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Chapter 204: Chapter 197 Rumors
Days kept passing by at a leisurely pace, Shen Yunfang busied herself every day with the future prospects of her family’s livelihood, completely unaware that someone was plotting against her at the same time.
At Shen Erbo’s house in Gaijiatun.
"Just tell me, does your niece have any conscience at all? Back in the day, she and her mother were always reaching out to us for help. After her mother passed away, she would come over to our house every few days to scrounge for a meal. I, playing the role of the generous second aunt, would always indulge her, providing her with the best I had to offer. I was good to her, wasn’t I? But look at what’s happening now. She’s living a good life, and her household is raising all those chickens, yet she wouldn’t even let people like us know, for fear I might eat into her share." The second aunt sat at the head of the traditional heated brick bed, starting to complain to her husband.
This very morning, when she went out visiting neighbors, she happened to overhear a huge piece of gossip—Shen Yunfang was silently raising a considerable number of chickens at home. They said the reason Shen Yunfang, who used to never lock her door, was now keeping it locked was because she had too many chickens, more than she could accommodate. Fearing that the chickens might escape, she started locking the door every day.
At first, the second aunt was somewhat skeptical, knowing full well that the words passed from one old lady’s mouth to another couldn’t be taken entirely at face value. Even when she herself spread rumors, they were often embellished, and by the time a story passed through several mouths, it would become unrecognizable. So usually, she didn’t take such gossip seriously. It was, after all, someone else’s business—whether it was true or false didn’t really matter to her, and she would treat it as a joke. But today they were talking about her own niece, which also made it her family business, and they mentioned it with great conviction, saying that this information had come directly from old Li’s family in Taoshu Village. This detail made the second aunt’s heart skip a beat.
Not long ago, one of the old women from the Li Family had even stayed at Yunfang’s house with her daughter for a while, so it was possible that this rumor could be true. Even if the tale had been exaggerated by the time it reached her ears, the bit about Yunfang raising a number of chickens and ducks was probably factual.
Besides, she had seen Yunfang’s ducks and geese herself, parading from the west end of the village to the east, an ostentatious display. Everyone knew about it. Normally, people didn’t think much of ducks and geese, regarding them as foolish, and nobody envied her for keeping them. If one had enough grain to feed ducks and geese, they felt it would be better to raise more chickens instead.
After hearing this news, the second aunt returned home with a nagging sense of unease and began to grumble to her husband.
Shen Yesong was the sort of man who, as long as he himself was well-fed, didn’t care if the rest of the family was hungry. He was so lazy around the house that he wouldn’t even bother to pick up an overturned oil bottle. Listening to his wife’s complaints, he was indifferent, letting the words go in one ear and out the other. However, he did have one redeemable quality—despite his disinterest, he was never annoyed by her, so in that way, he was rather like a dependable trash can.
"And it’s not like I haven’t suffered myself, marrying into your Shen Family without ever enjoying any luxury. But you, you’re her uncle! How can she, your niece, fail to even think about you? I’m not expecting any grand gestures from her, just raising so many chickens—why hasn’t she thought to give her dear uncle some eggs, or send over a couple of chickens during the holidays? It’s not like that would bankrupt her," the second aunt remarked while rolling her eyes. She knew well enough that Yunfang had a close relationship with the oldest Shen, always on the go to their home. Now it seemed likely that the eggs and such had been regularly carried over to the eldest Shen’s household, treating her own home as if they were fools.
Shen Erbo smacked his lips, the thought of chicken meat making his mouth water.
"And then there’s our Yunfeng. Back in the day, we didn’t ask anyone for help and just sent her off to the county to help Yunfeng with her class, and we didn’t underpay her one bit, whether in cash or kind. Now that she’s enjoying life, why hasn’t she thought about giving Yunfeng some eggs to nourish her and her mother? I’m telling you, not a single good person comes from your Shen Family. That niece of yours is an ungrateful wretch," the second aunt said bitterly.
At this point, she conveniently chose not to mention that it had been due to a lack of anyone else that Yunfang ended up going to the county to substitute for Yunfeng, nor did she mention how Yunfang had been treated like a maid in Yunfeng’s household, or how she was sent off to the procurement station only to be left there for a whole month without a care, despite being a young girl in the county for the first time, unfamiliar with everything.
"Enough. If you want some eggs, just go and ask Yunfang for them. What’s the use of nagging me about it?" said Shen Yesong dismissively, like someone who lets others manage the business. As far as he was concerned, if you wanted to eat, you should just ask; getting the eggs would be great, as he’d get to eat something nice. And if you didn’t manage to get any, well, it wasn’t a big deal—it was just a matter of opening your mouth.
The second aunt gave her husband a sidelong glance, feeling helpless against his obtuseness, "Easy for you to say. If Yunfang was willing to let you, her uncle, have a bite, would she be locking her doors so tightly every day? Would she be hiding things, keeping us relatives in the dark for so long?" Though she coveted the eggs, she was also acutely aware that the current Shen Yunfang was not someone to be trifled with. If she truly put aside her pride and asked for some eggs, it might turn out well, and she might be given one or two just for show. But if things turned sour, she could end up humiliated by Yunfang.
She had always been highly regarded in the village; her daughter married into a cadre family in the county, and she became the mother-in-law of a cadre. If she were really outsmarted by that girl Yunfang, it would be a huge embarrassment for her in the village.
However, she couldn’t go and ask for the eggs herself, but there was someone who could. Er Damao’s eyes twinkled as she hatched a plan.
"Alright, you just wait at home. I’ll go take a look at Yunfang’s place." Er Damao scurried to the edge of the kang, bent over to slip on her shoes, and headed out the door.
Shen Yesong, lying on the kang, quickly turned over and said, "When you come back, bring me half a jin of liquor too." If he could have chicken eggs for lunch, he’d surely need a few drinks to celebrate.
"You useless old thing, drinking yourself to death would serve you right," Er Damao grumbled as she walked out.
She didn’t head towards Shen Yunfang’s house, but towards Shen Ergu’s instead.
Gaijiatun was not very large; in no time at all, she arrived at Shen Ergu’s courtyard gate, where Zhao Peng was playing by himself at the entrance.
"Dapeng, is your mother home?" Er Damao pushed open the gate and walked in.
Zhao Peng looked up and saw it was his aunt; he wiped the snot about to drip into his mouth and said, "She’s not here; she’s working in the fields."
Er Damao paused mid-stride. How could she have forgotten? It was time for work in the fields. It was only her, with a good son-in-law, not relying on her to earn work points to live, who often didn’t go to work because of various aches and pains.
She immediately straightened up, a sense of superiority washing over her face as she said, "Oh, you didn’t remind me! Well then, you play here, I’ll go find your mother in the fields." Saying this, she turned and walked out of the courtyard.
After looking around, Er Damao finally found Shen Ergu in the Drying Yard.
"Fuzhen, come here for a second, I need to talk to you," Er Damao called out to Shen Fuzhen.
"What’s up, sister-in-law? What do you need?" Shen Fuzhen threw her rake to the ground, wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeve, and walked over to Er Damao.
"Shush, let’s talk over there; I need to tell you something." Er Damao glanced back before grabbing her by the arm and walking to the side.
