Chapter 12

The lover in my memory had already grown vague.

My adoptive parents said that Qiu Yue Jiang was capable of work and that taking him to meet someone was just a formality—they had already made up their minds. That was how families were formed in the village, and at the time, he thought that was how everyone did it.

“Zhengrong, come on, say something!” Guowei Chen joined in, nudging Zhengrong Lin’s arm with curiosity.

They shared a dorm room, but Guowei rarely heard Zhengrong speak about his family.

“She’s a…” Zhengrong thought seriously for a moment, “a very simple person.”

“Simple is good. We’re all simple poor farmers here,” Guowei chuckled, never letting words drop, then pressed on, “And? No other traits?”

“Come on, why do you care so much about someone else’s wife?” Zhengrong shifted the subject. “Old Zhang’s wife just arrived today; let’s toast to their marriage.”

His tolerance for alcohol was good; after several drinks, he still felt nothing.

On the way back, Zhengrong took a detour to the gatehouse to ask if there was any telegram for him.

He couldn’t rely on just one side of Jiang Qiu Yue’s letter, so he sent a telegram to Captain Hai Zhi Hu.

But two days had passed, and the captain hadn’t replied.

In fact, the telegram had reached the Hu household, but Captain Hu had been attending meetings in town all these days, returning home late and eating hastily before going to bed.

His wife remembered the telegram on the first day, but once the household chores piled up, she forgot all about it.

By the time they realized Zhengrong’s telegram had arrived, several days had passed.

Meanwhile, the Lin family was also anxiously awaiting the postal delivery. Jiang Qiu Yue had already received her package, so why hadn’t their letter arrived yet?

One day, when the postman passed through Peach Blossom Village, Chunhua Wang deliberately stopped him and learned that Jiang Qiu Yue had taken the letter. In a rage, she stormed over to knock on the door.

Jiang Qiu Yue had just finished lunch. Niu Dali and the others had already framed the kitchen; all that was left was plastering a layer of yellow mud mixed with straw.

She watched them working when she heard Chunhua Wang cursing outside. Leisurely, she went to open the door.

Niu Jianshe asked, “Aunt Lin seems furious. Should we keep you company?”

“No need. We’re family; nothing will come of it,” Jiang Qiu Yue sneered inwardly. Ten Chunhuas wouldn’t be her match.

Niu Jianshe thought to himself, …they’re on the brink of splitting the family. Is that really family?

Jiang Qiu Yue opened the door, one foot braced against the frame to block Chunhua.

“Jiang Qiu Yue, did you take the letter Lin Sanzhu sent?” Chunhua pointed a finger at her.

“Yes,” Jiang Qiu Yue replied. “Mom, I didn’t seek you out over this, which is already more than enough. How can you accuse me of being unfaithful?”

“Did we get it wrong? If you weren’t unfaithful, why would you steal and try to split the family?” Chunhua clutched her chest at the thought. That was two hundred yuan! If the money was still there, would Sanzhu have to fight so desperately with her?

Chunhua spoke as she poked Jiang Qiu Yue with a finger. Just as she was about to jab her forehead, Jiang Qiu Yue suddenly grabbed her finger and forcefully twisted it downward.

“Ah!”

A shriek pierced the air, startling everyone nearby.

Niu Dali and the others rushed out of the kitchen, fearing something had happened to Jiang Qiu Yue. Niu Dali shouted, “Qiu Yue, what’s wrong?”

“It’s me! I’ve been hit!” Chunhua clutched her finger, feeling it snap, and collapsed to the ground. “Oh my God, the daughter-in-law hit her mother-in-law! Everyone come see! This is injustice!”

Her wails were mournful, almost ghostly. Youcai Jiang covered his ears and said, “I tell you, old lady, Qiu Yue is such a good person. How can you be so restless as a mother-in-law?”

“You little bastard, did I ask to speak to you?” Chunhua jumped up suddenly, bumping her injured finger and howling in pain.

When Lin Fugui and the villagers arrived, they found Chunhua sitting on the ground, kicking her legs, declaring she didn’t want to live.

“This life is pointless. I might as well die!” Chunhua’s front tooth had fallen out, so her speech was slurred. She didn’t care about appearances, only intent on making Jiang Qiu Yue suffer.

Fugui Lin found out Jiang Qiu Yue had torn up the letter he wrote and scolded her, “Jiang Qiu Yue, aren’t you going too far? Sanzhu, go find the captain. I want to see if the captain will still help her this time!”

Sanzhu Lin said the captain had gone to town. Fugui frowned, still thinking about how to get the money back, when Jiang Qiu Yue bluntly revealed the letter’s contents.

“We’re all from the same village. I, Jiang Qiu Yue, have a clear conscience. Before the family split, I did all the work around the house. Do I look like someone with the energy to be unfaithful?”

Her voice grew louder. “Has anyone ever seen parents-in-law slander their daughter-in-law to cause a family split?”

No one had heard of such a thing. Even Lin Jiwang, Fugui’s cousin, spoke up, “Fugui, how could you do such a thing?”

Everyone in the village knew Jiang Qiu Yue’s character: more capable than any man, hardworking. Anyone who saw her would praise the Lin family’s fortune to have such a daughter-in-law.

No one believed the accusations of unfaithfulness.

Fugui Lin hadn’t expected Jiang Qiu Yue to take the letter, nor that she would shamelessly speak out. If this continued, his face would be lost.

He turned to glare at his wife, scolding, “I told you it was a misunderstanding, so why did you have Sanzhu send the letter?”

Chunhua Wang: …wasn’t it the old man who wrote it?

“Apologize to Qiu Yue now. This is all baseless. She’s not that kind of person,” Fugui pushed Chunhua forward and whispered in her ear, “Stop causing trouble. Do you want the whole village to laugh at us?”

One person’s shame is enough; as the man of the house, he needed face.

Chunhua couldn’t bring herself to apologize, especially to Jiang Qiu Yue. She summoned her youngest son to apologize instead.

Sanzhu muttered an unwilling apology, and when the villagers saw the Lin family admit their fault, the tension dissipated and they slowly dispersed.

Jiang Qiu Yue called out to Fugui, “Dad, don’t do things like this again. You’re old—don’t you feel ashamed?”

Seeing Fugui’s face flush, she continued, “If you truly ruin my reputation and make life unbearable, when you sleep at night, I’ll burn you all alive.”

Before, Fugui didn’t believe she would dare. Now he did.

“Jiang Qiu Yue, after all, we’re Dazhu’s parents. Aren’t you afraid that if you treat us like this, Dazhu will come back and divorce you?”

“Dad, you should worry about yourself. If you treat me and the kids like this, Dazhu should cut ties with you. If he’s clueless, I’d rather get divorced,” Jiang Qiu Yue sneered.

“And since we’ve torn this family apart, I’m putting it on the line: anyone who slanders me again, I’ll hit them!”

Hearing this, Chunhua’s injured finger hurt even more. Jiang Qiu Yue’s strength seemed endless; she nearly broke Chunhua’s finger.

The Lin family went home bitterly. Since Jiang Qiu Yue had intercepted the previous letter, Fugui rewrote it, having Sanzhu send it from the town post office.

After scolding, Jiang Qiu Yue knew things would calm down for a while and happily went to inspect her new kitchen.

With many hands, the work finished in nine days, thanks to Niu Dali and the others.

Jiang Qiu Yue paid them wages. Youcai Jiang was reluctant to leave and said, “Qiu Yue, do you have any more work? I don’t want money; just feed me.”

During those nine days, Jiang Qiu Yue cooked a different dish every day, not only fattening up Lin Bei Bei and Lin Nan Nan but also the Jiang brothers.

Youde Jiang dragged his brother away, “Don’t make a fool of yourself.”

“I’m just reluctant to leave Qiu Yue’s cooking. I envy Bei Bei and Nan Nan, getting to eat her food every day,” Youcai lingered at the door. “Qiu Yue, if you have work later, call me—I’ll come for sure!”

Jiang Qiu Yue smiled and agreed. Shortly after seeing Youcai off, Mrs. Niu brought a basket of mushrooms.

“They’re all picked from the mountains. This year there are many; try some fresh ones.”

Jiang Qiu Yue had loved watching videos about cooking, gardening, and mushroom foraging after work. Eating was secondary; the joy was in the hunt!

“Mrs. Niu, are you going again tomorrow? Can you take me along?” Jiang Qiu Yue excitedly grabbed her hand.

Mrs. Niu thought she just wanted to bring home food and smiled, “Of course, no problem!”

After breakfast the next day, Jiang Qiu Yue took her two children to the Niu household.

Zhuangzhuang Niu proudly showed off, “Look at the courtyard drying these. Half of them I picked—pretty impressive, right?”

“Awesome! Brother Zhuangzhuang is the best!” Bei Bei Lin gave high praise, not only words but a thumbs-up. “When we get into the mountains, can you take me to find mushrooms?”

“Sure! Stick close to me, and I’ll make sure you find plenty,” Zhuangzhuang happily responded. As they set off, he kept checking on the Lin siblings.

Jiang Qiu Yue treated mushroom picking as a hobby. Seeing clusters of mushrooms in the forest, she couldn’t take her eyes off them.

Following Mrs. Niu, she soon filled half a basket with red and brown mushrooms, some just sprouting, plump and adorable—almost begging to be pinched.

After half a day, Jiang Qiu Yue’s basket was full, as were the children’s.

They returned to Mrs. Niu’s to have her sort through them, as eating unclean mushrooms was worrisome.

“Wipe these red mushrooms with a damp cloth, dry them, and you can use them for soup or steamed eggs. The black ones are called black charcoal mushrooms—somewhat bitter, good for stir-frying with chili. Also…” Mrs. Niu carefully introduced each type, “Any leftovers can be dried and saved for later. Around here, we can pick mushrooms twice a year. Anyone without work will head into the mountains.”

At home, Jiang Qiu Yue washed the black charcoal mushrooms first. They needed to be boiled before stir-frying.

Mrs. Niu advised adding some rice during boiling. If the rice didn’t change color, it was safe.

Once cooked, she heated oil and minced garlic, stir-fried the mushrooms with chili, seasoning simply with salt and soy sauce. Complex spices would mask the mushrooms’ natural flavor.

“Mom, it smells so good!” Bei Bei Lin was nearly drooling. “I’ll help set the table!”

A wooden frame was built at the kitchen entrance, where Jiang Qiu Yue planted two tiger bean plants. In another month, the beans would cover the frame, providing shade beneath.

They ate under the kitchen eaves. Bei Bei eagerly helped arrange chairs and tables, then led his sister to wash their hands.

Jiang Qiu Yue also made egg drop soup. Sitting down, she filled everyone’s bowls generously. The black charcoal mushrooms were slightly bitter, but that unique taste blended with their freshness awakened every palate.

Now she understood why people ate mushrooms every year despite the risks.

The bowl emptied quickly. Jiang Qiu Yue rubbed her belly contentedly. Without farm work, her skin grew paler and her complexion improved.

One must be kind to oneself. Even as a mother, she had to stay beautiful and well.

After Bei Bei finished washing the dishes, he ran over expectantly. “Mom, are we going mushroom picking again this afternoon?”

Looking at the blazing sun overhead, Jiang Qiu Yue shook her head, “Not this afternoon. It’s too hot.”

Mushroom picking was a pleasure, not work. Enough to eat was enough; the mountains had plenty.

“You two aren’t allowed to go by yourselves,” Jiang Qiu Yue’s gaze instantly dimmed Bei Bei’s hopes. She added sternly, “Without an adult, if you fall into a ditch, no one will know.”

With no mountain trips and no TV or radio for entertainment, Jiang Qiu Yue decided to teach the children to read.

The original owner had only graduated elementary school, but teaching Bei Bei was enough.

Jiang Qiu Yue wrote characters on the ground with a stick. “Watch closely. Follow my strokes carefully.”

Ten minutes later, seeing Bei Bei and Nan Nan write their names, she felt deeply gratified.

Looks like no more homework tutoring needed—they had a real knack for learning!

Not bad. Though the family had split and living expenses increased, despite Nan Nan’s continued silence, both children were sensible.

Jiang Qiu Yue felt her coming days would be comfortable.

Just then, Zhengrong Lin received another letter from Jiang Qiu Yue.

Dried shrimp?

Dried scallops?

Fruit?

They had split the family?

What was going on? Hadn’t she just sent cured meat and sausages back?

Zhengrong was full of questions.

Had the captain not received his telegram? Why no reply yet?

“Zhengrong, why the frown?” Guowei Chen returned with food. “There’s stewed meat in the canteen today. I barely managed to grab some. Don’t say your brother isn’t thinking of you. Let’s eat first, then talk.”

Before Guowei could finish, someone knocked, saying there was a telegram for Zhengrong at the gatehouse.

Before Guowei could react, a gust of wind passed by, and Zhengrong was already running.

“What telegram has you in such a hurry?” Guowei found Zhengrong’s lunchbox and saved him half the meat.

Zhengrong ran all the way to the gatehouse. The telegram had only two words: “Really.”

Telegram fees were charged by word count. He had thought sending a telegram would be faster than writing a letter—worth spending extra to ask the captain if Jiang Qiu Yue’s claims about the Lin family’s ill treatment of her and the children were true. He hadn’t expected it to take so long to receive a reply.

Reading the telegram, Zhengrong’s emotions churned.

He had been on missions for years, accumulating many unused family leaves. After some thought, he knocked on the political commissar’s office door.

“Zhengrong! I was just about to call you. I have some very good news for you. Come in, sit down!”