Chapter 111: Money-spreading Child
"I have to go back into the mountains to bring back the corn we picked," said Uncle Shen.
"I’ll go with you," Yun Linhai added.
Everyone was happy about getting a wild boar, but they couldn’t forget about their staple food.
If they left it in the fields, it wouldn’t do to have some scoundrel come along and take it.
Shen Yunlian and the other women stayed home to watch the house and prepare the meal, while the men bustled off to the mountains and quickly brought back the corn.
"Jiaojiao, come here."
Grandma Shen called Yun Jiao over and gave her all the money from selling the pork.
"This is all the money from the pork, 112 yuan in total. You’re the one who hunted the boar, so you should take it."
Yun Jiao glanced at her mother.
Shen Yunlian said, "Mother, all of you helped. We can’t take this much money. How about this: Jiaojiao will take the larger share of eighty yuan, and you all can keep the rest."
Yun Jiao nodded.
"How can we do that? Jiaojiao’s the one who hunted the boar, and we already got so much meat..."
The two sides started going back and forth, making Yun Jiao’s head spin.
"Let me divide it, let me divide it."
She couldn’t stand it anymore. ’How long are they going to keep this up?’
She took the money. "Ten yuan for Grandpa, ten for Grandma, ten for Uncle, ten for Aunt, ten for Father, ten for Mother..."
After giving the adults their share, she turned to her brothers. "One yuan for First Brother, one for Second Brother, one for Fifth Brother..."
At that moment, Yun Jiao was like a little money-scattering sprite, handing out cash to everyone, fair and square.
The rest of the money was hers. She’d give some to Grandpa and Grandma and her other brothers when she got home.
Yun Xiaowu and the others were beaming with joy, holding the one-yuan coin in their hands.
Yun Xiaojiu was in disbelief. "I get some too? I have money now?!"
It felt like a dream.
"You kids..."
Shen Yunlian’s voice came from behind them. Yun Xiaowu and the younger children instantly shivered, a bad feeling rising in their hearts.
It was just like when they received their lucky money during the New Year.
"What if you lose all this money? Give it to me. Mother will keep it safe for you."
Yun Xiaowu, Yun Xiao Liu, & Yun Xiaojiu: "Noooo!!!"
Shen Xiuyuan, on the other side, suffered the same fate.
In the end, their one-yuan coin was taken away, and their mothers compensated them with ten cents.
The younger kids were on the verge of tears.
So sad. It was just too sad...
Yun Jiao, however, gave her money to Shen Yunlian on her own accord.
"Mother, help Jiaojiao hold this. You have to give it back to Jiaojiao when we get home, okay?"
She was afraid she’d lose it.
"Mother, next time, sew a really deep pocket inside Jiaojiao’s clothes. I want to carry money!"
Shen Yunlian couldn’t stop laughing. "Alright."
Yun Xiaowu and the others: *Sob...* ’Why can’t we hold onto our own money!’
No matter how sad they were, they still carefully put away their ten cents.
Ten cents was still money, and other kids didn’t even have that.
While the adults were butchering the pork, Yun Jiao and the other kids pestered them for a small piece of marbled meat. After cleaning it to remove the gamey taste, they cut it into small slices. Then, they marinated it with salt, Sichuan pepper powder, and chili powder.
Shen Xiuyuan brought over a flat stone. The kids worked together to build a temporary, miniature stove and then placed the large, clean stone on top.
Shen Xiuyuan: "I’ll go get some charcoal."
Yun Xiaowu: "We can grill the bamboo fungus too! What else can we grill?"
"Chives! Chives! And eggplant..."
That’s right, the kids were planning a barbecue—a stone-grill barbecue, to be precise.
But the flavor would be just as good.
Once everything was ready and the stone was hot, they first placed a piece of fat on it to render some oil, then they put the marinated meat slices on.
SIZZLE...
The meat had barely touched the stone when its aroma was instantly released.
"It smells so good, so good..."
The children gathered around the grilling meat, their eyes shining, their wide smiles revealing their pearly white teeth.
A child’s happiness is just that simple.
It smelled delicious, and it tasted even better.
The first piece of meat went to Yun Jiao.
Yun Jiao held a small bowl made of leaves. The first bite was a little hot, but she couldn’t bear to spit it out. Hissing and puffing, she rolled the small piece of meat around in her mouth several times before swallowing.
"Delicious, delicious."
The others started to taste it as well.
"Let’s bring some to Grandpa and Grandma, too."
Yun Jiao, Yun Xiaojiu, and the others took the meat slices to the adults, giving each of them one piece.
There was only a little meat, and it was gone after everyone had a piece.
But the chives fried in oil and the eggplant with minced garlic were also exceptionally tasty.
"MEOW."
Cat Boss came to join the fun.
He stayed perched on the wall, though, flicking his fluffy tail back and forth.
Yun Jiao thought for a moment, then got a piece of pork lung and offered it to him.
The tabby cat didn’t stand on ceremony, eating the lung right off the leaf Yun Jiao used to hold it.
This wonderful atmosphere and good mood lasted until the arrival of some uninvited guests.
"Well now, aren’t you generous? Letting the little ones waste good pork like this."
Good pork like that could be used in a stir-fry or a stew to make a huge dish, infusing the vegetables with its flavor. A family sitting down to eat that together—now that’s a proper meal.
Now, it was being used by a few kids for a barbecue, which in most people’s eyes was improper and wasteful.
When Grandpa and Grandma Shen saw who had arrived, their faces immediately fell.
And it wasn’t just one person, but a whole group.
Among them, a dirty but chubby little boy of about seven or eight was staring at Yun Jiao’s group.
"Grandma, I want meat, I want meat..."
As he spoke, he started rolling around on the ground.
The old woman leading the group immediately crouched down, hugging him and cooing, "Just wait, darling. We’ll be eating meat very soon."
"What are you people doing here?"
Yun Jiao peeked out for a look. ’Judging by their tone, it seems my grandparents aren’t happy to see these people.’
’They’re not some kind of relatives, are they?’
They were indeed.
And they were half-brothers, sharing the same father.
The people who had arrived were the family of Grandpa Shen’s younger half-brother.
"Now what kind of talk is that, Elder Brother? We’re the closest of brothers, isn’t it normal to visit each other often?"
Though her words were pleasant, the old woman—who was younger than Grandma Shen but slovenly and a bit dirty—had her eyes greedily fixed on the wild boar meat in the yard.
"You got such a nice haul, why didn’t you let us know? We’re brothers, blood is thicker than water. We could have come to help."
Aunt Shen rolled her eyes. "Are you here to help, or are you bandits passing through?"
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was definitely loud enough for the visitors to hear.
The two families had a nasty falling-out when they split up the household, leaving no goodwill between them. What was the point of pretending otherwise?
"How dare you speak to your elders like that!"
The old woman’s face contorted, and she began to berate her menacingly.
"You have no manners at all! It’s not my place to say, Elder Brother, but bringing a daughter-in-law like this into the family will ruin your home’s feng shui. She has no respect for her elders."
"What kind of elder are you!"
Grandma Shen marched out with a spatula, pointing it at her.
"Who in my family are you trying to be an elder to? Take a look at yourself and see if you’re even worthy!"