Chapter 34

“Mother, they know we cooked meat yesterday!”

Ding Xiaodie could immediately see through her cousins’ sneaky little plan — their stalking skills were terrible.

Zhang Xiu thought for a moment and said, “Well, the mountain isn’t ours. If they want to go, let them go. Once they’re there, it’s every man for himself.”

That Ding Shan was already seventeen, not a kid anymore, and he was bringing along his fourteen-year-old sister and ten-year-old brother, trailing behind like this — it really gave off an odd sense of unease.

Ding Xiaodie agreed with her mother. No matter how annoying they were, they couldn’t bring themselves to let others starve. Since the mountain had food, they might as well all go together.

But that gloomy look Ding Shan wore — it couldn’t be ignored.

Just then, they spotted two other kids by the roadside. Ding Xiaodie suddenly had a good idea and called them over: “Now that we’ve had some porridge and have strength, let’s go pick some mushrooms from the mountain.”

The two kids were around ten years old, old enough to want to help out at home, so they immediately agreed.

Then Ding Xiaodie turned around and called out cheerfully, “Cousin, Cousin, do you want to come mushroom picking with us? Come on, let’s go together!”

Her initiative caught Ding Shan and Ding Xue off guard — they looked a bit awkward. Only the ten-year-old Ding Hao, still too young to understand embarrassment, ran over happily. “Then Cousin, let’s go!”

Ding Xiaodie put her arm around his shoulders and turned away. Her younger cousin was two years younger than her, but already the same height.

She asked deliberately, “What’s going on? It seems like Big Cousin and Big Sister aren’t very happy. Don’t they want to go to the mountain?”

“They do! Of course they do! Dad told us before he left, we have to follow you closely and not miss a thing.”

Right after saying that, Ding Hao realized he had let something slip. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

“It’s okay. I didn’t hear anything,” Ding Xiaodie reassured him.

Kids at that age couldn’t really think for themselves yet — especially during those times when most children were illiterate. It was too easy to lead someone like Ding Hao astray.

Hearing her words, Ding Hao relaxed and followed her without worry.

As for Ding Shan and Ding Xue, they deliberately lagged behind, talking with the two village kids. They wanted to follow along but didn’t want to be too friendly either.

Zhang Xiu saw all this and sighed, shaking her head. The sins of the parents — look at what they’ve turned their children into.

—-

At the same time…

Ding Gui was being admired by all the men in the village.

“Ding Gui, what’s that thing on your hand?”

“Looks pretty useful. This way you don’t have to touch the corpses directly.”

Ding Gui chuckled. “My wife made it. She was worried about that, so she stayed up late to make this glove.”

“No way — Zhang really has skills like that?”

“Right? So thoughtful and handy! Not like my old hag at home who only knows how to wail all day.”

Even the village chief Laifu came over curiously to check it out. “Not bad!”

He frowned and muttered, “Looks kinda familiar…”

That startled Ding Gui a bit. Luckily, after a moment, Laifu said, “I remember, more than ten years ago, I went to the provincial capital and saw a Westerner wearing a similar kind of glove.”

Ding Gui let out a silent breath of relief. Fortunately, his glove was just a simple mitten style — thumb separate, the rest of the fingers together. Looked plain, not too eye-catching.

After everyone walked off, Ding Gui whispered to Laifu, “Brother, don’t throw away the rabbit hides from last night. Once dried, they can make two more pairs of gloves.”

When in Rome, do as the Romans do — so he used their way of addressing each other too.

Laifu beamed. “You’re something else. I used to think you were honest and dull, but you’ve got ideas! Alright, I’ll tell your sister-in-law when I get back.”

Ding Gui grinned and lifted his chin slightly.

He wasn’t honest at all — not even a bit. When it came to being resourceful, he dared say no one in Yigou Valley could top him.

But when it came time to carry the corpses, the village men all found excuses.

“Ding Gui, quick, you lift his head — you’ve got gloves, no worries!”

“Ding Gui, over here! Come help!”

Ding Gui wasn’t about to be their pushover like the original owner used to be. He only helped carry what their group was responsible for, then tossed the gloves at the others. “Here. Put them on. You do it.”

“…”

The villagers realized — Ding Gui wasn’t as easy to boss around as before!

But they didn’t have time to dwell on it. The stench had them all gagging.

They finished one household, moved on to the next. After all the bodies were moved, they had to go back in to disinfect.

When the Lu family delivered breakfast, they also left a bag of lime powder.

To prevent any outbreak, it had to be spread carefully.

Ding Gui was grouped with his two older brothers, Ding De and Ding Rong, to spread the lime. He suspected Village Chief Laifu did it on purpose — maybe hoping they’d have a heart-to-heart.

Too bad, that good intention totally backfired. One was cunning and sly, the other vicious and harsh — no way to have a normal conversation, much less a reasonable one.

So Ding Gui just silently focused on his work, not even bothering to speak.

Just as he was spreading lime, Ding Rong and Ding De exchanged a look, then blocked him in from front and back.

“Big Brother, Second Brother, what’s up?” Ding Gui’s mind was clear as day, but he pretended to be confused and paused his task.

Ding Rong got straight to the point. “Third, did your family eat meat last night? Be honest — where’d the meat come from?”

Ding Gui blinked and then burst out laughing. “Big Bro, you’re hilarious. Is now really the time to talk about meat?”

They had just finished hauling corpses — how could they switch topics like that?

Ding De growled, “Just answer the question. Otherwise—”

“Otherwise what?” Ding Gui’s face suddenly turned serious, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. He was no longer the meek, submissive man from before.

That startled Ding De, but he quickly recovered and threw down the threat: “From now on, anything edible — half goes to us. Otherwise, we’ll make things hard for your family. Don’t think you’re something just ’cause you know a few tricks. I’m warning you — watch out for your wife and your daughter.”

“Second Brother, is that a threat?” Ding Gui smiled coldly. “You mean, if I don’t share food with you, you’ll go after Xiaodie? Let me tell you — first, the food is ours. We’ll eat it however we want, and there’s no reason to give you any. Second, Xiaodie might still be young, but she’s not someone to mess with. Don’t believe me? Try her someday. I guarantee she’ll deal with you so hard you’ll wish you never tried.”

Impossible. Ding Xiaodie looked so frail.

Ding De and Ding Rong both scoffed coldly.

“Third, you’d better listen. You show no brotherly love, don’t expect us to be nice either. Don’t come crying to us later. You’ve been warned.”