Chapter 23

Jiang Heniang held the candle high as she made her way smoothly back to the Jiang household.

Before entering the house, she blew out the candle that had burned down a bit and carefully stored it in her space.

Facing the wooden door, the smile on her face faded slightly as she pushed the door open and walked in.

A small yellow bulb hung by the front door, casting light over half the small courtyard. The voltage occasionally flickered, making the scene resemble a horror movie set.

At the stone table in the courtyard, the whole family was gathered, having dinner. When they heard the noise, they all turned to look at her in unison.

Jiang Heniang paused slightly as she stepped over the threshold.

“Where did you go?” Jiang Chengmin asked, taking a sip of homemade liquor.

Jiang Heniang closed the courtyard gate behind her and replied, “I was at Yue Niu’s place for a while.”

“Next time, come home earlier after work.”

Jiang Yanqiu snorted coldly and stared fixedly at the wound on Jiang Heniang’s mouth, her tone chilly: “Wang Yuen Niu said you weren’t at her place.”

Jiang Heniang turned to look at her, smiling. “You went looking for me? The outhouse on the village road exploded—didn’t you get splashed? Funny how you’re still wearing the same clothes and sitting down to eat. Do you enjoy the smell?”

Wang Yue Niu had actually ranted to Jiang Heniang about that very incident earlier that afternoon.

Jiang Heniang was sure Jiang Yanqiu wouldn’t have kindly gone to fetch her for dinner. She was clearly just fishing for a reason to scold her.

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone’s expressions became subtly amused as they glanced at Jiang Yanqiu’s clothes. Those holding bowls subtly shifted away.

Jiang Xiaobao, in particular, became alert, guarding the plate of wild vegetable dumplings in front of him with both hands and shouting:

“Second Sis! Don’t get your poop all over my dumplings!”

Jiang Xiaomiao silently covered her bowl with her small hands.

Jiang Yanqiu was furious, pointing at Jiang Heniang, “You’re the one who got sprayed with poop!”

Wang Chunfang, who had been in a foul mood since returning from the thatched house, slammed her chopsticks on the table and glared at Jiang Yanqiu, “What are you yelling for?”

She then dropped a wild vegetable dumpling into Jiang Xiaobao’s bowl, swatted away Jiang Xiaomiao’s hand to get her to eat properly, all the while muttering:

“Not one of you is worry-free! No one cooks, no one comes home on time. The older you get, the worse you behave.”

Jiang Jirong cleared his throat and motioned to Heniang, “Third Sis, wash your hands and come eat.”

Jiang Heniang was in a good mood tonight and didn’t bother arguing with Wang Chunfang. She pretended not to hear and sat down next to Jiang Jirong and his wife after washing her hands.

She had already had a bowl of porridge earlier, so she wasn’t really hungry, but she still picked at some food for show.

Tonight’s meal was cornbread and wild vegetable dumplings—both bland and hard to swallow.

The dumplings were made of cornmeal mixed with chopped wild greens and just a few grains of salt. They were rough and scratchy going down.

Jiang Heniang picked one up, took a small bite, then switched to a palm-sized cornbread instead.

The cornbread was at least soft and went down easier, with a faint aroma of corn.

Expressionless, Jiang Heniang tore off a piece, chewed slowly, all the while imagining she was eating a rich, sweet corn and cheese soufflé.

Sweet. Fragrant. Melts in the mouth.

Jiang Yanqiu grew even more irritated seeing her act so prim and proper—she was even more annoying than before!

The entire family ate dinner in a rather tense silence.

When she finally finished her cornbread, one vegetable dumpling with a missing corner still remained in her bowl.

The two big plates on the table were already picked clean.

Jiang Heniang glanced around the table and locked eyes with Jiang Xiaomiao, who was licking the rim of her bowl.

The child’s twin braids had come undone, leaving her hair a mess. Her big eyes were bright and clear, much more endearing than Jiang Xiaobao.

“You want this?” Jiang Heniang asked, holding up the last dumpling with her chopsticks.

Jiang Xiaomiao hesitated for a moment, then obediently nodded.

Before she could act, Jiang Xiaobao stuffed the last bite into his mouth and, with a full mouth, pointed at Jiang Heniang and mumbled, “I’m still hungry! Give it to me!”

Jiang Heniang didn’t even look at him. She calmly placed the dumpling into Jiang Xiaomiao’s bowl and smiled, “Here, big sis is giving this to you.”

Resting her cheek on one hand, she smiled gently and urged, “Eat up.”

Jiang Xiaobao’s eyes bulged like copper bells. He reached out to snatch it, only for Jiang Heniang to smack his hand with her chopsticks. He yelped in pain and pulled his hand back.

Lu Shuying, who was holding her baby son nearby, almost couldn’t hold in her laughter.

That Jiang Xiaobao was the tyrant of the house, always grabbing for everything—even her son Fuquan’s rice cereal. If he didn’t get it, he’d throw a tantrum.

To see him get smacked two days in a row—it was a rare sight.

“You hit him for no reason! What’s wrong with you!” Wang Chunfang snapped, reaching out to grab at Heniang, but she dodged. Wang Chunfang looked like she wanted to slap her.

This damn girl—one day I’ll teach you a lesson!

Jiang Xiaobao started howling, “You stupid third brat! You hit me again!”

Jiang Heniang twirled her chopsticks with a smile and warned, “Such disrespect. What did you just call me?”

“I called you stu—”

“You’re talking nonsense again!” Wang Chunfang quickly covered his mouth with her hand and dragged him away to wash up. “No more food for you. You’ll be too bloated to sleep.”

The old Jiang Heniang barely said a word, easy to bully and always accommodating. Jiang Xiaobao had gotten used to getting his way. Now, whenever things didn’t go as he liked, he’d explode and parrot all the insults he’d heard second sister and their mother say about Jiang Heniang.

But Wang Chunfang was now on guard and didn’t let him say anything worse. She turned to yell at Jiang Xiaomiao, “Hurry up and eat! Then go play with your brother.”

Jiang Xiaomiao quickly buried her head in her bowl and devoured the dumpling in a few bites.

As usual, Jiang Chengmin took his cup of leftover liquor and headed inside.

Seeing this, Wang Chunfang smacked Jiang Xiaobao on the butt and told him to go play, then hurried inside as well. Before leaving, she pointed at Jiang Heniang and barked, “Wash the dishes! Scrub the stove too!”

Squatting by the water vat, Jiang Heniang washed the dishes loudly, humming a tune.

When it came to chores from Wang Chunfang, she had one strategy: only do the easy, simple ones—and mess up the rest to drive her crazy.

Near the east room door, Lu Shuying was feeding her baby water. She nudged Jiang Jirong with her elbow.

“Hey, Third Sis has really grown a spine lately. Daring to talk back to anyone. I’ve been married to you for three years and she’s said more in the past two days than all those years combined.”

She tapped her own head and whispered, “It’s like something clicked.”

Jiang Jirong turned to look at Heniang, who was playing with water while doing the dishes, and smiled. “I think this is good.”

Lu Shuying scrutinized her husband and said sourly, “Why do you always take her side?”

Jiang Jirong scratched his head sheepishly. “She’s my sister. What’s strange about siding with her?”

Lu Shuying pointed toward the doorway and whispered, “That one’s your real sister. This one isn’t.”

“Don’t say that.”

Jiang Jirong gave his wife a disapproving look and gently pushed her toward the house. “We’re all one family. Third Sis lost her mom young, and she’s always been the sensible one, doing all the chores. It’s pitiful, really.”

Meanwhile, Jiang Heniang was lost in her “Wash, wash, wash” song, hearing none of this.

Inside the main room—

Wang Chunfang and Jiang Chengmin sat in silence.

News of the broken engagement would be all over the village by tomorrow. The matter of returning the 100 yuan dowry wouldn’t be something they could keep from Jiang Chengmin either.

Wang Chunfang had followed him in and spilled the whole story, painting the He family as cold-hearted and her own daughter Yanqiu as pitiful and unlucky.

Jiang Chengmin sat in silence for a long time, rolling up a piece of dry tobacco and taking a puff.

After a while, he finally spoke: “That engagement was arranged by her father back then. I never really had any objections.”

When Wang Chunfang heard him bring up her ex-husband Li Dehua, her expression soured.