Chapter 21: Full Awareness

Watching Madam Meng’s retreating figure, Madam Lan turned to her two young sons and urged them to keep their mouths shut about what they had just eaten.

"We know, Mother."

Their aunt had given them treats before, and they had never told a soul—not a single word.

Reassured, Madam Lan nodded. "Play here at home; I’m going to your Fourth Aunt’s house."

Madam He was in poor health and could not handle heavy labor; she could not even stand the smell of cooking oil. Consequently, Madam Lan always came over to help prepare meals for her household. Years ago, Madam He had been healthy, but after she married Ning the Fourth, the elder Madam Mu had constantly pressured her to conceive. Seeing her sisters-in-law giving birth one after another, Madam He grew anxious. The elder Madam Mu had obtained some concoction for fertility from an unknown source, and after taking a few doses, Madam He had nearly lost her life. Ning the Fourth had knelt before his parents, weeping as he declared that he would rather have no descendants than lose his wife. That led to the family splitting up.

After the separation, she did conceive, but the pregnancy was grueling. The child was born as frail as a puppy, and she had no milk to feed him. Fortunately, her sister-in-law had also given birth to Ning Qi and nursed Ning An alongside her own son.

Watching Ning An nibbling on a piece of rice candy, Madam He’s eyes grew slightly red. "My sister-in-law is the kindest person."

"Don’t let your mind wander. Just focus on recovering. What would you like to eat tonight?"

"Just make whatever you think is best, cousin."

There was nothing good to eat in the house anyway. Even if she wanted something, she couldn't have it. It was all because of her own useless body, and she hated that vicious old hag even more for ruining her life.

In the eldest branch’s kitchen, everyone wore a smile.

Madam Meng was wrapping dumplings with Ning Nuan and Ning Huan. Ning Xin wanted to help too, but despite her caution, she still managed to tear the dumpling wrappers. She wasn't even as skilled as Ning Kui and Ning Zhuang, who were at least capable of rolling out the dough. Once the dumplings were ready, they were dropped into the pot. As the plump, white dumplings bobbed to the surface, Ning Xin swallowed hard. She felt she could eat thirty—no, forty.

For the first batch, Madam Meng ladled a few into each person’s bowl. Everyone sat there eating what was in their bowls while keeping their eyes fixed on the pot. It wasn't until all the dumplings were cooked and eaten that Ning Xin shook her head, unable to take another bite, while Ning Kui and the others rubbed their bulging bellies. Only then did Madam Meng start to clear the table and wash the dishes. There was still some filling left over to make corn cakes the next morning. Afterward, she heated water for the children to take turns washing their hair and scrubbing their bodies.

Madam Meng sat under the eaves to discuss the next day’s lunch with Ning Dalang.

"I’ll go catch a wild boar tomorrow," Ning Xin said. She suddenly remembered she had forgotten to buy a cage. She felt a twinge of regret, but then consoled herself that she should be able to bring a wild boar or a deer home alive even without one.

"..." Madam Meng asked in a low voice, "Are you sure?"

"Don't worry, Mother, I am."

Both Madam Meng and Ning Dalang knew well that the more lavish the lunch tomorrow, the sooner they would secure the land deed. Once they had the deed, they could pick a date to start construction and manage to plant some corn and soybeans before summer arrived.

Ning Dalang handed the silver from the sale of the wild boar to Madam Meng.

"So much?" Madam Meng was astonished. Even if a wild boar weighed two hundred pounds, it would fetch at most one tael of silver; two of them would only be two taels.

After Ning Dalang explained the ins and outs of the sale, Madam Meng sighed, "It is a blessing from many lifetimes that we have a daughter as capable as Xin."

Ning Dalang did not ask how much money they had in total, and she did not say.

"Dalang, have you asked your parents to borrow their crowbar and chisel?"

Ning Dalang shook his head.

"I’ll go right now."

Madam Meng nodded. Watching Ning Dalang walk away, she pressed her lips together. She knew deep down that the crowbar, chisel, and hammer would not be lent to them. When she had gone to the river to wash clothes that afternoon, someone told her they had seen her mother-in-law leaving the village carrying things. Some items could be hidden in a basket, but a crowbar was impossible to conceal. What a heartless old woman; she truly never wished for her eldest son to prosper.