Chapter 37

Shen San and Li Shi had no idea that their son was wishing he belonged to someone else's family, all for a few bites of food.

The couple had been at home for half a day, one sitting under the eaves of their own living room, the other fiddling around in the yard, mostly lingering there to spot any approaching visitor from afar.

With Qin Fangniang's return, it likely meant that Sang Luo had also returned.

The couple, while both observant, harbored different thoughts.

Li Shi was anxious, hoping not to be involved with the eldest family's affairs.

Shen San's thoughts, however, were more complex. Their harmony as a couple, often thinking alike, suggested the adage, "Birds of a feather flock together."

Like their mutual reluctance to harbor freeloaders or the way they had conveniently passed the burden of the eldest household to Sang Luo through the division of property, deceiving themselves that this absolved their conscience.

In fact, even when their views slightly diverged on certain matters, one would invariably influence the other, depending on whose will was stronger.

At the moment, both Shen San and Li Shi agreed on one thing – they were unwilling to engage in unprofitable endeavors.

This was their inherent nature.

However, today, their nature was overshadowed by Shen San's concern for his male pride.

Imagine the scenario: stepping outside and encountering villagers, their mocking gazes, half-smiling expressions, deliberately asked ambiguous questions, and the murmuring behind his back as soon as he turned around, promptly switching topics when he faced them again.

Who wouldn't understand?

Who could endure it?

Shen San hadn't left his house all day, feeling as if the whole village was watching his spectacle.

This was even more unbearable than the last confrontation with Sang Luo at the courtyard gate. Back then, only a few neighboring families were involved, and the division of the family had occurred months ago. Sang Luo's near starvation, well, that was just what Shen An, Shen Ning, and Sang Luo themselves spoke of. Who witnessed it? Aren't they alive and well now?

Even Shen San himself didn't believe it, let alone expecting others to.

But this situation was different.

The eldest family was about to build a house, not under his, the sole elder's, initiation, but rather, it was the neighboring Chen family who took the lead.

It felt like a huge slap directly across his face.

Even though he might not want to do anything for the eldest family, it didn't mean his dignity as an elder and a man could be trampled upon, especially under the watchful eyes of the entire village, getting stomped and ground into the mud.

This was truly unacceptable to Shen San. It made him feel utterly discomfited, as if stripped of his clothes, unable to stand tall and walk out of his house with the dignity of a man.

Therefore, while Li Shi hoped Sang Luo wouldn't come, Shen San, on the contrary, was eagerly waiting for her visit. A visit from her would give him an opportunity to save face.

Even if he just symbolically bustled about and helped for a couple of days, it would allow him to stand tall with dignity.

The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became. As time ticked away, his anxiety only intensified.

Unable to remain seated, Shen San stood up and started pacing in the courtyard, hands clasped behind his back.

As he passed the courtyard gate, he instinctively glanced outside, much like he had countless times that day.

But this time, who did he see?

Sang Luo!

A surge of excitement shot through Shen San, but he quickly composed himself, pretending he hadn’t seen Sang Luo. He continued pacing to the chair outside the main room and sat down.

It was like drinking a refreshing bowl of water on a sweltering summer day; all his anxiety was momentarily soothed.

The corners of his lips involuntarily curled up into a slight smile.

Now that she had arrived, he was already plotting in his mind how to tactfully handle the situation, aiming to reprimand her mildly without overdoing it, so as to smoothly take over the task at hand.

Then, he resolved to visit each household in the village, showing those who mocked him that, in matters of importance, he was still the one to count on.

He thought to himself, if Sang Luo speaks reasonably during her visit and shows due respect to her elder, perhaps he could lend a hand for an extra day or two.

Without a kitchen at their place, would they request his household to arrange for meals?

After all this effort, surely no one in the village could gossip about him any longer, right?

Internally, Shen San rapidly assessed the extent to which he should offer help, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his thigh.

Li Shi, sensing his unusual demeanor, glanced outside and spotted Sang Luo.

A sense of alertness surged within her, recalling the recent quarrel with Sang Luo. A flash of hostility sparked in her eyes.

Why should she extend favors and share her grain to help Sang Luo with her construction? The audacity of Sang Luo to even consider coming here!

The couple, each harboring their own thoughts, then watched as Sang Luo drew closer, and closer, and then walked past…!!!

Shen San instantly stood up and strode to the gate to look outside, only to see Sang Luo heading straight into the Chen family's house next door.

In that moment, he couldn't hide his displeasure, his face turning unmistakably sour.

Especially realizing that the two neighboring families had probably seen Sang Luo before them and were eagerly awaiting the spectacle. Seeing his reaction, Shen San felt even worse, swiftly turning around to retreat inside his house, no longer staying in the main room.

Surprisingly, Shen San was so infuriated he almost saw black, while Li Shi nearly laughed aloud in the courtyard.

"Sang Luo, well done!" Li Shi thought with satisfaction, knowing her husband well. After such a public humiliation, Shen San would never extend help to the main house again, no matter the circumstances.

Her gloomy mood finally cleared up.

……

Sang Luo approached Mrs. Chen to discuss meal preparations for the next day.

Mr. Chen, who was also present, said, "Tomorrow's main task is cutting down trees. If we finish that by noon, we'll go to the North Mountain in the afternoon to dig clay and transport it for you. That’s where our village's best yellow clay is. The men will bring their own axes, baskets, and carrying poles. I haven't called for many helpers; your Aunt You Tian must have already informed you."

Sang Luo nodded, "She's told me."

On the way back from the county, Qin Fangniang had already explained who specifically they had invited and how many people each family would contribute.

One was the Shi family, with only Shi Erlang being able-bodied, so he would come alone. The other was the Lu family, quite populous, with two brothers coming to help.

Including the father and son of the Chen family, that made five people.

Sang Luo said to Mrs. Chen, "Grandma, I have to manage my stall and can't neglect my work, so I'll leave all meal preparations to you. We'll use the grain I bought today, and the salt too. Tomorrow, I’ll bring more grain from the county. Aside from rice, I’ll give you twenty-five coins daily for you to purchase meat and vegetables."

Mrs. Chen was taken aback, "Twenty-five coins? For just eight people, including your family? Are you planning to serve meat as the main course?"

"Apart from the expensive fat used for oil rendering, good quality meat with an appropriate fat ratio costs only fifteen coins per jin. Are you planning to serve a jin of meat every day?"

Old Man Chen thought Sang Luo was young and unaware of local customs, so he hurriedly explained, "Ah Lie's widow, in the village, when people help build houses, the meals provided usually depend on each family's ability. However, meat is typically just cut into some vegetarian dishes to make it 'meat dishes'. As long as the meals are filling and have some meat, it's considered good hospitality. It's not necessary to serve big portions of meat."

Mrs. Chen added, "Eggs cost one coin each and are also considered non-vegetarian food. Vegetables are cheaper. For eight people, you can make it lavish with five vegetable dishes per meal, twice a day. It should cost about three or four coins, and you don’t need to buy from elsewhere. You can get them from us."

"You've invited only five people, and both Xiao An and Xiao Ning are kids who don’t eat much. You don’t need that much money for a day."

"For two meals a day, having half a jin of meat is quite decent. You could also buy pig liver or heart, which count as meat but are cheaper. This way, fifteen coins a day should be more than enough."

"If you trust me, leave fifteen coins per day with me. That should be about right. If it’s not enough, I’ll ask you for more. Any surplus will be returned to you."

The old lady went on teaching her how to spend less money for a decent meal. Sang Luo listened and laughed, "If I can't trust you, who can I trust? But it's not eight people eating, it’s twelve. You and Auntie, along with the two kids, will also join us."

Mrs. Chen was startled and waved her hand, "No need for that. Lending the kitchen is one thing, but our whole family eating with you is another. We’ll just make do with simple meals at our home."

Sang Luo half-jokingly protested, "Aren't you being too formal? Your family has four adults, three helping me out, and Auntie helps at my stall. Am I such a stingy person? Would I begrudge Erlang and Xiaoyar a meal? Besides, the two kids aren’t idling around either. They're helping at my place. Don’t tell me you didn't know."

Mrs. Chen: ……

"It’s not about that. You already have big expenses building a house, how can we all eat at your cost?"

"Apart from everything else, the laborers have big appetites, especially since they usually lack proper nutrition. If you cook white rice, each can easily consume a sheng (about a liter) of rice per day. With five people, that’s five sheng. For twelve people, even if we eat modestly, it will still be a lot. The dou (about ten liters) of grain you bought today might just reduce to chaff by day’s end."

Sang Luo didn’t let her finish, wrapping an arm around Mrs. Chen’s shoulder, "Consider this as my gratitude for all the thought and effort you, Grandpa, Uncle, and Auntie have put into helping me. Please don’t refuse anymore. If I make Auntie and the kids eat separately, I wouldn’t deserve to be human. I wouldn't have the face to visit your house in the future."

Oh, my heavens.

The old lady was overwhelmed by this gesture.

"Even her son and daughter-in-law wouldn’t act so affectionately with her."

"This was troublesome."

"The old lady was at a loss for words."

"Sang Luo waited with raised eyebrows."

"Old Lady Chen: 'Alright, alright, I'll ask Erlang to help carry mud for your family too.'"

"Sang Luo smiled, pouring out twenty-five coins from her purse onto the table and pushing them towards Old Lady Chen: 'Then it's still twenty-five wen. Please accept it.'"

"Old Lady Chen hurriedly shook her head: 'No need for that, us women and children don’t sit at the table; we just grab a bit of vegetables and eat under it. Just add a couple of plain dishes, no need to spend that money.'"

"How much grain would they consume over these days?"

"Old Lady Chen thought about how she had softened her heart to help Sang Luo initially; the two liters of rice, the second liter added begrudgingly."

"Now, her large family of six, even counting her helping with the cooking, only had three people working. Feeding six people for a house-building job that couldn't be finished in just a day or two, especially with few hands, would prolong the work."

"Old Lady Chen felt she must have been dazed by Sang Luo’s embrace and soft voice to have agreed so quickly."

"Realizing this, she hastily added: 'We’ll all eat together, so I won’t charge you for the vegetables either. There’s no need for so much.'"

"She quickly counted out eight coins and pushed them back to Sang Luo: 'Take this back, otherwise, I might as well cook myself.'"

"Sang Luo: …"

"What should she say about this old lady? She truly didn’t want to take advantage of others."

"Or maybe, it was that almost everyone in the Chen family followed the old lady and old master’s disposition."

"Sang Luo looked at the old lady, who looked back at her, until Sang Luo conceded: 'Alright, I trust you with this task. Thank you for your hard work, both you and Grandpa Chen.'"

"She took the eight coins pushed by the old lady and put them back in her purse."

"A smile finally appeared on Old Lady Chen's face: 'That’s better. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to eat in peace. Don’t worry, leave it to me; it won’t interfere with your daily tofu selling business.'"

"Old Man Chen, his face weathered with age, smiled: 'Tomorrow we'll cut trees and carry mud. In the afternoon, after you return, we'll mark out the foundation. The day after, you just head to the county; leave the rest here to us.'"

"Having settled the arrangements for starting work tomorrow, Sang Luo brought up another matter."

"'Tomorrow is the 15th, the day of the big market in Sanli Village. My aunt and I are setting up stalls in the county, so we can't manage the market. I was wondering, when you go to the market in the morning to buy vegetables, could you also try selling ten or twenty pieces of our tofu? It won’t take much extra time, and you could easily sell them on the side.'"

"Old Lady Chen's eyes lit up: 'Why not? I won’t be carrying much, I can go early and return early. It won't interfere with buying groceries or cooking.'"

"Sang Luo smiled, her eyes curving, 'Great, then I'll go prepare some ingredients later, and bring out your portion for tomorrow morning tonight.'"

"Saying this, she was about to take her leave."

"Old Lady Chen initially nodded, but then, thinking of something, stopped Sang Luo, asking her to wait."

"She went back inside and returned shortly with a small cloth bag, saying, 'I forgot earlier, but if you're going into the mountains, it’s fine near the village. If you go deeper, especially into densely vegetated areas, sprinkle some of this on your trouser legs and shoes. It's effective for preventing and repelling snakes.'"

"Sang Luo, surprised and delighted: 'There’s such a useful thing?'"

"Old Lady Chen smiled: 'It's nothing expensive. If you need it, just ask me for more when you run out.'"

"Her father in her natal family was a hunter. This snake repellent was a traditional remedy passed down in her family. Sadly, during the drought year, bandits were rampant, and everyone fled separately. She lost contact with her family, and now, whether her parents, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew were still alive or where they might have ended up, she had no news at all."

"This snake repellent was only really used annually in the autumn when her family went into the mountains to gather wild fruits. That's why Old Lady Chen hadn’t thought of it earlier."

Sang Luo was delighted. With this, she felt braver to venture a bit deeper into the forest, repeatedly thanking the old lady and smilingly saying, “I rely on the mountains for my livelihood, so I certainly won't stand on ceremony with you. Just don't find me bothersome when the time comes.”

Mrs. Chen smiled and said she wouldn’t, and with that, Sang Luo happily took her leave, cheerfully taking the snake repellent powder back home.

After Sang Luo left, Mrs. Chen spoke to Mr. Chen, "Such a good-natured person, always mindful of returning any small favor. Those two from next door went too far in their actions; they might one day deeply regret their choices."

"Those two" naturally referred to the neighbors, Shen San and Mrs. Li.

Whether they would regret it or not wasn't clear yet, but Mrs. Li was already quite upset the very next day, without waiting for any of Mrs. Chen's speculative futures to unfold.