Chapter 39: Familiar Strangers

Wang San quickly clutched his pocket.
“Uncle Yi Lou, I’ll go buy it myself. No need to trouble you.”

Give him money? Not a chance. He was planning to take this opportunity to swing by the gambling den—it had been a while, and he was itching to go.

“Trouble, my foot! Hurry up and hand it over.
I said I’m going to buy it, and that means I’m going. Don’t make me snatch it from you.
If I fall and get hurt, Manya will break your legs!”

Wang Yi Lou started threatening him, worried the rascal might slip away the second he looked away. With his old bones, there was no way he could catch up.

Wang San still wanted to refuse, but when he saw his Big Uncle walking toward them, he had no choice but to pull out the silver and shove it into Wang Yi Lou’s hands.

“Fine, fine, take it! You happy now?
Manniang said the hatchet better be here by noon, or she’ll make me pay for it.
So you better make sure you’re back in time!”

What he feared most was that Big Uncle—when he hit you, it hurt.
Looks like there’d be no going to town today. He’d have to wait for another chance.

From a distance, Wang Yida spotted Wang San talking to his old uncle and rushed over, afraid the little scoundrel might push the old man down.

Wang San saw him coming and turned to flee—he had no interest in sticking around for a scolding.

“What’s going on? What were you two talking about?
What sneaky nonsense was he up to again?
Why’d he run the moment he saw me?”

Wang Yida fired off questions without even catching his breath.

Wang Yi Lou glanced at the direction Wang San had bolted off to and grinned smugly.
“That brat actually thought he could trick me. Hmph! I didn’t fall for it.
Look—I got the silver out of his hand!”

Wang Yida was startled.
“A whole tael of silver? Why would he have that much?
Don’t tell me he stole it from Manya!
That little bastard—I’ll break his hands!”

Saying that, Wang Yida turned to storm toward Wang San’s house, but Wang Yi Lou quickly stopped him.
“Alright, alright, let’s wait till we’re back. No rush.”

The two old men muttered to each other as they headed to town.

When Wang San returned early, Wang Man looked at him, puzzled.
“Didn’t I tell you to go buy the hatchet? You’re back already?”

Wang San looked a little embarrassed and explained what had happened with Uncle Yi.

Wang Man nearly burst out laughing.
“Well, since that’s the case, come help me set up the frame.
We’ll go up the mountain this afternoon to gather some thatch. We’ll finish the shed by tomorrow.”

Wang San was in a foul mood and completely ignored the others who came to help.

Originally, the thatched shed wasn’t supposed to be finished until the next day, but with help from Wang Qing and the others, it was done by the afternoon.

Without skipping a beat, Wang Man—hatchet in hand—dragged Wang San off to chop more firewood.
She was determined to stockpile enough to last through the entire winter.

They also needed some thicker logs to reinforce the house.
All those cracks and holes had to be patched, or risk snow collapsing the roof—or bitter winds blowing in.

Well, what could she do? The house was just too run-down.
If they didn’t reinforce it properly, who knew if it would make it through winter?

As for hiring someone to do the repairs? Not worth it.
They were planning to tear it down and rebuild in the spring anyway.
Spending silver now would just be a waste.

If they could get by with just patching it up, then that’s what they’d do.

Wang Man and her group returned to the usual spot in the hawthorn grove to chop firewood.

No one used to dare come here because of a large snake that had lived there.
But now that the snake was gone, it had become a popular spot.

Take Wang Qing and his brothers, for example—they followed Wang Man every day to this grove.

Part of it was for the lively company.
And part of it was to lend a hand whenever they could.
Relying on Wang San, the unreliable rascal of a Third Uncle, wasn’t exactly safe.

That day, they arrived a bit later than usual, only to see a large group already chopping firewood in the hawthorn grove.

Everyone was chatting and laughing. It was lively and cheerful.

When Wang Man spotted her Big Uncle Wang Changshan and eldest cousin Wang Xuecai among them, she immediately lost any interest in staying.

To her, those so-called relatives in the Wang family were nothing more than familiar strangers.
They never said a kind word for her, never once helped—not even out of courtesy.

They acted like nothing that happened to her or her Brother concerned them.
In fact, they were worse than strangers.

Like when she and her Big Brother were sold—
If just one person, even just her Grandfather or Grandmother, or Big Uncle, had spoken up,
that wretched Stepmother Hua Jinhua wouldn’t have dared act so brazenly.

But no one did. Not only did they not help—they didn’t even ask.
It was as if nothing had happened at all.

The more she thought about it, the more laughable it seemed.
Were they always this indifferent?
Or was it just toward her and her Brother?

Never mind.
Strangers were fine.
No contact, no bother. That worked just as well.

When Wang Man stopped in her tracks, Wang Shitou asked in confusion,
“Third Aunt, we’re not going in?”

Wang San, who had never wanted to chop firewood in the first place, immediately jumped in.
“If we’re not going, we’re not going! Why don’t we take the day off?
Come on, let’s head back!”

Wang Man shot him a glare.
“Take one more step and see if you still want your legs.”

Wang San: …?

“Manniang, I really don’t get it—we already have so much firewood at home.
Why are you still chopping more?”

“You’ve never heard of ‘being prepared for the unexpected’?”
Wang Shitou replied seriously.
“What if this winter is colder than usual? Or lasts longer?
At least we’ll have enough firewood to burn.”

“Pff, beat it, you little brat. This is a grown-up conversation—what do you know?”
Wang San snapped.

“You’re yelling at a kid now? You’re a grown man and you still don’t think as far ahead as a child?
Wang San, is your head filled with crap?”

Wang Man rolled her eyes at him in mockery.

Wang San, like an obedient schoolboy, asked curiously,
“Manniang, what’s ‘crap’?”

Wang Man: …?
“It’s what comes out when you squat.”

“Hahaha! So it’s poop!”
Wang Shitou laughed.

Joking and chatting, the group arrived at the hawthorn grove.
Seeing that Wang Man wasn’t planning to stop, Wang Qing asked,
“Third Aunt, we’re not chopping here?”

Wang Man shook her head.
“We’re heading over there.
I remember there are a few dead trees up on that hill.
If we cut those down and haul them back, we’ll have enough firewood for the entire winter.”

Wang Qing, who often came up the mountain, knew exactly which trees she meant.
“Aren’t those trees too big?
Each one’s as thick as my waist—won’t be easy to bring back.”

“No worries. I have a way.
Just follow me.”

Wang Man strode ahead confidently, full of vigor like she was ready to conquer a mountain.

She wasn’t boasting—once those trees were chopped down, she could roll them down the slope and load them onto a wheelbarrow to push home.

And if it really came down to it, she could stash the wood in her storage space and retrieve it later.

But that was hard to explain, and she didn’t want anyone finding out about the storage space.

Just as they were walking, a voice called out:
“Manya! Come over here—there’s a lot of firewood on this side!”

Following the sound, Wang Man was surprised.
Wasn’t that her cheap Fourth Uncle, Wang Changyou?

Hadn’t he been following her cheap father working outside all this time?
When did he return?
Was her cheap father back too?

That Stepmother and her daughter must’ve been waiting to tattle, right?

After Wang San kicked Wang Jiaojiao off the ox cart a few days ago, Hua Jinhua hadn’t even made a peep.
Could it be she was waiting for her husband to return?