Chapter (4) "The Great Hunter and Two Wild Boars" (part-2)
Bai Mother was completely shocked when she saw her delinquent son cleaning the meat. In the past, her wretched son would only order Xiao Han to do this kind of work and would never lift a finger himself. Moreover, he used to accuse Xiao Han of stealing food and would beat him up.
What was going on now? Was the world turning upside down? Why was she seeing her worthless son personally cleaning and washing a pheasant?
What was even more terrifying was what her bad son had just said!
He borrowed a bow from the Elder and went to the mountain? And came back with pheasants? Was he asking her to believe that? She couldn't! She absolutely couldn't!
Bai Mother looked at her smiling, delinquent son, and then back at the pheasants. No matter how much she disbelieved him, pheasants weren't something you could get easily, and her wretched son had just run out of money and had to beg for rice from home. It was impossible that he had bought these pheasants with money.
She asked with great hesitation: "Are you... are you really telling the truth?"
Bai Li wiped his hands and pointed to the basket containing the fruits.
"It's true, Mother. I even picked some wild fruits for the children."
After saying that, he seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right. Take some for Xiao Mei when you go back, Mother."
The whole situation was so unbelievable that Bai Mother suddenly couldn't say a word. Her bad son was willing to work and even started caring for his children? How was she supposed to believe this?
Bai Li could guess what the woman was feeling, so he said: "I know you're surprised, Mother, but I've decided to change starting today. I truly regretted it when I realized I had no money and absolutely no food left. From now on, I will change. I won't gamble anymore, I won't go to the brothels anymore. I will only care for my family and you, Mother."
Bai Mother felt dizzy from the shock of his words. The thing she had most wanted and prayed for in her life was for her second son to become good, but when she suddenly heard these words, she couldn't accept them right away. As his mother, she knew best how bad her son was. Although her eyes turned red from the words, she couldn't celebrate yet.
Bai Mother covered her expression and said in a firm tone.
"Change is not just done with words. You don't need to worry about us; just take care of your own family. I'm going back. I'll send Xiao Mei over with the rice shortly."
Then, Bai Mother left with the two pheasants. Xiaofu and Xiaowu didn't understand the tense conversation between the adults, but they didn't leave the spot. They kept staring at the fruits, but they didn't dare ask their father.
Seeing this, Bai Li's lips curled up slightly.
"You can eat the fruits, but don't eat too many. You can only have three each. Leave the rest for your youngest aunt and for yourselves tomorrow."
Once they got permission, the little ones seemed extremely happy and forgot their father's previous cruelty for that moment.
"We understand, Father."
Xiaofu said that, grabbed the fruit basket, held Xiaowu's hand, and ran into the house. Bai Li could only sigh. It was sad that the little ones were still so wary of him and didn't dare stay near him for long.
Bai Li shook his head and started preparing to make a meat stew for Xiao Han first.
A little later, Bai Mei arrived with a big sack of rice. She ran enthusiastically to meet her second brother.
"Second Brother, did you really go hunting in the mountains? Did you really get the pheasants?"
Bai Mei was only ten years old and had a very active personality. Although different from the original owner, she was similar to the current Bai Li. Bai Li had a good impression of this little girl, so he patted her head.
"That's right. Mother will be cooking pheasant tonight."
Bai Mei was thrilled, both about eating meat and because the meat was provided by her second brother. She clung affectionately to Bai Li's arm.
"Second Brother, are you going to the mountain again? Please bring me back some flowers if you see any, okay? Please, please?"
Bai Li knew that the flowers Bai Mei was talking about were rare and valuable mountain flowers like orchids, roses, jasmine, gardenias, and hibiscus. These kinds of flowers were highly valued by the young mistresses of wealthy and noble families, making them very expensive—something their poor farming family couldn't afford. Since people mostly sold them for money if they found them in the wild, they were generally considered things that did not concern lower-class people.
However, Bai Li had seen some rose bushes and orchids in the hollow where he found the fruits, so Bai Mei's request wasn't difficult. He patted her head again.
"Alright, Second Brother will bring you, Xiao Mei, when I go back to the mountain. Now, go inside and ask your nephews for some fruits. I brought back some fruits from the mountain."
"Really!"
In this era where food was scarce, fruits were extremely rare. Bai Mei, still very much a child, immediately lifted her skirt and ran into the house. She shouted as she ran: "Xiaofu, Xiaowu, do you have any fruit left for your little aunt?"
Then, Xiaowu's cute voice replied.
"Little Aunt, come slowly! There's plenty left!"
The house then became noisy with the kids's happy laughter. The noise woke Xiao Han. His fever was slightly lower than before, but he was still sick. He was very confused watching his sons and his young sister-in-law happily eating fruits. Where did the fruits come from?
Though the Bai family hated Bai Li, they loved their grandsons and occasionally gave them some food secretly, but never fruits. Fruits were too expensive and rare; even the Bai family couldn't afford them.
Bai Mei saw Xiao Han wake up and immediately ran to him, excitedly listing all the good things her second brother had done.
"Second Sister-in-law, you're sick, are you feeling better now? Look at these fruits! Second Brother brought them from the mountain! They're so sweet! Why don't you try one? Not just fruits, Second Brother borrowed the bow from the Village Elder and went hunting! He got five pheasants! He gave one to the Elder as a thank-you gift for the bow, and he exchanged two with Mother for rice. Now, he's cooking the remaining two for you and your sons! Second Sister-in-law, you're going to eat meat today!"
Xiao Han's slightly relieved headache worsened due to Bai Mei's words. His head was spinning, and he simply couldn't believe it.
Not only had his husband started working, but he was also willing to feed his sons? Xiao Han looked at his children, and the little kids also came closer. Xiaofu said: "Father, Father gave us food this morning, and now he gave us fruits, and he's going to give us meat and rice tonight!"
Xiaowu was not to be outdone.
"Yes, yes! The fruits are very sweet! But Father said we can't eat all of them; we have to save some for tomorrow!"
Despite his disbelief, seeing the joy on his children's faces softened Xiao Han's heart. Bai Mei, knowing Xiao Han couldn't believe it.
"Second Sister-in-law, I'm really telling you the truth! My brother told Mother today that he was going to change. He said he wouldn't gamble anymore, wouldn't go to brothels, and would only care for his family! Look, even though it was his first time going to the mountain today, he caught so many pheasants! It looks like he's a good hunter! You and the little kids won't have to worry about the future anymore!"
Bai Mei knew that Bai Mother had gone into her room and cried when she got home. Her mother was crying from happiness, and seeing that, it seemed truly possible that her second brother had changed.
Xiao Han also felt a little happy. He was scared of his husband, but he was still the man he married. If his husband stopped being vile and truly changed, his sons' lives would also get better.
With that thought, Xiao Han tried hard to go to the doorway and peek outside. He didn't dare look at his husband openly.
Right now, Bai Li was busy preparing to cook. Xiao Han felt a little excited looking at Bai Li like that. His husband had never cooked before, but now he was trying, and he had even given Xiao Han full rest, hadn't he? In that moment, Xiao Han seemed to forget Bai Li's past cruelty.
In reality, Bai Li was just a little flustered with the ancient cooking utensils. He noticed someone was watching him and turned around, only to see a tiny head that was halfway visible through the doorway quickly disappear.
Bai Li thought to himself.
"What are you hiding for? It's obviously you, Xiao Han."
However, he knew from his memories that Xiao Han was terrified of the original owner, so he decided not to expose the peeking.
Then, Bai Li looked up at the sun.
"Xiao Mei, if you stay too long, Mother will worry. It's time to cook; why aren't you going back to help Mother?"
From his memories, the Bai family had four sons and one daughter. The eldest, Bai Jiang, was nearing thirty. The second, Bai Li, was twenty-three, and because of the age gap, Bai Jiang had spoiled Bai Li almost like their parents did. The third, Bai San, was nineteen and had only been married for about a year. The fourth son, Bai Wei, was fifteen, and Bai Mei was ten.
Actually, this number of people was not considered large in ancient era. Only Bai Li lived separately; the rest lived together.
Originally, the Bai family's eldest son had been married for many years but hadn't had a child, making the Bai family a subject of village gossip. In fact, Xiaofu and Xiaowu were the Bai family's eldest grandsons. This was probably one of the reasons why the 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 both pregnant, one after the other. The first daughter-in-law was lazy and calculating, so since finding out she was pregnant, she had stopped working in the fields and stopped helping Bai Mother with the housework. The third daughter-in-law was slightly better than her, but not by much.
Therefore, Bai Li was worried that Bai Mother would have to cook alone. She might not be the mother of his current soul, but she was the mother of this body. Since he had taken this body, he had to take care of his mother.
At his words, Bai Mei shouted in alarm from inside the house.
"That's right! Mother told me to come back quickly! Thanks for reminding me, Second Brother!"
Bai Mei was about to run back, but Xiaowu and Xiaofu divided the fruits they had saved for tomorrow into three equal parts and gave one share to their youngest aunt. Bai Mei kissed her sensible nephews repeatedly.
"That's why Auntie loves you, my nephews!"
After Bai Mei left, the house fell silent once more.