Chapter 25: A Wife Should Be Taught by Her Husband

The cicadas sang through the summer night, and every household in the village had started cooking meat. The once quiet village now seemed to be filled with the warmth of family life.

Old Man Chen had cooked the meat and mashed it into a porridge. He said, “Wife, since you can’t eat solid food, make do with drinking this for now.”

Though the porridge didn’t look very appetizing, it still had meat in it. Aunt Chen picked it up, enduring the pain in her mouth, and drank it down in one go.

Old Man Chen was stunned. “Look at you, it’s like you’ve never eaten before in your life.”

Aunt Chen rolled her eyes at him and turned to go into the house to lie down.

Old Man Chen, ignoring his wife, continued to eat the meat, and as he chewed, he remarked, “That young Tan, he’s really not a bad guy. He gave away half of a whole pig like that. You’d better treat him better in the future. Back then, when he came to borrow some brown sugar from you, you refused. That was really embarrassing.”

Aunt Chen, holding a pillow, threw it at him. If she weren’t unable to speak due to the pain in her mouth, she would have already cursed him out thoroughly.

Old Man Chen dodged, standing up. “You can throw things at me, but I’m still going to say it. The Tan family is a good family. They were poor, sure, but who in Fengping Village wasn’t poor? Nobody should look down on anyone. If you keep going after them, I’ll make you regret it.”

Aunt Chen’s face turned green with anger. She stood up, stomping her feet and trembling all over.

Old Man Chen shot her a glance. “Don’t start with the old married couple routine. Don’t make me say the word ‘divorce’!”

He put special emphasis on the word divorce, making it sting.

Aunt Chen was so enraged that she nearly fainted, but she truly dared not cause any more trouble.

Meanwhile, in the village head’s house, an argument was also unfolding.

“What did you just say, Zhou? What did you say?!”

The village head’s surname was Zhou, and everyone called him Zhou Lizheng (Village Head Zhou).

Zhou Lizheng, chewing his meat, replied coldly, “Don’t go asking the Tan family for any more chickens in the future.”

Liu Shi, seething with anger, retorted, “You’re telling me not to ask for chickens? That chicken was originally ours!”

Zhou Lizheng lowered his head and suddenly slammed his chopsticks hard onto the table, speaking sharply, “That chicken was already given to the Tan family. It belongs to them now, so don’t go shamelessly asking for it.”

Liu Shi, hands on her hips and wearing a spiteful expression, shot back, “No, I’m going to take it back. A chicken that can lay eggs shouldn’t be left with them!”

Zhou Lizheng pointed to the meat in the bowl and said, “They were so poor they didn’t even have food to eat, yet they still managed to send us some meat. And here you are, still thinking about their chickens. Woman, you must have no conscience!”

Liu Shi, enraged, shouted, “What do you mean I have no conscience?! I’m your wife, and you’re talking to me like this?!”

Zhou Lizheng snapped, “I’m talking to you! When the Tan family used to work for us, you treated them miserably, and he never said anything. When your son beat up his son, he took a skinny chicken and left without a word. But now, you’re trying to steal his chickens, and you call yourself a person? You’re not!”

Liu Shi covered her wounded eye, pretending to cry. “You’re cursing me, you old fool! You’re cursing me! You disgusting man!”

With that, she flipped the table over in a fury.

The children, who had been happily eating the meat, stared at the now-empty plate, their cries filling the air.

“Grandmother, you’re a bad egg, a stinky bad egg!”

“Stop howling!” Liu Shi shouted angrily.

Zhou Lizheng was shaking with fury. He stood up and, in a fit of rage, slapped her hard across the face. “I… I shouldn’t have married you!”

Without another word, he turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

“You… you hit me!” Liu Shi was stunned, clutching her burning face, and then broke into loud sobs.

Her sons, however, didn’t show any concern for her. They too stormed out, leaving her to cry alone.

Left alone, Liu Shi continued to cause a scene at home, her anger and frustration echoing through the walls.

That night, while some were filled with joy, others were consumed by sorrow. Some laughed, and others wept. Such is life, with all its complexities and emotions.

After dinner, the farmer’s families retired early to bed, their day’s hard work taking its toll.

The Tan family, too, had experienced an eventful and exhausting day. After turning off the lights, they all fell into a deep sleep.

However, next door, Aunt Chen from the Chen family was still restless.

Under the cover of darkness, Aunt Chen quietly rose from her bed after Old Man Chen had fallen asleep. She made her way to the back of the Tan family’s house, carefully climbing over the wall into the yard.

The backyard was overgrown with weeds, and the old hen, who had been such a reliable layer, sat motionless in its nest, eyes closed. While it hadn’t laid as many eggs as it had in the past few days, there were still several fresh eggs in the nest.

Aunt Chen’s eyes lingered on the golden hen, and a greedy thought crept into her mind.