In the past, although Song Xiangdong often brought home large bags of good things, most of these good things were left for Chen Juhua and Old Song, with the remaining good things being divided among the three Song family households.

The three daughters-in-law of the Song family had different circumstances. Zhao Xiuying’s father was the village party secretary, and her family was well-off, so she didn’t need to supplement her family’s income. Lin Yuehong and Liu Hongmei came from poor families, but Lin Yuehong’s family, no matter how poor, did not expect their married daughter to support them. 

The only exception was Liu Hongmei. Her family was not only extremely poor, but they were also lazy and gluttonous. After marrying into the Song family, Liu Hongmei frequently took things from her in-laws’ house to her own family.

Chen Juhua was aware of these things. Normally, as long as Liu Hongmei didn’t overdo it, she would turn a blind eye for the sake of family harmony.

But now, seeing Liu Hongmei’s greedy expression, Chen Juhua narrowed her eyes and threw a sharp look at her.

“The third son’s wife! What are you doing? The pigs at home are squealing, why aren’t you feeding them? What, you expect me, an old lady, to feed the pigs?”

The Song family had a sow that the production team had given them during the New Year, considered a treasure by the Song family. Feeding the pig was a duty shared by the three daughters-in-law in turns, and today it was Liu Hongmei’s turn.

Hearing this, Liu Hongmei’s eyes flickered. “Mother, I’ll go feed the pig right now.” With that, she left to feed the pig, looking back every few steps.

“Alright, you lot, stop standing around like dummies. Go do whatever you need to do,” Chen Juhua waved her hand, dismissing the rest of the Song family. She then turned to Song Xiangdong, “Eldest, come to the room with me.”

Knowing his mother had something to say, Song Xiangdong gently instructed Zhao Xiuying before heading to the main room.

Upon entering, he saw his mother sitting seriously on a chair. He smiled, “Mother, what’s wrong? Why the long face on such a good day?”

Chen Juhua sighed, “Eldest, yesterday when Wanyue’s three children came, Wenxuan told me something.”

“What is it?” Song Xiangdong was puzzled.

Chen Juhua softly spoke a few words, causing Song Xiangdong’s expression to change instantly.

So, it had happened.

The atmosphere in the Song family’s main hall was heavy.

Outside the hall, the rest of the family was celebrating joyfully. Following her husband’s instructions, Zhao Xiuying carefully divided the good items on the table, such as egg cakes, malted milk, and biscuits. She left a large portion for the elderly couple, her parents-in-law, and divided the rest equally into three portions, delivering one portion to each of her two sisters-in-law.

Lin Yuehong was delighted with the egg cakes and malted milk she received. These were valuable items. Her father had lost all his teeth before he even turned sixty, making it difficult for him to eat hard foods, especially in these tough times when most families subsisted on coarse, hard cornmeal buns. Her father could only manage to drink some sweet potato porridge during meals, leaving him emaciated.

Each time Lin Yuehong visited her parents, seeing her father in such a state brought her to tears. She wanted to buy soft pastries for him, but she didn’t have the money, so she could only make sweet potato buns to take to him. Now, with the malted milk and egg cakes at home, her father could finally have something good to eat.

With teary eyes, Lin Yuehong thanked her sister-in-law, while her twin sons, Song Wenzhe and Song Wenbo, were also overjoyed. The two boys, now grown and understanding, felt deeply for their grandfather. Seeing the good things given by their aunt, they were both thrilled.

“Aunt, now Grandpa can enjoy these,” Song Wenzhe said happily.

“Yes,” Song Wenbo nodded enthusiastically.

Zhao Xiuying smiled, “Wenzhe and Wenbo are both good, filial boys who care about their grandpa. Sister-in-law, you are fortunate.”

Lin Yuehong smiled contentedly at this.

While Zhao Xiuying and Lin Yuehong chatted, Liu Hongmei from the third household was pacing around her room with the half basket of good things she received. She was thinking about taking all the good items to her own parents as a gesture of filial piety. However, she also remembered that her niece’s birthday was coming up. Although her niece was just a girl, her parents and brother were proud and would be displeased if she didn’t bring something special.

With these thoughts, Liu Hongmei couldn’t help but resent Song Xiangdong. This elder brother was so stingy! He would buy beautiful dresses for his own daughter but wouldn’t even give their third household a piece of nice fabric. Despite earning so much money, he couldn’t bear to spend on his own family. Truly, the richer you are, the more miserly you become!

Grumbling to herself, Liu Hongmei lay down with a sulky expression.

That night, after washing her feet, Zhao Xiuying went outside to dump the wash water. When she returned, she saw her husband lying on the bed with his arm under his head, deep in thought.

“What’s on your mind this late at night?” she asked with a smile.

Song Xiangdong sighed, “Xiuying, today, our mother said that when the three kids came home yesterday, they saw something unusual on the road.”

“What?” Zhao Xiuying’s face turned pale, almost losing her balance.

Song Xiangdong quickly reached out to steady his wife. Tears welled up in Zhao Xiuying’s eyes as she held onto Song Xiangdong’s arm.

“What happened? Did our three kids see something? How about Wanyue? Was she scared?”

Thinking of their delicate daughter, Zhao Xiuying’s heart ached.

“Seeing something” was a term passed down in the Song family, referring to encountering ghosts.

Song Xiangdong had been pondering this all day. When he first had such an encounter, he was already a robust young man in his twenties with children. He had been mentally prepared for it, so he accepted it quickly and got used to it over the years. However, he wasn’t sure how the children would handle it.

Seeing his wife crying, he comforted her, “Don’t cry. I’ll talk to the kids tomorrow and see how they feel about it. Let’s get some sleep.”

Zhao Xiuying thought it over and, realizing that crying wouldn’t help, agreed reluctantly. The couple turned off the lights and went to sleep.

Song Xiangdong had planned to talk to the children the next day, but a sudden heavy rainstorm interrupted his plan and disturbed the peace of the Dahe Mountain production team.

The rain was quite unusual for April, with thunder rumbling and pouring rain. The villagers were astonished, staring wide-eyed at the heavy rain pouring down in the dark night, chattering away in amazement.

“What’s going on? Why is it raining so heavily?”

“It’s unheard of to have such a heavy rain in April!”

Standing under his own eaves, the village party secretary, Song Jiangdang, frowned at the torrential rain and said worriedly to Song Xiangdong.

“Xiangdong, this rain has come at a bad time,” Song Jiangdang said, frowning as he and Song Xiangdong, who had grown up together as close relatives, discussed the situation.

Song Jiangdang was used to confiding in Song Xiangdong about his troubles. As they watched the torrential rain outside, Song Xiangdong’s handsome face was filled with concern.

“Jiangdang, I think this is serious. The rain came so suddenly and is so heavy. If it continues like this, the crops in the fields might suffer.”

Song Jiandang nodded, clearly worried. His main concern was that it was April, and the wheat in the fields had just begun to sprout. A heavy rain at this stage could damage the young wheat plants.

While the adults worried outside, Song Wanyue, wearing a small raincoat and still unaware of such worries, was happily extending her little hand to catch raindrops. Large raindrops pelted down on the eaves of the house, creating splashes that looked especially charming under the kerosene lamp.

“Little sister, the rain is heavy outside. Be careful not to catch a cold,” Song Wenxuan said, gently shielding her from the falling rain.

Song Wanyue, with her small chin tilted up and her big eyes sparkling with water droplets, replied in a soft, sweet voice, “Thank you, big brother.”

Song Wenxuan just smiled in response.

Standing nearby, Qin Rongrong, drenched and envious of the attention Song Wanyue was receiving, was seething with jealousy. In the darkness, she suddenly noticed a large puddle of mud near the village entrance. With a malicious grin, she moved closer to Song Wanyue, intending to cause trouble.

Noticing this, Ye Chenchuan narrowed his eyes and extended his long leg to trip Qin Rongrong. Unaware, Qin Rongrong stumbled and fell into the muddy puddle, screaming as she landed.

“Ahhhh!”

Hearing the scream, Song Wanyue looked over and was astonished to see Qin Rongrong rolling in the mud. “What happened to her?”

Ye Chenchuan smirked slightly, “She must have slipped.”

Realizing this, the naive Song Wanyue accepted the explanation with innocent understanding.

Meanwhile, Qin Rongrong, rolling in the mud, cursed inwardly, thinking, “Damn it, slipping my foot? Ye Chenchuan, don’t you have any shame?”

——-