Chapter 23

“Mm… I was cutting wheat at first, but my little girl was fussing a lot. I thought I’d come look for some wild fruit for her…”

Li Shanhong’s eyes flickered as she forced an awkward smile, turning her face to the side. Her hands clenched tightly at the fabric of her pants, and she stammered, “I… I need to hurry back to work… Chunzhi, I’ll be going now…”

“Sister Hong, the nearby fruit was already picked clean by the village kids. It’s normal you didn’t find any. Give this to your little girl.”

Of course, Song Chunzhi knew Li Shanhong was making up an excuse, but she didn’t expose her. She thought of the little girl, only two years old, who followed Li Shanhong around every day for work, crawling around the field edges. It was truly pitiful. So she handed over the wild apple she had prepared to eat on the way.

“Chun… Chunzhi, thank you…”

Li Shanhong was stunned by the bright red wild apple. Seeing the warm smile in Song Chunzhi’s round apricot eyes, she quickly wiped her hands on her clothes and accepted it. Her tired, weathered face lit up with a sincere smile. Her daughter would definitely be happy to see it.

As Song Chunzhi watched Li Shanhong hurry down the mountain, she sighed helplessly. She was just another pitiful soul. As for what had happened in the mountains, she decided to act like she hadn’t seen anything. In her previous life, when she had been beaten to death by the scoundrel, Li Shanhong had even gone looking for Doctor Ye to save her, though she had been locked up and failed.

But that act of kindness, Song Chunzhi remembered clearly.

Back at home, she sorted out the herbs and examined the rabbit and wild pheasant. The rabbit was quite large, probably six or seven jin. The pheasant was smaller, but still about three jin. Though her family kept three hens, they were all for laying eggs and never for eating. She had craved meat for a long time.

Looking at the rabbit and pheasant, Song Chunzhi grew a little anxious. It was summer, and the meat wouldn’t keep. She couldn’t finish it all alone. Even if she stored it in a well, it would only last two days at most before spoiling.

Suddenly, a name popped into her mind.

Wang Shaofeng. His family had once been landlords and were now classified as part of the “black five categories.” They lived in the northwest corner of the housing compound. There was an elderly grandmother at home, along with a younger brother and sister. Wang Shaofeng was bold and secretly did small business in the black market. During turbulent times, the older generation had even hidden away some wealth.

Back when Song Chunzhi was a ghost in her previous life, she had often seen Wang Shaofeng sneaking out to buy meat. Because they lived in a remote area, the villagers never noticed and thought their family was struggling. But it was all just a show for outsiders.

Having decided to sell the extra meat to Wang Shaofeng, Song Chunzhi packed up and quietly made her way to the earthen wall of his house while everyone was still at work. She saw Wang Shaofeng’s younger sister, Wang Shaoyun, playing hopscotch in the courtyard and was about to call out to her when a voice sounded behind her.

“What are you doing here?”

Startled, Song Chunzhi quickly turned around and saw Wang Shaofeng standing there with a frown, staring at her with suspicion. She still wanted to do business with him and couldn’t afford to leave a bad impression, so she hurried to explain.

“You misunderstood. I wasn’t doing anything.”

Wang Shaofeng’s eyes held a wary look. The villagers treated his family poorly these days. Even his younger siblings were bullied when they went out to play. He had just returned from outside when he saw Song Chunzhi sneaking around by his wall and couldn’t help but suspect her motives.

“Wang… Brother Wang, I have something to discuss with you.”

Song Chunzhi hesitated, but still called him “Brother,” even though he was only a year older. Older was still older, after all. Besides, she was hoping he would buy her meat, so she needed to speak sweetly. Her round eyes sparkled with a smile as she said, “Brother Wang, can we talk inside?”

“What is it? Let’s talk over there.”

Seeing that Song Chunzhi meant no harm, Wang Shaofeng lowered his guard and pointed to a narrow alley nearby. His family was the only one living in that lane. The rest were crumbling earthen walls, long abandoned. No one came by.

Naturally, Song Chunzhi didn’t refuse. She followed him into the alley, her small face bright with a smile. She said, “Brother Wang, do you want some rabbit meat? It’s very cheap.”

“Rabbit?”

Wang Shaofeng was taken aback. He glanced at her hopeful expression, hesitated for a moment, then refused. “Chunzhi, you’ve got the wrong person. My family is so poor we can barely afford food. Why would we buy rabbit meat? Besides, selling rabbit meat is illegal speculation.”

“Brother Wang, I came to you for a reason. As long as you don’t say anything, and I don’t say anything, no one will ever know. Don’t you trust my character?”

Understanding his concern, Song Chunzhi spoke sincerely. Then she reached into the bamboo basket and pulled out the rabbit to show him. Selling something naturally required a good display, otherwise, how could he be tempted?

“So fat?”

Wang Shaofeng trusted Song Chunzhi’s character. At least, he thought he did. But the girl standing before him didn’t match what people in the village said at all. Everyone claimed she was honest and simple, yet nothing about her seemed to fit that image. Glancing at the fat rabbit in her hand, he couldn’t help but sigh.

Recently, the wheat harvest had everyone working hard. Wang Shaofeng was exhausted from laboring all day and hadn’t gone out for several days. His stomach had long been empty of anything rich or oily. Looking at that plump rabbit, he subconsciously swallowed and asked in a low voice, “This rabbit is so big… how much are you asking? I can’t take all of it.”

“It’s fine if you can’t. I’ll just take the rest home to eat.”

The moment Chunzhi heard his question, she knew he was tempted. Her delicate face lit up with a wider smile as she looked at him cheerfully. “As for the price, I’ll let you decide, Brother Wang. I trust you won’t cheat me.”

“Heh…”

Wang Shaofeng rolled his eyes. He didn’t believe her sweet talk for a second. She probably just didn’t know how to price things yet. His gaze briefly landed on her smiling, bright eyes, then awkwardly shifted away. Looking down at the rabbit, he said, “This rabbit is really fat. I’ll give you the same price as pork, one yuan per jin. How’s that?”

“Deal.”

Chunzhi agreed readily. One yuan per jin was a great price, especially for wild rabbit. Even though it was meat, it wasn’t as valuable as pork. Clearly, Wang Shaofeng was being fair. The thought made her voice lighter with satisfaction. “Brother Wang, you know how to skin a rabbit, right? I’ll let you keep a bit more meat if you handle the butchering.”

“No problem.”

Wang Shaofeng glanced at her. So, this girl didn’t even know how to kill a rabbit? Still the timid type, he thought with a smile. He reached over, grabbed the rabbit, and turned to head back inside.

Chunzhi followed closely behind, not forgetting her bamboo basket by her feet. There was still a wild pheasant in it; she couldn’t afford to leave it behind. Once inside Wang’s home, she pulled out a red wild peach from the basket and handed it to Wang Shaoyun, Shaofeng’s younger sister.

“Sister Chunzhi…”

Shaoyun looked longingly at the peach but still turned toward her brother. Only after seeing him nod did she accept it, a sweet smile blooming on her face. “Thank you, sister.”

“Don’t worry about the butchering, I won’t take a cut for that. It’s five and a half jin without the skin. I’ll take three jin and pay you three yuan and thirty cents,” Wang Shaofeng said, having swiftly cleaned and weighed the meat in the kitchen.

Earlier, when he saw Chunzhi give Shaoyun the peach, he’d been surprised. Big red peaches like that were rare in the mountains. Looking at the rabbit in his hands, he grew even more convinced that Song Chunzhi wasn’t at all the weak and helpless girl the villagers claimed her to be.

“Thank you, Brother Wang, you’ve been a huge help. You’re really skilled at butchering rabbits,” Chunzhi said, amazed by how quickly and cleanly he worked. Her round apricot eyes stared at his hands in admiration. It was her first time seeing someone clean a rabbit like that. Not even a trace of meat clung to the skin. She couldn’t help but praise him.

“I’ll chop your half into pieces. You can cook it right away when you get home.”

Pleased by her praise, Wang Shaofeng’s expression softened. He continued chopping her portion of the rabbit, wrapped it neatly in a large lotus leaf, and handed it to her. Then he noticed the bruises on her arm and said, “If your arm’s hurt, just rest at home. Stop going up the mountain all the time. If something happens, no one’s going to look after you.”

“Thanks, Brother Wang.”

Chunzhi was surprised by how thoughtful he was and quickly thanked him, her smile growing even brighter. She had worried he might try to take advantage of her during their deal, but it turned out he was quite reliable. Then she gently revealed the pheasant from her basket and asked cautiously, “Brother Wang, would you like a pheasant too? It’s very fresh.”

“Chunzhi, you really are lucky… getting all this from the mountain?” Wang Shaofeng gave the bird a quick look, then turned his gaze to her with a hint of disbelief. He often went up the mountain too, but his hauls were never this generous. And she was still injured, at that.

“Alright, I’ll take it. Looks like it’s about three jin. I’ll give you five yuan. Fair?” he asked after checking its weight.

“Of course. You’re always fair, Brother Wang. You’re a good man.”

Chunzhi didn’t even have to calculate. She knew he was offering a fair price. Wild pheasants, though meat, weren’t as popular on the black market as pork. Most people preferred fatty pork to satisfy cravings.

With five brand-new one-yuan bills in hand, Song Chunzhi left the Wang household in high spirits, humming a cheerful tune. But as she reached her own yard, her steps froze.

“Wuwuwu… Mom, I’m really tired. I don’t want to work anymore. I don’t want to cook. Song Chunzhi even hit me. I can’t sleep well at night. Her window’s broken and there are mosquitoes everywhere…”

Song Chunhua was sobbing uncontrollably in the courtyard, clinging to Zhao Wanmiao, who had just returned home. She poured out all her complaints, completely unaware that Zhao Wanmiao looked hollow and worn out, as if she had aged ten years in just a few days.

“No one’s dead in this family. What are you crying for, Chunhua? Mourning the living?”

Chunzhi scoffed as she stepped into the courtyard. She looked at her sister mockingly. “You’ve only worked for a few days and you’re crying like this? When I was your age, I worked harder than a mule and didn’t shed a tear.”

“Chun… Chunzhi…”

Zhao Wanmiao shuddered when she heard her daughter’s voice. She turned her head slowly, her face pale and her body trembling. These past few days had been hell: waking up before dawn to work, attending classes at night, and being constantly scolded. She was starting to believe there was something truly off about Song Chunzhi. Her eyes narrowed, flashing with something dark and vengeful.