Chapter 22: The Wife is Right

Song Jingyun scratched his ear. “But today, when you hit Jiang Chunhe and then didn’t admit it, won’t it make you seem…”

“Like not a good person?” Jiang Mixia glanced at Song Jingyun.

“Why should I be a good person? That’s really strange.”

Considering Song Jingyun’s understanding of this society, Jiang Mixia briefly explained, “He’s a bad person. If you deal with him as a good person, won’t you end up being taken advantage of?”

“Take today, for example. He tried to steal our rabbits. It serves him right to get a beating, but if he goes and complains after getting beaten, onlookers might see him as the victim. They might overlook the fact that he tried to steal our rabbits. Then, what’s to stop him from trying to steal our rabbits again next time?”

“Our village chief is decent, maintains fairness, and doesn’t show bias. But if we encounter someone more muddle-headed, they might feel that the person who got beaten was wronged. We have two rabbits, so we should give one away to make it fair.”

“In that case, it’s indeed a noble act. Would you act like a good person in this way?”

Song Jingyun shook his head vigorously.

There’s no way he would give away the rabbits. He hadn’t even tasted the one he caught yet, and he was expected to give it to someone else? Absolutely not!

“Wife is right,” Song Jingyun nodded confidently.

“Good, have more of the stewed rabbit meat tonight,” Jiang Mixia said, highly satisfied with Song Jingyun’s understanding, patting his shoulder.

Her husband was slender, not much flesh on his shoulders, making it feel uncomfortable to pat. She resolved to work hard and earn money to support him.

As the sun set, the family quickly had their meal. With the rabbits being plump, half a pot was filled with stewed rabbit meat, complemented by some potatoes, filling most of the pot.

Liu Shi scooped a bowl and sent it over to Jiang Chushi’s house. The rabbit was braised with a bit of dried chili they had sun-dried last autumn, creating a deliciously spicy flavor.

Braised rabbit meat, so delicious! Song Jingyun made a note of this dish in his mental recipe book and, once again, ate heartily.

After the meal, the family of four busied themselves with weaving bamboo baskets.

Meanwhile, things were bustling in Jiang Chunhe’s household. After kneeling for half a day, Jiang Chunhe’s knees were red and swollen, and his lower legs had gone numb. Zhang Shi and Wu Shi had to support him back home.

Seeing her son covered in injuries, especially with his bruised face, Zhang Shi was so distressed she stamped her foot, while Wu Shi couldn’t help but shed tears.

“Stop crying! He’s not dead, so why are you crying like this? Hurry, go get some medicine to apply!” Zhang Shi scolded, startling Wu Shi, who hurried off to find the medicine.

Jiang Chunhe frequently went hunting and into the mountains, so it was inevitable that he’d have occasional scrapes and bruises. They always kept some herbal medicine at home for such injuries. Wu Shi dampened some cotton with the medicine and began to apply it.

The pain was intense, and despite Wu Shi’s gentle touch, Jiang Chunhe couldn’t help but grimace and cry out in pain.

“You clumsy fool, why did you have to hit so hard? Useless as a foot, what else can you do?” Seeing her son in pain, Zhang Shi vented her frustration, taking the medicine and cotton from Wu Shi to apply it herself.

Wu Shi was accustomed to her mother-in-law’s scolding and didn’t dare to speak up. She quickly went to help Jiang Chunhe with water and food.

“That damned thing! Being made to kneel for so long, it’s like they don’t even consider me as their own child, and they don’t feel any pity!” Zhang Shi grumbled, frustrated.

 However, she also felt a bit exasperated, “For the sake of a rabbit, you went to such lengths and got yourself beaten like this?”

“Well, the rabbit wasn’t even caught, and I ended up in this state…” Jiang Chunhe responded.

“Mom, why don’t you believe me?” Jiang Chunhe grimaced, “It was that wretched Jiang Mixia who hit me, and I was the one who chased out the rabbit. She took advantage of it and then went to Uncle Zheng to complain!”

“This is really infuriating, oh!” Unable to control his emotions, Jiang Chunhe erupted into a tirade, but the pain on his face made him wince, and he felt like crying.

Naturally, Zhang Shi believed her son. His words only made her more furious, “That girl, she’s really getting out of hand, daring to bully her own cousin. I’ll deal with her!”

“Mom,” Jiang Chunhe tugged at Zhang Shi’s sleeve, “Uncle Zheng is clearly siding with their family. If we create a scene now, they might accuse us of causing trouble because we didn’t get the rabbit. It might lead to more punishment for us.”

He definitely didn’t want to kneel at the ancestral hall again. It was too unbearable!

“In that case…”

Zhang Shi’s eyes flickered as she said, “Don’t worry about this matter. I’ll find an opportunity to deal with the third household.”

They have no descendants, so I don’t know where they get the nerve to stir up trouble!

—

They ate rabbit meat for two consecutive days.

Song Jingyun felt extremely content and worked even more diligently than before.

Jiang Chushi helped out every day, and the bamboo strips he prepared were thin and of excellent quality.

Jiang Youcheng wove baskets alone, and despite his diligence, he felt he wasn’t fast enough. He thought of bringing someone from Jiang Mixia’s family to teach him.

He asked someone to come and train, so that when such a big business opportunity arose again, they could work faster.

Jiang Chushi was the first to decline. “This is delicate work, and I can’t do it.”

To wealthy individuals, basket weaving may not seem like a skill worthy of much attention, but for ordinary farmers, it was their livelihood.

With only one daughter in the third household, and Jiang Chushi being the nephew of the first household, it wasn’t appropriate for him to be involved.

Jiang Youcheng understood Jiang Chushi’s intentions and didn’t force him, so he called for Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun to learn instead.

Throughout the afternoon, Jiang Mixia went from being enthusiastic to despondent, and in the end, she hadn’t even finished weaving a single basket.

It was simply not up to standard!

Jiang Mixia found this quite surprising herself. While splitting the bamboo strips, she thought they were cooperative, but when it came to weaving the baskets, she felt as though the bamboo strips were inherently rebellious.

As a result, the baskets she made turned out misshapen and odd-looking, not meeting the desired standards.

Even Jiang Chushi couldn’t help but mutter to himself, “I thought Xia would pick this up quickly, given her dexterity, but I didn’t expect…”

She seemed so clumsy.

Jiang Mixia: “…”

Looking over, Song Jingyun had managed to weave three bamboo baskets in the course of the afternoon. Each one was exquisitely crafted and, when mixed in with those woven by Jiang Youcheng, there was no discernible difference to indicate that they were made by a beginner.

Furthermore, Song Jingyun’s basket weaving speed had noticeably increased, showing signs of keeping up with Jiang Youcheng’s pace.

“Not bad!” Jiang Youcheng felt a sense of accomplishment after finally teaching someone for the whole afternoon. He couldn’t help but smile.