Chapter 18: If You Don’t Behave, I’ll Lock You in the Outhouse

“Yes… yes, it was Commander Gu who said it.” Li Xiuxiu said softly.

“No way! I don’t agree!” Li Hongying was about to explode from anger.

Over the past year, she had been relying on cooking and cleaning for Gu Ye’s household to reap quite a few benefits. Besides the twenty-five yuan monthly salary Gu Ye gave her, she also took a few handfuls of rice or flour home each day. Though it didn’t seem like much, it accumulated over time—by the end of the month, it would add up to almost half a sack.

And this half sack of rice and flour didn’t cost her a cent or require any grain tickets. It was essentially free gain.

On top of that, Gu Ye even gave her money every day to buy groceries and deliver them. Didn’t that mean she got to decide what vegetables to buy? And the leftover money always went straight into her pouch.

Anyway, Jiang Yue was lazy and stupid. As long as the food was made, she would eat it without asking questions about what had been bought.

Li Hongying had been living comfortably thanks to this extra income. Now suddenly she was told that her job was gone—how could she accept that?

“It must be that little bitch Jiang Yue gossiping in front of Commander Gu! Otherwise, why would Commander Gu suddenly stop me from cooking and cleaning?!” The more Li Hongying thought about it, the angrier she became. Her eyes swept around and landed on Ningning, who was trailing behind Li Xiuxiu’s legs. She immediately reached out and yanked Ningning over.

“Ningning, tell Auntie—did Jiang Yue say something to your Dad?” Li Hongying had a fierce expression and spoke harshly: “Was it Jiang Yue who didn’t want me to go over there anymore?”

Ningning was so frightened she kept backing away, her little face pale with fear.

“Speak!” Li Hongying grabbed Ningning’s thin shoulders. When Ningning stayed silent, she started shaking her forcefully.

Ningning burst into tears with a loud wail.

“Jie! Ningning is still a child, don’t get mad at her!” Li Xiuxiu hurried over to pull Ningning back.

“You damn girl! And you still dare protect that little fool! Then ask her about last night!” Li Hongying didn’t dare really hurt Ningning, so she vented her anger on Li Xiuxiu instead, pinching her arm hard before finally calming down a bit.

Li Xiuxiu endured the pain and gently pulled Ningning aside to comfort her. “Don’t cry, Ningning. Auntie Xiuxiu is just going to ask you, what did your family eat last night?”

Ningning sobbed as she replied: “We ate French fries.”

“French fries? What the hell is that?” Li Hongying had never even heard of such a thing.

“Did your Dad make them for you?” Li Xiuxiu still didn’t know what French fries were—she only cared about whether Gu Ye had cooked.

Li Xiuxiu had been stewing in anger all night. Jiang Yue was truly outrageous, actually letting the man in the house cook for her. In their village, a lazy woman like that would’ve been beaten three times a day by her man!

And Gu Ye wasn’t just any man—he was a high-ranking officer. Yet he cooked and even washed dishes? Absolutely absurd!

Even her own brother-in-law, who wasn’t an officer, would never step foot in the kitchen.

“Mom made them!” Ningning was still sobbing. The spot where Li Hongying had grabbed her hurt badly, but she didn’t dare say anything.

“Jiang Yue? You’re saying Jiang Yue cooked?” Li Hongying sneered, the first to not believe it. “That lazy thing? Cooking? Ha! That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard!”

“You little fool, did Jiang Yue tell you to say that?”

Ningning blinked, unsure how to answer.

Li Hongying naturally assumed the answer was yes. Then she noticed Ningning’s braids looked different today. “Oh? Ningning, who did your braids today? They’re so pretty!”

The happiest thing for Ningning today was her mom braiding her hair so nicely. She touched her head and whispered: “Mom did.”

The moment Li Hongying heard that, her temper flared. “‘Mom did,’ ‘Mom cooked’—you little fool, did Jiang Yue put some kind of spell on you? Did you forget how she used to beat you? If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable!”

Ningning shrank back.

The more Li Hongying looked at her, the more annoyed she felt. She glanced toward the courtyard where Er Niu and San Niu were playing with mud and gave them a signal. Er Niu and San Niu rushed over and yanked on Ningning’s hair.

“You little fool, what kind of braid is this? So ugly! Let me take a look!” Er Niu grabbed Ningning tightly.

Ningning tried to shield her head, but Er Niu and San Niu were as strong as calves. She didn’t stand a chance. In no time, her braids were yanked loose and her hair was smeared with mud.

“Don’t cry! If you cry, we’ll lock you in the outhouse!” Er Niu saw Ningning about to cry and immediately grabbed her braid, threatening her.

Ningning trembled in fear and looked to Li Xiuxiu for help. She didn’t want to be locked in the outhouse.

“Ningning, your brother Er Niu is just playing with you!” Li Hongying looked at Ningning’s hair, now a mess, and her expression of holding back tears, and suddenly felt much better.

“If you don’t want to be locked in the outhouse, then when you get home, you better not tell your Dad anything about what we said just now! Understand?”

Ningning nodded fearfully. She knew that if she didn’t agree, Er Niu and San Niu would really lock her in the outhouse. That place was filthy and dark, filled with flies and maggots—she didn’t want to be anywhere near it.

“Sister, isn’t it a bit too much to treat Ningning like this?” Li Xiuxiu felt that Li Hongying had gone too far, but she didn’t dare speak out too directly.

“What’s wrong with it?” Li Hongying glanced coldly at the small, skinny Ningning, curled her lips, and snorted: “Commander Gu is a grown man. He still expects us to help him take care of his kid? So what if he finds out? Kids roughhousing is totally normal! Besides, that little fool isn’t even his real daughter. She’s bound to be treated differently.”

Li Xiuxiu wiped Ningning’s face with a handkerchief. Ningning’s big eyes flashed with fear when she heard Li Hongying say she wasn’t Gu Ye’s biological child.

When Jiang Yue arrived at the vegetable market, the sun was already fairly high in the sky. She had thought she was early—it was just after seven—but after walking around, she realized many stalls had already packed up.

It seemed that early to bed and early to rise was a way of life in this era. She’d have to adjust quickly, or she wouldn’t be able to buy any groceries.

The vegetables were all naturally grown with limited variety, but at least they were free of pesticides—green, healthy, and unpolluted.

Jiang Yue picked out two stalks of celtuce, bought some leaf lettuce, a few eggs, and when she saw broad beans at one stall, she weighed out a portion. One vendor had a pile of tomatoes, big and small, most of them green and with poor appearance. Jiang Yue didn’t mind and still bought two jin.

Markets in this era were all state-run. Most of the clerks acted arrogantly, barely acknowledging customers.

But Jiang Yue was pretty, smiled at everyone, and wore a dress made of Dacron fabric, which gave off an air of wealth and good background. The clerks were quite polite to her. A few side-product vendors even warmly invited her to try some samples.

Jiang Yue tasted a few pieces of pastry and found them too sweet—not really her thing. But thinking Ningning might like them, she bought a little of each, paying fifty cents and adding three taels of grain tickets.

Prices in this era were unbelievably low. Jiang Yue couldn’t stop herself from buying more, enjoying a shopping experience she hadn’t had in ages.

She originally planned to buy meat last, but by the time she got to the meat stall, she saw a long line. The clerk selling the meat was already calling out: “Today’s meat is sold out! Those at the back, stop lining up!”

Jiang Yue was stunned. Sold out already? She realized she would have to come much earlier tomorrow—and the first thing she’d need to buy was meat.

Since there was no meat, she figured she still needed some protein, so she bought a bass weighing a bit over three jin, planning to steam it for dinner.

After calculating her purchases, Jiang Yue realized she had spent less than five yuan. In her world, that couldn’t even buy a cup of milk tea.

Looking at the overflowing basket of vegetables, Jiang Yue felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Then came the problem—how was she supposed to carry such a heavy basket of groceries all the way home?