Chapter 17

To confirm the truth, Ruan Changgui and Sun Xiaohui peeked out and saw Liu Xinghua and Ruan Xi standing outside the side room. Liu Xinghua was holding half a chicken, and Ruan Xi was holding a one-yuan note, both with big smiles on their faces.

Ruan Xi happily stuffed the one-yuan note into Liu Xinghua’s pocket, almost bursting with joy, and said, “Master said we get paid for our work, so he gave me one yuan and half a chicken.”

Their payment for making clothes was two yuan a day. The woman in the checkered shirt gave three yuan because she also gave a chicken. The old tailor kept two yuan for himself and gave one yuan to Ruan Xi.

As an apprentice, Ruan Xi naturally didn’t ask how the old tailor and their brigade settled these payments. It was probably settled once a year, like other members earning work points. The old tailor had a ledger he stitched together himself, recording all these accounts. Before her time travel, Ruan Xi never imagined she would be so happy earning one yuan.

Her granddaughter earning money so quickly through her skills made Liu Xinghua even happier, her face glowing with pride. She took the money Ruan Xi gave her and tried to give it back, saying, “Why give me your earnings? Keep it to buy candy.”

Ruan Xi insisted on giving it back, “Grandma, you’re the head of our family. The money I earn should go to you.”

Then she noticed something, turned her head, and saw Ruan Changgui and Sun Xiaohui peeking from the small kitchen door, staring at her and Liu Xinghua. She changed her tone and said, “I’m not like some people, selfish and self-serving.”

Liu Xinghua, realizing something, also turned to look.

Ruan Changgui and Sun Xiaohui couldn’t keep their faces straight and quickly pulled their heads back.

Liu Xinghua withdrew her gaze and deliberately raised her voice, saying, “Then Grandma will keep it for you and save it as your dowry! Tonight, we’ll cook this half chicken. How do you want to eat it? Grandma will make it for you!”

Ruan Xi’s eyes curved into a smile, and she said crisply, “Spicy chicken with chili!”

In the small kitchen, Ruan Changgui stuffed straw into the stove, feeling a mix of emotions, like dozens of cat claws scratching at his heart. Hearing Ruan Xi say, “Spicy chicken with chili,” he couldn’t help but salivate.

Sun Xiaohui sat silently, chopping chicken feed with quick, sharp movements, her face burning with embarrassment.

The atmosphere was tense, and neither of them spoke. The only sound in the small room was the thud of the knife hitting the cutting board.

Sun Xiaohui finished chopping the wild vegetables, mixed them with rice bran, and went out to feed her five old hens.

Ruan Jie returned with firewood on her back. Seeing Sun Xiaohui, she deliberately avoided her and took the firewood to the side room’s kitchen.

Watching her actions, Sun Xiaohui felt angry but didn’t dare to lash out at Ruan Jie because Liu Xinghua was home. She could only swallow her anger and mutter under her breath, “You little brat, I’ll deal with you later!”

Ruan Jie entered the house with the firewood and saw Liu Xinghua chopping chicken. Her face filled with surprise, and she asked, “Grandma, why are you killing a chicken?”

Liu Xinghua smiled, “Who kills a chicken without a good reason? Do you think we don’t want to live? This is from the family where Xiao Xi and the old tailor went to make clothes. They gave it to the old tailor, and he gave half to her.”

Ruan Jie put down the firewood behind the stove and saw Ruan Xi coming out of the room.

She smiled with surprise and joy, “Sister, you’re amazing.”

Ruan Xi also smiled, “Just a bit amazing.”

The three of them chatted and laughed, with one washing rice, another stoking the fire, and the third chopping chicken, all working together to make dinner.

Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie were busy steaming rice, one working on the top pot and the other on the bottom. Liu Xinghua quickly chopped the rooster into pieces and washed away the blood, then went to the field to pick some red and green Erjingtiao peppers and a handful of red millet peppers. She hadn’t picked the fruits and vegetables from the field for a while and was saving oil and money by sending them directly to the vegetable collection point to exchange for some cash. She also saved the eggs, not eating them but taking them to the supply and marketing cooperative to exchange for money.

Today, she planned to have a good meal, so she didn’t hold back. Besides the peppers, she picked two cucumbers and two green onions, planning to make smashed cucumbers and steam a bowl of eggs.

After picking the vegetables and bringing them back, Liu Xinghua put the peppers, cucumbers, and green onions in a basin and washed them clean. Just as she walked to the table and placed them on the cutting board, Ruan Xi suddenly reached out and pulled the apron off her waist.

Ruan Xi tied the apron around her waist and said, “Grandma, today I’ll cook for you.”

Liu Xinghua reached out to take it back: “You’ve been busy all day. You should sit down and rest. I’ll cook. Listen to me, just relax, and wait to eat.”

Ruan Xi dodged her hand and smiled, “I’m young and not tired. These peppers are quite pungent when cooked, so you should rest and wait for the meal. Xiao Jie and I are grown up now. Can’t we let you enjoy some comfort?”

Liu Xinghua was pleased to hear this and didn’t insist on cooking. But she didn’t rest, either; she went to the stove and sat next to Ruan Jie, stuffing straw into another stove to help with the fire.

Ruan Xi still needed to cut the peppers, so Liu Xinghua didn’t rush to light the fire. She only sat there smiling and said, “Girls are the best.”

Ruan Jie’s face was flushed red from the stove’s fire, and she replied with a smile, “Then I’ll never get married, okay?”

Ruan Xi had said similar things before, and Liu Xinghua still glared and said, “Nonsense.”

Ruan Xi smiled as she listened to their conversation. Wearing an apron, she cut the red and green Erjingtiao peppers and millet peppers into rings at the table. She smashed a few cloves of garlic, sliced some ginger, and scooped a spoonful of homemade doubanjiang (fermented bean paste) into a bowl.

With all the preparations done, Liu Xinghua stoked the fire while Ruan Xi cooked.

Cooking on a wood stove felt different, and Ruan Xi thought it tasted better than using a gas stove. She poured a bit of oil into the iron wok, and once it was hot, she added the garlic and ginger, releasing a fragrant aroma. She then tossed in the raw chicken pieces, which instantly filled the room with a delicious smell.

Having not eaten meat since her arrival, she couldn’t help but swallow secretly as she stir-fried the chicken, watching it turn golden and the skin slightly crisp.

When the chicken was almost done, she added a small handful of Sichuan peppercorns for extra fragrance, followed by a spoonful of doubanjiang. The red oil that emerged made the dish even more mouth-watering. She seasoned it with soy sauce, salt, and pepper, then added the sliced green and red peppers. The collision of chicken and peppers in the seasoning created an even richer aroma that filled the entire room.

The scent wafted out through the doorframe, carried by the smoke, and drifted into the small kitchen across the way.

Sun Xiaohui, sitting by the stove steaming rice, couldn’t help but sniff and swallow a big gulp of saliva. Previously, she had insisted on splitting the family because they hadn’t had a hot meal or seen a drop of oil in a long time. She wanted to avoid being dragged down by Ruan Changsheng and Ruan Xi, hoping her family of four could eat better.

Who would have thought that after splitting the family, Ruan Changsheng and Ruan Xi not only didn’t become a burden but one started working hard to earn work points, and the other brought home meat.

Not just meat, but money too!

Sun Xiaohui felt stifled, unable to say a word, her face still burning.

Ruan Changgui felt even more stifled, sitting by the small kitchen door, doing nothing but blinking and taking deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling the aroma. He wanted to speak but couldn’t get a word out.

What a foolish thing to have done, he thought, wanting to slap himself hard!

His two sons came back tired from playing outside. They started sniffing from a distance, following the scent to the side room’s door, not coming to the small kitchen but peeking inside the side room.

Seeing Ruan Xi cooking, Ruan Yuehua asked, “Big sister, what are you cooking?”

Without looking at him, Ruan Xi replied, “Chicken.”

Ruan Yuehua wanted to say more, but before he could, Ruan Yuejin grabbed his collar and pulled him to the small kitchen.

Ruan Yuejin had said that after splitting the family, they wouldn’t eat anything from their grandmother’s house, and he remembered that with determination.

Dragged to the small kitchen door, Ruan Yuehua was unhappy and angrily said, “Big brother, what are you doing?!”

Ruan Yuejin, feeling disdainful, said, “You’re drooling!”

Ruan Yuehua, frustrated, retorted, “Don’t you want to eat?”

Ruan Yuejin opened his mouth but, despite his determination, couldn’t say anything.

Ruan Changgui, sitting inside, saw them and found a place to vent his frustration. With a stern voice, he said, “What are you two doing? Look at you, so useless. Get inside the house!”

By “house,” he meant the main room, as the small kitchen couldn’t fit four people.

Now that their family had split from Ruan Changgui and Liu Xinghua, Ruan Zhigao had provided them with a new table and four stools, smaller than the original table, placed in the main room for their use. The large table was moved to the side room’s kitchen.

After being scolded, Ruan Yuehua pouted and followed Ruan Yuejin to the main room. With each step, he looked back three times, glancing towards the side room, craving the smell of chicken.

As the brigade secretary, Ruan Zhigao always had extra tasks to handle. He came back a bit later today, and when he and Ruan Changsheng arrived home with their baskets and farm tools, it was already dusk. Before reaching the side room’s door, they smelled a delicious aroma.

Ruan Zhigao took a deep breath and said, “Whose cooking smells so good?”

Ruan Changsheng also sniffed and, using his keen sense of smell, said, “I think it’s our house.”

Puzzled, Ruan Zhigao quickened his pace towards home. Reaching the door, he and Ruan Changsheng put down their baskets and tools, peeked inside, and saw Ruan Xi serving the spicy chicken from the wok.

The aroma inside was even stronger, filling their senses.

Ruan Zhigao, surprised and confused, widened his eyes and asked Liu Xinghua, “Did we strike it rich?”

Liu Xinghua looked at him and smiled, jokingly saying, “You guessed it right!”

Ruan Zhigao still looked puzzled, and Ruan Jie chimed in, “Sister went with the old tailor to make clothes and earned half a chicken and one yuan. How about that? It’s impressive, right?”

Hearing this, Ruan Changsheng exclaimed, “Half a chicken? One yuan?”

Ruan Jie nodded, “Yes.”

Ruan Changsheng turned to Ruan Xi, “You’re kidding, right? I heard that old man is stingy as can be, never giving anything away. People used to give him things to learn from him, but he never gave anything in return.”

Ruan Xi smiled, “But you ate his grapes.”

Ruan Changsheng blinked, speechless—oh right! He had eaten the old tailor’s grapes!

Suddenly, he wasn’t so surprised anymore. He reached out and took the plate from Ruan Xi’s hand, placing it on the table, “Xiao Xi, you’re amazing. You even managed to win over the old tailor. I truly admire you!”

Ruan Xi shook her head, “It’s not about winning him over. It’s about skill.”

Ruan Changsheng laughed, “Skill? What skills do you have? I remember you mending my clothes before, and it looked like a dog had chewed on them.”

The old Ruan Xi wasn’t the same as the current Ruan Xi. She deliberately hummed at him, “That was then, this is now. Can’t I improve?”

Ruan Changsheng sat on a stool, smiling, “Then you must show me your skills sometime. If the old tailor acknowledges you, your level must be extraordinary.”

Ruan Xi smiled confidently, “You’ll see sooner or later.”

As they talked, the rice in the pot was almost done, the steamed eggs were perfectly tender, and the smashed cucumbers were well-marinated. Liu Xinghua and Ruan Jie got up to wash their hands and serve the food, while Ruan Changsheng moved the stools around the table and went to wash his hands and get chopsticks. With the food on the table, everyone picked up their chopsticks, but no one reached for the plate of chicken.

Ruan Zhigao looked around at everyone and finally said to Ruan Xi, “Xiao Xi, you earned it. Go ahead and eat.”

Ruan Xi pursed her lips, “Grandpa, you and Grandma eat first.”

Scarcity makes things precious. After experiencing how hard it was to get a bite of meat, they truly appreciated the happiness of eating meat. Ruan Xi once thought she wouldn’t crave food so much, but now she realized she couldn’t help it. Even after tasting the finest delicacies, in a poor environment, one still becomes part of that environment. But no matter how much she craved that bite, she wouldn’t show it.

Ruan Zhigao smiled and picked up a piece of chicken with his chopsticks, placing it in Liu Xinghua’s bowl, saying, “We’re family, no need to be polite. Hurry up and eat, or you’ll only get the peppers.”

Ruan Jie smiled, “The peppers cooked with the chicken are delicious, too!”

After Liu Xinghua took the first bite of chicken and urged everyone to eat, the family didn’t hold back anymore and reached for the plate together. Though eager, they restrained themselves, hoping to let others have more.

Ruan Changsheng put a piece of chicken coated in red oil into his mouth, his eyes lighting up, “Wow, the skin is crispy, the meat is tender, and it’s spicy and fragrant…”

He gave Ruan Xi a thumbs up and, after swallowing the chicken, added, “Delicious!”

Ruan Jie put another piece in his bowl, “Eat more.”

Ruan Changsheng ate two pieces of meat and then mixed the pepper rings into his rice. The fresh and spicy flavor made him eat half a bowl of rice. Feeling he had nothing much to say, he remembered Ruan Xi had only asked him to do one thing before, so he asked her, “I warned Gao Haiyang before. Are they still bothering that little fool?”

Ruan Xi knew he was referring to Ling Yao and shook her head, “Not recently.”

Ruan Changsheng nodded, “That’s good.”

Liu Xinghua didn’t understand and asked, “What little fool?”

Ruan Changsheng replied, “The little fool from the stilt house, who used to be bullied by Gao Haiyang and his gang. He did not even know how to run.”

Liu Xinghua thought for a moment and nodded, “Oh, the kid from the big city.” She looked at Ruan Xi, “You know him?”

Ruan Xi nodded, “He saved me when I fell into the ravine before.”

Ruan Changsheng finally understood, “Oh, no wonder you want to help him.”

Mentioning the Ling family, Ruan Zhigao had something to say while eating, “Their family has always been distant from us. They’ve been here for years and hardly interact with anyone, just burying themselves in work every day without a word.”

Ruan Changsheng, shoveling rice into his mouth, said, “They’re city folks. What do they have to say to us rural people?”

Hearing this, Ruan Xi looked at Ruan Changsheng seriously and said, “Uncle, don’t say that. They’re not like that. They feel discriminated against in the village, unable to hold their heads high, so they don’t interact with people. Take Mr. Jin, for example. Because of his bad background, he keeps a low profile and rarely interacts with others.”

This was one reason, and another was the fear of saying something wrong and getting into trouble.

Ruan Changsheng had spoken without thinking, not expecting Ruan Xi to take it seriously. He blinked in surprise, then quickly raised his hand and lightly slapped his own face, admitting, “I was wrong.”

Ruan Xi picked up two chili peppers with her chopsticks and stuffed them into his mouth, “Eat.”

Ruan Changsheng, holding the peppers in his mouth, smiled apologetically at Ruan Xi.

Ruan Xi laughed and continued eating.

In the main room, Ruan Changgui, Sun Xiaohui, Ruan Yuejin, and Ruan Yuehua also sat at the table eating. Their expressions were more wilted and miserable than the pickled vegetables on the table.

Smelling the aroma of spicy chicken and chewing on pickled vegetables, they could hardly swallow.

Ruan Yuehua tapped his chopsticks on the edge of his bowl and said to Sun Xiaohui, “Mom, I want to eat chicken too.”

Sun Xiaohui glanced at Ruan Changgui but didn’t dare to speak.

Ruan Changgui took a deep breath and said irritably, “If you don’t want to eat, get out.”

Ruan Yuehua, unhappy, suddenly put down his chopsticks and shouted, “It’s because you wanted to split the family that Grandma got angry, and I didn’t get to eat grapes. Now Grandma’s house has chicken, and I don’t get to eat chicken. I want to eat chicken!”

Ruan Changgui, furious, raised his chopsticks to hit him, but he jumped up and hid behind Sun Xiaohui.

Sun Xiaohui protected Ruan Yuehua and said softly to Ruan Changgui, “What are you doing? We haven’t had meat in a long time. Smelling the meat, who wouldn’t want to eat? Don’t you want to eat?”

Ruan Changgui withdrew his chopsticks and said irritably, “You still have the nerve to say that!”

Sun Xiaohui didn’t feel embarrassed at all. Smelling the meat and not wanting to eat was a lie. What’s wrong with wanting to eat meat? Who doesn’t want to eat meat? It’s fine if you can’t smell it, but with the aroma constantly in your nose, who can stand it?

She couldn’t stand it either, so she cleared her throat and handed an empty bowl to Ruan Yuehua.

Ruan Yuehua instantly understood her intention. He glanced at Ruan Changgui, and seeing that he didn’t say anything, he didn’t hesitate for a moment. He took the bowl and rushed out of the main room, heading straight to the side room.

Rushing to Liu Xinghua and Ruan Zhigao, he hurriedly said, “Grandma, I want to eat chicken too!”

The five people at the table looked up at him, chewing their food, but no one spoke.

Finally, Liu Xinghua swallowed her food and said, “Yuehua, you’re too late. The chicken is all gone.”

The smashed cucumbers and steamed eggs were also long gone.

Ruan Yuehua had already seen that the plate that once held the chicken now only had some red oil and red and green pepper rings left. His expression instantly fell, looking like he was about to cry. He didn’t say another word, swallowed hard, and walked away with the bowl, dragging his feet. His back looked as if the whole world had collapsed.

Ruan Changsheng watched him leave, smiled, and turned back to pour the remaining peppers into his bowl, mixed them with his rice, and quickly finished it. After eating, he put down his bowl and chopsticks, feeling completely satisfied.

Ruan Yuehua, with a tear-streaked face and sniffing, returned to the main room. He walked to Sun Xiaohui and cried, “It’s all gone. Everything is gone. There’s not a single piece of chicken left.”

Sun Xiaohui remained calm and whispered, “What about the sauce? There’s chicken oil and seasoning, and the peppers are delicious, too.”

Ruan Yuehua paused, realizing what she meant, and quickly returned with the bowl to the side room. But when he got there, he saw that the plate, which had some sauce and pepper rings, was now completely clean, like a mirror. Standing by the table with the empty bowl, he felt a wave of despair and burst into tears. Then, still crying, he turned and went back to the main room.

Entering the main room, he wailed, “It’s all gone! There’s nothing left!”

Hearing Ruan Yuehua’s cries and his words, Ruan Changsheng and Ruan Xi exchanged a glance at the table and couldn’t help but burst into laughter. At first, they tried to stifle their laughter, but soon, they couldn’t hold back and laughed louder and louder.

It wasn’t that they were gloating; Ruan Yuehua was just too funny!

Meanwhile, in the main room, Ruan Changgui and Sun Xiaohui turned green with anger upon hearing the laughter from the side room.

Ruan Changgui, with a green face, scolded Ruan Yuehua, “Sit down and eat!”

Ruan Yuehua, pouting and wiping his tears, sat down at the table, eating rice, pickled vegetables, and stir-fried greens while sniffling and crying, with tears streaming down his face. All he could think about was the spicy chicken he didn’t get to eat…

The fragrant, numbing, and spicy…

Spicy chicken with chili…