Chapter Eleven: Going into the City to Buy Supplies

At that moment, she had just come out of the outhouse and wanted to climb onto the bed to rest for a while, but her foot slipped, and she fell off, her old bones aching as she lay on the floor howling loudly.

Not only that, the rest of the Su family was just as miserable.

Originally, the Su household had only one outhouse. Now, with ten people—adults and children alike—suffering from inexplicable diarrhea, they were fighting fiercely over the single toilet.

“Second son’s wife, get away from here! I clearly got in first!” Wu Cuihua cursed harshly and shoved Zhao Xiulan.

“Sister-in-law, you just hog the toilet without using it. Shouldn’t you let the rest of us have a turn?” Zhao Xiulan retorted, pulling at Wu Cuihua’s hair.

“Enough! Stop fighting!” Old Mr. Su came out, leaning on his cane to scold them. Then he asked, “First and second sons, how did it go with poisoning those two little brats as I instructed?”

“Father, my older brother and I are heading to the back mountain to check. Those two little brats are probably dead by now.”

Su Eldest and Second Son weakly stepped out of the courtyard, just as their neighbor Zhao Ergou happened to come out and saw them.

Zhao Ergou even pushed open the door and peered inside the yard.

“Well, looks like the entire Su family has food poisoning. Evil people get their just desserts—heaven itself must want to punish you!”

“None of your business! Keep talking nonsense and see if I don’t beat you up!” Su Second Son snapped back, exchanging barbs.

On the way, they felt something was off. At first, they thought they had eaten something bad last night, but upon reflection, something didn’t quite add up.

Su Jinyu and her little brother finished breakfast, then hurried to the village entrance with their basket on their backs.

Every day, Old Zhao’s ox cart waited there, giving villagers a lift into town for a small fee—two cash coins each—a mutually understood arrangement that helped Old Zhao earn a little money.

“Grandpa Zhao, here’s the fare for two to go into town,” Su Jinyu handed over four copper coins.

“Jinyu girl, no need to be so formal with me. You and your brother ride for free!” Grandpa Zhao waved off the money.

Liu Po, sitting in the ox cart, wasn’t happy. She opened her mouth to protest: “I say, Grandpa Zhao, why do those two get to ride for free? They’re neither your grandchildren nor related to you. How can they just ride your cart without paying? You’re playing favorites and making the rest of us who pay feel insulted.”

Su Jinyu ignored her, took her brother, and sat in the widest corner of the ox cart, even pushing Liu Po aside.

“Liu Po, I have my basket here. Please move over a bit.”

“You little brat, taking up so much space all by yourself, what do you think this is? It’s outrageous!” Liu Po refused to budge.

Before Su Jinyu could retort, Grandpa Zhao spoke up for her.

“Liu Po, those two kids only take up one person’s space, but you’re hogging all that room by yourself. Don’t you feel embarrassed?”

“I tell you, Old Zhao, you’re getting more confused with age. Why do you always side with them? Do those kids support you in your old age or treat you with special care or something?” Liu Po sneered.

Grandpa Zhao chuckled proudly.

“Liu Po, you’re right. Last night, Jinyu girl actually brought over a fat chicken and two plump fish for us. My wife and I ate so much our stomachs were full to bursting. We tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep. This morning, our stomachs were still too full to even feel hungry!” Grandpa Zhao patted his belly and boasted to the others on the cart.

“Old Zhao, you’re saying this girl can hunt?” Liu Po clearly didn’t believe it. Spitting out a seed onto the ground, she scoffed, “She’s so skinny, with arms and legs like sticks. If the wolves in the back mountain haven’t dragged her off, she’s just lucky. I know you’re just making this up!”

At that moment, Old Li, who lived next door to Grandpa Zhao, chimed in.

“So that’s where the delicious meat smell came from last night—right from your house, Old Zhao!”

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Zhao nodded.

Liu Po, initially skeptical, now believed it at least sixty percent.

“Jinyu girl, tell me the truth—can you really hunt?”

Su Jinyu crossed her arms and leaned leisurely against the wooden side of the ox cart.

“Liu Po, you’d better mind your own business. Even if I do hunt, the game is for Grandpa Zhao and his family to eat. You don’t get a share. After all, you’re not related to me in any way. If I gave you meat, wouldn’t that be unfair to Grandpa Zhao, who has always taken care of me?”

Liu Po’s harsh words were all turned back on her.

She was left speechless, blushing red, while the others on the cart laughed at the scene.

Everyone could see that Su Jinyu was not to be trifled with; her sharp tongue never lost an argument.

“You, you little brat, really don’t know how to talk properly!”

Thinking that Su Jinyu could hunt, Liu Po instantly changed her tone and began flattering instead of cursing.

“Jinyu girl, I still have some corn left from last winter. If I can’t sell it all in town, I’ll give you two ears to make sure you and your brother have something to eat.”

Su Jinyu rolled her eyes inwardly.

Only two ears of old corn, stored so long it had a musty smell. Even pigs might turn their noses up at it.

“No need, Liu Po. You should keep your corn for yourself. My family can afford meat; we don’t need that.”

Old Li, enjoying the spectacle, teased, “Oh, Liu Po, Jinyu girl can hunt, and she feeds her brother well every day. Do you think she needs your two ears of old corn?”

Liu Po shot Old Li a glare but saw that Su Jinyu was ignoring her, so she gave up.

From then on, the villagers knew that although Su Jinyu was young, she was remarkably capable. No one would dare offend her in the future.

After all, in the village, only the eldest and second sons of Yang Lizheng could hunt. Others had no chance to learn the skill.

The ox cart rattled and swayed for more than half an hour. Su Jinyu and her little brother’s behinds were sore from the bumps before they finally arrived in town.

They agreed to meet back at the city gate by sunset after finishing their errands.

Su Jinyu counted the little silver she had left—just over two taels—and decided to first buy two sets of clothes. Her pants were full of holes, letting the cold autumn wind bite through, making her legs shiver uncontrollably.

Once in town, Su Jinxiao’s eyes never blinked, darting from stall to stall.

True to her word, Su Jinyu bought her little brother a string of sugar figurines painted with “Flying Dragon in the Sky” and some sweet and sour candied hawthorns.

“Sister, you eat some too—the sugar figures are so sweet! The candied hawthorns are sweet too!” Su Jinxiao was truly happy like a six-year-old child with the sweets.

Su Jinyu didn’t dislike sweets herself, but these were so sugary that one bite felt like a diabetes attack waiting to happen.

She smiled and waved her hand. “Jinxiao, you eat them. I’m still full from breakfast and don’t have room right now.”

Just then, Su Jinyu suddenly noticed someone in the distance—a very familiar figure.

Who could that be?