Chapter 39: Extending a Helping Hand

"Quick, quick, line up!"

Then, one by one, they touched the mule's hooves, all of them letting out excited, silent shrieks. Ning Xin secretly reached out and touched it too.

"Big sister, if we gather grass to feed it, can we touch it every day?"

Such a good deal? Ning Xin could not have asked for more.

"Of course you can."

That way, her mule would have an endless supply of grass. She wondered if the mule ate fruit; if it did, there were plenty of wild fruits in the mountains. Feed it more grass and wild fruit, and less grain.

With this in mind, Ning Xin waited for the mule to finish its fill before calling her cousins to head home. She had Ning Qi and Ning An walk behind the mule while she took the lead, telling them to let her know if they couldn't walk anymore. She would carry them home just as she always had.

Ning Xin was never biased toward Ning Qi or Ning An. She had held Ning An often when he was a baby, and mostly because he had been truly pitiful back then—so tiny, and she had watched him slowly grow up.

After walking for a while, Ning An became breathless and could no longer keep up. Ning Xin picked him up and gently patted his back.

"Big sister..."

"Hmm?"

Ning An didn't say anything; he just hugged Ning Xin's neck tightly, snuggling against her obediently. Ning Xin gently patted his back to help him catch his breath.

Ning Dalang had been craning his neck at the doorway for a long time. Seeing Ning Xin and the others return, he stared at the mule with delight.

"Is it full?"

"It should be."

Ning Xin wasn't entirely sure if the mule was full, but it had certainly eaten a lot and even relieved itself. She thought to herself that she needed to build a shed quickly so it could do its business there; that was all good fertilizer, and it would be a shame to waste it.

Ning Wen and Ning Wu boasted to their father, Ning Dalang, that they had touched the mule's hooves. Ning Qi and Ning An also chimed in that they had touched them too. The envy in Ning Dalang's eyes was so apparent that it made people want to laugh.

"Dad, do you want to touch it?"

Upon hearing this, Ning Dalang immediately straightened his back and gave a serious-sounding cough. "Well, I suppose I could touch it once."

What did a mule's hoof feel like? Ning Dalang thought about it carefully; it was a bit like touching a cow's back, but not quite—either way, it felt great.

"Dad, how was it?"

Ning Dalang looked at his daughters, who were all watching him, and nodded with great sincerity. "Not bad at all."

Ning Kui and Ning Zhuang clamored that they wanted to touch it too.

"Wow."

"Wow, so this is what it feels like to touch a mule's hoof. It's wonderful."

Ning Nuan and Ning Huan also gave it a touch, finding it equally wonderful. Meng Shi was also pulled over to touch it, and the whole family stood together, all laughing out loud.

Chicken was simmering in the pot, and as long as one watched the heat, the fragrance drifted far and wide.

The second branch of the family was having a miserable time. Wu Shi had been muttering curses under her breath for a while now, especially since her stomach was growling with hunger and Zhaodi and Daidi had yet to return.

Ning Erlang returned carrying his hoe to find the house with a cold stove and empty pots. Seeing Wu Shi sitting on a stool, her mouth moving as she muttered something, combined with his own extreme hunger and the enticing aroma wafting from next door, his temper flared. He kicked Wu Shi, growling fiercely, "What time is it? Why haven't you cooked yet? What on earth do you do all day at home?"

Wu Shi was kicked to the ground, feeling both pain and rage. She wanted to snap back, but seeing the look on Ning Erlang's face, she swallowed her anger.

"I'll go cook right now," she said subserviently. But as she cooked, she made very little, not intending to provide any for Zhaodi and Daidi at all.

Back at the first branch's house, Meng Shi lifted the lid of the pot, and the fragrance filled the entire kitchen.

"Time to eat."

To the family, Meng Shi's voice was like music from the heavens. They grabbed their bowls, set the chopsticks, and brought out the stools. Meng Shi scooped the chicken pieces out of the broth, added the hand-rolled noodles she had prepared, and once cooked, ladled them out, sprinkling a pinch of chopped green onions on top before pouring the broth over it.

"Wow, it smells so good."

The thick, chewy noodles, layered with the chicken, tasted like a dish for the gods.

"Hui Niang, let's have chicken and noodles again tomorrow," Ning Dalang said, his mouth too full to speak clearly as he didn't stop eating for a second.

Meng Shi broke the noodles into smaller pieces for Ning Qi and Ning An, who ate them with spoons while clutching chicken legs in their hands. They ate with sauce all over their mouths, looking remarkably focused.

Just as they were enjoying their happy moment, the sound of Wu Shi beating Zhaodi and Daidi drifted in from next door.

Ning Xin, with her sharp hearing, could even hear Wu Shi scolding them for being useless, having only managed to bring back a bit of dry firewood so late. The two girls were begging for mercy, only to be met with even harder blows.

Ning Xin let out a soft breath. "Mother."

"Yes?"

"Go tell Second Aunt that I want Zhaodi and Daidi to come with me into the mountains to learn how to hunt. Whatever they bring back is theirs. As long as they give me a hand while we're in the mountains, I'll pay them a little money each day."

Before Meng Shi could respond, Ning Kui spoke up in opposition. "Big sister, they smell."

"Ning Kui!" Ning Xin said in a low, stern voice.

Ning Kui immediately fell silent. His big sister almost never used his full name; whenever she did, she was truly angry. The atmosphere at the dining table suddenly turned heavy.

Ning Nuan whispered, "Big sister, don't be angry."

Ning Huan hurriedly put a piece of chicken into Ning Xin's bowl. "Big sister, eat some meat."

Ning Dalang hunched his shoulders and didn't make a sound. The four younger ones were even quieter, chewing so softly that hardly a sound could be heard.

Meng Shi sighed softly. "How much do you think is appropriate to pay them a day?"

"What do you think is appropriate, Mother?"

"Let's start with ten wen, and tell them that if they do a good job, we'll add more later."

Ning Xin thought that was feasible. If she let Zhaodi and Daidi keep getting beaten like this, they would sooner or later be beaten to death. Ning Xin decided to step in mainly because Zhaodi and Daidi were girls, and she was a girl too. She was just luckier to have parents who loved her, whereas Zhaodi and Daidi were unlucky, with a father who didn't care and a mother who didn't love them. They weren't being beaten because they were disobedient or hadn't done a good job, but simply because they were girls. She noticed that next door, they didn't beat the sons.

"Then Mother will go say something now!" Meng Shi put down her bowl and chopsticks and stood up to head next door.

Zhaodi and Daidi thought they were surely going to be beaten to death this time, when their eldest aunt's voice came from the doorway.

"Sister-in-law."

Hearing the voice, the two girls didn't dare to cry, though their tears fell even harder. Wu Shi dropped the heavy stick in her hand and slowly went to open the door.

"Sister-in-law, is something the matter?"

"Sister-in-law, my Ah Xin said she wants to find two people to help her when she goes into the mountains. She'll pay them a little money every day, and whatever they bring back will be theirs. Do your Zhaodi and Daidi want to go?"

Wu Shi was stunned. Such a good thing?

"Well, that..." Wu Shi began to waver.

"Ah Xin said she'll pay ten wen per person per day. If they're going, have them come over to my place in a moment. Ah Xin needs to teach them what to do once they're in the mountains. If they don't want to, I'll go ask Ning He and Ning Yu."

Ten wen a day, and they get to keep what they bring back. This was a godsend.

"They'll go, they'll go! Sister-in-law, it's a deal, you can't go back on your word."

Meng Shi nodded. "Then have them come over in a little while."

"Yes, yes, yes, walk slowly, sister-in-law."

Wu Shi beamed, instructing Zhaodi and Daidi to learn how to please Ning Xin. Learn to hunt early, she told them, and earn more money for the family so they could afford wives for their three younger brothers.

The two girls both agreed, though in their hearts, they wished their brothers—and perhaps even their parents—would all just drop dead.