Chapter 19: Chapter 18: Red-Eye Disease

Xue Yue put down the firewood and poured the wood ear mushrooms from her basket.

Mrs. He saw them and came over. “These wood ear mushrooms look good.”

Xue Yue said to Mrs. He, “Mom, I brought back a wild rabbit from my family’s home yesterday. My older brother caught it. You and Dad don’t need to cook lunch today, just come eat with us!”

Mrs. He waved her hand. “No need. You two go ahead and eat it.”

“Mom, that rabbit’s quite plump, the two of us can’t finish it. You and Dad should join us. You’ll just have to bring some radishes over. I’ll cut up some potatoes and the radishes, add the wood ear I picked, and we can make a red-braised stew. That’ll be plenty for everyone.”

“Alright, then. I’ll bring over the cornbread buns I steamed this morning. That’ll save you the trouble of making any.”

He Lang asked Xue Yue, “Did your big brother go hunting in the mountains?”

Xue Yue shook her head. “No, my big brother and I just happened to find a rabbit nest yesterday while we were gathering firewood in the mountains.”

At noon, Xue Yue red-braised the entire rabbit with plenty of vegetables, serving it alongside the cornbread buns Mrs. He had brought over.

“This rabbit meat is delicious. I haven’t had it in so long,” Mrs. He said.

He Lang couldn’t resist teasing his mom. “Dad, isn’t it true? My wife’s cooking is better than your wife’s.”

Mr. He shot a sidelong glance at Mrs. He before telling He Lang, “Nonsense. Your mother’s cooking is delicious, too.”

He Lang made a tsking sound.

Mrs. He smacked He Lang hard on the back. “You little rascal! Even if my cooking isn’t good, you still grew up, didn’t you? It’s not like you starved! Yue’er is the good cook, not you. What are you getting so cocky about?”

He Lang nodded again and again, drawing out his words. “Yeees, yeees, Mom is right.”

“Why, you little punk…” Mrs. He started, raising her hand to hit He Lang again.

He Lang quickly scooted over to sit beside Xue Yue.

“It’s safer next to my wife.”

Xue Yue smiled as she watched them, thinking, ’Mr. and Mrs. He are really wonderful.’

But the sudden sound of scolding and hitting made the atmosphere turn quiet.

Xue Yue silently kept eating, but He Lang stood up.

“Sit down. What are you doing?” Mrs. He pulled He Lang back down.

With a dark expression, He Lang stared toward the second son’s quarters.

Mrs. He put down her chopsticks, stood up, marched over, and kicked open the door to their rooms.

The commotion startled the eldest son’s family and frightened Gao Cuiyun, who was in the middle of hitting her child.

“Gao Cuiyun, have you lost your mind?! You beat and scold your child at the drop of a hat! Have I been too easy on you? Made you think you can do whatever you damn well please in this house? Everyone sees right through your petty little games! The minute the third son’s family has a decent meal, you start abusing your child. What’s wrong, you green with envy? If you don’t want to live in this family, then get the hell back to your parents’ house! You’re useless for anything but hitting your own kid.”

Gao Cuiyun quickly tried to explain, “Mom, it’s not like that. The child was just being disobedient.”

Mrs. He snorted. “Don’t put on an act. We all know exactly what kind of person you are. If you can’t stand seeing other people have a good life, then move out! When He Ze gets back, I’m going to ask him! If he can’t support a wife and child, he should just send you packing and be a bachelor, save us the daily embarrassment.”

Gao Cuiyun was finally scared. “Mom, please don’t tell He Ze. I know I was wrong.”

“Hmph. If there’s a next time, you can pack your bags and go back to your parents. The He Family doesn’t have room for the likes of you.”

When Mrs. He came back out, she saw He Nan and Guo Jinfeng also standing in the courtyard.

“Mom, is everything okay?” He Nan asked.

Mrs. He glanced at Guo Jinfeng, who was looking at the ground. “It’s nothing. Just a case of the green-eyed monster. Some people can’t stand to see others happy. The third son’s wife brought back a rabbit from her parents’ home yesterday and invited your father and me to eat with them. And look, now we can’t even have a meal in peace.”

In truth, Mrs. He was quite good to her daughters-in-law. She never made things difficult for them, having been a daughter-in-law herself once. She was fair to everyone when it came to food and necessities. But some people are just never satisfied.

After lunch, they went back to their room. He Lang noticed that Xue Yue hadn’t said a single word from the time of the commotion until now.

“Are you angry?”

Xue Yue remained silent. ’Who spends all their time watching what’s in other people’s pots? It feels like there’s no privacy at all. It’s like we’ve committed a crime against everyone just by having one nice meal.’ She didn’t want to live like this; it felt suffocating. But causing a scene was clearly not an option. For one, she had only been part of this family for a few days. For another, she had to respect Mr. and Mrs. He, especially since the two elders had been so good to her.

He Lang looked at Xue Yue. “Next spring, we’ll move out.”

Xue Yue looked at He Lang, surprised. “Move out? Where would we go?”

“We’ll apply for a residential plot from the village and build our own house. When we do, we’ll build several rooms and even a washroom. I’ve seen them in the city before, they’re great. They have a drain, so the bathwater just flows right out through a pipe.”

“Really? The water can flow away right through the floor?” Xue Yue’s face was filled with curiosity. Her big eyes, set in her delicate face, watched him earnestly.

He Lang seemed to lose his train of thought for a second, then chuckled. “It’s true. In the city, the toilets are even inside the house.”

Xue Yue was so shocked she covered her mouth. “What? The toilet is inside? Wouldn’t that be unbearably smelly?”

“Haha, it doesn’t smell. It’s a flushing toilet. When you’re done, you flush it with water, and it all goes down the pipes.”

Upon hearing this, Xue Yue’s eyes lit up. ’I have to go to the city and see it for myself one day,’ she thought.

He Lang patted Xue Yue’s head and tilted his own to look at her. “Not angry anymore?”

Xue Yue paused for a moment, then pursed her lips.

“I’m not really angry… It’s just, it feels like there’s no privacy. Like having one nice meal is some kind of crime.”

“Just endure it a little longer. The weather is about to turn cold for the year. Next spring, we’ll build our house and move out.”

In truth, it wasn’t just Xue Yue who was angry. He Lang was angry too. It was just as she’d said—it felt like they were living under a microscope.

Then, a thought occurred to Xue Yue. She said to He Lang, “How much money does it take to build a house? I still have 200 yuan.”

This was from the money she had gotten from Liu Hongxing and her wedding gift money. After spending about 450 yuan at the hospital and giving the 20 yuan from the production team leader to her brother, she now had 200 yuan left.

He Lang was taken aback by the girl’s offer for a moment, then he smiled. “Silly girl, you don’t need to use your money. I have my own.”

Xue Yue remembered that He Lang did business on the black market. ’Okay, he’s probably much richer than I am,’ she thought.

He Lang went and dragged over a large woven plastic sack from the floor, then opened it.

“Cotton? You bought cotton?” Xue Yue leaned in for a closer look.

He Lang nodded. From beneath the cotton, he pulled out a bolt of gray fabric, two jars of canned goods, a piece of cured meat, a bag of White Rabbit candies, and a jar of vanishing cream.

“Vanishing cream?”

“Yeah. I saw a lot of women buying it, so I got a jar for you too.”

Xue Yue took the jar of vanishing cream, her face full of delight. She had never used it before; she had only ever seen Yang Xiaoxia applying it at the production team leader’s house.

“Thank you, He Lang.”

’Even though He Lang doesn’t love me,’ Xue Yue thought, ’he’s really good to me.’

He Lang stared at Xue Yue for a couple of seconds before saying softly, “It’s my duty to be good to you. You’ll have your chance to repay me in the future.”

“Right. I’ll be good to you in the future, too.”

The corners of He Lang’s mouth quirked up, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

“Why did you buy more candy? I haven’t even finished the last bag.”

He Lang said, “Don’t all you young girls like candy? Don’t be afraid to eat it; when it’s gone, I’ll buy you more. Eat up. You’re still a growing girl.”

Xue Yue said, “A growing girl? I’m eighteen… I don’t think I’m growing anymore, am I?”

“Why not? In any case, just eat more.”

’Eat more,’ He Lang thought. ’It doesn’t matter if she gets taller. If she puts on some weight, maybe she won’t look so young. Otherwise, I really can’t bring myself to make a move. Having such a beautiful young woman sleeping beside me every night… I’m no saint, after all.’

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