Chapter 17: Fist Hits Cotton

Zhao Dehua wiped the water off her face, unable to believe what she had just heard coming from Zhang Xiulian’s mouth.

Clearly, she was the victim, so how could Zhang Xiulian make it sound like it was all her fault?

Even if it was her fault, she still had to forgive because the other party was a “poor soul.”

What kind of robber’s logic is that?

Is this the same brainless, clingy sister-in-law her brother used to have?

She felt as if her punches were hitting cotton — utterly powerless.

“Big sister, you look really good in that gray outfit. It’s my gift to you,” Zhang Xiulian said with a smile, looking at Zhao Dehua.

“That’s more like it!”

“The original price was 30 yuan, but since I tried it on, I’ll give you a 10% discount. Just 27 yuan. Don’t forget to pay me later.

I trust someone as straightforward as you wouldn’t dare to stiff me.”

In the past, if Zhao Dehua liked something, a mere look was enough for Zhang Xiulian to bow politely and hand it over.

In her logic, by flattering the mother-in-law and the elder sister-in-law, her man would treat her well.

For two or three decades, she had been doing just that.

But what was the result?

Given a second chance at life, she wasn’t about to be a fool again.

Everyone’s only living once—why should she always yield?

Zhao Dehua’s face turned dark as iron, her whole body trembling uncontrollably. Through clenched teeth she stammered: “Keep your heart in your belly, I won’t owe you a single cent.”

At that moment, Liu Dani hurried out of the room carrying a piece of cotton cloth.

She wrapped it around her daughter while pushing her back inside. “Dehua, come inside quickly to warm up.

Lili, quickly boil some water so your eldest aunt can wipe her body. Catching a cold would be troublesome.”

Zhang Xiulian grabbed her daughter and looked at her mother-in-law with confusion and coldness. “Mom, you’re really confused.

Didn’t you say before that if the whole body is wet and cold, you must never take a hot bath?

You have to wash with cold water, or else the hot water shocking a cold body could cause serious illness.”

In her previous life, many times Zhang Xiulian had been drenched by rain while working in the fields.

When she came home, trembling, she begged her mother-in-law to boil hot water so she could wipe her body.

But Liu Dani always responded coldly with the same old excuse.

She never expected that the cold arrows she shot years ago would one day come back to haunt her own child this way.

Liu Dani glanced at Zhang Xiulian, then at her son. Seeing he had no reaction, she silently helped Zhao Dehua back to the east room.

Zhao Debao wanted to speak up for his mother and sister, but Zhang Xiulian’s words were reasonable, and he couldn’t argue.

If he denied this practice, it would mean his mother had been abusing her daughter-in-law.

If he admitted it, then the cold bath would bring no good to his sister either.

The best choice was to keep quiet.

Zhao Lili watched this drama and couldn’t help but applaud her mother in her heart.

The eldest aunt had always relied on her position as the oldest in the family to bully her mother.

Her mother had tolerated it for a long time, but the eldest aunt’s attitude grew increasingly arrogant.

Today, her mother suddenly exploded, and with a cold gaze, the eldest aunt’s arrogance was somewhat curbed.

It seemed you can’t always be a doormat.

“Let’s go, Lili. Let’s cook and treat your eldest aunt well.”

Zhang Xiulian called to her daughter, brushing her messy hair behind her ear.

Zhao Lili followed her into the kitchen.

“Mom, since eldest aunt is here, what should we cook today? Should I buy some meat?”

Zhang Xiulian didn’t answer her daughter and began rummaging through the kitchen.

In the cupboards and jars—She rummaged through everything.

“Aha, found it!”

Zhang Xiulian showed a pleased expression as she pulled out from the big jar a large piece of pork belly with a mix of fat and lean meat, and a plump, already prepared chicken.

The meat looked to weigh at least 5 to 6 jin (about 2.5 to 3 kg), and the chicken probably 3 to 4 jin (about 1.5 to 2 kg).

“Mom, can you do magic? You just pull out meat like that?”

“Silly girl, this isn’t magic. Your eldest aunt brought it.”

“I noticed the last few times that whenever your eldest aunt visited, your grandma and your brothers would lose their appetite for a while.”

“Later I realized that every time your eldest aunt came, she would buy meat and chicken, but your grandma would hide them away.”

“We not only spent money buying meat and vegetables to entertain your aunt, but all the delicious food was secretly hidden by her.”

“When we daughters weren’t home, your grandma would render the pork belly into lard and make wind-dried chicken, secretly feeding your dad and brothers.”

Zhao Lili: ??????

If her mother hadn’t said it herself, she couldn’t imagine her grandma having this side to her.

“Today, we’re going to really improve our life. Lili, go start the fire; I’ll chop the meat.”

Zhang Xiulian put on an apron, took out a whetstone, and sharpened the knife with swift strokes. In a short while, the blade was razor-sharp.

The sharpened knife was so sharp that cutting through meat and bones was no problem.

Zhang Xiulian held the cleaver and sliced the pork belly up and down a few times, cutting the meat neatly and evenly.

She then took the chicken and with a few chops at key joints, the whole chicken was cut without any bone fragments.

She prepared a plate with Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon bark, fresh ginger, white sugar, and chopped green onions.

Carrying the prepared ingredients, Zhang Xiulian went outside to the mud stove.

By now, Zhao Lili had already placed the pot on the stove.

Seeing her mother come out, she pulled out a match, struck it with a fwoosh and lit some straw to start the fire, then pushed her hands into the stove to feed the flames.

She hurriedly stuffed in some dry twigs, and the flames grew higher and stronger.

Hot pot, cold oil — Zhang Xiulian put in ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, and cinnamon bark one after another, frying them until fragrant before adding the pork belly to sauté.

The pork belly sizzled loudly in the hot pot, countless tiny oil droplets enthusiastically jumping in the pan.

A strong aroma wafted through the small courtyard, making the neighbor’s big dog bark loudly, drawn by the smell.

“Mom, are we making braised pork today?” Zhao Lili’s face glowed red in the firelight.

“No, today we’re having pork belly stewed with chicken, with a ring of corn tortillas stuck around the edge of the pot.”

“The bottoms of the tortillas will be crispy, the tops soft — dipped into the stew, the taste will be absolutely amazing.”

Zhang Xiulian’s mouth watered just thinking about it.

“Well, today really feels like New Year — chicken and pork belly!”

“Lili, I’ll tend the fire. You go prepare some cornmeal; we’ll stick the tortillas on later,” Zhang Xiulian patted her daughter’s shoulder.

Zhao Lili added some more firewood, dusted off the ashes on her clothes, and turned back into the kitchen.

Zhang Xiulian held the pot lid in one hand and a spatula in the other, stirring the contents vigorously.

The aroma became even richer.

Before covering the pot, she added a handful of soaked dried beans and another ingredient.

She covered the pot and continued cooking.

Half an hour later, Zhang Xiulian started sticking the tortillas.

She took a small piece of corn dough, flattened it into a thin circle, and slapped it onto the edge of the pot.

The iron pot was very hot now, and the dough stuck firmly.

Soon, all the tortillas were in place.

“Mom, with your cooking skills, you could be a chef at a restaurant. Everyone will definitely praise you later.”

Zhang Xiulian wiped some dough off her daughter’s face and smiled, “Yeah, someone’s definitely going to be moved to tears by the aroma.”