Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

“Exactly, we’ve already separated from the family. Why should Second Sister-in-law take my wild pheasant? She’s so capable, why doesn’t she go to Di Yelei to get it herself? It’s just that she sees mom as easy to bully, so she picks the soft persimmons to pinch.” Di Ah-bao didn’t care about what others thought and continued to stir the pot. Anyone who dared to snatch meat from his bowl should have expected this day to come.

Hearing Ah-Bao’s words, Ms. Wang couldn’t help but laugh, and the corners of her mouth curled up naturally.

Elderly Mr. Di, who was beside her, glanced at her lightly and then lowered his head to continue drinking the plain rice porridge in his bowl.

Although it was just one glance, being a married couple for many years, Ms. Zhao shuddered in her heart and naturally understood Elderly Mr. Di’s meaning. She quickly turned and left the room.

“Don’t talk nonsense; she’s your Second Sister-in-law. I’m going to check on what’s going on. They’ve been fighting for quite a while now.”

As soon as Ms. Zhao left the room, Di Ah-bao murmured and cursed under his breath for quite some time before continuing to chew the steamed cornbread in his mouth.

Elderly Mr. Di sighed secretly but said nothing in the end.

“What are you doing? What are you doing? Why are you hitting the children so early in the morning? Stop right now!”

Ms. Zhao quickly went forward and snatched Di Wei from Ms. Wang’s hands. Looking at the child who had been hit hard, she then turned back and continued to scold: “Look at how heavy your hand is. If the child is really injured or left with a scar, and she can’t get married, are you going to support her for the rest of her life? How big a deal is it for the child to make a fuss? Who treats their children like this?”

Ms. Wang had been holding in her anger with no way to vent it. Now that she had been stopped from hitting her own child and scolded by her stepmother-in-law, her anger flared up as well.

Unable to bear it, she pointed at Ms. Zhao’s nose and cursed back: “What do you mean, how do I treat my child? Can’t I discipline my child when she’s causing trouble? She’s already craving meat at such a young age, demanding meat all day long. Eating the steamed cornbread is already good enough. Just a few days ago, we caught half a wild pheasant, and it all went into their mouths. Not to mention my son Gao only got a few pieces of meat, even I, his wife, didn’t get a taste of the soup. On the other hand, you three over there took more than half of the pheasant, and there should be some meat left, right? Why not share some with Brother Gao? After all, he also calls you grandmother! …”

Ms. Wang’s mouth was flipping fast, and her words came quickly without even pausing to catch her breath.

As soon as Ms. Zhao heard the request to share their meat, she couldn’t help but start cursing as well!

“What do you think you are? This meat was given to your father by someone who had a brush with the law. You, a lazy and troublemaking wife, only know how to eat, eat, eat. A good home has been eaten into poverty by you, and now you are even trying to dig meat out of Ah-bao’s mouth to eat for yourself. I think your heart and liver are black…”

The more Ms. Zhao scolded, the more intense it got, and naturally, Ms. Wang didn’t want to be outdone. Early in the morning, it started with the children crying and turned into a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law battle, with loud cursing that echoed throughout Upper Village.

Meanwhile, the instigators Di Ah-Bao and Di Gao, completely unconcerned, continued to eat the food in their bowls. One was a favorite youngest child, and the other was a treasured grandson, but neither of them thought of going out to stop the fight. After they were full, they each slipped out of the old house, not knowing where they went to play.

By the time Elderly Mr. Di finished eating and carried a hoe up the mountain, the arguing between the two women had not yet stopped, so he called out to them.

“What are you arguing about? If anyone has too much energy, go up the mountain and chop a few bundles of firewood to bring back!”

Who would be willing to go up the mountain and chop firewood on a hot day?

Both immediately fell silent with that single statement, giving each other an angry stare before going back to their own rooms.

Growing even more furious after nearly losing her voice from all that arguing, Ms. Wang couldn’t resist the tormenting hunger gnawing at her stomach. She left the old house and headed straight for Di Family’s residence.

Di Yelei efficiently plucked the porcupine’s quills, gutted and divided the animal, cut it into several pieces, seasoned them with a little salt, and then threaded them onto palm leaves, hanging them under the eave to drip dry. He estimated that one cooked piece would be enough for several people to eat for a day. This porcupine meat was very nourishing, nearly devoid of fat, and provided a deliciously rich soup that was perfect for Sisi to regain her strength.

After brief consideration, Di Yelei took a piece of meat and went straight to the kitchen, planning to cook it in a stew for today’s noon meal.

Today, Liu Sisi’s mind seemed to be elsewhere as she automatically sewed ribbon flowers with nimble hands. Her thoughts had strayed far away, and she could not hear what Di Ying was chattering about beside her.

“Mom, what’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you responding to YingEr?”

Di Ying shook Liu Sisi, finally pulling her distant thoughts back.

“What’s the matter, YingEr? I didn’t hear you just now. Can you tell me again?”

YingEr pouted, “Mom, I think I saw Second Aunt wandering outside.”

Ms. Wang wandering around outside? That implied so many things!

Liu Sisi quickly put away the ribbon flowers she was holding and stood up, “Your dad was outside processing the porcupine earlier, I think he only brought one piece of meat in. I’ll go out and see if the meat is still outside.” She wondered, could Ms. Wang have been attracted by the porcupine?

As soon as she stepped out of the room, Liu Sisi saw Ms. Wang wandering outside the courtyard, looking anxious. Clearly, the pieces of meat hanging under the eave had caught her attention.

Appearing fearful that Liu Sisi would discover her, Ms. Wang quickly hid behind a big tree outside Di Family’s fence as soon as she saw Sisi coming out.

Liu Sisi looked down to see the inner organs that Di Yelei had casually thrown to the side, and couldn’t help but tut, “Ah! Ye Lei, how could he hang the meat out here? What if a cat or dog took it away? I’d better take the meat inside. As for these inner organs, why didn’t he deal with them? He’s not planning to throw them away, is he? That wouldn’t be right; this is all meat!”

Liu Sisi deliberately provoked her in a quiet mutter. Such a shameless person who was only interested in other people’s possessions deserved this kind of treatment: to watch but be unable to eat!

Even without seeing Ms. Wang’s expression, Liu Sisi could imagine the indignant look on her face.

As she carelessly turned over the inner organs with her hand, she considered cooking them with chili and scallions to make a delicious dish tonight. They had chili at home, but they needed scallions… She seemed to remember seeing some by the road at the entrance to the village.

She casually looked toward the village entrance and, beyond Di Family’s fence, Liu Sisi unexpectedly spotted a stranger’s figure lying on the wall edge.

The unfamiliar man seemed to be very familiar with her, continuously waving and greeting her.