Chapter 33

The meat ordered from Butcher Zhang doesn’t weigh fifteen pounds!

As soon as Wang Chun’er said this, it was overheard by Grandma Wang.

“Not up to weight?” Grandma Wang’s face darkened. “Even to me, Butcher Zhang shortchanged the weight? Chun’er, go get the scale.”

“Yes,” Chun’er answered.

In farming households, almost every family has a scale. Wang Chun’er went to fetch it as Madam Zhang became as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, wringing her hands and saying, “This Chun’er girl is making a fuss. Mother, Butcher Zhang has been in this town for years. How could he possibly shortchange his weight? Chun’er must’ve made a mistake.”

Her words were hasty, making Wang Yuan’er even more certain there was an issue with the meat, one that couldn’t be separated from Madam Zhang.

“Grandmother, Second Aunt is right. Though Butcher Zhang is a bit rough around the edges, he never shortchanges weight. Since Chun’er brought it up, we should weigh it for clarity. After all, we’re all neighbors—we see each other regularly. Let’s not wrong anyone unjustly,” said Wang Yuan’er with a smile.

“You’re right, Yuan girl,” Grandma Wang agreed with her remark.

Madam Zhang gave her a hateful glare, feeling helpless.

Soon, Chun’er came back with the scale, which Grandma Wang personally took. Meanwhile, Wang Qing’er promptly brought over a bamboo basket and transferred the meat from the basin into the basket.

Seeing this, Madam Zhang quietly moved toward the courtyard gate.

“Second Aunt, where are you going?” Wang Yuan’er asked affectionately, taking her arm. “The meat hasn’t been weighed yet!”

“I… I’m going to the restroom,” Madam Zhang replied awkwardly, cursing Wang Yuan’er under her breath.

Grandma Wang focused solely on adjusting the weights on the scale. When the correct weight was shown, her face turned dark.

It was short by a full five pounds of meat!

“Wow, Second Sister, you’re amazing! The meat really isn’t enough!” Wang Qing’er gave Wang Chun’er a thumbs-up.

Wang Chun’er blushed and shyly replied, “In past years, fifteen catties of meat would always yield twenty evenly cut strips. This year, there aren’t even fifteen.”

Every year, she helped her family prepare and dry cured meat, so she naturally knew how much dried meat could be made from fifteen pounds of raw meat. This year’s count didn’t match last year’s, so there was clearly something wrong.

Grandma Wang threw down the scale in anger and called out to Wang Qing’er, her face full of indignation: “Bring the meat. I’m going to confront Butcher Zhang. How dare a fellow villager shortchange us by a whole five pounds? Does he think the Wang family has no one to stand up for them?”

Wang Qing’er, known for her feisty personality and enthusiasm for drama and gossip, immediately picked up the bamboo basket of meat and eagerly followed Grandma Wang out.

“Grandmother, wait!” Wang Yuan’er called out to her. Family squabbles were one thing, but making a scene at Butcher Zhang’s place would truly be an embarrassment for the family.

“In all the years we’ve dealt with Butcher Zhang, he’s never shortchanged us. Now, it’s suddenly five pounds short. Grandmother, there must be more to this,” Wang Yuan’er said calmly, her gaze drifting toward Madam Zhang.

Every year, the Wang family ordered meat from Butcher Zhang and had never encountered this kind of problem. Sometimes they even got a little extra as a gesture of gratitude for Wang Da saving Butcher Zhang’s youngest son from drowning. So, she was sure the meat was delivered in full. The question was—why was it five pounds short now? The answer had to lie with Madam Zhang.

It was Madam Zhang who had collected the meat. If there was no issue with Butcher Zhang, then the problem must be with her. Judging by her now pale and ashen face, Wang Yuan’er was one hundred percent sure that Madam Zhang had taken the meat for herself.

Chapter 34

When Wang Yuan’er casually brought it up, Grandma Wang naturally recalled that the Zhang family owed a huge favor to the Wang family in the past. Over the years, the meat from Butcher Zhang had always been up to weight, sometimes even slightly over. It had never been underweight.

If it wasn’t underweight, where did the missing meat go—did it fly away?

Grandma Wang thought about Madam Zhang’s unusual behavior today and glanced over sharply. Seeing Madam Zhang avoiding eye contact, what was there not to understand?

As a daughter-in-law, Madam Zhang wasn’t malicious at heart, but she was selfish and cared only for her small family, disregarding the larger household. Moreover, she was especially partial to her maiden family, always taking good things back to them. Could it be that the five pounds of meat were taken back to her maiden family?

Grandma Wang’s face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

To be fair, Madam Zhang’s maiden family was not worse off than the Wang family. Her eldest sister-in-law, Madam Zhou, worked as a respected governess in the Tang household in town, earning generous rewards. The Zhang family lived comfortably. They weren’t so poor that they constantly needed to beg favors, yet Madam Zhang still acted this way, which was simply outrageous!

“You, come with me.” Grandma Wang, still somewhat mindful of Madam Zhang’s dignity, called her in a stern voice.

Madam Zhang opened her mouth but dared not refuse. If this issue were brought to Butcher Zhang for confrontation, it would truly be humiliating.

As soon as the door to the main hall closed, Wang Qing’er put down the meat with a sly grin and quietly crouched by the window.

“Qing’er.” Chun’er made a motion to pull her away, but Wang Yuan’er waved her hand. She also wanted to know where exactly the missing meat had gone.

Inside the room, Grandma Wang berated Madam Zhang fiercely, asking if she intended to move the entire Wang family into the Zhang household to feel at ease.

“You married into the Wang family; you are one of us now. Your son carries the Wang family name. In the future, it will be a son of the Wang family who looks after you in your old age, not someone from the Zhang family. With the way you keep moving things, are you planning to have the Zhang family support you in the future?” Grandma Wang glared at Madam Zhang.

Madam Zhang lowered her head in silence. Heaven knows she was suffering but couldn’t speak of it. The meat hadn’t been taken to her maiden family at all, but compared to revealing where it really went, she preferred letting Grandma Wang assume it had gone to her maiden family.

“Mother, my mother ordered meat late this year, and a bunch of little ones have been craving meat, so I just…” Madam Zhang decided to go along with the assumption.

Grandma Wang was about to say something when the door to the main room suddenly opened. Grandpa Wang and Wang Er entered, their faces grim.

“It’s your wife; you should keep her in check,” Grandpa Wang said to Wang Er, giving Madam Zhang a disapproving look.

Grandma Wang was puzzled and was about to ask for an explanation when Wang Er struck Madam Zhang on the shoulder with his palm.

“You foolish woman! I’ve told you so many times to stay away from that gambling den, but you wouldn’t listen. When you lose money, what could you use to pay? Taking some meat to settle your gambling debt? How could you come up with such a thing? You’ve ruined my reputation!” Wang Er raged, his words firing off rapidly.

Madam Zhang turned pale. It was over—her secret was out!

Grandma Wang, however, was completely bewildered. Gambling debts? Meat?

“Wang Er, what are you talking about?” she asked.

Wang Er opened his mouth but didn’t dare explain. His mother despised gambling more than anything.

“Wang Er’s wife was gambling at the den and lost to the mistress of the coffin shop. She didn’t have any money to pay and gave the five pounds of meat as repayment for the debt. That woman’s family also has pigs; they couldn’t possibly eat all that meat, so they took it to Butcher Zhang and traded it for money. Now the whole town knows about it. The Wang family’s reputation is completely ruined!” Grandpa Wang explained, taking a puff from his pipe with a dark expression.

Upon hearing this, Grandma Wang was so furious steam seemed to rise from her head. She grabbed the nearest basket of sewing supplies and threw it at Madam Zhang. “You disgraceful, wasteful wretch! Get out! Go back to the Zhang family!”