Chapter 4: The Great Hunter and the Two Wild Boars (Part 2)
Madam Bai was extremely shocked to see her prodigal son cleaning the meat. In the past, her worthless son would only make Xiao Han do this kind of work and would never do anything himself. Furthermore, he even used to suspect that Xiao Han was stealing food, making trouble and beating him.
What in the world is happening now? Is the world turning upside down? Why is she seeing her good-for-nothing son personally cleaning and rinsing a pheasant?
Moreover, what her bad son had just said was even more startling!
He borrowed a bow from the Elder and went up the mountain, did he? And he even came back with pheasants? Is he seriously trying to make her believe this? She doesn't believe it! She absolutely doesn't believe it!
Madam Bai looked at her smiling, prodigal son and then back at the pheasants. No matter how much she didn't want to believe it, pheasants weren't things that could be easily obtained. Just recently, her worthless son had been so broke that he had to come to their house to beg for rice, so buying these pheasants with money was impossible.
She was deeply hesitant and asked:
"Are you... are you really telling the truth?"
While wiping his hands, Bai Li nodded towards the small basket containing fruits:
"It's true! I even picked some fruits for the children there."
After saying that, he suddenly seemed to remember something:
"Oh right, when you go back, please take some for Xiao Mei too.
The events were so unbelievable that Madam Bai was suddenly speechless. How could she possibly believe that her prodigal son was willing to work and even started to care for his own children?
Bai Li could predict the woman's feelings, so he said:
"I know you're surprised, Mother, but I've decided to change starting today. When I ran out of money and literally had nothing to eat, I felt deep regret. From now on, I will change. I won't gamble anymore, I won't go to brothels, and I'll only take care of my family and you, Mother."
Madam Bai felt extremely dizzy from the impact of those words. Her greatest wish and prayer in life was for her second son to become sensible, but when she suddenly heard these words, she couldn't immediately accept it. As his mother, she knew best how truly bad her son was. Although her eyes began to turn red because of his promises, she couldn't rejoice yet.
Madam Bai concealed her emotions and spoke in a hard tone:
"Change isn't something that can be done with words alone. You don't need to consider us; just take care of your own family. I'm going now. I'll have Xiao Mei come deliver the rice later."
Afterward, Madam Bai left with the two pheasants. Xiaofu and Xiaowu didn't understand the grown-ups' oppressive conversation, but they still didn't leave the spot. They kept staring at the fruits, but still didn't dare to speak to their father.
Bai Li saw this, and the corners of his mouth lifted.
"You can eat the fruits, but you can't eat too many. Each of you can only eat three. Leave the rest for your youngest aunt and for you to eat tomorrow."
Having received permission, the little ones seemed extremely happy, and for that moment, they appeared to have forgotten their father's previous cruelty.
"We understand, Father!"
Xiaofu said that, then hugged the small fruit basket, grabbed Xiaowu's hand with the other, and ran into the house. Bai Li could only sigh. It was truly sad that the little ones were still so cautious around him and didn't dare to stay near him for long.
Bai Li shook his head, then began to prepare the meat to cook a stew for Xiao Han first.
A moment later, Bai Mei arrived with a large sack of rice and happily ran towards her second older brother, asking:
"Second Older Brother, is it true that you went hunting on the mountain? And that you got the pheasants?"
Bai Mei was only ten years old and had a very lively personality. Although her character was different from the original owner, it could be said that she was similar to Bai Li. Bai Li had a good impression of this little girl. He patted her head and replied:
"That's right. Mom will cook pheasant stew tonight."
Bai Mei was extremely delighted to be eating meat, and especially since the meat was from her second older brother. She affectionately shook Bai Li's arm:
"Second Older Brother, are you going to go to the mountain again? If you do, please bring back some flower plants for your little sister, okay? Please, please, please?"
Bai Li knew that the flower plants Bai Mei was referring to meant rare and precious ones in this area, such as orchids, roses, porcelain flowers, sandalwood flowers, jasmine, and hibiscus. These kinds of flowers were treasured by the young ladies of wealthy and high-ranking families, making them extremely valuable. A peasant family like theirs couldn't afford to buy them. If they were found in the mountains, they were usually sold for money, making them things that were completely inappropriate for low-status people like them.
However, Bai Li had seen some rose plants in the valley where he found the fruits and also some orchids in other areas, so Bai Mei's request was not difficult at all. He patted Bai Mei's head again:
"Alright, if Second Older Brother goes to the mountain again, I'll bring some for Xiaomei. Now, go inside the house and ask your little nephews for the fruits. Your brother brought back some fruits from the mountain."
"Really!"
In this era where food was scarce, fruits were extremely rare. Bai Mei, being a child who hadn't lost her childish innocence, immediately lifted her gown and ran into the house. As she ran, she shouted:
"Xiaofu, Xiaowu, do you have any fruits left for your youngest aunt?"
At that moment, Xiaowu's adorable little voice rang out:
"Youngest Aunt, come slowly! There are still plenty left!"
Then, the house became noisy with the children's joyful laughter. The sounds woke Xiao Han. He was slightly better than before, but still feverish. He looked at his sons and his youngest sister-in-law happily eating fruits and became extremely confused. Where did the fruits come from?
Although the Bai family disliked Bai Li, they loved their grandchildren and occasionally secretly fed them food, but fruits were never included. Fruits were too expensive and rare—even the Bai parents couldn't afford to buy them.
Bai Mei saw Xiao Han get up, so she ran over to her second sister-in-law and tirelessly recounted her second older brother's good deeds:
"Second Sister-in-law, you've been sick, are you feeling better now? Look at these fruits! Second Older Brother brought them back from the mountain! They're so sweet! Why don't you try some? It's not just the fruits; Second Older Brother borrowed a bow from the Village Elder and went hunting! He got five whole pheasants! Second Older Brother gave one to the Elder as a thank-you gift for lending the bow, he exchanged two with Mom for rice, and now he's cooking the remaining two for you and your nephews! Second Sister-in-law, you all get to eat meat today!"
Xiao Han's slight headache, which had been easing, suddenly worsened due to Bai Mei's words. His head felt extremely dizzy, and he was completely unable to believe any of it.
Not only did his husband decide to start working, but he was also willing to provide food for their sons. Xiao Han looked at his children, and the little ones also came close to him. Xiaofu spoke:
"Papa, Father gave us food this morning, and now he gave us fruits, and then he will give us meat and rice too!"
Xiaowu didn't want to be left out:
"Yes, yes! The fruits are very sweet, but Father said we can't eat all of them. We can only eat them again tomorrow!"
Although Xiao Han remained unable to believe it, seeing the satisfaction on his children's faces made his heart soften. Bai Mei, knowing that Xiao Han was skeptical, insisted:
"Second Sister-in-law, I'm really telling the truth! My brother told Mom today that he is going to change. He said that from now on, he won't gamble anymore, won't go to brothels, and will only take care of his family! Look, even though this was the first time my brother went to the mountain, he came back with so many pheasants! It seems like he's a good hunter. Second Sister-in-law, you and your nephews won't have to worry about the future anymore!"
Bai Mei knew that when Mom got home, she went into her room and cried. Mom was crying because she was so happy, and seeing that incident, it seemed that her second older brother's change might really be true.
Xiao Han also felt a little happy. Although he was afraid of his husband (Bai Li), this was the man he was married to. If his husband (Bai Li) would stop being wicked and change for the better, his sons' lives would likely improve as well.
With that thought, Xiao Han gathered his strength and went to the doorway, peeking outside a little. He didn't dare to look openly at his husband (Bai Li).
Bai Li was now busy preparing the food to cook the rice. Xiao Han felt a little excited watching Bai Li like this. His husband (Bai Li) had never cooked before, but now he was trying, and he had also given him (Xiao Han) full permission to rest, hadn't he? In that moment, Xiao Han also seemed to forget Bai Li's previous cruelty.
In reality, Bai Li was just a little unfamiliar and flustered with the ancient cooking utensils. He noticed someone watching him, and when he turned around, he saw the head half-exposed in the doorway quickly hide itself.
Bai Li thought to himself:
"What are you hiding for? It's clearly Xiao Han."
However, Bai Li knew from the memories that Xiao Han was terrified of the original owner, so he didn't expose the peeking.
Then, Bai Li looked up at the sun and said:
"Xiaomei, if you stay too long, Mom will worry. It's time to cook; why aren't you going back to help Mom?"
According to the memories, the Bai family had four sons and one daughter. The eldest, Bai Jiang, was nearly thirty years old. The second, Bai Li, was only twenty-three, and due to the significant age gap between the two of them, Bai Jiang had spoiled Bai Li almost like a parent. The third son, Bai San, was nineteen and had only been married for about a year. The fourth son, Bai Wei, was only fifteen, and Bai Mei was ten.
Actually, in ancient times, this population size couldn't really be considered large. Only Bai Li's family lived separately, while the rest lived together.
Originally, the Bai family's eldest son, Bai Jiang, had been married for many years but hadn't had any children, causing the Bai family to become a topic of gossip among the villagers. In fact, Xiaofu and Xiaowu were the Bai family's eldest grandsons. This was probably one of the reasons the main Bai family couldn't completely ignore the original Bai Li.
However, now the Bai family's first daughter-in-law and third daughter-in-law were pregnant one after the other. The first daughter-in-law was a lazy and calculating person, and since she found out she was pregnant, she neither worked in the fields nor helped Madam Bai with the household chores. The third daughter-in-law was slightly better than the first, but not by much.
That's why Bai Li was worried that Madam Bai would have to do all the cooking alone. Although she wasn't his biological mother, she was the mother of this body. Since he had taken over this body, he had a responsibility to take care of the mother.
Because of his words, Bai Mei cried out from inside the house in alarm:
"That's right! Mom told me to come back quickly! It's a good thing Second Older Brother reminded me!"
Bai Mei was about to run back, but Xiaowu and Xiaofu quickly divided the fruits that were set aside for tomorrow into three equal portions and gave one portion to their youngest aunt. Bai Mei was deeply touched by her sensible nephews. She kissed the little ones enthusiastically and said:
"That's why your aunt loves her nephews so much!"
After Bai Mei left, the house became quiet once again.