Sweetheart, That Isn't Human Meat in Our Basket, Is It?

The foxtail grass said excitedly:

"What else could have happened? Those two tried to run, but the people surrounded them and gave them a good beating!

They beat them until they cried for their mothers and fathers, with black eyes and swollen faces. In the end, they were dragged away under guard like dogs that had lost their homes. They couldn't even crawl!"

"What on earth happened?"

The foxtail grass said:

"That man's wife brought a group of people to catch them in the act.

But the man was clever. He hid the pouch beforehand, right in the hollow of this tree."

"Wow! It's a shame we can't use it. Otherwise, we could buy so many tasty things."

Zhou Wanwan loved listening to gossip, and a violet with pale purple flowers suddenly spoke up:

"What do you know about the real story? That man is a well-known butcher in town.

The woman is a widow from the village, and she's the butcher's wife's younger cousin!"

The purslane couldn't help exclaiming, "Good heavens! Cousins? That's outrageous!"

The violet shook its petals and said indignantly:

"Isn't it just! The butcher went behind his wife's back, and her cousin went behind her relative's back. The two of them were fooling around in secret, and the butcher's wife happened to catch them when she came looking for them!

She called her family over on the spot, and they gave those two wretches a good beating.

If you ask me, a man who betrays his wife and a cousin who repays kindness with ingratitude deserve to be beaten to death!"

So that was what had happened. Zhou Wanwan had heard enough gossip. She reached into the hollow of the tree and rummaged around, and sure enough, she pulled out a pouch sewn from coarse, dark brown hemp cloth.

She undid the wooden clasp and tipped it over. More than a hundred copper coins came tumbling out with a clatter and a jingle.

There were also three small pieces of broken silver. The largest was only about the size of a fingernail. She gathered them together and weighed them in her hand; they came to roughly two taels.

Underneath them was a crumpled sheet of coarse paper with a mark drawn in charcoal: a crooked tree beside a vertical line, with a cross on it.

The crooked tree looked familiar to Zhou Wanwan. She soon remembered that it stood at the foot of the mountain.

She was bored anyway, so she took her three older brothers to have a look. They soon found the crooked tree.

Zhou Wanwan searched beneath it for a long time, but she couldn't find anything.

She sighed. "Could this be where they met for their trysts?"

But suddenly, Zhou Qingchen spoke up. "Look, what's that hanging in the tree?"

Zhou Wanwan looked up and burst out laughing. She hadn't expected the butcher to have tied meat to the tree with strips of red cloth.

It was nearly half a pig, and it even had the head attached.

Zhou Qinghe coughed. "Are we taking this meat home?"

Zhou Wanwan nodded quickly. "Of course we are. Didn't we buy lots of salt? We can make some salted meat, and then it won't go bad."

Zhou Qingyan looked at her. "Isn't making salted meat too extravagant?"

Zhou Wanwan looked at him. "If we don't salt it, all this meat will go bad. Never mind, let's take it home first."

Zhou Wanwan carried the pork home. They went in through the front door, with a thick layer of green grass covering the contents of their back baskets.

Liu Su'e was at home making steamed buns when she suddenly saw the four children sneak into the kitchen.

She smiled. "I made some stuffed buns with yesterday's pork. Wanwan, I made three big ones for you."

Zhou Wanwan's eyes lit up. "I'll have one right now."

Liu Su'e handed her a bun. "What's in your back baskets?"

"Meat..."

Liu Su'e pushed the grass aside and got a terrible fright. "Sweetheart, that isn't human meat in our basket, is it?"

Zhou Wanwan blinked her big, innocent eyes. "Mother, how can you think that of me? How could I do something like that?"

Liu Su'e coughed. "I... I was just asking. It's all right, it's all right."

Zhou Wanwan happily ate her bun. "Mother, your steamed buns are so delicious!"

Liu Su'e smiled.

"I learned my skills from my grandmother. Her family used to live in the capital, and she was a cook.

I was sent to the capital for many years when I was little, and I learned a lot of skills from her.

I can make stuffed buns, steamed buns, wontons and dumplings, and I can make a few kinds of capital pastries too!"

Zhou Wanwan smiled. "Mother, you're amazing. When our family is better off, let's make some pastries too."

Liu Su'e smiled.

"All right. I still remember how. Back then, my younger sister and I went to live on the estate for two years.

Unfortunately, my grandmother's employers later got into trouble, and her family was implicated too. I don't know how they're doing now."

So that was what had happened.

Liu Su'e took several dozen white-flour steamed buns outside. "Everyone, come and have some buns! I made some porridge too. Have a little."

"Oh, Su'e, you're too kind. You're making us feel embarrassed. Rough fellows like us can eat just about anything," the villagers said politely.

Liu Su'e gave each of them a steamed bun and ladled out a bowl of porridge for each person.

The village chief's son smiled. "The work's just about done, and we'll be heading home soon."

Zhou Wanwan looked at the shelters they had built in a single night. The sheepfold was neat and square, with sturdy fencing and dry hay spread on the ground.

The walls of the pigpen were neatly built, and the floor had been swept spotless, without a speck of mess. The pigs had plenty of room to move around inside.

They had deliberately left ventilation gaps in the place for the roe deer and pulled the netting tight, so the deer couldn't escape but could still get fresh air.

The chicken coop was even more thoughtfully made, with little compartments for laying eggs lined with soft straw. The chickens could rest easy inside, with nothing to stop them from foraging or laying eggs.

Though all this work had been rushed out in one night, they hadn't cut corners at all.

Each pen had been tidied up, looked sturdy and durable, and even had a door.

The village chief's son smiled. "You'll need a lock for this door, or it won't be safe. I hear some people in your village have sticky fingers."

Liu Su'e nodded, and Zhou Wanwan offered each of them fifteen copper coins, but the people from Liu Family Village refused to accept them no matter what.

Liu Su'e watched the people of Liu Family Village leave and said:

"Actually, everyone in the village is surnamed Liu. Our Liu family even had an ancestor who was a top scholar, but unfortunately, I don't know what happened afterward. The family came here to live in seclusion.

"We Lius have always kept out of worldly disputes. Later, we grew poorer and poorer, until this became the poorest village for a hundred miles around."

Zhou Wanwan nodded. "Liu Family Village really is poor, but its people have plenty of backbone."

"Yes! The people of our Liu Family Village..."

Just then, there was a knock outside. They opened the door and found Zhang Guilan and Zhao Zhaodi, the wives of Zhou Fusheng's eldest and second-eldest brothers.

Zhang Guilan pushed the door open and walked in. "My! This place you're living in now is nice and spacious! I just came to see how you're getting on."

Liu Su'e's face stiffened. "We're doing much better than before, anyway. At least we don't have to wait on the likes of you."

Zhang Guilan looked at her.

"Fourth sister-in-law, what are you saying? We're all one family. We help each other out, so why talk about waiting on anyone?

"Mother's been thinking about you all. She wants you to come home for a meal."