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Aunt Chen, being a bit tougher, managed to hold herself together and said to Old Zhang’s daughter-in-law, “What’s there to be afraid of? This tree shouldn’t have been planted here in the first place. Look around—short houses everywhere, and only this one tall tree. Of course it’s going to attract lightning.”
“Still, Aunt Chen, better to be cautious,” Old Zhang’s daughter-in-law replied, her body still trembling.
Aunt Chen scoffed dismissively. “Afraid of what? I don’t believe in any of this nonsense about spirits and divine punishment!”
Old Zhang’s daughter-in-law, however, was pale with fear. While Aunt Chen’s reasoning made sense, she didn’t want to stay any longer. Summoning the little strength left in her legs, she quickly got up and left.
Left alone, Aunt Chen glared fiercely at the now-charred, barren tree. With a stomp of her foot, she turned and headed back into the house.
Wan Chunmei was inside watching and nearly burst out laughing. She picked up little Qiyue, walked to the doorway, and deliberately shouted, “Aunt Chen, struck by lightning?”
Aunt Chen’s face turned even darker. She stopped in her tracks and turned back to say, “What do you mean, struck by lightning? Is that how you talk? It was just the tree attracting the lightning!”
“Yes, yes, of course!” Wan Chunmei replied with a squinty-eyed smile.
Just then, Old Tan came back, carrying a fish that weighed at least five pounds. He grinned and said, “Wife, wife! We’ve got fish to eat again!”
Aunt Chen’s eyes widened as she stared. She had never seen such a big fish before and couldn’t help but exclaim, “You Tan family folks! That’s one massive fish. Where did you get it?!”
Old Tan hoisted the fish up and laughed heartily. “Got lucky today! Fished it out of the pond in our scrap field!”
Aunt Chen was stunned, her eyes sparkling. “There are fish in that stinky ditch?”
Old Tan, without much enthusiasm, replied, “There are, but not many. Probably some wild fish that swam in from somewhere.”
Hearing this, Aunt Chen’s eyes darted, and she quietly took note.
Wan Chunmei quickly pulled Old Tan back into the house. “Old man, hurry up and clean that fish. Make some fish soup for us.”
“Alright, alright,” Old Tan said with a cheerful grin, carrying the fish inside.
Wan Chunmei followed behind him.
Once they were inside, Wan Chunmei shut the door and said to Old Tan, “Old man, if you ever catch another fish this big, sneak it back in a basket so no one else sees it.”
Old Tan didn’t quite understand. “Why’s that?”
Wan Chunmei replied, “We used to be so poor that the whole village saw us as the bottom of the heap. They felt good about themselves when they saw us struggling. Now, if we suddenly start doing well, they might feel uncomfortable. If we can keep a low profile, we should.”
Old Tan nodded. “Alright, I’ll do as you say.”
Although Wan Chunmei said this, there were still a few good folks in Fengping Village, like the Xu family on their left-hand side.
The Xu family, three generations of honest farmers, lived off the land. While not wealthy, they managed to scrape by and had always been kind to the Tan family.
More than once, when the Tan family ran out of rice, they borrowed some from the Xu family, and some of it still hadn’t been repaid to this day.
Wan Chunmei instructed Old Tan, “Old man, didn’t you buy some rice when you went to town the other day? Set aside a portion, and when the eldest is back, have them take it over to Sister Xu’s family. While we’re at it, cut a piece of this fish and send it over too.”
Old Tan always listened to his wife’s words without question. He nodded eagerly with a smile and said, “Got it. Once I’ve cleaned the fish, I’ll take it over.”
Wan Chunmei, still in her postpartum recovery, couldn’t sit for long. Holding the baby, she lay back down on the bed.
In a village like Fengping, where people lived off the land and relied on the weather, postpartum recovery wasn’t a luxury most women could afford. Most of the women there were back working in the fields by the third day after giving birth. But Old Tan cherished his wife deeply.
No matter how poor they were, he wouldn’t let his wife skip her postpartum care. Because of this, even after giving birth to several children, Wan Chunmei’s health remained in good shape.
As noon approached, Old Tan cleaned the fish, cooked the meal, and got everything ready, waiting for Tan Yiliang and the others to come back.
Tan Yiliang had taken a group of younger siblings to plant vegetable and medicinal seeds.
It was summer, so there weren’t many crops they could plant, but they’d likely be back before lunch.
Next door, Aunt Chen was in her house, practically drooling over the aroma of the fish. While Fengping Village had plenty of water and fish, most farming families sold their catch in the county market rather than keeping it for themselves.
Even though Aunt Chen’s family wasn’t lacking in food or clothing, they typically only ate fish during the New Year or festivals. So now, smelling the delicious aroma wafting from the Tan family, how could she not feel envious?
She lingered at her doorway, and when she spotted the Tan boys returning from the scrap field, she quietly slipped out through her back door.