The Lady Butcher and the Delicate Bride - Chapter 32

Chapter 32

On that morning, Ji Yunniang and Old Lady Ji, mother and daughter, had hurried across the river in a state of agitation, only returning late in the afternoon. When they came back, their expressions were troubled, and no one knew what had transpired. It was only after they crossed back to the riverbank that their faces began to soften.

After returning, Ji Yunniang stole a glance at Mu Dingxiang. The young girl had already finished cutting that section of the rice paddy. She was currently bending over to lift a large bundle of rice stalks; her thin, small frame looked strained, and the muscles in her slender arms were pulled taut. It was a sight that made one’s heart ache.

Just as Ji Yunniang was about to step forward to help, a tall figure approached the small girl. Reaching out both hands, the newcomer took the massive bundle of rice and said, “Just leave it once it’s cut. Why are you rushing to do this heavy labor? The men have strength to spare, and even if they don’t, there’s still me.”

Mu Dingxiang looked up, her small face flushed red from the sun. “It’s not much, just this one bundle. It’s a hassle for them to come over, so it’s the same if I carry it.”

Chu Yu, helpless against her stubbornness, tapped her lightly on the head. “You disobedient little thing.”

Her tone was full of doting affection. Having spoken, she easily hoisted the large bundle of rice stalks and walked toward the edge of the field, with Mu Dingxiang following behind in a light-footed trot.

Ji Yunniang watched the scene, her heart a whirlwind of complex emotions. By the time she snapped out of it, the fresh leaf she had been twisting in her hand was mangled beyond recognition.

After the rice and corn were harvested, and before the sky turned dark, Chu Yu went back early to cook. When Shi Man had come that morning, he brought several catties of meat and a large flowered chicken. Chu Yu stir-fried a few simple dishes; a table for ten people was just the right fit. Although the dishes were simple, the portions were generous, and combined with Chu Yu’s excellent culinary skills, the aroma of meat and vegetables could be smelled from afar, making everyone’s mouth water.

After a day of hard work, everyone’s stomachs were growling. Dinner was ready just as they finished work. Everyone washed their hands and sat around the table, beginning their evening meal against the backdrop of the rising evening glow.

There weren’t enough stools, so the men stood or squatted on large rocks to eat, while the women filled the few small stools available. Chu Yu brought out a small jar of wine and poured a small half-bowl for everyone. A sip of wine paired with the flavorful chicken seemed to make the day’s fatigue vanish.

Ji Yunniang sat beside Mu Dingxiang. Contrary to her usual manner, she acted as the host and placed several pieces of meat in the girl’s bowl. She even placed the only two chicken legs into Mu Dingxiang’s bowl. The young girl, overwhelmed by the favor, said sheepishly, “Everyone worked so hard today, and I didn’t do much. I shouldn’t be the one to eat these chicken legs.”

In the past at the Mu house, the chicken legs always went to Mu Kongqing; she didn’t even have the right to sit at the table. The first time she ever ate a chicken leg was when Old Lady Ji secretly hid one for her during a festival.

Ji Yunniang firmly pressed the chicken leg into her bowl. “Dingxiang did the most; none of us can compare. It’s only right that you eat this.”

Mu Dingxiang noticed that she didn’t call her “San-ya” as she used to, but used her name instead. Though she was puzzled, she couldn’t figure out why. Beside them, Master Liu also laughed. “Your Auntie Ji pities you. If she gives it to you, eat it. You’re thin as a monkey.”

The others nearby chimed in, and Chu Yu said to her with a smile, “Go ahead and eat. You worked the hardest today.”

Seeing her embarrassment, Ji Yunniang placed the other chicken leg into the bowl of Shi Man’s fiancée, Wang Xiaoxi. “You’re both good children and still growing; eat more.”

Seeing Xiaoxi eating a chicken leg with her, Mu Dingxiang stopped protesting. With a heart full of joy, she gripped the chicken leg and nibbled on it in small bites.

Watching her, Ji Yunniang suddenly felt a sting in her nose. She lowered her head and stopped talking, silently eating her rice.

Chu Yu poured wine for everyone, picked up a half-bowl of wine, and stood up. She addressed the crowd gathered around the table: “Today is the first harvest day for our Chu family in many years. Dingxiang and I are very grateful to everyone for coming to help. Especially Master Liu, for taking both the wet and dry grain together; you’ve helped us immensely. My Chu family added a member this year, but the house hasn’t been built yet, so I haven’t been able to invite you for proper drinks. When the house is built, you all must come and join the celebration.”

Liu Heng laughed heartily. “What are you saying? Next year when you can dry the grain yourself, you must remember your old brother first. The business at my restaurant relies entirely on you! And Dingxiang—the little girl is incredibly hardworking. To be able to grow such good grain—within a hundred miles, no one can match you. You’re much more capable than your Auntie Ji was back then.”

Ji Yunniang, hearing him mention her, gave him a reproachful look. “With all this food, is your mouth still not full?”

Liu Heng, seeing his wife’s manner, enjoyed it immensely. He raised his chipped bowl and downed the entire thing in one gulp.

The others also clattered their bowls as they finished their wine. The women took only small sips and stopped drinking.

“Sister Chu, your stir-frying skills are much better than the chefs at our restaurant. If there’s ever a day you stop slaughtering pigs, I’ll hire you with a heavy salary to cook for us.”

Beside them, a flash of awkwardness crossed Ji Yunniang’s face when she heard her husband call her “Sister Chu.”

“Sister Ji and Brother Liu look after me so well. If there’s a day I can’t make a living from slaughtering pigs, I really will have to rely on your restaurant.”

Before Liu Heng could respond, Ji Yunniang interrupted them. “What is with these messy titles? Eat quickly. It’s getting late, and if we delay further, we’ll have to travel in the dark.”

The crowd saw the reason in her words and hurriedly finished the rice in their bowls.

Once finished, they didn’t delay. They boarded the horse carriages to depart. Chu Yu carried two bags of rice and placed them on Shi Man’s cart. “Find a place to dry these yourself when you get back and keep them for you and your wife to eat. You can’t buy rice this good outside.”

Shi Man had been her partner for four or five years; there was no need for many words. He nodded, pulled Wang Xiaoxi onto the cart, and drove toward the main road.

Chu Yu wanted to give some to Old Lady Ji and her son as well, but the old lady refused to accept it. She waved her hand. “My family has several mu that haven’t been harvested yet; how could we eat that much? What you have left won’t even be enough for yourselves. When you run out, come to my house and carry a few bags back.”

Ji Dalang and his wife, seeing their mother refuse, naturally wouldn’t take any. Being farmers themselves, they didn’t lack grain. On the contrary, these two didn’t even have a house; it didn’t feel right to take their things. With a greeting, they also departed.

It wasn’t until the silhouettes of the crowd vanished on the other side of the river that Chu Yu returned to tidy up the mess on the table.

Mu Dingxiang naturally wouldn’t let her work alone. The two of them cleared and washed together, and the cleanup was soon finished.

Chu Yu sat at the cave entrance, enjoying the cool breeze. Thinking of a valley’s worth of grain harvested in a single day, her mood was exceptionally bright. She said to Mu Dingxiang, “The water is hot. You go wash up first; you’ve worked hard all day.”

“It wasn’t hard. With a crowd to help, the work for the first half of the year is finally finished.” Mu Dingxiang felt a sense of relief.

“The first half of the year?” Chu Yu looked at her, puzzled.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know that rice, corn, and beans can be planted for two seasons a year? The soil in our fields was mixed with river silt and is very fertile. The weather has been good this year, and with Zhu-er’s help, planting two seasons a year is no problem at all.”

Chu Yu scratched her head. “I really didn’t notice. I thought I could rest for the rest of the year.”

“Autumn has only just begun. For other families, some of the rice isn’t even fully ripe yet. There’s still plenty of time in the year. Besides, farmers never have a time to rest. Furthermore, building the house will cost a lot of money; relying on your pig slaughtering alone won’t be enough.”

“If it really comes down to it, we can just build it a bit later. It’s not like we can’t live in this cave anyway.” Chu Yu didn’t have a strong obsession with it.

“It’s fine for the two of us, but when so many people come like today, there isn’t even a place to sit.” Mu Dingxiang frowned.

“Alright, I’m just afraid of you working too hard.”

“It’s not hard. The soil is fertile and the seedlings grow well; I hardly have to use any strength. I’m very happy planting.”

Chu Yu nodded. “Fine then. You decide on matters regarding the fields. Tomorrow, after Master Liu threshes and weighs the grain, he can give us the money. I’ve made a rough calculation; it might be nearly fifteen taels of silver.”

Mu Dingxiang’s eyes widened instantly. “Ah! Is it that much? Back when I was at the Mu house, the total for the whole year was less than four thousand catties. After taking out what we ate, everything else went to pay for Mu Kongqing’s tuition; nothing was left.”

Chu Yu laughed. “That was your Mu family; you had many people and consumed a lot of rations, so there wasn’t much left to sell. And look at our fertile fields with Zhu-er’s help, though it’s only ten mu, the corn grows two ears that are bigger than other people’s single ears. How can other families compare?”

Mu Dingxiang thought about it and realized she was right. After chatting for a while, she felt hot and itchy, so she went to bathe first.

That night as they lay in bed, Zhu-er, who had hidden away somewhere during the day, returned after dark. She hopped onto the bed and squeezed between the two of them, saying to Mu Dingxiang, “Mother, are you tired today?”

She was certainly tired, but after the exhaustion, only relief remained. Unlike at the Mu house where she did all the heavy and light work herself—with the exception of Old Man Mu carrying a few bags of rice during harvest there had been no help. Now, not only was there help, but she didn’t even have to do the heavy labor.

When the Mu family’s grain was sold, the income was taken by Old Man Mu. How could it compare to now? When the money is earned tomorrow and Chu Yu returns, she will surely hand the money to her to put in the money jar.

This money from selling grain was the hard-earned fruit of her labor for the past few months. Mu Dingxiang felt happy just thinking about it. At least in this home, she could earn money just like Chu Yu and be helpful. She cared a lot about this, and now that her wish was fulfilled, how could she not be excited?

She reached out and pinched the springy flesh on Zhu-er’s cheek. “I’m not tired. Seeing Zhu-er makes all Mother’s fatigue disappear.”

Hearing this made Zhu-er incredibly happy; she hugged Mu Dingxiang’s arm and giggled.

Chu Yu, however, said unhappily, “Why doesn’t Zhu-er care about me?”

Zhu-er turned over and planted a small kiss on Chu Yu’s cheek. “Chu Yu worked hard too. A reward from Zhu-er.”

Seeing how clever she was, Chu Yu didn’t have the heart to press her further. She rubbed Zhu-er’s head and said, “Where did you go wild all day? Go to sleep quickly.”

Even sprites need to rest and recuperate during the night. Since Zhu-er was young, she grew tired after playing all day. Chu Yu rubbed her head, and the little thing began to yawn repeatedly in no time.

Chu Yu stood up and carried her to the other side of the cave where several vines and plants grew. There was a very small bed there. Zhu-er was placed on the small bed, and smelling the familiar plant fragrance, her breathing grew deep.

“You’ve been busy all day; don’t go slaughter pigs tomorrow,” Mu Dingxiang said to Chu Yu as she lay back down.

“I’ve already made the appointment with the host; I have to go. But I’m not that tired today; a night’s sleep will fix it. You worked hard today too, so rest early.” Chu Yu also gave a small yawn.

Mu Dingxiang’s eyes dimmed slightly, but she couldn’t help for the moment. She could only shut her mouth, tuck the thin quilt around Chu Yu, and say softly, “Sleep then.”

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