Chapter Twenty-One: Hauling Manure

Fubao finally made it home safely. When Old Madam Lin realized the three children were missing, she was so anxious she nearly fainted. Li had run home but couldn’t find them, and Meng Yun happened to return just then. As soon as she heard about all three children disappearing at once, the Lin household was thrown into chaos. Fortunately, Gou Dan went up the mountain to search and happened to run into Er Niu and the others—new acquaintances from the last few days—who helped bring Fubao back. But even though Fubao was home, the other two little rascals were still missing, so the search had to continue.

At that moment, Little Wolf and Little Cenhai were down by the river, fishing and catching shrimp, having the time of their lives. Luck was with them that day; they caught several fish as big as their palms and grinned so wide you could see their back teeth—dinner would be an extra treat tonight.

But their happiness was short-lived. They soon spotted their father (or uncle) approaching with a firewood stick and a very dark expression! No need to ask how the boys recognized the stick—it was the very same one they had picked up themselves just yesterday!

The two exchanged a glance and scrambled up the bank, not even bothering to pull up their pants before making a break for it. But before they could get far, their grandmother caught one in each hand and dragged them back home!

Little Wolf: … A miscalculation.

Little Cenhai: … Terrifying.

And so, the brothers went home and experienced the taste of bamboo slats stir-fried with meat—delicious!

A few days later, Lin Sanlang packed up and set out for Cangjiang with a dozen or so people. Looking at Tian Laosi and Ma Jinbao from the Ma family among the group, Lin Sanlang felt the urge to just turn around and go home—those two would never let him have a moment’s peace!

Tian’s wife didn’t get along with Old Madam Lin, and her son was no better. Not that they were especially clever, but their scheming always targeted others.

Village Chief Lin looked at the two shifty-eyed fellows in the group and felt a headache coming on. He glanced at his nephew’s face, but what could he do? The pair had blocked his door just yesterday; what choice did he have?

He’d intended to say a few words before they left, but one look at his nephew’s expression made him abandon the idea in a hurry. Better to get going!

With a grand wave, Village Chief Lin saw the group off, feeling much relieved as he headed home. He had no idea how Lin Sanlang would fare in Cangjiang.

Meanwhile, Fubao was feeling stifled. Since her near disappearance last time, her mother had kept her under strict watch, taking her everywhere, and neither of her brothers was allowed to go fishing or shrimping.

Three days after her father left, the little ginseng sprite, who’d been roaming wild, finally returned home. No one knew what she had done to those hunters, but a few days later, several of them were spotted in Dabieshan, searching the mountains with grim faces. Even Er Niu, who often hunted in the mountains, didn’t dare go up anymore—what if he got caught?

The ginseng sprite claimed it was no big deal.

But really, if someone peed in your water bottle and made you drink it, wouldn’t you be furious? If someone threw a hornet’s nest over your head and you ended up fleeing from wasps all over the mountain, wouldn’t you want to chop them up? And what about being ambushed mid-pee and nearly scared into impotence—would you just let that slide? The hunters vowed to catch the culprit, skin them, and tear them apart—nothing else would ease their anger!

While the hunters’ minds were roaring like Godzilla, the little ginseng sprite was lying in bed with little Fubao, wrestling for space with the chubby child.

Little Fubao: Mine! Move over!

Ginseng sprite: No way, give me a little space. I’ve been exhausted these past two days and need some rest! With that, he squeezed in beside Fubao.

Little Fubao: You ran off and now I’m getting blamed!

Protests were useless!

These past few days, Meng Yun had been stuck at home with her mother-in-law, watching over Fubao. She noticed her daughter liked to lay curled up in a corner of the bed and wondered if the fright from a few days ago was to blame.

But staying cooped up at home all the time was no good. With just the two of them there, both mother and daughter were bored out of their minds. After some thought, Meng Yun decided to take Fubao back to her own family home.

Hugging Fubao and planting a kiss on her, Meng Yun said, “Sweetheart, tomorrow Mama will take you to Grandma’s house, all right?” She kissed her again.

Little Fubao remembered her uncle, who’d given her a jade pendant, and her grandfather with his goatee—she was delighted.

That evening, Meng Yun went to the old house, told Old Madam Lin about her plan, and got her approval. With her son away, her daughter-in-law wasn’t a farm worker and had nothing to do at home but look after Fubao, so why not visit the Meng family? Besides, their two families had only recently grown close; it was good to maintain the relationship. So she let Meng Yun take some of the family’s wild game as gifts.

Seeing the stock of wild game at home dwindle, Wu felt a bit resentful, but said nothing.

Meanwhile, Lin Sanlang and Lin Dashuan were having a terrible time. It was infuriating—Tian Laosi, damn him, had somehow gotten in tight with the foreman in charge of dike repairs and was making trouble for them. This time they managed to dodge the trap, but after a few more incidents, they were assigned to the worst job there—hauling nightsoil.

Lin Sanlang was about to explode with anger.

“That despicable scoundrel, setting me up and slandering me—accusing me of being lazy! Pah!” Fuming, Lin Sanlang threw down his carrying pole and kicked the bucket in frustration.

The bucket: … What did I ever do to you?!

Lin Dashuan shot Lin Sanlang a look. “That’s nothing. They think I eat too much, so they stuck me with this disgusting job—so sickening I can hardly eat!” He snorted. “As if eating more is my fault!”

Lin Sanlang: … I’m speechless. Those two villains!