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Aunt Chen, who had been sound asleep, jolted upright at the word “chicken.” Struggling to speak through her sore mouth, she croaked, “The chicken… is the chicken still here?”
Uncle Chen turned to look at her sharply. “Is this chicken your doing?”
Aunt Chen stared at the room full of chicken poop, nearly fainting from the overwhelming stench. Something wasn’t right. Wasn’t this hen supposed to be great at laying eggs? Why was it doing nothing but pooping non-stop?
While she was still in utter confusion, the hen suddenly flew over, its rear aiming straight at her face. With a loud biu, it flung a string of fresh chicken poop right onto her face.
Aunt Chen froze in place, the foul smell assaulting her nose. After a long moment of stunned silence, she couldn’t take it anymore. She leapt to her feet and grabbed the hen.
At that moment, Uncle Chen finally recognized the chicken. “Wait a second—this chicken… isn’t this the one from the Tan family next door? How did it end up in our house?”
Aunt Chen stayed silent, pretending she hadn’t heard anything.
Uncle Chen, who knew his wife all too well, was trembling with rage. “Did you steal it?”
Aunt Chen still didn’t answer.
Furious, Uncle Chen raised his hand and slapped her across the head, shouting, “I, Chen Shi, have lived an honest life my entire life. How did I end up marrying a thief like you? You’re ruining the honor of the Chen family, messing up the reputation passed down through generations!”
The slap left Aunt Chen dizzy, and she instantly became meek.
She was the type who only feared force and would bow her head when pushed.
Uncle Chen snatched the hen from her hands, ignoring the piles of chicken poop on the floor. He shoved the door open and stormed off toward the Tan family’s house.
Over at the Tan family’s house, Tan Sanyuan had discovered the footprints outside the wall and had already figured out that it was Aunt Chen who had stolen the hen. He was just about to tell Old Tan and Tan’s mother when, unexpectedly, Uncle Chen showed up.
Holding the hen, Uncle Chen had a look of shame on his face. “Little Tan, this chicken is from your family, right?”
Old Tan took one look at the hen and immediately recognized it. That distinctive look in its eyes was unmistakable. He nodded eagerly, saying, “Yes, yes, it’s definitely our chicken.”
With that, the dark cloud over his face lifted, and a smile spread across it.
Uncle Chen handed the chicken to him. “My wife… she’s completely out of control. She actually snuck into your yard in the middle of the night and stole your chicken. It’s really embarrassing!”
Old Tan was momentarily stunned. While he always knew Aunt Chen liked to gossip and was a bit petty, he never imagined she would actually go as far as stealing a chicken.
Although it was an unreasonable act, Old Tan didn’t want to lay the blame too heavily on Aunt Chen. After all, Uncle Chen was a decent man, and he didn’t want to cause him any further embarrassment.
“Forget it. Since the chicken is back, let’s just let it go,” said Old Tan with a wave of his hand.
Uncle Chen was startled, not expecting such generosity. This only deepened his guilt and made him resent his wife even more.
“Little Tan, even though you’re not blaming us, I still feel terrible about this. How about this—I’ll give you that piece of land I have on the mountain.”
“What? Land?” Old Tan was utterly stunned.
Everyone in Fengping Village knew about it. Years ago, the Chen family had planted a lot of trees on a small slope at the foot of the mountain. That plot of land was a treasure.
He quickly refused. “No, no, I absolutely can’t accept that. It’s out of the question.”
Uncle Chen grasped Old Tan’s hand firmly. “Little Tan, I know your family is in a hurry to build a house. The trees on that land should be enough, and I’m getting old—I don’t have the strength to work anymore. With both my sons not staying home, we don’t really need that land.”
Old Tan, aware of the land’s value, still felt it was wrong to accept it without earning it. He quickly shook his head. “No, no, I can’t take it. It wouldn’t be right.”
Uncle Chen saw his hesitation and knew he wouldn’t agree easily. “Whether you take it or not, it’s yours. Tomorrow, I’ll bring you the deed.”
Before Old Tan could respond, Uncle Chen turned and hurried off.
Meanwhile, Aunt Chen, trying to make amends with Uncle Chen, had cleaned up the house. While there was still plenty of chicken poop she couldn’t quite scrub away, the place looked a lot better.
When she saw Uncle Chen return, she stretched her sore mouth into a weak smile and croaked, “Well? What did the Tan family say?”
Uncle Chen felt a surge of irritation as soon as he saw Aunt Chen. “They didn’t say much,” he replied curtly.
Aunt Chen, thinking the matter was resolved, broke into a smile.
But to Uncle Chen, that smile was nothing short of an eyesore. In a cold tone, he said, “Pack up and go to our son’s house to take care of your daughter-in-law.”
“What? You want me to go to town and serve my daughter-in-law?” Aunt Chen asked, astonished.
Uncle Chen, his beard bristling with anger, snapped, “That’s right. Stop staying here and making a fool of yourself.”
Aunt Chen’s eyes reddened with tears, and she began to cry.
Aunt Chen’s eldest daughter-in-law was a force to be reckoned with. Years ago, Aunt Chen had gone to the town full of excitement to visit her son, only to be left eating leftovers and enduring mistreatment. Her frail old body had barely survived the ordeal.
Her son, who was terrified of his wife, never intervened and was even more spineless than Uncle Chen.
Now, being told to return felt like being sent straight into torment.
She began to cry deliberately, hoping to gain some sympathy.
But Uncle Chen wasn’t falling for her act this time. Without a second thought, he gathered her clothes, tossed them onto a cart, and pulled it out. “If you won’t go, we’ll separate. Simple as that.”
Aunt Chen froze, her tears stopping abruptly, stunned by his ultimatum.