Chapter 11

The package was slightly larger than an A4 sheet, tightly wrapped. Eager to see its contents, Autumn Jiang immediately cut it open with a kitchen knife.

Before fully opening it, the enticing aroma of cured meat reached her nose. It seemed Lin Dazhu wasn’t so bad after all; she had only asked for snow cream, yet he had sent other things along with it.

At the top of the package were two rows of sausages, beneath them lay two slabs of cured meat. Autumn Jiang estimated the total weight to be around four to five jin—enough to last her a while.

At the very bottom, wrapped in greaseproof paper, was a box. Upon opening it, there was the snow cream she had requested, alongside ten yuan and a short note.

“The meat is for you and the children to eat; the snow cream is for you,” Autumn Jiang read the note and sighed. “He’s truly sparing with words, but perhaps that’s for the best—few words, more money, and even if he’s not here, it’s quite nice!”

“Mom, what do you mean by ‘quite nice’?” Lin Beibei followed his mother into the room, curious after smelling the cured meat, standing on tiptoe to peek.

Only then did Autumn Jiang notice Beibei’s presence. “I was just saying your father is really kind to send you meat.”

Hearing it was from Dad, Beibei, however, wasn’t so happy and pouted before running out.

Strange.

Wasn’t this child supposed to love meat? Why did he look so unhappy?

After putting the items away, Autumn Jiang called both Lin Beibei and Lin Nannan over. “Beibei, tell me honestly, why aren’t you happy?”

Beibei pressed his lips together and remained silent, but tears began to fall. Nannan was even quieter, lowering her head until her eyes reddened.

It was Bull Dali who finally interjected, “I think the kids miss their dad. Since they were born, they’ve never seen Dazhu. Autumn Jiang, I don’t mean to meddle, but Dazhu is busy. Why don’t you take the children to see him?”

Hearing this, Autumn Jiang realized that children not only needed their mother but also longed for their father.

This put her in a difficult position. Travel was inconvenient now, and a round trip to Lin Dazhu’s unit would take two days. It would be troublesome, and she wasn’t the original woman; she had no feelings for Lin Dazhu whatsoever.

Seeing how the children were affected, Autumn Jiang thought it over. Not wanting to exhaust herself, she decided Lin Dazhu should come back instead.

No matter how busy, there must still be time to return home.

She gently patted the children’s heads. “Alright, next time I write a letter, I’ll ask when your dad has leave.”

“Really?” Beibei’s eyes immediately lit up. “The kids in the village say Dad doesn’t love us and never comes home. Will he really come back?”

Nannan looked at her mother with the same hopeful expression.

“Don’t listen to their nonsense. Your dad is busy, but he still sends cured meat to eat, so he does care about you,” Autumn Jiang comforted them. In truth, she wondered if he was truly so busy that he had no time to come home.

Back in her room, she took out paper and pen. She wrote that the children missed Lin Dazhu and asked when he might have leave. She added that since Lin Dazhu’s unit was by the sea, could he send some dried goods? She craved them. If he could send any fruit, that would be great too, since the pears from the supply store were small and sour.

Lastly, she didn’t forget to ask if Lin Dazhu was working hard. After all, since he sent money, a little concern was only fair.

Now, Autumn Jiang treated Lin Dazhu like her employer—she cared for the children; he provided money and food.

So far, Lin Dazhu seemed generous.

That evening, while cooking, Autumn Jiang steamed a sausage. The children had never eaten one before and stared at it with wide eyes.

“You each get five slices. Mom is an adult and will eat more. Dig in, and after you finish, go wash up,” she said, mixing fish broth with rice. One shouldn’t eat too much at night—eighty percent full was enough.

The two children had already developed the habit of washing dishes after meals. While they cleaned, Autumn Jiang took a shower.

The countryside nights were cool; there was no need for a fan, and one had to cover up or risk catching a chill.

The next day at noon, Autumn Jiang sliced some pork belly, rendering the fat in a pan before setting it aside to stir-fry chili peppers.

The chili peppers were a gift from Aunt Niu next door. Using the pork fat, she stir-fried the peppers until they blistered, then added minced garlic and the pork belly. Pouring in some homemade rice wine along the edge of the pan, the aroma sizzled immediately. Finally, she added soy sauce and stir-fried until every piece of meat was evenly coated, then took it off the heat.

She washed the pan again, melted some lard to boil water, and placed eggplants in the stove’s embers to roast. When the skin turned slightly charred, she removed them.

After peeling off the skin, the smoky fragrance of the fire-roasted eggplant was irresistible. She placed the flesh into a bowl, added similarly roasted chili peppers and garlic, then mashed everything together with just salt and soy sauce. It was the perfect dish to accompany rice.

The soup remained loofah gourd soup—planting two or three loofah vines in summer ensured fresh gourd nearly every day.

“Uncle Niu, Beibei, Nannan, dinner’s ready!” Autumn Jiang called out. Beibei immediately ran to fetch chopsticks.

“Mom, I’ll help you!” Beibei was now eager to help with chores. Every time he did, his mother praised him, which he loved. Knowing she worked hard, he felt he should share some of the burden.

“Autumn Jiang, such a feast again today!” Jiang Youcai’s mouth watered as he watched, especially at the roasted eggplant, which he hadn’t seen prepared this way before.

Once seated, he tried a bite of the roasted eggplant. The spicy kick awakened his taste buds, and the garlic blended in the mashed eggplant made his mouth water. His appetite was instantly whetted. “Delicious! This is amazing!”

Jiang Youde glanced at his brother disdainfully. They had been here for days, yet still ate like wolves. He clicked his tongue at him. When Youcai went to fetch more roasted eggplant, he too was amazed and quickly ate two bowls of brown rice.

Autumn Jiang herself ate two bowls, the chili-fried pork was oily and savory, the roasted eggplant paired perfectly with rice, and the sweet loofah soup rounded out the meal beautifully.

Full and satisfied, Autumn Jiang rose to stretch and noticed someone peeking at the door. She approached and asked, “Who are you?”

“Si… sister-in-law?” Zhang Xiaomin lingered at the doorway for a while, drawn in by the enticing aroma wafting from the courtyard. She thought Autumn Jiang was eating well, but it was supposed to be her living like this. After all, Autumn Jiang had taken her money.

“Sister-in-law?” Autumn Jiang frowned slightly. “Young lady, who are you? I don’t know you. Don’t call me that—it could cause misunderstandings.”

“I’m Dazhu’s girlfriend,” Zhang Xiaomin quickly replied. “Sister-in-law, may I come in and talk to you?”

She lowered her head and rubbed her eyes, tears spilling down.

A green tea moment? Autumn Jiang flatly refused. “Say what you need to say here. Also, you and Dazhu aren’t even engaged. Mind your reputation and don’t falsely claim relations.”

Her words flushed Zhang Xiaomin’s face red. Seeing her hesitate and sob, Autumn Jiang impatiently shut the door.

“Sister-in-law, open the door! I’ll say it right now!” Zhang Xiaomin, realizing Autumn Jiang wouldn’t fall for it, knocked harder. Suddenly, Autumn Jiang opened the door, and Zhang Xiaomin stumbled forward, hitting the door.

“Are you deaf? Don’t call me sister-in-law, got it?” Autumn Jiang’s tone was sharp.

Zhang Xiaomin’s forehead throbbed. Jiang’s words were too harsh, and for a moment, she was stunned. Was this really the weak, incompetent Autumn Jiang Lin Dazhu had spoken of?

Seeing Zhang Xiaomin’s restless eyes, Autumn Jiang guessed her intentions and snorted coldly. “You’re not here to say how hard your life is and that you and Dazhu are meant for each other, hoping I’ll pay a bride price to support you, are you?”

“Ah?” Zhang Xiaomin was stunned. How did Autumn Jiang see through her?

“No, Autumn Jiang, I really want a long-lasting relationship with Dazhu. He likes me too. My family situation is tough, as you’ve seen—my eldest brother is unreasonable, and my family favors sons. I… I want to fight for myself.”

“Your eldest brother is indeed a scoundrel. Wanting to fight for yourself isn’t wrong, but there’s no reason for me to live in hardship just to support you. You’re not my family; why should I give such a large sum for you?”

Autumn Jiang saw through her and called it out. “If you truly love Dazhu, there are plenty of ways to be with him. You could even sever ties with your family if you wanted. But you won’t—you come here to moral blackmail me. Zhang Xiaomin, wanting everything will never end well because you’re too greedy.”

Zhang Xiaomin felt dizzy.

What was moral blackmail?

What did she mean by wanting everything?

Was it wrong for her to look out for herself?

If her family wasn’t supportive, they were still her family. If she was mistreated in her in-laws’, wasn’t it natural to rely on her own family?

The more Zhang Xiaomin thought, the more unfair it seemed. Her tone hardened as she retorted, “Autumn Jiang, that’s not right. You may not be my family, but you are Dazhu’s sister-in-law. As his sister-in-law, would you really want to see his marriage fall apart and him crying?”

Pausing, she pressed harder, “Or is it that you’re greedy, hoarding money and unwilling to help Dazhu get married?”

Hearing their quarrel, Lin Dazhu next door thought he was imagining things. Coming out and seeing Zhang Xiaomin, he was surprised. “Xiaomin, what are you doing here?”

Seeing Lin Dazhu, Zhang Xiaomin changed her tone, pulling at her clothes pitifully. “Brother Dazhu, I don’t want to be apart from you. Please, sister-in-law, help us.”

“Don’t listen to her—she’s just a shrew!” Lin Dazhu felt distressed seeing Xiaomin cry. “I’ll find a way. I promise I’ll marry you!”

He had always liked Zhang Xiaomin; the chaos was caused by the Zhang family, not her. Regardless of his parents’ approval, as long as Xiaomin was willing, he’d endure hardship with her.

“That won’t work, Brother Dazhu. Where would you find so much money?” Without money, her family would never agree to their marriage, and she didn’t want to live in poverty.

Autumn Jiang watched amused and sneered, “Yeah, Dazhu, you better work hard. She wants two hundred yuan, you know.”

She slammed the door and refused to engage with them—one a schemer, the other a fool, quite a match.

Outside the courtyard, Lin Dazhu shouted, “Autumn Jiang, you’re arrogant now, but the day will come when you’ll cry!”

He pulled Zhang Xiaomin aside and whispered, “My family has already written to my eldest brother. He’ll deal with Autumn Jiang. Just wait. My parents worked hard raising my eldest brother. If he won’t give me money to marry, I’ll go to the army to find him!”

“Really?” Zhang Xiaomin doubted.

“Of course. My eldest brother may be fierce, but he never opposes what my parents say.” Lin Dazhu smiled, feeling sweet inside. Luckily, Xiaomin felt the same way.

Yesterday, he thought he and Xiaomin had no future. Now, it seemed they were a perfect match!

Outside the courtyard, Lin Dazhu enthusiastically painted grand promises for Zhang Xiaomin, unaware that the letter from the Lin family to Lin Dazhu’s eldest brother had long been intercepted by Autumn Jiang.

“Beibei, Nannan, stay good at home. Mommy’s going to send a letter to your dad,” Autumn Jiang said, hearing Wang Youren was going to town today—perfect timing to mail the letter.

“Okay, Mom. I’ll watch out for little sister!” Beibei held his sister’s hand as they walked Autumn Jiang to the door.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhengrong, stationed at the army, was drinking at a comrade’s home because the comrade’s wife had come to accompany him.

After several rounds of drinks, those without their wives or families around watched the couples with envy in their eyes.

Suddenly, someone looked at Lin Zhengrong curiously and asked, “Brother Zhengrong, what kind of person is your wife?”