Chapter 37: Slaughtering Pigs

The Su family courtyard was surrounded by many curious villagers.

Su Laosi (Fourth Su) and Su Laowu (Fifth Su) each handled a wild boar, hanging them up to skin and butcher. Wu Chunhe and Old Madam Su were helping scrape off the pig hair. The Yan family and Yan He were boiling water. Zhang Xiaolan, Zhang Hongzhuang, Xiaodouer, Yan Qi, and Yan Xing were handling the internal organs.

Liu Yingying sat under the veranda, holding little Su Huan in her arms, smiling as she watched them slaughter the pigs.

Even though it wasn’t New Year’s yet, the sound of pig slaughtering mixed with the chatter of people in the courtyard created a very festive atmosphere.

Only little Su Huan was quietly pinching his nose at the stench of pig feces in the air.

After Su Lao’er (Second Su) and Su Lao-san (Third Su) delivered the grain, they tied the donkey cart in the stable, rushed back to serve hot tea, and brought out some stools for the villagers to sit.

After following Li Sumei inside the house, Jin Yuegui’s eyes began darting around restlessly.

Seeing the ancestral tablet of Father-in-law Su Shanqing on the household shrine, she immediately grabbed a stick of incense, lit it, bowed three times toward the shrine, and inserted it with an air of filial devotion, exclaiming, “Father, your daughter-in-law is back to visit you! If you can see us from the heavens, please don’t let Mother make things difficult for me later!”

“Sumei, who is she?”

Liu Yingying walked in holding little Su Huan, curiously eyeing the beggar-like woman who had just offered incense to the deceased patriarch.

Just as Su Huan was about to release his pinched nose in relief, he suddenly caught the sour stench coming from Jin Yuegui’s body—worse than pig feces—and quickly pinched his nose even tighter, tugging on Liu Yingying’s clothes and retreating into her arms.

Seeing this, Liu Yingying hurriedly backed away with the child in her arms.

After finishing the incense offering, Jin Yuegui caught sight of Su Huan and walked over, fake-smiling as she reached out her hands. “Oh my! Isn’t this our little lucky dumpling? Don’t you recognize your Auntie? I even cooked millet porridge for you the day you were born! Come, let Auntie hold you!”

Auntie?

So it was Jin Yuegui who had returned.

Judging by her appearance, she must’ve suffered quite a lot since leaving the Su family.

Su Huan hadn’t forgotten that she ran away with money. Hearing her earlier words at the shrine, he immediately blew on the incense she offered. Whoosh—the incense stick flickered a few times and then went out.

Just as her filthy hand was about to touch the clean, chubby girl, Li Sumei immediately blocked her. “Sister-in-law, the child is still young. She can’t be touched by dirty things.”

“What did you say? Are you calling me dirty?!”

If it weren’t for the fact that she knew Old Madam Su doted on this money-losing granddaughter the most, she wouldn’t even bother trying to curry favor by holding her!

Jin Yuegui’s face darkened with anger.

Li Sumei paid her no mind and said to Liu Yingying, “Fourth Sister-in-law, stay here and keep Sister-in-law company. I’ll go help with the pig slaughter. There are a lot of people outside—don’t let her wander around the house.”

Liu Yingying, stunned at hearing this beggar called “Sister-in-law,” took a few steps back, holding her child tightly while staring at Jin Yuegui in disbelief.

This woman was the eldest sister-in-law? God, it had only been a few months, yet how had she become like this? Hair disheveled, clothes barely covering her body, hands, feet, neck, and face were filthy. Her hair was dry and knotted, her face full of wrinkles—she looked at least ten years older than before!

She swallowed hard. “U-understood, Sumei. You go ahead. I’ll watch her.”

Li Sumei nodded and went out.

With the large number of people in the Su family and the help of Zhang Hongzhuang and his grandson, within an hour both wild boars were fully butchered. The internal organs and intestines were cleaned.

Village chief Wang Baorui bought several jin of pork and a pig’s trotter. Brother Lin, the cart driver, also bought several jin of ribs. Several other households bought over sixty jin of pork fat.

These two wild boars were fat and hefty, weighing over 700 jin combined. One boar alone produced more than 170 jin of pork fat. The fat from both pigs could be rendered into about 160 jin of lard, so it didn’t matter to sell some meat and fat.

Once the pigs were processed, the villagers gradually dispersed on their own, all smiling and greeting Old Madam Su—the head of the household—before leaving.

Clearly, the sight of the Su family returning from the mountains with two large wild boars had shocked the villagers. Most of them now acknowledged the Su family’s strength and already had intentions of forming connections with them before even arriving.

Furthermore, since this family had fled over two thousand li from the Central Plains to the capital and all survived intact, they clearly weren’t simple people. Forming good ties with them could only be beneficial.

At dusk, after counting the 460 wen earned from selling pork and lard, Li Sumei informed Old Madam Su about Jin Yuegui.

This conversation wasn’t kept from the Yan family. Hearing it, Yan’s entire body trembled with a mix of emotions.

Anger, confusion, and shock surged all at once, but also a sliver of hope: Did Mother come back specifically because of me?

He subconsciously looked at Old Madam Su. “Grandma, can I see my mother?”

“What’s the rush?”

Old Madam Su rubbed his head, then instructed her sons to tidy up the yard, bury the four sections of pork in the snow to preserve them, and close the gate. Then she led the whole family into the main hall.

Although Zhang Hongzhuang had stayed behind to eat the pig-slaughtering meal, he tactfully took his grandson Xiaodouer to the backyard to wash their hands, avoiding the awkwardness.

Inside the main hall—

Jin Yuegui had been trying to pry information from Liu Yingying about how the Su family had come into money. Liu Yingying didn’t hide it and openly told her that their mother had saved a noble and was rewarded by him.

Jin Yuegui sneered, not believing they could be that lucky. She assumed Liu Yingying was lying to guard against her.

So many people in the Su family—who knows if they stole someone else’s things on the way?

When Old Madam Su entered with the family, Jin Yuegui quickly stood up and tried to flatter her. “Mother! Your daughter-in-law is finally home! Now we can all be together again!”

She had just started to kneel and bow when Old Madam Su brushed past her, walked over to Liu Yingying, and checked on her little granddaughter. Seeing the girl still pinching her nose, she quickly had Li Sumei fetch some of the family’s homemade deodorizing herbs and put them in the incense burner.

When the air in the hall improved and the little girl finally let go of her nose, Old Madam Su smiled, then pulled out the extinguished incense stick from the shrine and tossed it into the trash.

She turned to Jin Yuegui. “Was this incense from you?”

Jin Yuegui had just been feeling resentful that Old Madam Su didn’t acknowledge her. Now, hearing this and seeing the burned-out incense, she felt a jolt of panic. “Y-yes, I offered it. Maybe the wind blew it out…”

Old Madam Su wiped her hands and sat on the luohan bed, looking down at Jin Yuegui, who stood below her. “Sumei already told me about your situation. I won’t hold you accountable for the past. If you want to stay now, you can.”

Hearing this, Su Lao’er and the others frowned, worried that Old Madam Su had really decided to forgive the eldest sister-in-law.

But Yan, knowing his grandmother’s nature, felt uneasy. There’s no way she’d let things slide so easily after such a betrayal.

Jin Yuegui had expected a scolding and was surprised to hear such leniency. Overjoyed, she knelt down and swore, “Mother, I knew you still cared about me! Besides, I only got separated from you back then. If you’re talking about my laziness and bad habits before, I promise I’ll change now that I’m back!”

Change? She’s always talked nicely but never followed through!

Besides, was laziness really the issue? She had stolen the family’s money and left them to die, and now she refused to admit it!

Wu Chunhe rolled her eyes.

But the next thing Old Madam Su said made Jin Yuegui’s smile freeze on her face.

“I’m not holding you accountable because the moment you ran off with our money and abandoned us, I’d already decided to have Eldest divorce you. To be honest, I’ve been waiting for your return—or rather, guarding against it.”