Chapter 181
Chapter 181
The family consisted of a married couple and a boy of about twelve. They searched frantically, dropping to their knees to beg for help.
Jiang Yunsui glared at the guilty-looking couple hiding in the crowd. What awful villains!
Holding the baby, Song Jin asked, “Are you looking for this child?”
The family rushed over. “Niuniu! My Niuniu!”
The mother took her daughter with trembling hands and burst into tears. Full and awake, Niuniu hugged her mother’s neck and mumbled, “Mama.”
Her father remained wary. “May I ask why our Niuniu was…”
Song Jin pointed behind them with a foxlike smile. “I saw those two carry her away. The man sold her to a band of cannibals. I cannot stand such things, so I offered a little help.”
Song Jin’s performance was so convincing that even Jiang Yunsui almost believed him. Pleased that he had kept her involvement secret, she hid behind Ji Yan’an to watch the villains receive their punishment.
The parents spotted the eldest brother and his wife shrinking into the crowd. Their eyes reddened with hatred.
The mother handed Niuniu to her son and charged forward. “Ma Xiuyun, I’ll kill you! You sold your own niece to cannibals!”
She seized Ma Xiuyun’s hair and slapped her. Ma Xiuyun, better fed and stronger, fought back.
“Sun Qian, you wretch! How dare you hit your eldest sister-in-law!”
The brothers also began fighting. The third brother, accustomed to hard labor, quickly gained the upper hand.
“I’m your eldest brother! Let go! Mother, help me! You ate the grain I brought back too!”
Their mother ordered her usually obedient third son to stop, but he continued punching.
“That was my daughter! You traded her to cannibals for grain. Why don’t all of you die instead?”
Song Jin watched coldly, then noticed Jiang Yunsui had slipped away.
Seeing Sun Qian losing, the justice-loving Little Mushroom found a stick and held it out. “Quick, hit her with this!”
After taking two slaps, the furious Sun Qian grabbed it and struck Ma Xiuyun.
“Aah! Mother, save me! Third Sister-in-law has gone mad! Second Sister-in-law, why are you just standing there? You ate the grain too!”
Unable to win against the armed Sun Qian, Ma Xiuyun hid behind her mother-in-law.
“Sun Qian, put down that stick! Are you rebelling against the family?”
“I don’t care who any of you are anymore. You deserve every blow!”
The biased old woman was struck once and tried to retreat, but her eldest daughter-in-law used her as a shield, so she took several more blows.
Onlookers criticized them but did not intervene. One old man muttered about unfilial behavior.
Song Jin asked, “What? Did you sell a grandchild and have your generous son forgive you?”
When the old man stammered, Song Jin rolled his eyes. “You can barely speak, yet your tongue is long enough to meddle in another family’s affairs.”
Nanshu added, “You’re already halfway into the grave. Since your children are so filial, ask them to buy you a fine coffin.”
Jiang Yunsui could not match their sharp tongues, but she could give an exceptionally loud “Hmph!”
The old man nearly fainted from rage.
In the end, the third son’s family split from the rest and decided to travel alone.
“Fine! Then don’t expect to stay with your aunt’s family!” the old woman shouted.
The third son quietly packed. “Mother, take care of yourself. I can no longer remain at your side and serve you.”
He had heard about Mobei and planned to take his wife and children there.
After the family thanked them repeatedly, Jiang Yunsui’s party resumed its journey.
With Nanmo driving, Jiang Yunsui rummaged through her snacks inside the carriage, stuffed her own mouth, then slipped peanuts into Ji Yan’an’s. He had grown accustomed to it and ate slowly.
“Fat Chef roasted these. They’re fragrant! Peanuts can also be boiled with salt, braised, made into peanut butter, or pressed for oil. They’re treasures.”
Ji Yan’an paused. “Pressed for oil?”
“Yes! Peanut oil smells wonderful.”
Most vegetable oil now came from rapeseed, whose yield was low. Ji Yan’an decided to experiment with peanuts after returning to Mobei.
As soon as he finished, Jiang Yunsui held up a tea egg. “Ji Yan’an, do you want the yolk or the white? I like the yolk.”
“The white,” he answered.
Beaming, Little Mushroom split the egg, removed the yolk, and pushed the white into his hand. “Eat, eat!”
She nibbled the yolk like a fluffy little squirrel.
Song Jin glanced at her. “Someone certainly plays favorites.”
Jiang Yunsui planted her hands on her hips. “Ji Yan’an is my master, so of course I have to take good care of him. You aren’t.”
Her reasoning was flawless, leaving Song Jin unable to argue.