Chapter 13

Song Taohong had always believed her mother-in-law was a master of double-dealing—someone who wore a sugary smile on the surface but harbored sharp, cunning edges underneath. To the world, she would cheerfully praise Taohong as the perfect daughter-in-law, but behind closed doors, she wasted no time finding fault in her every move.

The eldest sister-in-law, on the other hand, had a cozy relationship with the mother-in-law, being a distant niece and a natural ally. Their bond was effortless, which left Taohong feeling like an outsider right from the start.

After marrying into the Xu family, the harsh realities hit her like a slap. The truth behind her union with Xu Qiang wasn’t love or fate—it was strategy. The Xu family had deliberately arranged the match because her mother-in-law had her eyes on the Song family's wealth. The Songs, well-known for their generosity toward their daughters, had set a high bar when Taohong’s cousin was married off: two acres of land, fine cloth, custom-made water chestnut furniture, southern camphor chests, and a glittering dowry that included silver hairpins, bracelets, handkerchiefs, and a jaw-dropping ten taels of silver. That kind of display didn’t just turn heads; it bred envy across the village.

In comparison, the Xu family was scraping by. Their ten acres of land barely kept them afloat, and they relied on renting out an old ox to make ends meet. Her father-in-law took up odd jobs wherever he could, but he pocketed a good chunk of his earnings, leaving the household perpetually strapped for cash.

Taohong, meanwhile, had grown up knowing she was attractive enough to aim higher. Her family once dreamed of marrying her off to someone in town or even the county, but reality had its limits. Wealthy families in those circles didn’t want a farmer’s daughter, and to make matters worse, a rich man had the audacity to send a matchmaker offering to take her as a concubine. The humiliation burned. Sure, she liked money—who didn’t? But to settle for the status of a concubine? Never.

Her mother, however, entertained the idea, as greed whispered louder than pride. Seeing the writing on the wall, Taohong took matters into her own hands and turned her attention to Xu Qiang.

Xu wasn’t much to look at, but his scholarly demeanor intrigued her. That air of refinement, coupled with his obvious interest in her, made him a practical choice. A scholar was leagues ahead of a farmer, and Taohong was not about to let an opportunity like that slip away.

After calculating her next move, she made sure to "accidentally" cross paths with him. On the day she learned he would be returning, she feigned a casual trip to gather vegetables and positioned herself perfectly to meet him.

Xu Qiang was only seventeen, young, awkward, and engaged to someone else, but his innocence made him easy prey. The allure of a beautiful girl seeking his company was too much for him to resist. One encounter turned into several, and soon they were meeting in secluded spots, driven by a mutual, unspoken understanding.

Then came the moment of reckoning. When Taohong missed her period and found herself pregnant, the weight of reality crushed her. She wept in Xu Qiang’s arms, forcing him to confront the storm they had stirred. Terrified, Xu Qiang confessed everything to his parents.

The news hit like a thunderbolt. Xu Qiang’s family had no choice but to act swiftly. For a scholar, reputation was everything. A scandal like this could destroy not only Xu Qiang’s standing but also his dreams of further education. The family scrambled to contain the fallout, knowing that failure to handle the situation would tarnish them all.

Song Taohong dared to make a move on Xu Qiang because she had already sized up the situation and knew her odds were good. If it weren’t for this one advantage, she wouldn’t have given him a second glance. His family background? Nothing to write home about. His looks? Passable, at best. If it were purely about appearance, Zhou Tiezhu would’ve been the clear choice—handsome and rugged in a way that turned heads. But alas, he was adopted, penniless, and chained to a lifetime of servitude for the Zhou family. A handsome face isn’t worth much when it comes with an empty pocket.

The Xu family, on the other hand, was desperate to secure a marriage for Xu Qiang. His mother, sharp and calculating, devised a plan in no time. The idea? Have Xu Qiang work through Song Taohong’s relative, Song Dingxiang, to smooth things over and seal the deal. It wasn’t exactly the classiest move, but in these matters, results trumped propriety.

Song Dingxiang, though, wasn’t the most reliable go-between. She spent her days idling about the village, only finding a chance to step in when she went to the river to wash clothes. It was hardly a grand strategy, but it was enough for Song Taohong to read the room and make her move. She waited for the perfect moment—when everyone was caught up in gossip and laughter—and struck while the iron was hot.

Honestly, the thought of marrying into the Xu family wasn’t half bad. Sure, they weren’t wealthy, but once Xu Qiang passed his civil service exam, she’d be set as a proper official’s wife. She’d endure the family’s modest lifestyle for now, do a little embroidery on the side to line her own pockets, and wait for her rise to respectability.

That said, her future mother-in-law was a piece of work. A woman cunning enough to hatch a scheme that tarnished the reputation of a decent girl wasn’t going to win any awards for character. But Song Taohong wasn’t worried. She played the long game. Once she solidified her position as the official’s wife, she’d deal with that meddling old woman. Revenge, after all, is best served cold.

*

Song Dingxiang settled down, took a long nap, and woke up groggily.

The water in the pot was still warm. She washed her face and mouth, followed the sound of chopping wood to the backyard. Zhou Yinuo was chopping wood, and from the looks of it, he seemed eager to chop all the firewood for the next few years. There were also two dead trees in the yard, and she didn't know when he had dragged them in.

"Awake?" Zhou Yinuo straightened up, wiped the sweat off his face, "Mom just came over. We'll have steamed buns, stewed fish for dinner tonight. Let's go over and eat."

Song Dingxiang chuckled, "Mom is too diligent. We still haven't finished the leftovers at home. We go there every day for fresh food."

Zhou Yinuo said, "Why don't you go by yourself? I'll stay here and finish up the leftovers first."

Song Dingxiang replied, "What do I say if my mom asks? Do I tell her that I let her son-in-law eat the leftovers at home while I come back to eat fresh food? My mom will scold me. Let's go back together, and for the next few days, we'll eat at home. Since when did we buy fish at home?"

Zhou Yinuo explained, "I took a short nap and went to the mountains to chop wood. I saw a fish carriage enter the village, so I guess they bought it then."

About ten miles north of their location, there was a large river where some families were especially good at fishing. They never saw them set nets when the weather was warm, but as soon as it got cold, they would drill through the ice to set nets and catch fish.

They said that winter fish had plenty of oil and thick fat, making them the most delicious when stewed.

Song Dingxiang patted her cotton skirt and said, "I'll go help them chop the fish at home. We can't just go back to eat ready-made food without contributing. By the way, before you go, clean yourself up and change your inner clothes. Don't go there all sweaty and stinky, or you'll make the kids uncomfortable."

Zhou Yinuo chuckled with his mouth open, hummed in acknowledgment, and then continued to split the firewood.

Song Dingxiang stood and watched for a while, then turned and left her own courtyard.

In the Song family's courtyard, there were a lot of fish bought, each one large and plump, almost as long as Song Dingxiang's arm. Fang shi and Aunt Zhang were in the yard slaughtering the fish.

The fish was frozen solid, so it had to be soaked in water to soften before cutting, as the scissors couldn't cut through the fish belly.

Song Dingxiang entered her own house, pulled out an old dress belonging to Fang shi, put it on, rolled up her sleeves and tied them with a cloth belt, and went over to help.

Aunt Zhang quickly stopped her, "Don't join in, it's smelly."

Fang shi said, "Don't stop her, let her help. She's married now, how can she not know how to slaughter fish? We have to finish them all today, stew six for dinner, or we'll have to wait until Chinese New Year to have fish again."

Song Dingxiang touched the water in the basin, which was warm. She fetched a small stool, sat down, scooped out a fish from the basin, grabbed the gills with one hand and used a kitchen knife to scrape off the scales, then asked, "We bought more than ten fish? What should we do with the leftovers?"

Fang shi replied, "Cut the leftovers into pieces, fry them, and send a bowl to your uncles, and even to your grandfathers. We bought so many fish today just for this. We also have to send a bowl to Uncle Wu Ping, the village head, and Uncle Peng Liu. Your father has already arranged with them to build a new house for our family after the New Year."

The families of these three households all had many men who were skilled laborers. Song Zhiyuan had already made arrangements to ensure they were available after the spring work in the fields, fearing they might be busy with temporary work if they weren't.

Song Dingxiang hesitated and said, "Build a house for our family? Don't we already have a place to live?"

"Is that your house? That's your mother's house. Can you keep living there? Others will gossip about it," Fang shi scolded her. "It's the money your husband earned from selling tigers. Your father has saved up the money meant for building and furnishing a house, and the rest will be used to purchase more land for the family..."

Song Dingxiang felt touched by this, thinking that even though he was young, he knew how to care for people. However, after thinking for a while, she declined the offer to build a house.

"Mom, how about we hold off on building the house for now? Instead of keeping the money, we could use it to buy a shop in town or the county town, rent it out, and earn some income. In the future, we could consider starting a small business," she suggested.

Fang shi frowned and asked, "A shop? With that amount of money, at most you can only afford a small shop in the county town. It's not worth it. However, in the town, you could get a bigger one... Wait, what kind of business are you thinking about? Do you have business acumen?"

"Aunt, look at my mother. She gets impatient over a few words!" Song Dingxiang finished scraping the fish scales, then cut open the fish belly with scissors, and tattled on her mother to Aunt Zhang.

Aunt Zhang just smiled and didn't join in the conversation. After all, that money was brought in by Mr. Zhou, and it had nothing to do with their family.

"But we already made an agreement to build a house with the money!" Fang shi insisted.

Song Dingxiang replied, "Wouldn't that amount of money be enough to build a grand estate? How can I live there alone? We can just build three basic rooms for now to hold the space. Earthen brick houses are inexpensive and can be built quite quickly - we could have them finished in five or six days. Once Dad returns, let's call Zhou ge and have a discussion. We can explore using the leftover money to buy a shop, or something similar. Besides, after a fortnight, he'll have to go join the army, and I'll come back to live here. A new house sitting empty will just fall into disrepair, right?"

After thinking it over, Fang shi agreed, "Alright, you have a point. Get back to cleaning the fish."

After cleaning three to four fish, Aunt Zhang washed them, cut them into pieces with scallions, ginger, garlic, and marinated them with a spoonful of wine. This method of marinating fish to remove the fishy smell was learned from Song Xingyi.

He was skilled at stewing both meat and fish, and the first thing he taught his daughter-in-law to cook was how to use wine to remove the fishy smell.

After meticulously cleaning all the fish, we had perfectly prepared marinated fish pieces. These were then coated in a light dusting of potato starch and a few tablespoons of flour.

Next, two eggs were cracked and whisked together before being incorporated into the fish mixture. Finally, everything was thoroughly combined and fried in a large pan.

They kept the heads and tails at home, packed the fish pieces in a large bowl, and asked Aunt Zhang's eldest son, Song Junli, to deliver the fish to various households. With the leftover oil in the pan, they fried their own fish.

A large whole fish was pan-fried until it achieved a crisp, golden brown color on both sides. Then, it was simmered in a flavorful autumn broth. While stewing the fish, Fang shi kneaded a bowl of stick noodles.

When it was almost done, she lifted the lid of the pot and placed golden pancakes around the edges. These pancakes were not enough for the whole family, so in another pot, stick noodles were rubbed on the bottom, mixed with sweet potatoes, and surrounded by more pancakes.

With the pancakes sizzling on the griddle, Fang shi grabbed a large chunk of pickled vegetables from the kitchen jar. She meticulously sliced it into thin strips, then sprinkled a generous amount of chopped green onions on top.

Next, she heated a spoonful of lard over the open flame until it shimmered. With a practiced hand, she poured the hot lard over the pickled vegetables, sending a delightful aroma wafting through the room.

*

Zhou Yinuo split a large pile of firewood and worked up a sweat. He then burned another set of firewood to warm the water, stripped off his clothes and washed himself while his wife was out, changed into clean inner clothes, put on a padded jacket, and went to his mother-in-law's house to eat stewed fish.

As usual, there was a table for men and a table for women. Song Zhiyuan and Song Junshan were not present, so the men's table only had Grandpa Song Xingyi, Uncle Song Zhicheng, Uncle Song's two eldest sons, Song Junli and Song Junshui, as well as her two little nephews, eleven-year-old Song Junyao and eight-year-old Song Junsui.

However, these two little guys were called by their nicknames - Hu Tou and the other Hu Zhi - and were both handsome and smart.

The women's table included Grandma Li shi, Aunt Zhang, Fang shi, Aunt Zhang's and Fang's daughters-in-law, one from the Shi family and the other from the Jin family. There was also Aunt Zhang's eldest daughter, thirteen-year-old Song Zijin, and Song Dingxiang's sister-in-law, Qiao shi.

And of course, there were several younger children in the next generation. They were still learning how to eat without choking on fish bones, so their mothers had to keep a close watch on them while they ate.

The table was a picture of simplicity, adorned with just three main dishes. In the center stood a large pot brimming with stewed fish, its aroma likely wafting around the table.

Flanking it was a plate of vibrant pickled vegetables, their crisp slices mingling with glistening lard. A humble bowl of soy sauce stood by, ready to add a salty touch.

Across from the main dishes, a sieve held a stack of large, golden pancakes, their warmth likely radiating a tempting aroma. Each person received their own bowl, filled with a comforting combination of sticky noodles and sweet potato congee.

Song Dingxiang enjoyed eating fish heads. The well-stewed fish head was extremely delicious, with no bones around the meat. Especially the fish brain, with just one suck it slid smoothly into the mouth, the taste was beyond words.

Fang shi clicked her tongue and said, "Everyone else is eating meat, and you're gnawing on the head. Is the fish head really that delicious?"

Grandma replied, "Oh, you. Every time the child comes back, you start nagging. What's wrong with eating fish heads? Do you know fish heads are good for the brain? If you like it, eat more. Isn't this fish head enough?"

Fang shi snorted and still gave her daughter a big piece of fish belly meat. "The kids here don't have thorns, unlike your nephew. Eat, the meat here is boneless."

Song Dingxiang's eyes welled up with tears, feeling like crying again...

——— Author's Note: This story is a slow burn, a steady trickle. If you're always looking for face-slapping, various golden fingers, and super satisfying moments, you might have to wait a while...