Chapter 35: The Rat

As they walked into the courtyard, Wang Jusheng’s wife, Zhang Qiaoling, was nervously scanning the area with a flashlight.

Seeing her, Wang Jusheng hurried over. "What's wrong, Qiaoling? What was that noise just now?"

"I'm not quite sure. It sounded like it came from the west room."

Seeing Wang Jusheng return, Zhang Qiaoling let out a sigh of relief. Then, noticing Chen Ling following behind her husband, she forced a smile and greeted him. "Fu'gui is here."

Chen Ling nodded and greeted her, "Sister-in-law Qiaoling."

"Give me the flashlight. I'll go take a look with Fu'gui and see what's going on. Hope nothing got into the house."

Wang Jusheng took the flashlight and, together with Chen Ling, pushed open the door to the west room. Before they even stepped inside, they heard a loud "thump." Wang Jusheng immediately swung the flashlight beam across the room, catching a glimpse of a massive rat darting past their feet at an astonishing speed.

Zhang Qiaoling, who was standing further back, only saw a black shadow bolt out of the room, and she shrieked, scrambling to the side in terror.

"It's alright, don't be afraid. It was just a rat!" Wang Jusheng said in a low, calm voice.

He then added, puzzled, "That’s strange. Both our house and my father’s house keep cats. We never usually get rats."

In the countryside, cats were almost always expert mousers; in this era, there was little leftover food, so if they didn't catch mice, they went hungry. Naturally, they also hunted birds, grasshoppers, crickets, and lizards—hunting skills were born out of hunger.

"Heh, I suppose it’s spring, and the rats are having their litters. It's normal for them to risk coming out to find food," Chen Ling said. "Brother Jusheng, let’s go inside and take a look. Judging by the noise earlier, there’s no way there was only one rat in there."

Chen Ling knew this not just from the sound, but because his eyesight and hearing were far superior to the average person’s; he could detect the rustling of rats in the dark corners of the room.

"I think so too." Wang Jusheng nodded, used the flashlight to find the pull-cord, and switched on the light.

The moment the room lit up, they saw a dozen large gray rats perched on a big ceramic vat in the corner. They were busy gripping peanuts in their mouths and scurrying up the electrical wires toward the rafters. On the other end of the rafters, near a hole where a wire passed through the wall, half of a rat's head poked out, peering around.

These rats were much bolder than the first one; even with the light on, they didn't rush to escape, calmly continuing to haul peanuts up to the rafters.

Wang Jusheng was instantly enraged. "Damn it! How dare they ruin my peanuts!"

He grabbed a broom from behind the door and swung it, but the rats were slippery and scattered in all directions. Wang Jusheng couldn't hit a single one.

"Brother Jusheng, Sister-in-law, don't store the peanuts here next time. Keep them in the bedroom," Chen Ling advised as Zhang Qiaoling entered the room.

He knew exactly why the rats were there. After all, the peanuts he had given Wang Jusheng had been irrigated with water from his grotto, and their appeal to animals was immense.

"It’s all my fault for not paying enough attention," Wang Jusheng sighed, picking up two heavy iron weights from the floor. "I put the peanuts in the vat and pressed them down with these weights, thinking that since we have cats, the rats wouldn't be able to get in. Even if they did, I had these two heavy weights on top. I never imagined these rats would be such thieves—they actually managed to knock down such heavy weights."

It was clear that the "thump" Chen Ling and Wang had heard earlier was the sound of the rats knocking the weights off.

"It's just a pity about the peanuts you gave me, Fu'gui," Wang Jusheng said with a pained expression. He had brought back quite a few peanuts while helping Chen Ling in the fields, and he had hoped they would last a while. Now, that was out of the question.

"It's fine, it's just a few peanuts. I have more where those came from," Chen Ling said, walking over to check the vat.

Sure enough, the rats had wreaked havoc. They hadn't just eaten them and hauled some away to their nests; they had also defecated and urinated all over the remaining supply, leaving the peanuts smelling rank and clearly inedible.

"Oh, that's not what I meant..." Wang Jusheng gritted his teeth. "I just mean these peanuts are rare, high-quality things. To have them ruined by rats before we could even eat them—it’s infuriating."

"If it comes to that, dear, why don't you set a couple of mousetraps in this room?" Zhang Qiaoling suggested, equally heartbroken over the loss of the peanuts, especially since they were so good for lactation.

"I will! I'll set them right after we eat!" Wang Jusheng declared bitterly. "I'll set a few more traps and crush these damn pests!"

He turned to his wife. "Fu'gui is here, let’s not dwell on these trifles. Go and prepare the meal. Let Fu'gui show off his skills, so you can see for yourself if I’ve been lying to you."

Zhang Qiaoling glanced at Chen Ling and chuckled. "Fu'gui, don't listen to your brother. I was just teasing him. How can we have a guest over and make him cook? That’s just not right!"

In truth, Zhang Qiaoling had only said that out of frustration. Seeing Wang Jusheng constantly bumming meals at Chen Ling's house and rarely eating at home, she couldn't help but complain. She would ask, "Is the food at Fu'gui's house really that good? Does it make you want to eat there three times a day?" Wang Jusheng would insist it was, and that if she didn't believe him, he’d bring Fu'gui over to cook, and she’d be convinced after one bite. She’d challenged him to do it, and now that he actually had, she felt a bit embarrassed, as if she were some kind of glutton.

"Nonsense, there's nothing 'not right' about it. I’ve already asked Fu'gui, and he has to show his stuff. Today, I’m going to make you eat your words," Wang Jusheng insisted firmly.

Zhang Qiaoling felt her face flush. She thought to herself, *This stubborn man, why is he acting so competitive in front of an outsider?*

"Fu'gui, please don't mind us. That’s just the way Jusheng is," she said.

Chen Ling waved his hand with a smile. "Not at all. I actually appreciate Brother Jusheng’s personality; otherwise, we wouldn't be such good friends!"

Wang Jusheng burst into laughter. "See? See? That’s how a real man talks! You don't know anything, woman! Go turn on the courtyard lights; Fu'gui prefers cooking outside."

In reality, Wang Jusheng just wanted to show off. He knew Chen Ling’s cooking was incredibly fragrant—the aroma could travel for miles. He wanted him to cook in his own courtyard so the neighbors would smell it and turn green with envy.

Their courtyard was long and narrow, with many trees and rows of water vats, ranging from a meter tall to small, one-foot-high pots lined up together. Wang Jusheng’s stove was fashioned from a small vat, lined with red clay and fitted with ventilation holes; it could burn charcoal or wood, making it very convenient for cooking.

Zhang Qiaoling had already prepared the ingredients, and it didn't take Chen Ling long to whip up the meal. Because the trees shaded the yard, the lights didn't make it very bright, allowing Chen Ling to secretly add a few drops of grotto water without anyone noticing.

When he placed the four dishes and one soup on the table, the fragrance wafted out instantly.

At that moment, Zhang Qiaoling finally understood why her husband was always running over to Chen Ling’s house for meals. It smelled divine—absolutely incredible!

Seeing his wife silently swallowing her saliva, Wang Jusheng chuckled. "Well? Wife? Did I lie to you?"

Zhang Qiaoling shot him a look and said, "I'm going to go get the baby..."