Chapter 14: Which Shameless Person Stole It

Meng Ling went to the kitchen and fried the chicken meat and softshell turtle meat separately until fragrant.

Then she used a clay pot to simmer the chicken first, and after a while, added ginger, garlic, and the softshell turtle to stew together for half an hour.

Soon the kitchen filled with the aroma of meat. Meng Ling lifted the lid of the clay pot and poked the chicken a few times with chopsticks. With a little force, the chopsticks pierced through.

“Hmm, just about done. You can put out the fire now,” Meng Ling called to Erwa to turn off the heat.

“Okay!”

Turning off the fire meant it was time to eat. Meng Shiqiao, smelling the delicious aroma in the whole house, couldn’t wait to taste it.

“Dad, Mom, Qingqing, time to eat!” Meng Ling called out, placing the clay pot on a bamboo mat. When the lid was opened, a rich fragrance wafted out.

Meng Shiqiao rubbed his hands together, smelling the scent. “Wow, it smells so good, I can’t wait!”

Once his parents sat down, he quickly served each of them a piece, then swiftly took one for himself.

Mrs. Shen smiled at his impatient demeanor, “You’re the only kid here, no one’s fighting you for it.”

“Mm!”

“Delicious!” Meng Shiqiao praised as he quickly ate a piece of chicken.

Meng Ling also picked up a piece and took a bite. The chicken was coated with a thick layer of gelatinous substance. When biting into it, the juice instantly flowed onto her tongue.

The chicken was perfectly cooked — tender but with some chewiness. When she pursed her lips, the gelatin stuck her lips together.

She ate a piece of softshell turtle meat next. It was fresh, fragrant, soft, and smooth. The edge was tender and melted in her mouth when she pursed her lips.

“Big Ya (Big Ya means Big Girl), your cooking skills are amazing,” Meng Liang complimented.

Shen Yun also admired, “Mm, much better than my cooking. If you opened a restaurant, you’d definitely make money!”

“Of course! My sister’s the best, the number one sister in the world.”

“Hahaha, yes!” Meng Liang affirmed loudly.

“As long as you think it’s delicious, I’m happy if you’re happy,” Meng Ling said, then served a piece of softshell turtle meat to her younger sister. This piece was soft and smooth, suitable for her to eat.

Meng Shiqiao saved the chicken drumstick for last. Finally, he got to eat the big chicken drumstick he’d been longing for, giving the other one to his sister.

The next morning, Meng Shiqiao asked his father to go buy a bow from Zhang Dashan’s house. If they hadn’t come back too late yesterday, they would have gone yesterday.

Soon, his father returned with the bow and two arrows in hand.

Meng Shiqiao was overjoyed and immediately started practicing with it.

Meng Liang said, “Go practice outside in the yard. We need to build a sheep pen!”

Having sheep meant they had to build a sheep pen. Meng Liang made mud bricks, Shen Yun cut trees, Meng Ling cut grass, and Meng Qingqing shook her rattle under the eaves, giggling.

By noon, the sheep pen walls were already three feet high. Two sheep didn’t need a big space, so it was built quickly.

By evening, the sheep pen was completed. Meng Ling laid some dry grass on the ground and put the two sheep inside, thinking about enjoying stewed mutton by this time next year.

“Baa…!”

They probably don’t know what I’m thinking.

After finishing work, the two went to the river. The fish traps hadn’t been put in for many days; only about seven or eight jin (3.5-4 kg) of dried small fish and around two jin (1 kg) of dried shrimp had been sun-dried.

They had taken up the hooks used to catch softshell turtles yesterday and placed them in a more remote spot today. After setting the traps, they came back just in time to eat.

After a whole day of work, Meng Ling felt sore all over. His father collected the hooks at night.

Meng Liang only believed it when he saw it with his own eyes — all those softshell turtles were caught by his daughter, not by luck from the field ditch.

He felt his daughter had changed a lot recently. Though she could cook before, it was just average. She wasn’t lazy but not this diligent either.

There were even dishes he had never heard of, let alone tasted.

Softshell turtles could be stewed with chicken, she knew how to find beehives, and even fed croton seeds to wild boars.

“Is this still my daughter?” Meng Liang was somewhat confused.

Morning.

“Dad, how many softshell turtles did you catch last night?” Meng Shiqiao’s first question after waking up.

“Three, I put them in the big stone jar outside,” Meng Liang replied.

“Wow! That’s over a hundred wen (old currency) again,” Meng Shiqiao happily wiggled his butt.

Hearing this, Meng Liang snapped back to reality — in such a short time, Big Ya had already earned so much money.

“Dad, I’m going to catch softshell turtles.”

Saying that, he grabbed a wooden bucket and headed to the river. With the bait his father replenished last night, there should be a good catch.

“They’re all gone. How did they all get stolen? Which damn bastard stole them?”

Meng Shiqiao cursed loudly at the riverbank.

With all hooks gone, they had to retrieve the fish traps instead. There were about four or five jin of small fish, and quite a few shrimp.

“Sis, someone stole the hooks!” Meng Ling shouted into the house.

“Someone stole them!”

Meng Ling hadn’t expected that so soon someone would know she was catching softshell turtles. She guessed it was either Aunt Zhang or Aunt Wang but couldn’t be sure yet. The chance it was someone else was small.

“Yeah, none left!” Meng Shiqiao said angrily, clenching his fists.

Meng Ling tried to calm him, “Forget it, if they stole them, they stole them. We can make more. The village people will learn sooner or later. But that thief is really annoying — stealing the softshell turtles is bad enough, but also stealing the turtle hooks.”

“Sis, that won’t do. Tonight I’m going to get them back!” Meng Shiqiao said firmly, “I want to see who stole them!”

Meng Ling nodded, thinking the same. If they caught the thief once, he probably wouldn’t dare to steal again.

That evening, the two waited by the river, but no one showed up even after dark. They wasted half an hour in vain.

This time, they hid the turtle hooks underwater, so it would be harder to find. They also made little marks at each spot.

The next day, before dawn, they got up and searched along the river for a long time but saw no one taking the hooks.

“Sis, do you think that person is also watching us?” Meng Shiqiao guessed.

“Now that you say it, it’s possible. He waits until we leave, then comes to put the hooks down and early takes them up again.”

A timing trick!

Meng Ling thought this thief was quite cunning. She decided to find him, and even if she couldn’t, she would at least retrieve her hooks.

“Go back and get a pole, tie a big iron hook on it, and drag it along the riverbank. You’ll definitely find them,” Meng Ling said.

He nodded and immediately went home to make the hook, then dragged it along the shore.

“Sis, found them!”

After walking about two li (1 km), they found the hooks. No wonder they hadn’t seen anyone — it was too far away to spot.

“There’s stuff.”

They pulled up a softshell turtle weighing about two jin. Meng Shiqiao also collected the hooks.

They swept along and collected thirty hooks and twelve softshell turtles. Luckily, they brought a basket, or it would have been hard to carry.

After collecting all theirs, they collected their own twenty hooks and seven softshell turtles. The catch was quite good.

“Dad, we’re back!” Meng Shiqiao shouted.

His father asked, “Did you find the hooks?”

He showed his basket, “Found them, and caught lots of softshell turtles.”

“Wow, that’s quite a lot! It’s still early, I’ll carry it to the county town to sell!”

Meng Liang prepared and carried the basket toward the county, with Madam Shen following behind.

After breakfast, Meng Ling was in charge of feeding the pigs, and her brother fed the chickens.

“Sis, the chickens lay eggs a bit faster now. Should we feed them more fish?” Meng Shiqiao asked.

Now they got about one egg a day. He wondered if feeding them more would get three eggs in two days.

Meng Ling said, “That’s enough, no need to add more. Everything has to be in moderation, you know.”

He nodded beside her — that made sense, like how you can’t just eat rice but need vegetables too.

At that moment, a woman’s voice came from outside the yard.

“Big Ya! Big Ya!”

They went out to check; it was Aunt Wang.

“Aunt Wang, are you looking for me?”

Meng Ling guessed she was here about the hooks.

“Last time I saw you caught some softshell turtles, any left?” Aunt Wang asked. “My father-in-law isn’t well and wants to buy one for some nourishment.”

“No, I just caught those few and sold them in town,” Meng Ling said.

She didn’t know if Aunt Wang was telling the truth but knew her father-in-law’s health wasn’t good.

“No? Then where did you catch them? I want to go check if I can catch one too.”

Aunt Wang looked at the water jar in the yard, then at the bucket on the ground.

Meng Ling smiled, “Aunt Wang, they’re all sold, really none left. If you want, I can catch one for you tomorrow. How’s that?”

“Okay, deal. Just give me one about two jin. Here’s the money first, I’ll come pick it up tomorrow.”

Aunt Wang took a handful of copper coins from her bosom and handed them to Meng Ling.

Before Meng Ling could react, Aunt Wang left the yard.

Twenty-five wen — Meng Ling counted, shook her head, and smiled helplessly.

“Sis, didn’t Aunt Wang say she didn’t want to buy before? Why is she buying now?” Meng Shiqiao asked.