Chapter 15: What’s the Big Problem?

Feng Mian added papaya into the pot, simmered it a little longer, then poured in some fresh milk. A bowl of milk-simmered silver ear fungus with papaya soup was ready.

She was just drinking it when she heard her neighbors, Feng Feng and Lu Lan, arguing loudly.

They were throwing blame back and forth, their voices quite loud. It sounded like it was about the pork.

Those two really—there was nothing much to say.

Feng Feng always listened to his mother. Since he had no son, he wanted his nephew to support him in old age, and all the good stuff was taken away by his mother.

If you said he was bad, though, he was still okay to his wife and kids.

It was said that back when Sister Lan had severe morning sickness, she kept talking about how her parents, when they were alive, had given her a single strawberry—that it tasted so good.

After hearing that, Feng Feng actually secretly sold tens of kilograms of grain in the middle of the night to buy her two jin (about one kilogram) of strawberries.

Later, his parents-in-law beat him nearly to death, and he knelt at the doorstep for a whole day and night without ever mentioning Lu Lan.

That was the good part—they gave Lu Lan a memory she would never forget, loving and hating him at the same time.

He even stole from home to give to his mother but knew he owed his wife and kids, so he took on all the household chores.

He kept apologizing and begging for forgiveness.

To let his wife and child eat a little better, he himself drank only rice water.

Once he drank nothing but rice water for three days straight, nearly starving to death.

Lu Lan hated him fiercely when she saw him delivering things to the old lady, but when she saw him faint from hunger, she felt sorry for him.

Truly a tangled mess of love and hate.

Listening to their complicated relationship, Feng Mian really couldn’t understand what was wrong with Feng Feng.

Why steal? It’s not even for himself.

He either enrages his own parents or his wife. Was there something wrong with his brain?

Not long after, a hurried knock sounded at Feng Mian’s door.

She hurried out and saw Feng Rongrong struggling to carry a heavy piece of meat.

Rushing over, Feng Mian asked, “Auntie, my mom told me to hide the meat at your place, or else my dad would steal it.”

“Huh?”

Feng Mian blankly took the meat—it was quite heavy, over ten jin (about five kilograms).

“Are your parents okay?”

“Yeah. When my mom saw my dad coming back, she told me to carry the meat out the back door and hide it in the haystack. He didn’t find the meat, argued with my mom, then left. I only came out after he was gone.”

Seeing her thin face, Feng Mian felt sorry for her.

Feng Feng was truly crazy.

“Come inside, Rongrong. Auntie will give you something tasty.”

Feng Mian had made quite a bit of the milk-simmered silver ear fungus papaya soup. One person couldn’t finish it all, so she took out half to give Feng Rongrong.

Rongrong had never tasted anything so delicious before. She drank it all in one go and even wanted to lick the bowl clean.

“Auntie, what is this?”

“Silver ear fungus, papaya, and milk.”

“Milk?” Rongrong’s eyes lit up. “Did you go milk the cows at the production team’s barn?”

“Huh?”

This…

“Be careful, cow horns can gore you.”

Feng Mian laughed wryly, “I won’t dare anymore. Just don’t tell anyone.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t say a word.”

Rongrong stayed a little longer with her, then Lu Lan came over, wiping tears.

“If only I had a family to turn to, I wouldn’t have to suffer his temper.”

Seeing her red, swollen eyes, Feng Mian didn’t know what to say.

If it were a few years later, she probably would have advised her to divorce.

But people back then wouldn’t divorce no matter how much they suffered.

The main thing was that the rural system at this time was very unfair to divorced women.

Lu Lan didn’t have parents, and after divorce, she had nowhere to go. If she divorced, she wouldn’t even know where to register her household registration.

In a few years, when she could work in the city, she still had a chance to make a living with her hardworking hands.

That ten-plus jin of meat was still lying in Feng Mian’s dustpan. Feng Mian asked, “Lan Jie, what should we do with this meat?”

“If we don’t take it back, I’ll cut some to cook for dinner, and I want to cure the rest with salt and leave it at your place. Mianmian, please help me—I’ll thank you properly.”

Feng Mian quickly replied, “Lan Jie, it’s no big deal. You don’t need to thank me. I also want to make some cured meat with three jin of ribs I have, so I’ll help you make it.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“But Feng Feng might guess the meat is here too. What if he comes looking for it?”

“I’ll cut off a big piece, stew it with some potatoes for dinner. If he asks, I’ll say all the meat we got this year is in the pot.”

“That works.”

“Come to my place for dinner tomorrow night—we’ll just eat meat until we’re full. Better than feeding those ungrateful people at home.”

Feng Mian declined, “No need, I’m cooking meat at my place tonight too.”

If she guessed right, the old lady at their house would probably come to cause trouble if the meat was in the pot.

Lu Lan took three jin of meat home to stew, and left the rest with Feng Mian.

Feng Mian cut some lean meat from her two jin to prepare a stir-fry with green peppers.

That night, besides the green pepper stir-fry, she also made herself a sea cucumber and pigeon soup.

The original owner was too thin, malnourished—she needed proper nourishment.

The remaining meat, including Lu Lan’s portion, was salted and put into a jar for curing.

Just as she finished, another knock came at the door.

So many things going on.

Feng Mian locked the jar inside the stone bowl cabinet.

“Who is it?”

“Feng Mian, open up quickly.”

Feng Mian was startled. From the voice, it was Old Lady Qian, Lu Lan’s mother-in-law.

Not someone to mess with.

Feng Mian opened the door and saw a fierce-looking old woman.

She politely asked, “Auntie, what’s the matter?”

“Our Feng Feng’s meat, is it with you?”

Feng Mian glanced toward Lu Lan, who was blinking and gesturing with her hands.

She understood what Lu Lan meant.

Probably the old lady suspected there wasn’t enough meat in the pot.

Lu Lan’s hand gestures clearly said “Qian.”

So Feng Mian said, “I’m getting married on the sixth day of the lunar month, and I bought a few jin of meat from Lan Jie.”

Old Lady Qian gritted her teeth, “What about the money?”

“Of course the money was given to Lan Jie.”

Lu Lan quickly said, “The money’s with me. I can’t give it to you. I want to buy some cloth to make Rongrong some clothes.”

Old Lady Qian snapped, “What good are clothes for a loser? What she’s wearing isn’t even clothes.”

“Look at her clothes—they don’t even cover her arms and legs.”

“Don’t you know you can patch her clothes with some strips of cloth to make them longer?”

Lu Lan looked at Rongrong’s clothes and said, “These sleeves are patched. Mom, can’t you leave your granddaughter some way out?”

“Oh, you talk like you want to kill me. I’m just asking for some money. I raised your son—shouldn’t he be filial to me?”

As she spoke, Old Lady Qian started throwing a tantrum. “Feng Feng, say something! What kind of woman did you bring home? She can’t have children, and now she’s making your mother angry. Are you going to do anything about it?”

Feng Feng blushed and said to Lu Lan, who was crying, “Wife, just give the money to my mom.”

Lu Lan was furious, “Money, money, money—where is the money? You took it all! I’m not giving you a single cent of this money. I want to make clothes for Rongrong. She hasn’t worn a decent piece of clothing in three years.”