A Good Country Wife

Zhao Bing let out a cry and began to weep, the duck egg he’d been holding was no longer of interest to him, and he threw it to the ground where it broke, rendered useless. Liu’s heart ached at the sight; each egg had been bought for five "coin," and with that throw, ten "coin" were wasted. She thought her sister-in-law was really raising her child to be wasteful, but this thought she kept to herself.

Lin Yue, on the other hand, didn’t think much of it. It’s common for little children to throw tantrums, and since the kids from both families were generally well-behaved, she wasn’t angry to see Zhao Bing like this. She had already been inclined to pull Li Xiaomei over to her side. If there was any commotion from the old Zhao house, someone could tip them off. So, she took out some candy and coaxed, "Ah Bing, don’t cry, your second auntie has candy for you."

Li Xiaomei, seeing her own son had damaged someone else’s duck eggs, felt somewhat embarrassed. "Sister, you shouldn’t indulge him. This brat really needs discipline. Look, he’s smashed your duck eggs. Otherwise, I should compensate you for the eggs." Li Xiaomei didn’t really intend to pay, but she had to keep up appearances.

"Look at what you’re saying, it’s just two duck eggs. If the child wants to eat them, I, as his aunt, would let him have them. And even if the egg was accidentally broken, it really isn’t worth mentioning such hurtful things," Lin Yue replied.

"Sister, you really are generous, no wonder everyone in the village speaks so highly of your family."

Lin Yue and Li Xiaomei exchanged pleasantries, but Liu was more concerned with the two broken eggs on the ground. It seemed such a waste to her. She fetched a bowl intending to salvage the unsoiled egg. It was then she noticed something amiss. "Eh, what’s with this egg? Sister, come look—inside the egg looks half-cooked, steamed almost. It’s no good for making salted eggs. Who would do such a despicable thing?"

At Liu’s words, Lin Yue lost any interest in chatting with Li Xiaomei and immediately crouched down to inspect the broken eggs. Sure enough, just as Liu had described, they weren’t rotten but half-steamed, as if someone had deliberately sabotaged them.

Li Xiaomei also came over to scope out the commotion. "Sister, you really need to be careful. Look at the vile tricks people come up with. If these were used for making salted eggs, they would spoil in no time—it wouldn’t be making salted eggs, but rotten eggs. Sister, have you offended anyone lately?"

Lin Yue glanced at Li Xiaomei, who seemed to be taking delight in her misfortune, and pondered who could be responsible for such an act.