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She had the iron pot ready for rendering lard—but without a proper stove to light a fire, it was useless. Even with a stove, she still needed firewood.
She had checked the old stove before—after five or six years of disuse, it had partially collapsed and was no longer usable. If she were to use it, she’d need to patch up the broken parts.
As for firewood, there was none at home. It wasn’t an option to chop live wood from the mountain; at best, she could collect some dried branches or ask neighbors if they had any to sell.
First, she needed to fix the stove. Building a new one from scratch was out of the question, so her only option was to repair the old one in the kitchen.
In this era, there was no cement for binding. She had to use clay as a natural adhesive.
She remembered there was clay near Jixiang Mountain. But before heading out to dig, she had to bring her younger brother home—she couldn’t leave with peace of mind otherwise.
With that thought, Su Qingqing walked toward the Jixiang River. After seven or eight minutes, she arrived.
The river was wide—about three or four meters across—with a gentle current and crystal-clear water. The riverbanks were dotted with swaying willows, whispering reeds, and some unknown trees that rustled in the wind.
Several village women and young girls were gathered there, doing laundry and chatting about daily life, village gossip, and… of course, Su Qingqing and the Su family.
They discussed how cunning Old Madam Su had been—pretending to be kind for so many years, when in fact, she was heartless and vicious.
They also gossiped about how Su Qingqing had supposedly killed Butcher Hu in town and how she had suffered years of abuse and mistreatment under the old woman’s hand.
Hearing the words “killed Butcher Hu,” Su Qingqing twitched. Killed? When did that happen? How come she didn’t know? She only turned him into a eunuch!
It had only been two days, and the story had already mutated this much. If this kept up, who knows what wild tale would spread next?
Sigh, whatever. She needed to stay focused on the task at hand.
She scanned the riverbank, but didn’t see her younger brother, which made her a little anxious. What if something had happened? But considering how many people were around, that seemed unlikely—he was probably just off playing somewhere.
The little riverside gossip group was still chattering away, hands waving, laundry half-forgotten as they gossiped with great enthusiasm. They were so engrossed they hadn’t noticed Su Qingqing’s arrival.
She wasn’t there to ruin their fun—she was there to find her brother. Spotting a familiar figure, she walked over and crouched down, speaking softly,
“Sister-in-law, have you seen my brother Zijin? He came to the river earlier to wash dishes.”
That familiar figure was Yang Li, the wife of Auntie Wang’s eldest son.
Yang Li paused her work and looked up in surprise.
“Oh! Qingqing, is that you? You’re looking for Zijin? He finished washing up and went into the reeds with Iron Egg to search for wild duck eggs.”
“Is something wrong?”
Since crouching to talk wasn’t very comfortable and might make her seem haughty, Su Qingqing simply squatted down in front of Yang Li.
“Nothing serious. I just plan to go dig clay near Jixiang Mountain to patch up our stove. I didn’t want to leave Zijin alone, so I came to fetch him.”
After thinking for a moment, she added,
“But since he’s playing with Iron Egg, I’m not too worried. Sister-in-law, could I trouble you to keep an eye on him?”
Yang Li smiled warmly,
“Oh, don’t be so polite! Just go do your thing. Zijin and Iron Egg are playing happily—I’ll look after them.”
She added,
“By the way, be careful when you go into the mountain alone. Don’t go too deep. Just get the clay and come back. And if you don’t know how to fix the stove, go find my husband Dazhu. He’s doing woodwork at home today.”
Su Qingqing replied crisply,
“Alright, thank you, Sister-in-law. I’ll get going then—you keep busy!”
“Go on, go on, no worries. Zijin’s a good boy, no need to fret.”
With her brother’s situation settled, Su Qingqing stood up, gave a polite farewell to the gossiping crowd, and headed home.
She couldn’t act too aloof. Humans were social creatures—if she wanted to live well in the village, she had to build good relationships and integrate with the locals.
And besides, she was never the cold type. There was no need to pretend. How others treated her would depend on how she treated them—mutual respect.
When Su Qingqing squatted next to Yang Li, the gossip group finally quieted down. Heads lowered, hands suddenly busy kneading clothes, while their ears perked like cats.
They had been so caught up in their gossip, they hadn’t noticed Su Qingqing’s arrival. Who knew how much she’d heard? Would she be angry? Would she beat them up like she did Butcher Hu?
Their hands trembled as they scrubbed. One chubby woman suddenly realized—she’d been squatting there rubbing the air. Her new outfit, worn only once, had already been swept away by the river.
She nearly burst into tears. That was a brand-new dress! Clearly, gossiping behind people’s backs brought bad karma.
But when Su Qingqing walked away without causing trouble—and even politely said goodbye—their tense hearts eased a little.
The same chubby woman, despite her lost dress, couldn’t resist restarting the gossip.
“Hey, Dazhu’s wife, don’t you think that Su girl has changed a lot? She treats her brother like a mother would—so tender and caring. And she’s even polite to us now. It’s like she’s a whole new person!”
Another chimed in,
“Totally! She used to treat her brother so cruelly, but now she dotes on him. Before, she’d pass me by like I didn’t exist. And now she greets me like an old friend. If she didn’t look the same, I’d think she’d been swapped out!”
The group broke into a lively discussion about Su Qingqing’s transformation. In the end, Yang Li stepped in like a knowledgeable guide, explaining everything like a teacher to a class of curious aunties.
With their curiosity satisfied, the gossip soon turned toward other topics—who got caught sneaking into the haystack with whom, who lost their undergarments, and more wild rumors that sparked howling laughter.
The younger wives and girls didn’t join the conversation, but their twitching shoulders betrayed their inner excitement.
Meanwhile, Su Qingqing returned home. She rummaged for a long time but couldn’t find any proper tools to dig clay.
After a few seconds of thought, she decisively grabbed her burlap sack and headed off toward the Su family home.
At that moment, the Su household was in complete chaos—howling, screaming, and mayhem everywhere.