Chapter 79: Retribution Comes

“Chirp, chirp, chirp! This poor guy got lost while foraging in the mountains and ran into a grizzly bear! He’s so dumb—when the bear waved at him pretending to be human, he just walked right up! He basically walked straight into his death! See? The bear ate him alive! Those awful grizzlies, always starting from the feet—they’re so mean!”

Oh my!

There really are bears in the mountains!

Jiang Fubao’s eyes widened.

No, she couldn’t let her family go into the inner mountains anymore.

She hugged Grandma’s neck, whining to go home.

Zhang Jinlan assumed her granddaughter was simply scared and carried her home.

At dinner, Jiang Fubao vaguely heard heart-wrenching wails of crying.

“I just went to check. Jiang Yidao’s family already hung up white cloth… what a sin. The corpse wasn’t even whole. Could this be retribution?”

Zhang Jinlan clicked her tongue twice, a mocking smile on her face.

“Mom, what retribution? I never heard of it. Aunt Wang’s family seems fine. She’s nice, always greets me warmly in the village,”

Sun Pingmei looked up at her grandmother in confusion, forgetting her food.

“Nice? Heh. If she were really nice, her three sons wouldn’t have died unnaturally. When she first married into Jiangjia Village, she bore three daughters in three years—all of them died. Either drowned in a chamber pot or thrown into the mountains for wolves. Everyone in the village knows, but no one speaks of it. Over the years, she had three sons, but each died suspiciously. The eldest, Jiang Houwang, fell into the river twenty years ago while fetching water—drowned. When the villagers found him, his body had floated.”

Zhang Jinlan snorted, continuing.

“Wang’s second son, Jiang Fugui, died when your sister-in-law had just married in. They say he was bitten by a venomous snake while chopping wood. Everyone goes up the mountain to chop wood, but only he got bitten. Isn’t that retribution? And the third son died too—only twenty years old. The villagers say he was eaten by a grizzly. When they got there, only his head remained.”

That evening, the room was dim.

After Zhang Jinlan finished, everyone’s necks stiffened.

The smaller children were too scared to even lift their heads.

“All dead? Then she only has one grandson left? Wait, if she hates girls so much, why didn’t she throw Wang’s eldest daughter into the mountains?”

Sun Pingmei asked earnestly, sniffling and blinking her innocent eyes.

“She didn’t dare! Little Wang is her kin from her own family, protected by several brothers. Plus, she’d already lost two sons—how could she confront her own family? And common sense tells her what might happen. She probably feared retribution falling on her grandson. It’s a pity, Little Wang is actually decent. After Jiang’s third son died, she only had two left: the eldest was five, the youngest three. If they grow up safely, fine, but if they die young… Wang truly ends her line!”

Zhang Jinlan’s tone was delightfully malicious.

Serves her right. Hating girls? At worst, feed them and marry them off at fourteen or fifteen. Or give them away. No need to kill them.

Her heart was truly cruel.

“How could I have known if Mom didn’t tell me? That Wang always had a smile on her face, so polite—I thought she was nice. Turns out, all an act. Truly a smiling tiger, killing without batting an eye,”

Sun Pingmei spat on the ground, satisfaction in her eyes.

Better that they’re all dead.

The village’s crying couldn’t disturb Jiang’s family.

After dinner, they happily strolled around before going home to sleep.

As day broke, Jiang Fubao got up—today she was going to town.

The egg production had returned to normal over the past two days. When they set out, second cousin and eldest uncle carried bamboo baskets filled with eggs.

Grandfather carried the extra in a smaller basket.

As for Jiang Fubao, she was held in her eldest uncle’s wife’s arms.

Her little legs were too slow; if she walked herself, the sun would be overhead before reaching town.

The hardworking family didn’t rest at all, including grandfather with his basket.

On the way, Fubao was carried back and forth by Grandma and eldest uncle’s wife, arriving in town in the mid-morning hour.

After the inspection queue, they entered the city.

They first went to the vegetable market, laid out the eggs, and Jiang Fubao helped Grandma sell them.

Grandfather took the eldest uncle’s family to the school on Leisure Street.

“Fubao, sit nicely here. Grandma will sell the eggs, don’t run off. Once the eggs are sold, your grandfather will be back and buy you some fabric for clothes,”

Zhang Jinlan comforted her granddaughter.

Clearing her throat, she began to hawk:

“Eggs for sale! Our eggs are the biggest within ten miles! Two of ours equal three from other homes, and the price is cheap! Come take a look!”

Jiang Fubao sat beside her, listening attentively.

Grandma’s voice was loud and melodic, like singing a folk song with rising and falling tones.

Soon, seven or eight customers arrived.

Over 200 eggs were sold in less than half an hour, including a few familiar faces from last time.

Fubao’s memory was sharp—she recognized them instantly.

“Sold out! Let’s go find your grandfather,”

Zhang Jinlan carried bamboo baskets on her back and chest, a bamboo basket in her left hand, and held Jiang Fubao’s hand with her right—fully loaded.

Jiang Fubao laughed: “Grandma, you look like a Ninja Turtle!”

“Well, turtles live long. Grandma wants to grow old with Fubao, see you married with children,”

Zhang Jinlan didn’t know what a Ninja Turtle was, but she knew turtles live long—so it was a compliment.

“Grandma will definitely live to a hundred!”

Fubao suddenly felt a little sad.

In the past, lifespans were short.

Sixty was already very old. Many villagers were around fifty; very few reached sixty.

Grandma was already forty-four.

By that measure, she had at most sixteen years left.

Fubao would only be nineteen then.

“What are you thinking? Grandma will live to a hundred, see Fubao become a grandmother and maternal grandmother, and only then will she rest in peace,”

Seeing her granddaughter’s downcast face, Zhang Jinlan quickly patted her head to comfort her.

“Okay! Pinky swear, Grandma,”

Jiang Fubao hooked her little pinky with Grandma’s.