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Third Uncle, returning with his wife and son, froze at the courtyard gate: !!
Wait—why does it look like my family’s stools are the only ones getting destroyed here?!
Bi Chunliu had just snapped another small stool when she looked up and saw him hesitating at the doorway, unsure whether to enter or retreat.
“Third Uncle, you’re back?” Chunliu greeted him with a bright smile.
“Ahem, yeah. I asked your aunt to pack you some vegetables to take with you—save you a bit of money,” Third Uncle replied.
Third Aunt and Guangyao followed behind him, each holding a bundle of greens. They hadn’t seen Chunliu break the stool just now. When Third Aunt spotted the splintered pieces, her heart ached.
“What happened? How did the stool break?”
Third Uncle said quickly, “I sat down on it just now and it broke. It’s broken, that’s all. We’ll just swap it out for a new one.”
“You sat on it and broke it?! What, do you have a saw for a backside? That stool was barely a few years old!”
Impatient, he snapped, “Alright, alright. Just pack up the vegetables for our niece so she can take them when she leaves.”
“Got it.” Third Aunt carried the broken stool and the vegetables into the kitchen.
Soon the vegetables were bundled tightly, and Bi Weiguo and Grandma Guo also returned. Seeing her son speaking so meekly, Grandma was puzzled, but she didn’t dwell on it—after all, the job would stay in their Bi family pot no matter what.
After some small talk, Chunliu gathered her siblings to leave. The three of them stood quietly as Grandma fussed endlessly over her eldest grandson, reminding him to eat well and sleep well.
Glancing at the sun, Chunliu urged again—it was time to go.
For the first time since they had arrived, Grandma squinted at her directly and warned:
“Big girl, even though you’re holding this job now, remember—it’s for Weiguo. If you get any other ideas, don’t blame this old woman for turning her back on family blood.”
Chunliu: “…” She only nodded.
Grandma patted her grandson’s hand. “Alright, you’d better get going. And on the bus, if there are seats, you three girls give them up for your brother. You’ll all be depending on Weiguo in the future.”
“…”
Third Uncle rubbed his hands together. “Eldest Niece, the ox is sick today—we can’t use it to give you a lift. You’ll have to walk to the commune.”
Chunliu clapped his shoulder. “It’s fine, Third Uncle. We’ll walk. You and Grandma should head home.”
He bit back the pain and managed an “Mm.”
Only after watching the four siblings walk off into the distance did Third Uncle finally exhale. His shoulder felt shattered—that was definitely a warning, absolutely!
Seeing his strange expression, Third Aunt asked, “Guangyao’s father, what’s wrong? Toothache?”
Grandma Guo chimed in, “Toothache? Go get him a peppercorn to bite on. You okay, Old Third?”
Supporting himself against the wall, he forced a reply. “I’m fine, Mother. I’ll go inside first.”
“Ah!” A cry came from the kitchen.
Grandma frowned. “Now what’s your wife hollering about again? Always making a racket.”
“Mother, Guangyao’s father—look! What happened to our tall stool?!”
A vein throbbed on Third Uncle’s forehead. He roared, “What else? I sat on it and broke it!”
“Oh, and you’re proud of that? Like breaking a stool is some kind of achievement? What are you yelling for?!” Third Aunt yelled back.
“Mother, I’m going to lie down,” Third Uncle muttered, ignoring his wife as he slipped into the house.
…
Out by the trees beyond the village, Weiguo and Qiuguo finally asked their big sister how she had managed to make Third Uncle give up on the job.
“Would you believe me if I told you?” Chunliu asked.
They both nodded eagerly.
“By this.” She held up her fist.
Weiguo and Qiuguo blinked. “By what?”
Summer Lotus knocked on her brother’s and sister’s heads. “By her fists, you dummies!”
“My big sister’s fists? Come on, she’s not stronger than me,” Weiguo scoffed.
Chunliu said nothing. She handed the bundle to Summer Lotus, stepped forward, gripped Weiguo by the waist with both hands—and lifted him clean off the ground.
Weiguo: “!! Big Sister, I believe you! I believe you!”
Qiuguo dropped the vegetables to the ground, eyes shining. “Big Sister, lift me next!”
Chunliu set Weiguo down and hoisted Qiuguo instead. Though two years younger than him, she was hardly lighter.
“Mhm. All that food you’ve eaten hasn’t gone to waste. If we sold you by the pound like pork, our little Fourth could fetch a decent price.”
“Hahahahaha!” Weiguo and Summer Lotus burst out laughing.
Qiuguo, still in her arms, called out “Big Sister!” and laughed along. She and Third Sister were the same height now, but she was definitely heavier—that was thanks to all her meals.
Chunliu laughed with them. Truthfully, if Third Uncle hadn’t given in so quickly, she still had backup plans—but she hadn’t wanted to go that far. Third Uncle was cowardly and not a good man. Even though Third Aunt kept a close eye on him, he still had a mistress outside—one of the widows in their brigade, surnamed Hong. Chunliu had heard of it in her previous life, from Qiuguo, who heard it from Wangdi. Supposedly he’d been involved with that widow for years, even got her pregnant once. At the time, Chunliu had been too wrapped up in her own troubles to dig deeper into how that was handled.
As long as Third Uncle didn’t egg Grandma into making trouble again, Chunliu wouldn’t waste energy on the old home. What mattered to her was avoiding the tragedies of her past life—and if possible, finding stable jobs for her younger siblings, so they could all live safely and well.