RSMFH 11

Chapter 11

Wife, Feed Me…

The two households shared a kitchen, and it had been agreed that whoever used it first would have it for half an hour. Jiang Ning and her family had only used it for a little over ten minutes when they were already being rushed, and Wang Xiufen felt quite uncomfortable.

“Mom, our time isn’t up yet,” she replied, taking the first step in standing her ground.

Lin Zhou-shi’s eyes widened, looking at her with sheer disbelief. “Back-talking me now, are you? I’ve never seen such an unfilial daughter-in-law!”

She reached out with her grimy hand toward the flour basin, hoping to claw out a clump of dough to make a pancake for herself. Wang Xiufen instinctively covered the enamel basin with her body, standing guard. “Is this yours? Why are you grabbing it?”

Lin Zhou-shi was furious, clutching her chest and crying out in pain. Yu Xiaofeng hurriedly emerged from her room, patting her back to comfort her. “Mom, don’t get angry with them. They’re eating white flour? We have that dried noodle tucked away—let’s just boil those instead.”

Lin Zhou-shi felt her chest pain worsen. That dried noodle was a leftover from her birthday celebration; she had hidden it away, thinking it was just enough for herself. How did her eldest daughter-in-law know about it, and why was she eyeing it? “Eat what? We’re drinking grain porridge this morning!” she snapped, annoyed.

After a while, Jiang Ning had finished making all the chive pancakes and carried them back to her own room. Lin Zhou-shi was secretly thrilled, thinking there would be plenty of oil left in the pan—just enough to boil some rice and water to get a taste of that savory richness. But when she lifted the lid, the pot was black and slick, having been scrubbed clean with wood ash.

Hearing Lin Zhou-shi’s roar of frustration, Jiang Ning gave Wang Xiufen a thumbs up. Her mother-in-law had finally caught on and was starting to stand up for herself; after finishing the pancakes, she had scooped a pile of wood ash from the stove, thrown it into the pot, and scrubbed it relentlessly.

After dividing the pancakes among the family, Jiang Ning took one and headed outside. Lin Chen had just finished putting the pork away; knowing the pancakes might not be enough, he had gone out to help move bricks. Thinking of how capable and talented his wife was, he felt a surge of sweetness.

Suddenly, a savory aroma drifted into his nose, and a glistening, oil-slicked chive pancake was extended toward his mouth. “Let me feed you!” Jiang Ning said with a sweet smile.

Her husband was wearing a sleeveless undershirt, revealing bulging muscles covered in a fine sheen of sweat, making him appear incredibly masculine and sexy. As she made no effort to hide her adoration for his physique, Lin Chen felt his throat bob. Perhaps it was an accident, but the top button of Jiang Ning’s blouse had suddenly popped open. When he looked down, he caught a glimpse of a pale, soft cleavage—it was so enticing he felt a sudden urge to reach out.

“Quick, button your shirt,” he commanded, his voice raspy.

Jiang Ning stifled a laugh, pushing the pancake toward his mouth. “My hands are full. I’ll button it after you finish eating.” This was a bit of intimate playfulness between husband and wife; the silly man didn’t realize she had unbuttoned it on purpose. Sure enough, she saw the desire ignite in his eyes, his ears turning red, and his body reacting.

Lin Chen ate the meal slowly and deliberately, a stark contrast to his usual wolfing down of food. After finishing their pancakes, Luo Guangming and the others felt full of energy; they stacked all the mud bricks neatly before heading to the fields for their shift. Since Lin Chen had taken a few days off for his wedding, it was time for him to get back to work, so he followed behind.

The golden rice fields had been completely harvested, and several old yellow oxen were plowing the earth with rhythmic groans. Some commune members were pulling seedlings from the seedbeds, gathering them into bamboo baskets to be carried to the edge of the fields and tossed out. Others stood in the fields, picking up the seedlings and planting them with lightning-fast, backward steps. This was the classic image of farming in the south.

Everyone divided the labor. Planting was the most time-consuming task because they had to race against the season; each person was required to plant six-tenths of a mu a day. For most commune members, this wasn’t a difficult task, but for the educated youths, it was a grueling test.

After half a day of working under the scorching sun, Ma Huijuan was nearly exhausted, repeatedly wiping the sweat from her face with her sleeves. Despite wearing a straw hat, her cheeks were sunburnt a deep red, and the sweat she couldn’t wipe away made her skin sting. She stood up to rest her back and looked around, noticing Lin Chen working diligently, but Jiang Ning was nowhere to be seen.

In the past, no matter how lazy she was, Jiang Ning at least had to show up for work. She hadn’t expected that now that she was married, she had become so lazy. Educated youths were here to transform the vast countryside; only by cultivating a red heart and calloused hands could one be considered a truly great youth. Someone like Jiang Ning was nothing more than a parasite on society!

“What are you daydreaming about? Ma Huijuan, if you don’t finish this morning’s work, don’t think about getting lunch,” Yang Lili yelled at her after seeing her lagging behind and slacking off. Since Ma Huijuan had leaked the secret about her reading world literature, Yang Lili had no kindness left for her!

The educated youths were a team; whoever did less meant everyone else had to do more. Jiang Ning used to be lazy too, but she was generous, often using her own money to improve everyone’s meals, so no one complained. Ma Huijuan had no money and frequently defaulted on her food payments—where did she get the nerve to slack off?

Just then, Jiang Ning walked along the ridge of the field carrying an earthenware pot. During collective labor, the brigade would sometimes send people to deliver water, but today, everyone was busy planting, and even Lin Fugui and Gao Qiang, who usually stayed out of the fields, were working, so everyone had to bring their own. Ma Huijuan was parched, and seeing Jiang Ning walk over, she assumed the water was for her. If Jiang Ning offers me an olive branch, I suppose I’ll forgive her, she thought.

“Ningning, thanks for bringing me water!” she said with a smile as Jiang Ning walked past.

However, Jiang Ning didn’t even acknowledge her. She walked straight past her, looking only at Lin Chen. “A-Chen, let me feed you some water.” Her voice was soft and charming, and everyone who heard it felt a shiver of delight.

Lin Chen’s eyes lit up; he tilted his face, waiting to be fed. His wife was truly the best—feeding him pancakes, feeding him water, feeding him… He found himself thinking about that soft, pale object he’d caught a glimpse of earlier. A bowl of water went down, refreshing and sweet, making him feel full of strength.

Zhao Ergou, who was nearby, heard there was water to drink and scrambled over, begging for a bowl.

“It’s just water, not even a bit of tea leaf—how good could it taste?” Ma Huijuan scoffed.

But Zhao Ergou’s face beamed, and he asked loudly on purpose: “Sister-in-law, what kind of water is this? It’s delicious!”

Jiang Ning thought, Zhao Ergou, I’ll let you have this one for the sake of helping build the kitchen. Drink a few more times, and those red bumps on your face will slowly heal—who knows, you might even find yourself a wife. She poured another bowl for him, but kept the rest for Lin Chen, refusing to give any to others.

Seeing the pot go dry, Ma Huijuan was gnashing her teeth in rage, deliberately shouting: “How shameless, flirting in broad daylight!”

She rolled her eyes at them, but before she could turn her head back, a handful of rice seedlings landed squarely on her face. Ma Huijuan clawed at the air in panic, breaking down completely as the mud-covered roots of the seedlings stuck to her eyes, nose, and mouth, rendering her unable to speak! When the seedlings finally fell away, she let out a blood-curdling shriek:

“Zhao Ergou, you did that on purpose, you jerk!”