Chapter 9: Fighting Over the Mice’s Grain

Wang Man glanced at him, then took the money pouch and weighed it in her hand. There was still some weight to it.

She emptied it out and counted—one tael, two qian, three fen, and six copper coins.
After putting it back, under Wang San’s eager gaze, she tucked the pouch securely into her bosom.

Wang San…?
That’s mine!

After securing it, Wang Man gently patted the pouch and, feeling quite pleased, said,
“This is the living expenses for the family.
By the way, you said you earned this gambling money by helping with the goods, right?”

She then appraised Wang San from head to toe. He was tall, but somewhat thin.
Still, looking at his frame, he seemed to have some strength.

Wang San didn’t understand why Wang Man asked this, but nodded:
“Yeah.”

“Since that’s the case, I won’t stop you if you want to work in town from now on.
But you have to give me ten copper coins every day.”

Wang San immediately exploded:
“Why?”

Wang Man answered leisurely,
“Because you’re the man of the family; you have to take responsibility for supporting us.
You can’t just let your Mother and wife starve, can you?”

Wang San…
He was done for. Why did Wang Man’s words sound so reasonable?

But where was he supposed to find ten copper coins every single day?

Helping unload goods like that wasn’t something that happened every day.

Even when it did, he wasn’t the only one helping—there were plenty of others waiting nearby.

If he couldn’t bring the money back, would Wang Man start hitting him again?

He was a grown man—if he kept getting beaten, what would others think of him?

Thinking this over, Wang San whispered,
“Unloading goods isn’t something that happens every day… I—I won’t be able to bring it back.”

Wang Man dug at her ear:
“What did you just say? I didn’t hear you. Speak louder.”

Wang San…
Damn Wang Man, she was really stubborn. He couldn’t beat her—what was he supposed to do?

So he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth:
“I don’t have the ability to earn ten copper coins every day. I just can’t do it.”

Wang Man chuckled lightly and said,
“If you can’t do it, then stay home every day.
If you want to work in town, you have to give me ten copper coins daily. Your choice.”

Wang San’s stubbornness flared up. He threw up his hand and shouted,
“I’m not doing it! I’m the head of the family—I’m your husband.
You’re just a little wife I bought—what right do you have to control me?”

Wang Man tapped the stick in her hand:
“Yes, I’m bought, I admit that. But don’t forget, you also signed a contract binding you to me.
Or maybe I should sell you off to mine labor?”

At the mention of mining, Wang San shuddered all over.
No joke—he actually knew about mining.

Some gamblers who couldn’t repay their debts to the gambling house were sold off to mine labor, often dying right there underground.

That was one of the main reasons he was so determined never to borrow silver from the gambling house.

As for mining, he definitely wasn’t going to do it.

He was still young and didn’t want to die.
Fine, he’d agree to stay home for now.

He planned to wait until she fell asleep, then tie her up and give her a good beating—letting out all the anger inside him.

He wanted to see if she’d still dare hit him after that.

It was outrageous—a little wife he bought actually dared to hit him, the head of the family.

Wang San’s little schemes were well thought out, but he had no way to make them real.

Wang Man now had over one tael of silver in her possession, which gave her strength.

She stood up and said,
“It’s still early. Carry me over to the western field.”

She remembered that area had many rice paddies, though the harvest was long done and the fields were now empty.

She also recalled there were many mouse holes there—those mice would definitely be stealing a lot of rice to stash away for the winter.

Even though she had a little over one tael of silver, the household had nothing else.

Her concussion wouldn’t heal in just a day or two.
If things dragged on like this, how would they survive the winter?

What use was this small amount of silver anyway?

So, she decided it was better to think of other ways to solve their predicament first and worry about the rest once she recovered.

The first plan was to steal the mice’s grain.
Who asked those little pests to be so disliked? If she didn’t take it from them, who else would?

As for her Father and Stepmother, they wouldn’t be spared either.

Anyone who made her life difficult would have a hard time themselves.

At the thought of this, Wang Man’s eyes gleamed with a mischievous smile.

This expression startled Wang San, who had been ready to refuse, into not daring to say no.

There happened to be a hoe at home with a broken edge.

Wang Man took the hoe in hand and had Wang San carry her out.

Aunt Ma Liu wanted to follow them, but Wang Man stopped her.

Wang San could carry her, but not his Mother.

After Wang Man and Wang San left, Aunt Ma Liu sighed as she sat on a stool beneath the eaves.

Man was so fierce—she even dared to hit her own husband. How could that be tolerated?

Wouldn’t she have to be extremely careful going forward?

What if she got angry and hit even her own Mother?

As she sighed, Madam Lu arrived.

She had come to see if that good-for-nothing Wang San was mistreating Man.

Thinking of that child, she was furious—angry at Wang Chang’an’s cruelty, angry at Wang San’s ingratitude.

She feared Wang San might beat the little wife he had so painstakingly bought to death.

Seeing Aunt Ma Liu sighing, Madam Lu was startled.

Had Wang San beaten Man again?

Her head was already bruised—if he hit her again, wouldn’t he kill her?

“Sixth Sister-in-law, what kind of sigh is that?
Where’s Wang San? Did he run off again?
Is Man alright?”

After speaking, she glanced toward the house where Wang Man lived.

Seeing nothing, her worries only grew.

Could it be that Wang Man had been beaten to death by Wang San?

My goodness, what would they do then? Would Wang San go to prison?

Though she didn’t think highly of this ungrateful nephew, she didn’t want to see him lose his life either.

That would still affect the relationships among the other branches of the family.

The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became.

Madam Lu could no longer stay and hurriedly turned to leave.

She needed to tell the old man at once, so they could all figure out how to keep this matter under control.

Aunt Ma Liu saw Madam Lu leaving in such a fluster and thought something serious had happened.

“Big Sister-in-law, what’s wrong?
Man and Wang San went out to look for food not long ago. If you want to find her, go to the rice fields in the west.
I heard Man say that’s where they’re headed.”

Madam Lu breathed a sigh of relief but asked in confusion,
“What food are they looking for there? The rice fields have been searched many times—there shouldn’t be any fallen grains left.
Even if there were, they’d already be sprouting.”

Aunt Ma Liu shook her head,
“I don’t know. Man said there was something there.
Sigh, Big Sister-in-law, sit down and I’ll tell you…”

She then recounted the whole story of Wang Man beating Wang San.

Madam Lu thought she must have heard wrong and asked skeptically,
“Are you saying Wang Man actually hit Wang San?
And Wang San didn’t fight back, just let her?”

How could she believe that? Knowing Wang San’s reckless nature, he wouldn’t just let it happen.

Seeing Madam Lu’s disbelief, Aunt Ma Liu almost swore on it.

On the way, Madam Lu kept pondering, unable to make sense of it, and decided to take a detour to the west.

From afar, she saw Wang Man sitting nearby, holding a stick and pointing at a spot while talking.

Wang San was digging where she pointed, carrying a hoe.

She watched for a while but still couldn’t figure out what they were digging for.
Not intending to investigate further, she turned and left.

After leaving, she told this news to Wang Yida.

Wang Yida didn’t believe it either, thinking Wang San must have been letting Wang Man have her way.
No matter what, as long as Wang San cared about Wang Man, that was good enough.

They hoped this would help guide Wang San onto the right path.