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Zhu Yazi’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“If it’s like you said, wouldn’t we have to chop several hundred jin?”
Wang Datou nodded.
“Exactly. At ten taels per hundred jin, we’d need to chop over five hundred jin.”
“Damn! How many days would that take?!”
Zhu Yazi burst out with a curse.
Wang San shrank his neck, avoiding eye contact and staying out of the conversation.
He understood what Wang Man was thinking.
And in his opinion, it made sense. They couldn’t keep relying on a few cousins and nephews to provide all the firewood for the household.
Getting a few friends to help out—well, that wasn’t such a bad idea either. After all, they had just eaten a bunch of her eggs.
After scarfing down that many eggs, doing a little work in return—wasn’t that fair?
Just as he was thinking that, Li Daniu turned to him and asked:
“Wang San, what do you think about this?
How about you go talk to your wife—we’ll chop firewood for a day. No matter how much we chop, let’s just call it even?”
Wang San’s eyes flickered.
“That’s not my decision to make. You all saw it—she doesn’t listen to me at all.”
As he spoke, he rubbed his arm, subtly reminding them that he had taken a beating earlier too.
Damn, it still hurt like hell. For all he knew, one of the bones might be broken.
This woman hit too hard—completely ignoring the fact that he was her Husband.
Zhu Yazi rolled his eyes at Li Daniu, still annoyed.
“Don’t bother asking him. Look at how spineless he is. Who knows what the hell he was thinking.
Sold off his land for five taels of silver, and actually used it to bring home such a vicious little Wife.
Look at her—what, twelve at most? And already this ferocious? Wang San, just wait. You’ve got a long road ahead.”
“Right—wasn’t she sold to you? Why don’t you sell her off again?
A woman that fierce—what’s your Mother supposed to do with her?”
Wang Datou started tossing out bad ideas.
Wang San wanted to say:
You think I don’t want to sell her? But I can’t. No one would buy her. She even forced me to sign a deed of sale—where the hell am I supposed to argue my case?
But he couldn’t say that to them. If he did, they’d never stop laughing at him.
He still thought he had some dignity left—but in truth, he had already lost every last shred of it.
Seeing that they were still unable to come to a decision, Wang Man grew impatient and said:
“Have you finished discussing or not?
If you can’t agree, we’ll just come up with another solution.
I can pull out all your teeth, or break your arms and legs instead. I’m not picky.”
Just listen to that—was that something a human would even say?
All their teeth pulled out—how would they eat?
And broken arms and legs? Who in their right mind would willingly have their limbs shattered?
The thought of ending up like an old man, toothless and gumming food… or walking around with a limp arm or dragging a crippled leg, barely able to move straight—just imagining it made them go silent.
Their bodies were still sore from the last beating, and now she was threatening more?
At this rate, she was going to beat them to death.
Li Daniu, tall and burly with great strength, was the first to give in.
“Fine, I’ll chop. But how exactly are we doing this?”
It wasn’t that Li Daniu lacked backbone—it was just that they really couldn’t win against Wang Man. They had no choice but to yield.
Better to chop wood than to end up with broken limbs. That’d be far worse.
Wang Man nodded in approval, then turned her gaze to the remaining three, including Wang San.
Despite his big head, Wang Datou had the smallest build and the least strength. Seeing that Li Daniu had already agreed, he had no choice but to nod along.
Zhu Yazi, hot-tempered as he was, had already pushed his patience to the limit after going back and forth for so long. At last, he gave a reluctant nod.
Just as Wang San was about to speak, Wang Man shot him a glare.
“Shut up. You don’t get a say in this. Whatever they’re doing, you’re doing too. Don’t even think about slacking off.”
“But I—”
Wang San had just started to explain when Wang Man cut him off again.
“What do you mean ‘but’? Didn’t I tell you to shut up? I don’t want to hear a word from you.”
Wang San had no choice but to sulk and close his mouth. Fine, he wouldn’t talk—wouldn’t that be enough?
Wang Datou timidly asked,
“If we’re going up the mountain to chop firewood for you, you’ll at least give us something to eat, right?”
If food could be guaranteed, then spending a few days hacking away on the mountain wouldn’t be too bad.
Wang Man shot him a sharp glare.
“Oh, aren’t you dreaming big? You want to work off your debt and have me feed you? Why don’t you fly to heaven while you’re at it?”
“But… but you can’t expect us to chop wood on an empty stomach,”
Wang Datou mumbled.
“And what’s that got to do with me if you’re hungry?
Was I the one who told you to steal and eat my eggs?
Don’t forget—you’re paying off a debt. Working it off, got it?
Quit dreaming about nonsense.”
“And one more thing—stop all those little tricks you’re scheming.
I’ll give you at most one day. You must chop enough firewood within that time.
And don’t you dare try to pass off freshly cut live trees as dry wood. I only want the dead ones.
If not, your debt stays unpaid.”
Wang Man sternly laid out her terms.
“That’s just unreasonable,” Da Niu grumbled.
“We already agreed to work off the debt. Why do you care how many days it takes?”
“I can be even more unreasonable—want to test me?”
“You think you get to take your sweet time just because you’re working it off? What, were you planning to keep chopping till next year? You expect me to sit around and wait that long for you to repay your debt?
Seriously, what’s going on in that head of yours? Nothing but pretty little fantasies.”
Wang Man’s tone was sharp, laced with mockery. Da Niu was completely stumped, unable to respond.
How could this little wife of Wang San’s be so quick-tongued? Just a few sentences, and she had shut him up completely.
He turned and shot a fierce glare at Wang San.
“This is all your fault! When we were eating those eggs earlier, why didn’t you warn us we weren’t supposed to eat them?
Now we have to stay here and work off the debt—you’ve completely screwed us over, you know that?”
Wang San: …
“How was I supposed to know? If I knew, I wouldn’t have eaten them either,” he muttered.
He was clearly regretting it—regretting it a lot.
Wang Man didn’t want to hear them whining anymore. She kicked a stool and shouted,
“Still not going? What are you waiting for—a farewell party?”
They had no idea what kind of “farewell party” she meant, but it was clear as day—Wang Man was furious.
The group could only rub their sore behinds, limp on aching legs, and get ready to head up the mountain to chop firewood.
Suddenly, a new problem cropped up.
Zhu Yazi asked,
“You want us to chop firewood, but you gotta give us axes. How are we supposed to chop without tools?”
Wang Man: “…Are you serious?”
“Listen to yourself! You’re working off a debt, and you expect me to provide the tools?
I’m not your mom or dad—why should I care that much?
Now get moving! Even if it gets dark and you have to light a torch, I still expect that firewood chopped by the end of the day.”
Seeing that Wang Datou still wanted to say something, Wang Man sneered,
“If I were you, I’d make use of the time while the sun’s still out and get going.
Or else, you’ll really be working in the dark.”
With that, she ignored them, leaned back on the stool, crossed her legs, and closed her eyes to rest.
Even though her head was still aching, it was the kind of dramatic movement she couldn’t help making—and it took a toll on her.
Hearing her warning, Wang San and the others panicked. They scrambled up and rushed out.
Just as they were about to dash out the door, Wang Man called after them again:
“And remember—I only want dry firewood. Don’t even think about trying to pass off wet logs.
If you do, you’ll have to do it all over again.”
Wang San and the rest didn’t dare respond.
They simply ran out, stumbling over themselves.
As for how they’d get the firewood done—Wang Man didn’t care one bit.