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Grandma Chen scolded Mrs. Hu and then Mrs. Wang, “You foolish woman, you’re just a tool in her hand. She tells you to light the fire, and you do it. If you end up hurting your hand, your whole family will suffer, do you understand?” Blah, blah, blah.
Upon hearing this, Chen Lu got up and went to the kitchen. His sister was unwell, and Dabao was still young, so he had to help with the chores.
Before leaving, he whispered to Chen Feng, “Sister should stay here with Dabao in the hall, and don’t go anywhere else.”
Chen Feng nodded and watched the limping figure disappear through the doorway, feeling a pang of heartache. She continued to sit there in a daze, with Chen Dabao leaning against her. In the meantime, Chen Gui brought out some peanuts for them to eat.
Not long after Grandma Chen returned to the west room, Chen Gui’s son, Chen Dahua, ran into the hall. He approached Chen Feng, extending his hand, which held a piece of black licorice candy. He teased, “A’Feng, want some?”
This child had a round face, chubby and cute.
Chen Feng shook her head.
Chen Dahua sneered, “If you don’t want it, why are you drooling?”
A wry smile tugged at the corners of Chen Feng’s mouth. The child had a tigerish countenance and spoke in an unpleasant manner.
Chen Dahua blinked and continued to entice her, “My Aunt A’Jue’s room has several pieces of pine nut candy, much better than this licorice candy. She invited you to have some, and my sister and I have asked her, but she won’t give us any.” Pausing, he cleverly shifted the blame, “Remember, it was my aunt who invited you, not me.”
Chen Dabao hurriedly interjected, “My mom doesn’t want any candy.”
Chen Dahua glared at Chen Dabao and whispered, “In my house, there’s no place for you, a wild child, to speak.”
Chen Dabao insisted, “I am my mother’s son. I am not a wild child, and my household registration is under my mother’s name.”
These words were meant to console Chen Dabao, as Chen Feng hadn’t formally registered as a woman yet, so it was impossible for Chen Dabao’s household registration to be under her name.
Due to his loud voice, everyone in the west room heard it. Chen Gui raised his voice and said, “Dahua, Dabao is your brother, so play nicely with him. If you spread rumors again, I’ll punish you.”
Dabao was brought home on the second day of the third month, so that was considered his birthday. Dahua was born on the tenth day of the second month, making him Dabao’s cousin.
Chen Dahua quickly responded, “I was just playing with Dabao.” He then made a forced smile.
Chen Feng was curious about what Chen Jue might be up to, so she got up and said, “Let’s go—have some candy.”
Seeing that Chen Feng had fallen for it, Chen Dahua smirked and then looked at Chen Feng with contempt, muttering under his breath, “So foolish and greedy, no wonder she had a child before getting married.”
Chen Dabao didn’t want Chen Feng to go, so he stood still. Chen Feng gently pinched his little arm. The little guy knew that his mother was different now, so he followed her inside.
They entered the northern room of the east wing. The furnishings were similar to those in most rural homes, with a heated brick bed, a cupboard bed, and a table. However, the presence of a bronze mirror, two rouge boxes, and a sewing basket on the table indicated that this was a lady’s room. Additionally, there were several blue and white porcelain covered bowls and teacups on the table, a small jar with fresh flowers, suggesting that the room’s owner had a certain level of taste.
This was Chen Lan and Chen Jue’s bedroom.
Looking at the household’s allocation, it was evident that Chen Ye’s family was living quite well. In many rural homes, parents, sons, and daughters all slept on one large heated brick bed.
Chen Ming’s family could sleep separately because they were fewer in number. In Chen Ye’s family, there were a total of nine people across three generations. Grandma lived in the main room, and Chen Shi’s family also stayed there when they visited. Chen Ye and his wife, along with their two daughters, lived in the east wing, while Chen Gui and his wife, with their two younger children, lived in the west wing.
As soon as Chen Feng and Chen Dabao entered, Chen Jue pushed Chen Dabao and scolded, “You wild thing, who allowed you to follow here?”
Chen Dabao was a bit afraid of Chen Jue and shrank his neck in fear. However, he was also worried about his mother, so he plucked up his courage and puffed out his little chest, saying, “My grandpa asked me to stay with my mom.”
Chen Jue sneered, “Mom, mom, mom, it sounds so sweet. She’s just a daughter who hasn’t found a husband yet. Where did that son come from?”
As Chen Jue spoke to Dabao this way, Chen Feng became genuinely angry. She thought, (“What a malicious and spiteful girl. When I get better, I will definitely deal with her properly.”)
Perhaps thinking that she shouldn’t make a big issue out of a small matter, Chen Jue didn’t pay further attention to Chen Dabao, but instead turned around and poured a bowl of water. Handing it to Chen Feng, she said, “This is sweet water, sweeter than the licorice candy. Drink some to quench your thirst, sister A’Feng.”
The water was steaming hot, and even Chen Jue didn’t dare to hold the bowl, choosing instead to support it at the base. Chen Dabao also noticed the manipulation and tugged at Chen Feng’s hand. Chen Feng pinched his little hand to reassure him.
She shook her head to indicate that she didn’t want to drink it and then sat on the heated brick bed.
Chen Jue shrieked, “That’s my bed. You dirty fool, get up.”
Placing the tea bowl on the table, she intended to pull Chen Feng up but hesitated due to her being dirty. She then told Chen Dahua, “Go, kick her and get her up.”
Chen Dahua shook his head and said, “I dare not hit her again. Last time, I listened to you aunt and hit her and Dabao, and my dad punished me severely. He said if I hit them again, he wouldn’t feed me. We have a lot of meat today, it would be a pity to miss out on it.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Jue was about to reach out to pinch Chen Feng, but then suddenly thought of something else. She changed her tone to a smile and took out a piece of pine nut candy from another teacup, saying, “This is pine nut candy my dad bought in the county town. It’s really sweet. Dahua and Daya wanted some, but I didn’t want to give them any.”
The bottom of the pine nut candy was bright red, clearly indicating that it was laced with chili powder.
Chen Feng felt immense disdain for this indulged and malicious girl.
She disregarded Chen Dabao’s plea of “don’t,” and instead of putting the candy in her own mouth, she placed it in Chen Dahua’s mouth, who was eagerly drooling.
Chen Dahua, in his eagerness for the pine nut candy, paid no mind to Chen Feng’s state of cleanliness. He opened his mouth to put the candy in but immediately spat it out, then began to wail loudly, with saliva and mucus flowing out together.
Silently, Chen Feng apologized to Dahua in her heart. The candy was just spicy, unlike the bowl of hot water that could scald someone.
Seeing that she hadn’t harmed Chen Feng, but instead had caused trouble for Chen Dahua, Chen Jue angrily shoved Chen Feng and scolded, “You fool, I gave it to you, why did you give it to Dahua?”
Dahua’s crying attracted the attention of others. Mrs. Hu was the first to rush in, picking up and asking Chen Dahua, “Tell grandma, who hurt you?”
Dahua’s mouth was too spicy to speak, so he just pointed at Chen Feng, crying loudly.