Chapter 19: The Aunties Are as Lethal as Atomic Bombs…

Fu Mingze paused slightly, instinctively glancing at his arm. Shen Mo’er had only lightly tugged it for a moment before letting go, yet Fu Mingze still felt as if there was a lingering warmth and softness on his skin. He hesitated for a second and said, “There aren’t many mushrooms and wild vegetables. Just keep them.”

He assumed Shen Mo’er was referring to the ones he had foraged.

Shen Mo’er half-closed the door, then pulled three half-dead rabbits and a wild ginseng out of the bamboo basket. She also combined the mushrooms and wild vegetables underneath with those in the basket. After sorting everything, she began explaining:

“The wild ginseng—I’ll have my father take it to the purchasing station at the commune tomorrow. We’ll split the money fifty-fifty. As for the rabbits, there are three—so let’s split them too. I don’t plan on selling mine; I’ll braise half of one, make jerky out of another for snacking later. Want me to braise half of one for you too? Then the wild vegetables and mushrooms—I’ll take more mushrooms since they can be dried for storage, and you take more of the fresh vegetables. You’ve got more people at your educated youth spot, so you’ll get more out of the fresh ones.”

Shen Mo’er looked up at Fu Mingze and asked, “Does this arrangement sound fair to you?”

Fu Mingze hadn’t expected her to split everything with him. Startled, he quickly replied, “You caught the rabbits, and you found the ginseng—it has nothing to do with me. You don’t have to share it with me.”

After thinking for a moment, he added, “How about I just take a bit of the wild vegetables?”

He figured Shen Mo’er probably didn’t want to appear stingy by not sharing anything. Since her family was just her and her father, and wild vegetables were the least storable of the lot, he opted for those.

Hearing him say that, Shen Mo’er couldn’t help but smile.

Comrade Fu may seem aloof, but he really was a good person. Even though he was so poor that his clothes were almost more patches than fabric, and had to write letters in exchange for two eggs just to trade for a few buns to treat himself—when faced with these valuable goods, he showed not a trace of greed.

Still, it wouldn’t do for him to take nothing.

Shen Mo’er trusted Fu Mingze’s character, but rules were rules. She understood the principle of shared spoils—if she ate all the meat alone, she wouldn’t feel right about it.

“We found everything together. If you don’t take any, how could I dare keep it all?” Shen Mo’er said bluntly.

Hearing this, Fu Mingze immediately understood. He gave a wry smile but nodded. He got it. In times like these, when even blood relatives might report each other, it made sense. If two people found something together and one person refused a share, the other might very well worry they’d get reported.

After a moment of thought, Fu Mingze compromised: “Then I’ll take one rabbit and some wild vegetables. You should have the lion’s share—you caught the rabbits. And the rest? Keep it.”

He added seriously, “I won’t tell anyone.”

Shen Mo’er figured he wouldn’t accept more anyway, so she nodded readily. “Alright then. When I finish braising the rabbit, I’ll give you half.”

Fu Mingze didn’t argue again and hesitated only slightly before asking if she could braise the other rabbit for him too.

One rabbit or two—it was all the same to cook. So of course she agreed. She suggested doing the same as her: half braised, half made into jerky. Eat the braised part today, save the jerky for later.

Truth be told, Shen Mo’er was a bit curious why Fu Mingze didn’t just sell the rabbit for some money. He could at least save up for a new pair of shoes—his current ones were falling apart.

But then again, in an era where people barely had enough to eat, shoes and clothes really weren’t that important. As long as they were wearable, they were fine.

What Shen Mo’er didn’t know was that Fu Mingze was wondering the same thing: why hadn’t she thought about selling the rabbit for money? Her family was dirt poor. Even with 300 yuan in hand, building a house with blue bricks, tiles, and the flush toilet she wanted would likely drain most of that money. Their house was completely empty—furnishing it would cost plenty too.

But thinking back to how she fainted in the fields from hunger, maybe for her, food mattered far more than money.

Unknowingly, they both found reasons for the other’s poverty-driven decisions.

With everything settled, Fu Mingze originally wanted to help clean the rabbits. But when he saw how deftly Shen Mo’er wielded the kitchen knife—so skilled she made it look like slicing tofu—he realized he was completely out of his depth. So he borrowed a basket, took some wild vegetables, and left.

That afternoon, several of the families who had gone up the mountain earlier brought their children over to Auntie Chen’s house. No one came empty-handed—each brought their rice bowls and a few homegrown vegetables.

In the countryside, it wasn’t strange at all to see people walking around holding their bowls. Some liked to socialize so much, they could circle the whole village with just one bowl of rice.

Though Shen Mo’er was laid-back, she had still received a decade of imperial education. Walking through half the village holding a rice bowl just to eat at Auntie Chen’s house—she couldn’t help feeling awkward.

Luckily, her father had managed to get hold of some flour a few days ago—not the refined kind she used to eat, but a coarse mix of flour and bran. Still, this so-called “95 flour” was already rare and precious in those days.

Shen Mo’er scooped out a bit, mixed it with water into a thin batter, then finely shredded the tender pumpkin Auntie Chen had given her days ago and stirred it in. She rendered a tiny bit of fat from the rabbit she’d cleaned earlier, sautéed some scallions in it to get rid of the smell, and poured the pumpkin batter into the pan using a spatula, forming six palm-sized pancakes.

She fried them until both sides were golden brown.

After they were done, Shen Mo’er tore off a piece to taste. The aroma of the flour combined with the sweetness of the pumpkin—it tasted pretty good.

She placed the pancakes into a bowl, then chopped up a rabbit and tossed it into a pot with scallion segments, ginger slices, star anise, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, soy sauce, and cooking wine. She brought it to a boil, removed two logs from the stove fire, and left one thick piece of firewood to simmer the rabbit over low heat.

Thankfully, her father was working at the kiln now, and Director Xu Weiguo treated him decently. As long as he did his job well, Xu would accommodate him within reason. Her dad wasn’t shy about asking for things either—he’d only worked there a few days and already brought home several ration coupons for soy sauce, vinegar, spices, and peppercorns. At last, they weren’t stuck cooking tasteless dishes with just a pinch of salt.

As for the cooking wine—it wasn’t store-bought. It was actually a small amount of 20-year-old Nü’er Hong wine from her treasure vault, poured into a small jar and used as cooking wine.

A bit of a waste, perhaps—but wine was nearly impossible to buy these days.

Leaving the pot to simmer, Shen Mo’er placed the bowl of pumpkin pancakes into a grass-woven basket, locked the door, and headed to Auntie Chen’s house.

They only had one bamboo basket and one woven basket at home, and since Fu Mingze had borrowed the basket, she couldn’t very well carry pancakes in a bamboo bin.

Thankfully, the original Shen’s father knew how to weave. With no bamboo available, he’d made several small baskets from grass. The original Shen used to carry one to bring her father meals—it was perfect for carrying food.

Since she’d been busy prepping the rabbit, Shen Mo’er arrived late—only to bump into Fu Mingze at the gate.

He was holding her basket, with a bowl inside, half-full of porridge. Likely their educated youth station’s lunch.

Having experienced eavesdropping, rabbit catching, and wild ginseng digging together, Fu Mingze could hardly pretend Shen Mo’er was a stranger anymore. He took the initiative and greeted her, “Comrade Shen Mo’er.”

Shen Mo’er stopped in her tracks and signaled for Fu Mingze to come closer. Fu Mingze looked a little confused but still stepped forward. Shen Mo’er then lifted a vegetable leaf covering her bowl, wrapped two pieces of pumpkin cake in it, and placed them into Fu Mingze’s basket.

“It’s made from pumpkin, give it a try and see if it’s good.”

Her tone and actions were so natural, as if what she was giving him wasn’t two cakes but two worthless blades of grass. Fu Mingze didn’t even know how to refuse.

In that moment of hesitation, Aunt Cai came over with her grandson Dazhuang.

Aunt Cai said, “Mo’er, Comrade Fu, why are you standing at the door? You young folks are too embarrassed to come in and eat, huh? Come on, what’s the big deal? Even if you didn’t catch that thing yourselves, since Old Chen invited you, don’t be shy.”

She was an old sparrow from Dongting Lake—naturally, she wouldn’t mention the rabbit directly in public, only referring to it as “that thing,” but everyone knew what she meant.

Still smiling, Aunt Cai continued, “Old Chen’s private plot is tended carefully. Sure, she can’t provide grain for everyone, but she can certainly spare some vegetables. Come on, let’s get inside!”

Dazhuang licked his lips. “Let’s go, let’s go! Sister Mo’er, Comrade Fu, hurry up!”

You could already smell the aroma just standing at the door.

Meat!

They were really going to eat meat!

Not being enthusiastic about eating meat meant you had ideological issues.

The grandmother and grandson breezed right in. Shen Mo’er quickly followed, and Fu Mingze, glancing down at the pumpkin cakes wrapped in vegetable leaves in his basket, could only follow along as well.

Aunt Chen wasn’t just a warm-hearted person—she was also fair and principled. Logically speaking, since the rabbit was being cooked at her house, her own family members should get a bite too. But once everyone arrived, she directly used a large enamel mug to distribute the meat, and only gave portions to those who had gone up the mountain in the morning. Her own family didn’t get a single piece.

Later, when a few extra pieces were left, she tried to give them to Shen Mo’er and Fu Mingze, who had contributed the most, but both of them declined. Only then did she distribute the remaining meat to a few children from her household who hadn’t gone to the mountain.

Still, even though her family didn’t get any meat, they did get to eat the potatoes and mushrooms stewed with the rabbit meat, and that alone made them very satisfied.

Normally, potatoes or stir-fried mushrooms didn’t even have a trace of oil, but stewed with rabbit meat, not only did they carry the meat’s flavor, they even had a glossy oily sheen. It was a rare delicacy.

There were too many people, so no one fussed over seating. Everyone simply took their bowl, found a spot, and squatted down to eat.

The aunties weren’t the ungrateful sort. As they ate meat, they didn’t forget to praise Shen Mo’er and Fu Mingze.

They praised their cleverness—rabbits were fast and hard to catch, even when spotted. Catching one was no small feat.

They praised their generosity—the rabbit was caught by the two of them, and they hadn’t been with anyone else at the time. If they hadn’t wanted others to know, they could’ve just tossed it in their basket and left. But instead, they brought it out for everyone to share—wasn’t that generous?

The children all chirped along with their praises. How could they not say nice things? These were the two people who had brought them meat!

These kids hadn’t been familiar with Shen Mo’er and Fu Mingze before—and that was normal. After all, aside from labor work, the two rarely interacted with others. Plus, they both seemed rather unapproachable. Even when kids saw them on the road, they didn’t dare talk to them.

But now, everything had changed. In the children’s eyes, these two were super impressive—able to catch rabbits in the mountains and bring them meat.

The kids looked at Shen Mo’er and Fu Mingze with admiration in their eyes.

Shen Mo’er took it in stride—after all, she really was good at catching rabbits, so their admiration made sense.

Fu Mingze, on the other hand, felt a bit embarrassed. After all, he hadn’t caught the rabbit—he hadn’t even touched its fur.

Luckily, he was always expressionless, so others couldn’t really tell he was feeling awkward.

“As long as the meat’s in your belly, that’s enough—don’t go talking about it outside,” Aunt Chen reminded them sternly, especially emphasizing it to the few young ones in her family. “If anyone asks, just say we cooked mushrooms we picked in the mountains today.”

She didn’t mention the other families’ children, but the other aunties immediately understood what she meant and quickly warned their own kids as well.

The kids, of course, understood. These days, every household would try to secretly get something tasty now and then—catching a fish in the stream or a bird in the trees. Whenever you secretly ate something good, you had to wipe your mouth clean before stepping outside. You definitely didn’t go around yelling about it.

Even though everyone only got a small portion of meat, there were plenty of potatoes and mushrooms cooked with it, so everyone was thoroughly satisfied.

In fact, even that evening, when Zhou Mancang called the entire village to a meeting at the threshing grounds, there were still people reminiscing about the “feast” they’d had at noon.

Zhou Mancang had called everyone together to talk about the missing soap from the educated youth dorm and about someone prying open the door of Shen Lao Qi’s house.

“Our Yangliu brigade is one of the best in the entire Liuqiao commune. The social atmosphere here has always been excellent. Even during those three years—the most difficult time—when other brigades were secretly selling their children or fighting each other to death over food, or stealing outright, we never had any of that in our brigade!”

Zhou Mancang’s face was like thunderclouds. His sharp gaze swept across each and every commune member as his voice rang with fury: “I think it’s because life has gotten easier these past couple of years. People can eat their fill and don’t go hungry anymore—so now some folks are getting restless and up to no good. Let me make myself clear today: I don’t care if it’s an educated youth or a commune member—if you’re coveting someone’s soap or anything else, starting now, I strongly advise you to cut it out!”

He said coldly, “Otherwise, the moment we catch even the slightest trace of wrongdoing, we’ll immediately report it to the public security bureau and have you locked up!”

The incident of the missing soap from the educated youth dorm had already spread around the village—most people had heard about it. But the break-in at Shen Lao Qi’s house was news to everyone except Zhou Mancang.

As Zhou spoke, murmurs spread among the crowd.

As for the missing soap from the youth dorm—well, everyone figured it was probably someone from among the educated youth themselves.

Prying open the door of Shen Laoqi’s (Old Seven Shen’s) house was a different matter entirely. Many people were thinking: this wasn’t the same as stealing a bar of soap in passing — no educated youth would dare to go this far. Most likely, this was the work of one of the commune members.

And that was very troubling.

If someone dared to pry open Shen Laoqi’s door today, who was to say they wouldn’t dare pry into someone else’s tomorrow? This was a matter directly affecting the safety and property of every commune member.

If there were such a rotten element among them, then anyone could become the next victim.

The brigade leader was right. Their brigade had never had such incidents before. Whoever this bad element was, they’d hidden themselves well—could even be right beside them.

Everyone looked around suspiciously, casting wary glances at the people next to them.

Aunt Chen was standing next to Shen Mo’er and couldn’t help but pat her on the arm. “Oh my, child, something this serious happened and you didn’t say anything? Was it last night? Did you see the person? You must’ve been scared stiff!”

Shen Mo’er nodded. “I caught a vague glimpse. It was a tall, skinny man.”

The members nearby who had been eavesdropping looked at each other. All the short men immediately puffed out their chests.

Did you hear that? Tall and skinny. Nothing to do with us short guys!

For once, being short became a point of pride.

Aunt Chen spat and cursed, “Who the hell could be so shameless! These days, even if we’re not wealthy, it’s not like anyone’s starving. How could someone do something so heartless!”

She patted Shen Mo’er comfortingly again. “You’re different. Last time you fainted from hunger, it was because some people were being inhumane. Oh, you poor thing, you’ve really been through too much. Not a single good relative, and now some heartless bastard lurking in the shadows watching your house. But don’t be scared, Mo’er. Look, the brigade leader is arranging militia patrols. Later, I’ll go with you and talk to Qingguo, ask him to have the patrol swing by your area more often.”

The militia captain’s name was Zhou Qingguo.

Shen Mo’er knew Aunt Chen was truly concerned about her and genuinely had her best interests at heart. She felt warm inside and smiled as she nodded.

“Tch. Even a three-year-old knows not to flaunt wealth. Isn’t this just a case of a poor person suddenly rich showing off and attracting trouble? Really, just burdening the militia for no reason.” Someone muttered sarcastically.

Shen Mo’er turned to look.

Oh. It was Cao Mei.

If she hadn’t seen who said it, Shen Mo’er might’ve thought it was her First Aunt-in-law Liu Huihua or Second Aunt-in-law Tian Fang. After all, it was their families who’d provided the money.

But no — it was indeed Cao Mei. Truly brainless. This matter had little to do with her, yet she jumped out to attract hatred.

Shen Mo’er couldn’t be bothered with her. Speaking even one more word to someone so stupid might make her lose brain cells.

She said nothing — but others spoke up.

Since Aunt Chen was there, the other aunties who were close with her weren’t far either. They’d just shared some meat for lunch together; naturally, they wouldn’t stand by and watch Cao Mei bully Shen Mo’er.

“Cao Mei, you’re really being nosy. What’s this got to do with you? The money came from the First and Second households. If anyone’s got a right to be bitter, it’s them. And anyway, two brick-tile houses for three hundred yuan — they’re not losing out. Nothing to be jealous about.”

“Exactly! The First and Second households lived there all these years, right? If it were rent, that’d add up. You brothers and sisters-in-law sure took advantage of Shen Laoqi. Back when he was still a kid, didn’t he go chop wood for your families every day? You don’t remember his kindness, and now you’re bullying him and his daughter?”

“If someone’s stealing doors in the brigade, it means someone’s gotten greedy and wants to reap without sowing. And now you’re mocking Mo’er, the actual victim? So if someone has a bit of money, they deserve to be targeted and robbed? By that logic, half the brigade should be on the thieves’ radar. Let’s talk about your family. Your husband Shen Laosan and your son Shen Jianhui earned plenty of work points helping build the reservoir, didn’t they? That can be converted into quite a bit of money. So your house should be targeted next?”

“You’re something else. The militia’s job is to train and patrol anyway. Now that there’s been a theft, what’s wrong with increasing patrols? How’s that a burden?”

…

The aunties were like atomic bombs, blasting Cao Mei into silence.

There was no help for it. Two fists couldn’t beat ten mouths. She was no match for all these women. Cao Mei was so angry her face turned red, and she could only glare fiercely at her daughter-in-law Zhang Guiqin and her youngest daughter Shen Chunfen. These two useless things didn’t even help her.

Shen Chunfen hunched her shoulders. How could she dare to speak? These women were the toughest old ladies in the village. If her mother couldn’t win an argument with them, how could she?

Zhang Guiqin wasn’t as clueless as Cao Mei. She was sharp. Seeing so many people standing up for Shen Mo’er, she knew better than to butt in.

After all, it was her mother-in-law losing face, not her.

And it wasn’t the first time her mother-in-law had been humiliated. The first time stings, the second time you get used to it.

Zhang Guiqin pretended she hadn’t heard a thing, but in her heart she couldn’t help but wonder: when did Shen Mo’er become so well-liked? Why were so many people standing up for her?

After arranging the militia patrols, Zhou Mancang gave everyone a stern warning, telling them to keep an eye on each other and report any leads to the brigade immediately. Only then did he declare the meeting over.

Shen Mo’er left with a group of aunties. Quite a few villagers looked at her — after all, Shen Shaoyuan wasn’t around, and she was the only one from her household present. Naturally, people were curious and glanced at her a few more times.

But many people shared the same confusion as Zhang Guiqin.

Wasn’t Shen Laoqi’s daughter always rather distant and not close with anyone? When did she get so chummy with all these aunties?

“Mo’er.”

Someone called from behind. Shen Mo’er stopped and turned to see it was Tian Fang. She raised her brows slightly — it was rare for Tian Fang to approach her on her own.

Tian Fang walked up with a heavy sigh, looking very concerned. “That thief is just too awful. How could he be so bold, prying open doors? Luckily you two were alert, or who knows what could’ve happened.”

Shen Mo’er couldn’t guess what she was up to, so she nodded and waited.

Seeing she wasn’t taking the bait, Tian Fang had no choice but to keep talking. “Honestly, it’s not very safe with just you and your father living out there alone. If something really happened, who would you even call for help?”

She said sincerely, “Mo’er, you’re not a child anymore. Building a house isn’t the most important thing — finding a husband is. Once you marry, you’ll have someone to protect you, and in-laws to look after you. What petty thief would dare mess with you then? And don’t think you’d be abandoning your dad. Isn’t he working in the commune now? Coming back and forth every day is a hassle. He’d be better off renting a place in the commune. He earns a salary now — you visit him sometimes, that’s already being a good daughter. Isn’t that better for both of you?”

“Don’t think I’m trying to scheme something. I’m genuinely worried and thinking about you two.”

Aunt Chen was listening nearby and found Tian Fang’s words quite reasonable. These days, it was hard to find a son-in-law — one wrong move and you could end up with an ungrateful man who’d take everything. That’d be a hard life for Shen Mo’er. Better to find a husband and later figure out where to place Shen Laoqi.

After all, Shen Laoqi only had this one daughter, and he was capable of earning money. As long as the son-in-law had his head on straight, he wouldn’t neglect him.

She patted Shen Mo’er’s hand. “Your Second Aunt is right. Recruiting a son-in-law isn’t very stable. It’s simpler to marry into a family. As long as the man’s got good character, he’ll definitely take care of your father too. Leave this to me — I’ll help you find someone good…”

Just as Aunt Chen was getting into it, Tian Fang quickly interrupted with a smile, “Sister-in-law, no need to trouble yourself. Ever since Mo’er mentioned wanting to recruit a son-in-law, I’ve been thinking about it day and night. I’ve asked around all the nearby brigades for boys around her age. I’ve searched thoroughly and finally found the perfect one.”

Aunt Chen was taken aback. “You already picked someone?”

Tian Fang nodded with a smile. “That’s right. A very good young man. He’s already come here.”

Aunt Chen was even more shocked. Her voice rose in pitch. “He’s already here?!”

Tian Fang nodded again. “The young man has great family background, good character, and looks. He’s very popular. If we don’t act quickly, someone else might snatch him up. So we have to move fast.”

Aunt Chen had to admit that Tian Fang made sense. But something still felt off. Since when did the groom arrive before the bride even knew?

Tian Fang urged, “Mo’er, let’s go. He’s waiting at the village entrance.”

She wasn’t afraid of Shen Mo’er or Shen Shaoyuan blaming her. She’d made herself perfectly clear — she was thinking of them. A grown girl should get married. How could they say she, as the aunt, was wrong for caring and helping to find a match?

Shen Mo’er coldly watched Tian Fang perform her little act, then finally spoke in a calm voice, “Second Aunt, this so-called perfect young man — which branch of your family is he from?”