Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Chapter 37

Let alone animal fat, even the cheap soy oil has now risen in price, and we might not be able to afford it for cooking.

If we had to use oil for soup, I’m afraid our parents wouldn’t agree.

"You can do without it, but it’d be more fragrant if you fry it in oil,"

Nanzhi explained, seeing her hesitant look.

"What about the fish bones? The Crucian Carp is so small, with fine bones that are hard to pick out, aren’t they?"

Another young wife raised the question.

Gougou, who was originally bored and squatting on the side watching ants on the ground, heard a question he knew the answer to and quickly stood up and waved his hand, shouting: "I know, I know!"

After grabbing everyone’s attention, he explained earnestly: "Mom said the fish bones are thin. If you want to make soup and drink it directly, put the bones in a clean...clean cloth bag. The resulting soup will be boneless!"

After finishing his explanation, he turned his small face towards Nanzhi: "Mom, did I say it right?"

"Yes, Gougou is really amazing."

The young wives looked at Gougou’s well-behaved manner with some envy. They wished their children could be half as good as him, and hoped they’d have such an obedient child in the future.

They then each asked a few more questions before thanking her and leaving.

Watching them leave together, Nanzhi felt a sense of loss for a moment. Just over half a month ago, she too was able to chat and laugh with her new classmates, but now she was stuck here.

As her thoughts drifted further, Gougou seemed to understand his mom was worried and quietly sat to the side playing with his fingers.

"Sister Nanzhi, what’s wrong?"

Shen Miaomiao saw Nanzhi with a distant look and waved her hand in front of her eyes.

"Huh? What’s wrong?"

Nanzhi snapped back to reality after that gesture, looking at Shen Miaomiao somewhat confusedly.

Shen Miaomiao didn’t say much, she just sat down next to Nanzhi and said: "I thought you had lost your mind, staring at the sky without blinking. What is so fascinating up there?"

After saying this, she also mimicked Nanzhi’s posture by resting her chin on her hand and gazed at the dazzling crescent moon in the night sky.

"Half of the moon was stolen tonight."

Nanzhi gazed at the crescent moon, nodding.

After staring at the moon for a while, Shen Miaomiao seemed to remember something. She took out two baked potatoes from her bosom and handed them to Nanzhi: "Sister Nanzhi, eat potato."

"Gougou and I have already had sweet potatoes. You keep it."

Nanzhi shook her hand. If Shen Miaomiao had stealthily taken these from home, Aunt Guihua would surely scold her when she found out.

"No problem, take it. My mom told me to give it to you."

Without giving Nanzhi a chance to refuse, Shen Miaomiao stuffed the two potatoes into her arm and attempted to run away.

Nanzhi found this amusing and promptly grabbed at her sleeve: "Why are you running? Do you think I am going to eat you?"

"I was afraid you wouldn’t accept them," Shen Miaomiao said, pouting, and then leaned back comfortably against Nanzhi.

"I will, I will. When you go home, thank Aunt Guihua for me."

Holding the warm potatoes in her arms, Nanzhi’s smile became more genuine. Perhaps she could make friends here after all.

The weather was warm and she was sleeping outside, so Nanzhi didn’t feel groggy the entire night and only fell asleep during the later part of the night.

She slept until almost noon, when the cicadas’ chirping woke her up.

She wasn’t sure if it was due to the heat disrupting her sleep, but she had another unsettling dream last night.

Unfortunately, this time it wasn’t as clear as the last one. She vaguely remembered something about two people arguing over something and eventually coming to blows.

As for what followed, her memory faltered. As she was wrinkling her brow trying to recall the details, she heard Aunt Liu calling out to her.

"Girl, get up now."

Nanzhi came back to her senses, wiped the thin layer of sweat on her forehead, and asked, "Aunt Liu, what’s the matter?"

"Li Zheng is asking for you. He says there are over a dozen households in the village whose members have all passed away, and no one is taking care of their funeral rites."

Nanzhi was confused. Why did this concern them?

Seeing Nanzhi’s puzzled expression, Aunt Liu explained, "Even though these households have no survivors, their funeral rites still need to be dealt with. We will need a coffin at the very least. The village elders suggest that everyone donates a bit of silver. After the funerals, we’ll clean up their houses and divide their remaining food amongst those who donated."

Considering the forty-five Wen coins she had left, Nanzhi hesitated. Did she need to contribute her money too?

Aunt Liu, who had been living with Nanzhi for years, fully understood her situation. She advised, "If you trust me, give them twenty catties of chestnuts and sweet potatoes. People should contribute both money and effort. If you offer food, no one will criticize you."

Nanzhi, not versed in these matters, simply nodded in agreement. Her house had plenty of chestnuts and sweet potatoes to spare.

At noon, everyone cooked their meals. Some took pity on the severely injured and sent them potatoes and sweet potatoes. Nanzhi saw two half-grown children cowering in a corner and felt sorry for them. At that moment, Shen Miaomiao came over to chat with her.

Shen Miaomiao noticed her gaze on the children. "Those are the siblings from the Niu family. Their family was already impoverished. Then, the earth upheaval claimed their parents’ lives, leaving only the two siblings behind."

"Only them left?" Nanzhi gazed at the little girl’s ashen face and the dark red blood stains on her body, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Yes, their parents’ bodies were mangled when they were dug out. Only the brother and sister survived," Shen Miaomiao added.

Nanzhi couldn’t help but wonder why no one gave the children anything as food was constantly delivered to the injured.

"Why isn’t anyone giving them any food?"

Shen Miaomiao was taken aback by the query. Right, why wasn’t anyone bringing food to the children?

Before she could respond, Nanzhi had already risen, holding two sweet potatoes, and started walking towards them.

As she approached, she studied the two children. The older brother seemed to be seven years old while the little sister looked about five. Currently, the little girl was held tightly by her brother like he was afraid someone might snatch her away.

The brother eyed Nanzhi warily as she got closer, and his face hardened.

Nanzhi was unnerved by his gaze, finding it too intense for a child.

Despite the unsettling feeling, she still inched closer and set the sweet potatoes on a relatively clean spot about a meter from them before quickly turning around and walking away.

Sitting down to catch her breath, Nanzhi felt more shaken. How could the look in a second grader’s eyes be this frightening?

"Sister Nanzhi, what’s wrong?"

Shen Miaomiao couldn’t understand why Nanzhi seemed so rattled. Was there a rat over there that scared her?

"No, nothing."

Waving her hand, Nanzhi sat for a moment to calm her heart. She must have mistaken. How could she, a mother, be scared by a second grader?

"Mom’s scared."

Seeing Nanzhi’s reaction, Gougou suddenly burst into laughter. He had seen the same expression on his mother’s face when she saw a bug.

Feeling slightly embarrassed as her son had seen through her, Nanzhi pretended to be about to smack his little behind.

Gougou ran around, laughing and squealing.

Hearing the commotion, Xiaoqi, the elder brother, finally relaxed his guard. He hesitated a moment before grabbing the two sweet potatoes. His sister needed to eat.

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