Chapter 297 The Unfortunate Liu Xiaomei

Chapter 297: Liu Xiaomei’s Hard Life

"An An, you sleep first. I'll watch our stuff, and you can take over later."

Su An nodded, wriggled around, found a comfortable position, tilted her head, and dozed off.

When she woke up from her nap, it was already 2 o'clock. She scrubbed her face and gestured for Wang Xiaocui to take a rest.

Wang Xiaocui didn’t fuss—after all, she’d have to carry the luggage when they got off.

At dawn, they disembarked and helped each other out of the station. Su An led Wang Xiaocui to the same restaurant outside the station they’d visited last time.

After breakfast, following Su Ping’s instructions, they bought three roasted chickens—one for the eldest uncle’s household, one for the youngest uncle’s, and one for Great-Uncle Lihua.

Back when Su An had that trouble, the Wang and Chen families had confronted each other.

The Wang family’s side was led by Great-Uncle Lihua, who was also Jiushisan’s village secretary. Wang Yongzheng had mentioned in his letters that his brother had taken good care of him, so this roasted chicken was a must.

After changing buses again and again, they finally arrived at Jiushisan Village by noon, just like last time.

Su An and Wang Xiaocui, laden with bags, hiked into the village. Wang Xiaocui walked brimming with energy, hollered at everyone loudly.

"Hey, Auntie Shun! Hahaha, it’s me, Xiaocui! Has it really been that long? You don’t recognize me?"

"Brother Sancheng, it’s me, Xiaocui! Really? I’ve changed that much?"

"Auntie Liu, looking for your chicken? Oh, it laid eggs somewhere else again? Just kill it—a chicken that strays to lay eggs is useless."

"Younger? Hahaha~ Oh, stop it, I just got a haircut."

Wang Xiaocui pretended to brush her clothes modestly while still standing tall.

"Oh, this? It’s called leggings. All the city folks are wearing them now..."

"Well, I’d better head to my mom’s place first. Let’s catch up later!"

Thanks to Wang Xiaocui’s booming voice, half the village knew she was back—and that she’d made money, looked younger, and dressed fashionably—before she even reached Wang Yongzheng’s house.

Some kids, even more excited than the adults, sprinted ahead to Wang Yongzheng’s place to spread the news.

By the time Su An and Wang Xiaocui arrived at Grandma’s house, Li Yulan was already leaning against the doorframe, peering outside.

When she saw Su An and Wang Xiaocui, she hobbled out, gripping the doorframe. "Shuangshuang, Shuangshuang, your sister’s here!"

Hearing her mother-in-law’s call, Zhang Shuangshuang quickly stuffed firewood into the stove and hurried out to greet them.

"Xiaocui! An An! Come in, come in!" Despite her joy, Li Yulan’s upbringing kept her demure, lips pursed.

"Good, you look much better now, and you’ve filled out. An An too—you’ve grown taller, hehe."

Li Yulan held Su An’s hand, looking them up and down.

Then she quickly looked behind them. "Where’s my Ping Ping? Is he coming later?"

"Mom, Ping Ping is working. He couldn’t get leave. He told me to tell you he’ll come see you next time," Wang Xiaocui quickly relayed Su Ping’s message.

Her face fell—her Ping Ping hadn’t come back.

Understanding her grandma’s concern, Su An quickly added, "Grandma, Brother is doing really well now. He’s apprenticed to a head chef at the restaurant. Once he’s trained, he’ll be a full-fledged chef. He said he’ll bring pig’s feet for you every day!"

Li Yulan's eyes lit up, "Really? My Pingping's gonna be a real chef?"

Wang Xiaocui nodded proudly.

Li Yulan was even happier, "That's wonderful! I always knew Pingping would make something of himself. Work is important, learning a trade is important. A trade means security. My Pingping will surely succeed."

Pingping was the child she cherished the most and worried about the most. She had always feared that after Wang Xiaocui was gone and An An was married, Pingping would have no one to rely on. Now that he was learning a trade, he’d never go hungry. She was overjoyed.

"Mom, he bought you lots of food—Malt-O-Meal, for your daily cup, and also oatmeal and pastries."

Li Yulan was grinning from ear to ear. "That boy! Don't let him spend so recklessly. Put it aside for his future. I don’t lack food at home. Don’t spend on me—save it for him to use later."

Zhang Shuangshuang helped carry the things inside, then quickly turned to fetch water.

"Sister, we’ve already eaten. It’s too late to fix a meal now. How 'bout I whip up some noodles?"

Su An waved her hands repeatedly. "Auntie, don’t go to the trouble. We’ve already eaten on the way."

"Really? Don’t be polite with me."

"Really, we’ve eaten."

Zhang Shuangshuang hurried to douse the stove fire, poured tea, washed some homegrown peaches, and set them on the table, then sat down to chat.

Wang Xiaocui glanced around. "Where’s Yongzheng?"

Zhang Shuangshuang picked up a peach and handed it to Su An. "Homegrown."

"Yongzheng went to the fields. The three-fen plot by Hedigou was scheduled for timed water allocation at noon. He should be back soon."

Wang Xiaocui’s heart sank. "Timed water allocation?"

Zhang Shuangshuang sighed. "It’s been like this for almost half a month. The worst part's behind us now. Harvest season's just around the corner."

Wang Xiaocui fell silent for a moment, then asked softly, "How’s Yongshun’s family doing?"

Zhang Shuangshuang glanced at Li Yulan but said nothing.

Li Yulan’s face fell. "Those heartless bastards in the village keep bullying your brother. Your sister-in-law, just a woman, couldn’t protect their water share. The water they managed to channel in was stolen. This year’s harvest won’t be good."

"Luckily, the fields by Hedigou are next to Yongzheng’s. With Yongzheng helping to guard them, there haven’t been any problems."

Zhang Shuangshuang’s eyes also showed pity. "As for the fields at Miaoping near sister-in-law’s place, during the heading stage, all the water was siphoned off. Many of the heads dried up. Sister-in-law had to tote water from the river with a shoulder pole, tote by tote, to save some of them."

"When I passed by while herding the ducks last time, I saw that many of the grains were shriveled."

As a woman herself, Zhang Shuangshuang couldn’t help but sigh at Liu Xiaomei’s fate. During the time Liu Xiaomei was carrying water to save the crops, even she couldn’t bear to watch.

Liu Xiaomei was sunburnt to a crisp, relying solely on her frail shoulders to carry water to the fields. Her shoulders were raw from the carrying. God knows which soulless jerk could be so cruel as to bully her like this and still sleep at night?

Wang Xiaocui’s face darkened. "The distant fields couldn’t have been stolen from. No need to guess—it was those two households next door. They’re trying to run folks into the ground."

Li Yulan frowned. "Xiao Mei cussed out those two families for a whole day. But even if there was evidence, Xiao Mei wouldn’t dare confront them. You know her temper—she puts on a tough front, but we know better."

"That Miaoping field feeds them half the year—the best land Yongshun has. Yongzheng is already tending his own land and yours. He can’t help much more."

"At times like this, even brothers come to blows over water rights till they’re bloody. But usually, it’s just about siphoning off some watering time. Few families have their stored water drained outright like Yongshun’s."

"In the end, it’s because they think Yongshun's a pushover."