in the courtyard corner—we threw the bones there.” Second Uncle Su said. “Save us quick—we’re dying.”
“Two rabbits, two taels of silver.” Su Yaoguang held out her palm. “Pay this money, and I’ll fetch the doctor for you.”
“Are you crazy? Never mind whether the rabbits are worth two taels of silver—these are sick rabbits, and we should be asking you for compensation. Why are you asking us for money?”
“The rabbits are sick, but we were figuring out how to treat them—they could have been cured. You caught our rabbits and ate them—shouldn’t you compensate? Plus, you just admitted letting Su Dabao sneak in to catch our family’s rabbits. Doesn’t that mean you could sneak in and steal our other things? I advise you to think clearly: do you want to live or keep the silver? If you won’t pay, I won’t care. You stole our family’s rabbits—it’s your own fault if you die.” Su Yaoguang made as if to leave.
“Here, take the silver—save our lives.” Grandpa Su shouted. “Old lady, if we die, she can still come in and search for the silver. Quick, give her the silver!”
Grandma Su cried out in pain but could only drag herself inside for the silver. When she handed it to Su Yaoguang, her eyes glared fiercely as if to devour her.
“Give me one hundred copper coins more, and I’ll give you the medicine directly.” Su Yaoguang held out her hand. “Of course, if you don’t trust me, I can go fetch the doctor for you—but it’ll cost twenty wen for my errand fee.”
