The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Only the Thief Knows

In the west wing of the Ji Family home, Mrs. Zhu poked her head out to look around the courtyard. Seeing no one, she closed the door and asked Ji Mingmao.

"Well? Did you find anything good at that wretched girl’s place?"

"Yeah, that wretched girl has tons of good stuff!" Ji Mingmao was so focused on eating the egg Mrs. Zhu had secretly boiled for him that his voice was muffled.

Mrs. Zhu asked anxiously, "What kind of stuff? Hurry and tell Mom."

Ji Mingmao began counting on his fingers, listing them off for her one by one.

When Mrs. Zhu heard about the white flour, the rice, and the lard, she couldn’t sit still.

"Besides all that, was there nothing else?"

At his age, Ji Mingmao only cared about food and fun; he hadn’t really paid attention to anything else.

He thought for a moment, then asked, "Does a new quilt count?"

’A new quilt? She’d seen the Xie family hire someone to fluff cotton. She originally thought Widow Xie was making a quilt for her own family, but it turned out to be for Ji Huan! How much cotton and fabric would that take?’

"She also has a big bathtub, and everything is new..."

Mrs. Zhu’s eyes turned red with envy as she listened.

Ever since she’d stumbled upon Widow Xie’s family eating meat, she had been loitering around that area. Just this morning, she had run into Ji Huan on the way to Widow Xie’s place. She almost didn’t recognize her—that wretched girl was dressed in new clothes from head to toe!

At first, she suspected Widow Xie was helping her out, but now she didn’t believe it for a second. Widow Xie’s own family was dirt-poor. Even if she’d earned some money by sleeping around, wouldn’t she spend it on her own children first? She certainly hadn’t seen any of the Hu Family kids in new clothes.

Anyone else would have immediately wondered where Ji Huan got the money. Mrs. Zhu’s thinking was more practical. She didn’t care where that damn girl got her money from; she only cared about how to make all those good things hers.

The more she thought about it, the more agitated she became, her heart itching as if scratched by a cat. Filled with frustration at his uselessness, she slapped Ji Mingmao on the back.

"You good-for-nothing oaf, don’t you have hands?! Why didn’t you think to grab the rice and flour and bring them home? If you’d hidden them in our room, Mom could have made you some white flour pancakes on the sly."

Ji Mingmao, having been hit, was instantly defiant.

"You’ve got the nerve to blame me? I even got caught by that wretched girl! Why don’t you go yourself instead of just ordering me around!"

Mrs. Zhu looked sheepish. That morning, she had seen Ji Huan heading to Widow Xie’s house and had goaded her younger son into going to the rundown shack. She had hoped he might find some money, but grabbing a few things would have been good too.

Seeing him shouting his head off, she quickly covered his mouth. "My little ancestor, what will happen if your grandma hears you!"

She hadn’t told Granny Kang, her plan being to keep everything for herself.

Ji Mingmao mumbled with a pout, "If that wretched girl comes to settle the score, Grandma will definitely find out then..."

"Settle what score? You didn’t take anything. Is she going to frame you?"

"It’s not about taking things..." Ji Mingmao stammered, finally confessing that he had injured someone.

That morning, when Mrs. Zhu had sent him to the shack, he had taken a few of his friends with him. They went inside and rummaged around. They didn’t find any money, but they did see the "little monster" on the bed.

Ji Mingmao already had a guilty conscience, and the way the boy stared at him gave him the creeps. When he asked where the money was hidden and got no answer, Ji Mingmao got angry. He dragged the boy from the bed to the floor, and the group of them surrounded him, punching and kicking.

If the boy had just spoken up and given in, it might have been fine. But the more silent he was, the angrier they got, and the harder they hit him.

During the beating, someone knocked over the three-legged table. It fell and crashed onto the little monster, who cried out once before lying still on the ground.

Realizing they had caused a disaster, the group scattered and fled.

But just his luck, he ran right into Ji Huan as soon as he got out.

Mrs. Zhu had thought it was some terrible disaster.

"They’re just two orphans with no parents. So what if you hit them? There’s no one to back them up. Even if you gave that wretched girl ten times the courage, she wouldn’t dare come knocking on our door!"

Hearing his mother say that, Ji Mingmao was instantly relieved. He licked the egg crumbs from his lips and started to feel hungry again.

"Mom, I want to eat white flour pancakes..."

Mrs. Zhu’s eyes darted around. "Didn’t you say she took the little monster to town to see a doctor? Just you wait, Mom will go get you some white flour!"

Mrs. Zhu took a shortcut to the rundown shack. She pushed open the wicker gate and headed for the house, only to run headlong into Widow Xie, who was on her way out.

Widow Xie had wanted to go to town as well, but Ji Huan had asked her to stay behind to watch the house and wait for some rabbit. She hadn’t expected a rabbit, but she did get Mrs. Zhu.

Mrs. Zhu hadn’t expected to find anyone in the house either. "What are you doing here?" she blurted out.

"Why can’t I be here? It’s not your house. But look at you, swaggering in like you own the place."

Anyone else caught trespassing would have been so ashamed they’d want the ground to swallow them whole. But Mrs. Zhu had nerves of steel; she didn’t even have the decency to be embarrassed.

"This is my niece’s house. I can come whenever I want."

"Oh, so she’s your ’niece’ now? Where were you before? When you were selling her off, you were calling her a jinx. I remember it well!"

"My mother-in-law was the one who called her a jinx, not me!" She had always called her "wretched girl."

Mrs. Zhu had no patience to argue with her and tried to push her aside to go into the house.

But she, a woman accustomed to lazing about, was no match for Widow Xie’s strength. Instead, she was shoved backward, nearly falling over.

Mrs. Zhu was instantly furious. "Widow Xie, what do you think you’re doing?! This isn’t your house! What right do you have to stop me from going in!"

"When Wuan left, she asked me to watch the door for her. Letting one or two people in is no big deal, but if someone with sticky fingers gets in and something goes missing, I won’t be able to explain it."

Widow Xie’s thinly veiled accusation made Mrs. Zhu’s face stiffen, but she recovered in a moment.

"Who are you calling a thief? I think you’re the one here to steal! No, I have to go in and see if anything’s missing..."

Widow Xie planted her hands on her hips and blocked the doorway. Mrs. Zhu’s attempt to force her way in failed, and she ended up falling flat on her butt on the ground.

Mrs. Zhu wasn’t one to take a loss lying down. She was about to seize the opportunity to throw a tantrum and make a scene.

But how could Widow Xie not know her shrewish tactics? She pointed at her nose and said, "Go on, cry! Go on, wail! Call everyone over and let them be the judge. Let’s see if there’s any justification for forcing your way into someone’s house. And while we’re at it, let’s ask your parents-in-law. I seem to recall Ji Huan was already cast out of the Ji Family. What’s with all this ’niece’ talk? You have a problem with your in-laws’ decision to split the family?"

It takes a brute to handle a brute. Even Granny Kang couldn’t get the upper hand against Widow Xie, let alone Mrs. Zhu.

Mrs. Zhu scrambled to her feet and reluctantly gave up. As she walked away, she blustered, "You just wait! If anything goes missing from this house, it’ll definitely be you who stole it!"

"The thief knows who the thief is! You call me a thief? I dare to wait here for the owner to come back. Do you?"

Mrs. Zhu didn’t answer and scurried away in disgrace.

Widow Xie spat on the ground.

Hu Liang went straight to the rundown shack when he returned to Dafeng Village. The moment Widow Xie saw him, she asked how Dabao was doing.

"He’s badly hurt, his leg is broken. Wan is staying there to look after him and sent me back to get some money."

Hu Liang walked over to the corner Ji Huan had told him about. He moved the bathtub, felt around on the ground, and found a loose clod of earth. He pried it up and, sure enough, found a hole.

When Widow Xie saw him pull a money pouch out of it, she couldn’t help but frown. "Honestly, that Wuan. She could have just come back herself. To even tell you where she hides her money..."

Hu Liang put everything back as it was. "It’s because she doesn’t see us as outsiders."

"Even if she doesn’t see us as outsiders, you still can’t be improper..."

Although Widow Xie complained, she was actually happy inside. Ji Huan wasn’t wary of them; it meant she saw them as the people closest to her.

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