Chapter 2: The Young Madam Is So Ruthless
Shi Tou flushed red and explained in a low voice, “It wasn’t like this five years ago.”
“You know that’s five years ago.” Shang Wan helplessly rubbed her forehead. If she had known it was this kind of “auspicious place,” back in the city she should have just randomly found a rich guy to rob the rich and help the poor.
“I’ll go check the cellar.” Shi Tou ran quickly toward the cellar as if fleeing.
Xiao Huan stuffed the little baby girl, who was pouting and about to cry, into Shang Wan’s arms. “Young Madam, please coax the miss. This servant will go check the kitchen.”
Yuan Yuan stayed in her bargain mother’s arms, needing no coaxing at all. She obediently sucked on her chubby little fingers, curving her big eyes and smiling at Shang Wan.
Shang Wan lightly poked her chubby little cheek while thinking about where to get some food later.
Even if the three adults could go hungry, the little baby girl could not.
“Ah! Mouse!” Xiao Huan screamed as she ran out from the kitchen, still holding a broken pot lid in her hand.
When Shang Wan looked over, she said with a bitter face, “Young Madam, the rice jar has turned into a mouse nest. There’s not a bit of food in the kitchen.”
Shang Wan was not surprised at all. For such a rundown house, it would be strange if there was grain in the kitchen. Even if there was, with no one guarding the house, it would have been taken clean by those with ulterior motives.
Shi Tou also came up from the cellar, his face full of bad luck. “The cellar is full of mice and their offspring.”
As he spoke, he shook his trouser leg, and a little mouse fell out, squeaking sharply as it fled, only to be stepped on by Shang Wan.
Xiao Huan retreated repeatedly in fear.
Shang Wan stared at the struggling little mouse under her foot for a moment, then applied a bit more force, and the little mouse went to its death.
She raised her head, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the two. “Let’s roast mice to eat. We can take the whole nest—enough to fill us up.”
This was all meat!
The two: “…”
Are you a devil?
“Young Madam, mice can’t be eaten.” Xiao Huan was scared to the point of tears, not daring to look at Shang Wan’s feet.
Shi Tou also said, “Young Master said eating mouse meat will make you sick.”
Shang Wan secretly clicked her tongue. It was obvious these two had never gone hungry. In the apocalypse, when grain was scarce and you were starving, you could even catch mutated beasts and gnaw on them.
Seeing how unwilling the two were, Shang Wan didn’t insist. She kicked the dead mouse into the weeds with one foot, then pulled out the only silver hairpin from her hair and handed it to Shi Tou. “Take it to exchange with the villagers for some food.”
“Young Madam, no!” Xiao Huan stopped her. “This is the love token Young Master gave you. How can you exchange it for food?”
“We’re all about to starve to death—still caring about that?” Shang Wan urged Shi Tou to go quickly, specifically instructing him to exchange for some rice to cook porridge for Yuan Yuan later.
Even without having raised a child, Shang Wan knew the baby in her arms, who had only just grown two little milk teeth, needed to eat something soft.
Shi Tou looked at Shang Wan several times before leaving with a complicated expression, gripping the silver hairpin.
Xiao Huan carried out a pile of dry firewood from the kitchen, lit it with some dry grass, and the firelight illuminated the courtyard.
She wiped clean a square stool from the main room and brought it out, saying to Shang Wan, “It’s cold in spring nights. Young Madam, your body is weak—hold the miss and warm up by the fire first. Be careful not to catch a chill. This servant will clean up the kitchen first, so when Shi Tou brings back the grain, we can cook.”
Seeing Xiao Huan busy in and out alone, Shang Wan placed the swaddling clothes on the square stool, glanced at the weeds in the courtyard that were half a person’s height, and moved the square stool farther from the fire pile, closer to the kitchen.
She reached out and patted the swaddling clothes. “Play by yourself for a bit. Sleep if you’re tired. No crying allowed.”
Yuan Yuan blinked her big eyes, seemingly understanding, and smiled at Shang Wan.
“Such a good girl.” Shang Wan leaned down and planted a kiss on her little chubby face before getting up and walking to the kitchen, carrying out a large and a small wooden bucket.
There was a well in the corner of the courtyard next to the kitchen. It was full of well water, and one could fetch water by bending over with the bucket.
Shang Wan squatted down to fill the large bucket, then steadily lifted it with one hand and walked toward the kitchen.
Xiao Huan looked up, her eyes widening in shock, and hurried over. “Young Madam, put it down quickly. Be careful not to strain your back.”
With her young madam so frail that a gust of wind could knock her over, how could she do rough work like fetching water?
“Not heavy.” Shang Wan avoided her outstretched hand, placed the bucket on the stove, took a rag, soaked it, and helped wipe down the kitchen.
Xiao Huan pinched herself hard, her eyes tearing up from the pain.
Goodness, which immortal had come to help? Young Madam was actually helping her with work.
As the two busied themselves in the kitchen, in the courtyard, the little baby girl in the swaddling clothes contentedly sucked on her little chubby hand, occasionally making vague babbling sounds from her mouth. Her pair of bright big eyes looked at the moon in the sky, blinking and blinking.
Rustling sounds came from the half-person-high weeds, and a spotted snake as thick as an adult’s arm hissed with its tongue, weaving through the cover of the weeds toward the square stool.
Shi Tou exchanged the silver hairpin with the villagers for a jar of oil, half a catty of salt, three catties of rice, two catties of flour, five eggs, one catty of meat, and some vegetables grown by the villagers themselves. Since there were many things and hard to carry, he specially borrowed a back basket.
He returned carrying the things and had just entered the courtyard when he saw a spotted snake over two meters long already at the foot of the square stool, hissing with its tongue and raising its triangular head, trying to climb up the stool leg.
He was so scared his eyes nearly popped out, the shout on the tip of his tongue, but the spotted snake seemed struck by some immense force. It flipped several times in the air and rolled to a spot three steps away from him. A wooden stick only as thick as a little finger pierced through its head, nailing it firmly to the ground.
The two-meter-long snake tail twisted and writhed nonstop, finally going still after a long while.
“Perfect timing. It’s yours now—we’ll have an extra dish.” Shang Wan stood by the kitchen window, a fair finger still holding a wooden stick identical to the one embedded in the snake’s head.
Actually, when she stomped the mouse to death earlier, she had already spotted the spotted snake hiding in the weeds.
Originally, she thought with this world’s prices, Shi Tou could at least exchange the silver hairpin for some meat, so she wasn’t in a hurry to kill the snake for meat. She had even specially moved the square stool closer to the kitchen. Who would have thought the spotted snake was so eager to die? She could only reluctantly have roast snake.
Shi Tou’s face was pale as he looked at the spotted snake, then at Shang Wan, then back at the spotted snake, then at Shang Wan. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard with difficulty.
Young Master, Young Madam is so fierce now!
While Shi Tou dealt with the spotted snake, Xiao Huan started washing vegetables and cooking.
Shang Wan’s cooking skills were negative, so she didn’t help in the kitchen.
Under Yuan Yuan’s babbling calls, she went out to play airplane with her bargain daughter—tossing her over the roof. Xiao Huan, who occasionally glanced out, watched with pounding heart, afraid Shang Wan might miss and drop Yuan Yuan.
But the little one in the swaddling clothes wasn’t scared at all, giggling happily with drool flowing uncontrollably.
Hearing the little baby girl’s laughter, Shang Wan felt she had mastered interacting with cubs, tossing the doll with flair—like a manual roller coaster.
Xiao Huan was so scared she couldn’t hold back and called out to stop it. Only then did the big and small one reluctantly stop the tossing game and wait properly for dinner.
