Chapter 39 Starving... I'm Starving

Bai Yan puffed out her cheeks, chewing on her egg with such vigor that it seemed as though her cheeks might burst.

"I especially saved two big eggs," Father Jiang said with a hint of regret. "Maybe I should’ve saved the small ones instead—it’s hard for a child to eat so much."

"We’ll think about it tomorrow," Madam Zhao replied, then turned her head to look at Bai Yan. "There’s one more left. Do you want it?"

Bai Yan nodded.

And so, the couple stood by, shielding Bai Yan as she finished both eggs before finally turning away to tend to their work.

When Bai Yan saw Father Jiang about to head up the mountain for water, she quickly took the bowl off her head and gulped down what remained in one big swig.

"Father, let me go with you," she said, wiping her mouth and scampering after him.

"Let your father go by himself. You don’t know these mountains at all," Madam Zhao pulled her back. In her eyes, Bai Yan was an outsider, unfamiliar with the hills of Xitang Village, so whatever Bai Yan said lacked any real weight.

Yet, Madam Zhao couldn’t help but feel moved, thinking: The girl clearly knows nothing about this place, and yet she got up at dawn to help fetch spring water. How touching.

"Husband, husband!" Bai Yan, seeing Madam Zhao wouldn’t let her go, raised her voice and called for Jiang Chengyan at the top of her lungs.

She called for quite some time before he finally appeared.

"If you come with us, will you go home with me tonight?" Jiang Chengyan raised his brows and looked at Bai Yan.

Bai Yan nodded obediently. "Alright."

"You said it yourself—remember, if you don’t come home with me tonight, you’ll grow rabbit teeth!" With that, Jiang Chengyan strode after his father and left.

As soon as the two of them departed, Bai Yan felt a sharp pain in her ear.

Madam Zhao twisted her ear with exasperation. "You little coward! Letting yourself be led around like this—you have no standing in this house at all!"

"What do you mean by ‘standing’?" Bai Yan asked, wide-eyed.

"Standing means being the head of the house. Whoever calls the shots at home, that’s who has standing!" On this subject, Madam Zhao considered herself quite the expert.

Bai Yan still looked completely lost.

So, while Jiang Chengyan and Father Jiang were out searching for the sweet mountain spring, Madam Zhao busied herself with the beans, all the while teaching Bai Yan in her brusque, irritable way.

Jiang Chengan, laid up with his injuries, couldn’t move. All morning, apart from the sound of his mother grinding beans, there was her sharp voice instructing her sister-in-law: "Men aren’t the center of the world. You have to direct them—you can’t give in to everything!"

"Look at you—your voice is all soft and sticky, no presence at all."

"Why are you afraid of him? What could he do, hit you?"

"Yes, hit!" Bai Yan nodded.

Madam Zhao was instantly flustered. "You can’t go on like this! Come on, say ‘Old woman!’—let me hear it, and make it sound strong and fierce!"

Bai Yan hesitated again and again, unable to utter a word.

Jiang Chengan lay on the heated brick bed, at a loss for what to say. If she really turned into a tigress, his eldest brother would be in for it.

In truth, Jiang Chengan had always thought his own mild temperament had something to do with his father. In front of Madam Zhao, Father Jiang was always this meek.

Outside the window, Madam Zhao’s lesson continued.

After about half an hour, noise finally came from the yard—Jiang Chengyan and Father Jiang were back, carrying the water jar.

As soon as Father Jiang entered the yard, he called out to Madam Zhao, "This girl dragged the small jar out first thing this morning—check her hands, see if she’s got any blisters."

Madam Zhao turned over Bai Yan’s palms, found no blisters, and immediately started giving her meaningful looks.

Bai Yan’s eyes darted around, and then she called out to Jiang Chengyan, "Old—old woman’s hungry and wants to eat a big chicken leg!"

Jiang Chengyan: "?????"