Never mind the chaos at Tian Erbao’s place — the news that Tian Dazhu came to exchange pork with Wang Ying spread fast, and the fact that he was getting married couldn’t be hidden anymore.
By the time Wang Ying and Old Lady Xu had handed over the pig and biked back with dozens of kilos of pork, the entire village was talking about Tian Dazhu’s upcoming marriage to Widow Yu.
“What’s Tian Dazhu thinking! Why’s he so set on marrying that widow…”
“Who knows what’s in his head. I’m more surprised his mother hasn’t raised hell yet. That old woman used to do everything to prop up her younger son — now she’s just letting the elder one find a wife and live alone?”
“Oh, come on. That’s still her son. She wants something good for him too. It’s not easy being a single man — marrying someone isn’t a big deal.”
“They say the widow even wants to bring her mother-in-law into the marriage, and this family agreed to that? That’s like the sun rising in the west!”
“This whole thing — you really can’t say whether it’s good or bad.”
“Doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad. But it’s been less than half a year since the divorce and he’s already got a new woman… Qian Juhua’s situation is really pitiful now, with three daughters. It’s going to be hard for her to find someone new.”
“That’s nonsense. Qian Juhua walked away with 200 yuan when she left. As for those three girls — they’re daughters, give them something to eat and they won’t starve. You don’t know — plenty of people in our village have been eyeing Qian Juhua, but she’s too fierce. Anyone trying to help her carry water or feed the pigs gets cursed and chased off.”
“Really? So you’re saying she doesn’t want to remarry?”
“She can’t have kids anymore. What’s the point of marrying again? Marry a man with a son and end up raising someone else’s family? Might as well live alone.”
“I also heard that Widow Yu is pregnant. If she gives birth to a boy, those three daughters of Qian Juhua won’t be able to count on their real dad anymore. New wife, new dad — even if they suffer with Qian Juhua, they won’t get anything from their father.”
…
Wang Ying had sharp ears and picked up all the gossip as she walked. After hearing everything, she was basically stunned.
There were just too many opinions — some blamed Qian Juhua for being too stubborn, some thought Tian Dazhu had lost his mind, others said his mother was insane…
Wang Ying, pushing the cart, whispered to Old Lady Xu, “Quite the drama, huh.”
Old Lady Xu, seeing how entertained she was, added, “You just wait. This thing won’t die down anytime soon.”
The whole affair involved some of the most talked-about people in the village.
Widow Yu — among the worst reputations around.
Qian Juhua — the first woman in the village to get divorced.
Tian Dazhu’s mother — a well-known shrew.
All tangled together — every conversation for the next while was bound to revolve around them.
Once they got the pork home, the people who had made appointments to exchange pork started arriving.
Calling it “exchange” was polite — in reality, they were selling it.
Wang Ying wasn’t trying to make money on it, so she used the town’s pork prices and didn’t require meat coupons. That made the pork very attractive. The comings and goings took quite a bit of time.
Tian Dazhu showed up too, face full of joy as he took his five catties of pork. He even cheerfully invited some acquaintances to his wedding feast in two days.
He didn’t invite Wang Ying — but she didn’t care.
She knew Tian Dazhu still held a grudge about the divorce, thinking she had persuaded Qian Juhua and cost him face. Of course he wouldn’t invite her.
Wang Ying didn’t want to go anyway. She’d saved seven or eight catties of pork and ribs for herself. Xu Shuang was such a good cook — she was waiting for him to come back and make something delicious for her.
As she was wrapping up the pork sales, Wang Ying saw a surprising person.
Jiang Lei showed up with money in hand, wanting to buy pork from Wang Ying.
Wang Ying collected the pork and said, “Sorry, it’s all gone.”
Jiang Lei had prepared himself mentally before coming—after all, Bai Ling had lost a lot of weight recently, and he heard that Wang Ying was delivering pork today. That’s why he thought to come over and trade for a few taels to help nourish Bai Ling.
Who would’ve thought that when it was his turn, Wang Ying would directly put the meat away?
He was so angry that his lips were trembling. “Isn’t there still a bunch left?”
Wang Ying replied, “That’s reserved for ourselves.”
Jiang Lei protested, “I just want three taels!”
Wang Ying was completely unmoved. “There’s none.”
Jiang Lei was fuming, but he had no grounds to argue. It was Wang Ying’s pork—she could choose to trade with whomever she liked. Even if she kept it all for herself, she had every right to do so.
His eyes stuck to the pile of meat—easily over ten catties—and he could practically hear the sound of himself swallowing. He was craving it badly.
Ever since being sent to the countryside for re-education, he hadn’t had meat in ages.
The few times he bought meat for Bai Ling, the smell alone on his hands would tempt him to lick them just to get a taste.
But Wang Ying had made it clear she wouldn’t trade meat with him, so he could only take one last longing look and grumble as he walked away.
As soon as he left, Wang Ying put the meat back on the table like nothing had happened.
She was unapologetically biased—she’d trade with others, but not Jiang Lei.
He didn’t have a good head on his shoulders. If she did give him pork, he’d probably end up saying something bad about her anyway. So why should she spare him any dignity?
No deal!
More people trickled in afterward, wanting to trade for two or three taels of meat. Wang Ying made the trades.
It wasn’t all just money either. One particularly poor family had an elderly man who was skilled in bamboo weaving. Wang Ying traded five small baskets and two large bamboo trays for pork.
There were more dried goods to sun-dry at home, and they didn’t have enough baskets—this kind of trade was the most practical.
Others brought eggs to trade, and Wang Ying accepted those too. After all, meat wasn’t something they could eat every day, and eggs were also quite precious.
By the end of the day, Wang Ying kept two pieces for herself—one was a whole jin of pork belly, and the other was half a jin of tenderloin.
She greeted Granny Xu and then took the meat to the back hills to find Cheng Yu and Qian Juhua.
Qian Juhua had reserved one jin of meat earlier with cash. She wanted to give her kids a rare taste of meat. Cheng Yu, on the other hand, had caught a mid-sized snake in the hills. Wang Ying kept the medicinal parts—its gallbladder and skin—and paid Cheng Yu five yuan.
Cheng Yu was thrilled and immediately spent one yuan to buy some meat.
Wang Ying accepted without hesitation.
She gave the tenderloin to Cheng Yu. Cheng Shufen, her mother, was delighted. “This tenderloin looks so fresh. I’ll stir-fry it tonight.”
Besides the tenderloin, Wang Ying also gave her half a piece of pig heart. “Take this and make soup. I told Cheng Yu what herbs to add—it’ll be good for your throat.”
Cheng Shufen paused. She had already given up hope for her voice. Though her health had gradually improved since coming to the countryside, her voice had never recovered…
“Alright. Thank you.”
She figured Cheng Yu must’ve asked Wang Ying on her behalf. That thought warmed her heart. Even if her voice never got better, just this bit of concern from her daughter was enough.
Next, Wang Ying carried the pork belly over to Qian Juhua.
Qian Juhua had already heard all the rumors flying around the village. Even if she hadn’t, someone would’ve come to tell her out of sheer nosiness.
When she saw Wang Ying arrive with the meat and that expression of wanting to speak but hesitating, she casually said, “You’re here to talk me out of it? Don’t bother—I’m not bothered at all.”
She unwrapped her youngest daughter from her back and handed her to her oldest daughter. “Take your little sister and go play with Sister Cheng Yu, okay? Don’t run off too far.”
After sending her three daughters away, Qian Juhua poured Wang Ying a cup of tea and slowly said, “When I first heard, I did feel a little wronged.”
“After all, we spent more than ten years together. He’s getting remarried so soon after our divorce—it kind of makes those ten-plus years feel like a joke.”
They had been married young, and there were good times. Qian Juhua felt bitter recalling it. Things were okay before they had children, but after their eldest daughter was born, everything changed.
Still, she knew it wasn’t the child’s arrival that caused the problems—it was just that the problems had been hidden early on. That illusion of marital bliss was simply the result of those issues being suppressed. Thinking back now, those “good days” weren’t really that good.
Even back then, his mother didn’t like her, was blatantly biased, and frequently took things from the older son’s household to give to the younger one. Tian Dazhu would only ever tell her to tolerate it—after all, that was his real mother.
“But let him do whatever. He wanted a son so badly—now his wish has come true. From now on, it’s got nothing to do with me.”
Just last month, her own mother came to try and persuade her—telling her not to be so rigid and to reconcile with Tian Dazhu. Said she didn’t have a son, and in this world, women had to bow their heads—that was just how life was. Bow your head and get on with it.
“Well, now he’s got a new wife. Going forward, he probably won’t bother my daughters anymore.”
Qian Juhua spoke calmly, not a tear in sight. She felt like she had cried all her tears in that marriage.
Tian Dazhu getting remarried had surprised her—not because she hoped he’d stay single forever, but because she didn’t expect it to happen so soon.
When they divorced, his mother practically had him on a leash—he couldn’t even get a bite of food on New Year’s Eve. She thought they’d suck him dry before ever letting him go.
There were nights when she worried he’d come back with nowhere to turn and try to leech off their daughters again.
Even though they had signed documents severing ties, people in that era still cared a lot about filial piety. The Tian family was a big clan—if Tian Dazhu ever ended up bedridden, there would definitely be people accusing her daughters of being unfilial.
Now that Tian Dazhu was remarried and had a child of his own, even if the sky fell, it would have nothing to do with Da Ya and her sisters.
After all, he had a new family now. No one had ever heard of someone relying on their ex-wife and children for elderly care when they had a new wife and child.
Qian Juhua looked relaxed. “Now that he’s married, he’s completely cut off from Da Ya and the others. My only worry is… Da Ya and her sisters might get pointed at and talked about.”
The world just wasn’t fair, and there were always people with filthy mouths who liked to pester kids with inappropriate questions.
Things like: “Your dad found you a stepmom—do you like your dad more or your mom?” Or: “Your stepmom gave you a little brother, so from now on he’ll…”—you could imagine the rest.
Qian Juhua could already picture how those nosy people would corner her three girls and ask until one of them burst into tears—only for the adults to laugh out loud like they’d made some huge joke worth celebrating.
She wasn’t just imagining things. In fact, that kind of scene had already happened recently. Some troublemaker had asked Er Ya such questions. Luckily, Er Ya was a tough kid—she didn’t cry, just quietly squeezed next to her mother afterward, not daring to say anything, just needing to be close.
It was Cheng Yu who couldn’t bear to see it and came to tell her what had happened.
Qian Juhua clenched her teeth. “I really want to knock their teeth out!”
Seeing how angry she was, Wang Ying thought for a moment and offered a suggestion.
“How about… changing the girls’ names?”
Qian Juhua didn’t understand. “Change? How?”
Wang Ying scratched her head. “Let them take your surname.”
Surname Qian?
Qian Juhua’s eyes lit up.
