Chapter 36: The Chicken Catastrophe

After working in the fields for the better part of the day, Chen Ling and Wang Jusheng were both famished. Once Zhang Qiaoling brought the children out, the three of them sat down to eat.

Chen Ling had prepared five dishes, but only one contained meat; the rest were vegetarian, making for a modest spread. Yet, because his cooking was so fragrant, the couple enjoyed the meal immensely. Even Zhang Qiaoling, despite harboring some reservations about Chen Ling due to the influence of other villagers, could not help but offer repeated praise. When Chen Ling left, she even took the initiative to give him two jars of pickled vegetables.

"Although your sister-in-law Qiaoling’s cooking isn't as good as yours, her pickled vegetables are peerless. Within a ten-mile radius, no one can compare to her," Wang Jusheng said with a smile. "Look at the large vats in my yard—several are filled with pickles, and there are others full of chili paste and bean paste. Whenever you want some, just come and get them."

"Sister-in-law is truly amazing. I was wondering why there were so many large vats in the yard," Chen Ling said, holding the two black jars. He lowered his head to sniff them, his eyes lighting up. They smelled truly delicious. He had assumed the vats were empty, never expecting them to be filled with pickles and sauces.

"Don't listen to your brother Jusheng's nonsense. It's just a bit of pickled vegetables; which household doesn't pickle a couple of jars throughout the seasons? He brags to everyone he meets, and he isn't even ashamed," Zhang Qiaoling said with a laugh, feeling a bit embarrassed by her husband’s boasting. She thought to herself that one shouldn't praise their own household so openly in front of others. It was just pickles—even if you praised them to the heavens, they were still just pickles and not worth much.

"Hey, I don't brag to everyone; this is what people have tasted for themselves," Wang Jusheng slapped his thigh and said, his eyes widening. "Take my colleagues at the police station, for example. Every time I bring pickles from home, they scramble to get some. Last time, I was afraid there wouldn't be enough, so I brought an extra jar, but those sons of bitches finished it all in two meals. Later, when I asked around, I found out even the old gatekeeper had pinched half a bowl. Damn them!"

"Hahaha, hearing you put it that way, Brother Jusheng, I can't wait to try them. When I go back, I'll tell Susu, and one of these days I'll have her come and learn from Sister-in-law," Chen Ling said, laughing.

Zhang Qiaoling beamed as well. "Alright, whenever Sister Susu wants to learn how to pickle, I’ll teach her step-by-step."

With that, they chatted and laughed while walking Chen Ling to the door.

"Alright, the kids are still at home, so don't bother walking me any further, Brother Jusheng and Sister-in-law. You should head back," Chen Ling waved, said his goodbyes, and made his way home alone.

When he returned, Wang Susu had already eaten and had set up a large wooden tub filled with hot water, leaving the room steaming. Seeing him return, she closed the door. The two of them took a hot bath together and then climbed onto the kang for a comfortable night's sleep.

***

The next day brought another bout of drizzling spring rain. Although it wasn't heavy, it had been raining steadily since the morning with no sign of stopping. Seeing this, Chen Ling wasn't in a hurry to get up and make breakfast. He embraced Wang Susu’s soft, delicate body, shifted to a new sleeping position, and decided to enjoy sleeping for half the morning, just as they had before.

However, before even half an hour had passed, he was woken up by noise from outside.

"Ah Ling, Ah Ling, hurry and get up. It seems like something has happened outside." Wang Susu broke free from Chen Ling’s embrace and nudged him gently.

"It's barely morning; what's all this about?" Chen Ling rubbed his eyes. He didn't want to pay any attention to it, but seeing his little wife looking so worried by the commotion outside, he had no choice but to climb out from under the covers naked and hunt for his clothes.

Once dressed, Chen Ling grabbed an umbrella and stepped outside. He saw a large crowd gathered on the street. Qin Dongmei, that sharp-tongued woman, was standing there with a rigid face, cursing incessantly. Her sister, Qin Qiumei, was trying to persuade her in a low voice, but it was clearly ineffective; her sister wasn't listening to a word.

Pointing at an old woman with white hair wearing a blue coarse-cloth jacket, Qin Dongmei shouted, "You old hag! If you don't compensate me for my chickens today, none of your chickens or ducks will live either. Let's see if I don't poison them all!"

The old woman was both angry and flustered. "Dongmei, don't be unreasonable. What does your chickens dying have to do with me? It's a baseless accusation—why are you trying to pin this on me?"

Qin Dongmei sneered, "Heh, saying I'm pinning it on you? You old thing, you’ve got some nerve! All the neighbors are here watching; ask them—who doesn't know that you constantly lure other people's chickens into your yard to lay eggs? Take me for example; I've caught you doing it at least two or three times. I didn't say anything because of your age, trying to give you some face, but you—just because my chickens ruined a few of your vegetable seedlings yesterday, you went and poisoned them!"

The old woman grew even more agitated. "It wasn't vegetable seedlings, it was watermelon sprouts! I was planning to plant them in the field once the land was reallocated. Your chickens ruined all of them, so I can't grow melons this year. I haven't even gone to settle accounts with you yet, and here you are accusing the victim!"

"Pah! Settling accounts with me? Do you have the face to settle accounts with me? If you, you old immortal, hadn't been luring my chickens into your yard to lay eggs, would they have ruined your sprouts? If you can't grow melons, that's your own fault! You brought it on yourself! Why did you poison my chickens?"

"Regardless, you have to compensate me for my chickens. If you don't have chickens, pay me money. Ten yuan each, and not a cent less." Qin Dongmei spat viciously.

The old woman was rendered speechless, trembling with rage. "You, you, you..."

Listening to the argument, Chen Ling glanced toward Qin Dongmei's yard and saw a yard full of dead chickens lying on the ground, being rained upon. Their feathers were sodden with mud and looked filthy.

"Fifth Uncle is here! Auntie Dongmei, Grandma Wang, please, stop arguing!" At this moment, the son of the village doctor, Chen Guoping—Chen Ling's neighbor—called out.

The crowd saw Wang Laishun walking over from the south, holding a tattered green umbrella.

"What are you arguing about! Arguing in the street while it's raining; aren't you afraid the neighbors will laugh at you?" Wang Laishun approached and scolded. "If there's an issue, talk it out properly. Why resort to shouting? The village committee isn't far away; whenever you encounter a problem, all you know how to do is curse, yet you never think to head to the village committee."

Upon hearing this, Qin Dongmei rolled her eyes. "Going to the village committee is useful? It never solves any problems, so who would go?"

It was true; sometimes Wang Laishun feared trouble and preferred to smooth things over. After all, it is hard for even an honest official to settle family disputes, and often, one ends up embroiled in the mess without solving anything. Furthermore, there were countless petty squabbles in the village; Wang Laishun would manage what he could and hide from the rest. As a result, many villagers were dissatisfied, secretly calling him cunning and cold-hearted.

Wang Laishun had heard such things plenty of times. He didn't mind Qin Dongmei’s sarcastic remarks to his face and instead smiled, saying, "Look at you, Dongmei. You say that, but haven't I come to solve the problem? Tell me what's going on—why are you arguing here before even eating breakfast?"

"Laishun, don't ask her. She's just being unreasonable. She came to smash my door early this morning, insisting that I poisoned her chickens. No matter how I explain it, she won't listen. She's going to be the death of me! You must uphold justice for me today," Grandma Wang said, grabbing Wang Laishun’s arm with a trembling voice. As an elderly woman, she couldn't out-argue Qin Dongmei and was nearly moved to tears.

"Don't worry, Auntie. Let's go look at Dongmei's chickens first..." Wang Laishun consoled her.

Hearing this, Qin Dongmei scoffed, "What's there to look at? Can a dead chicken be brought back to life? Village Chief, don't tell me you're planning to take this old thing's side..."

Wang Laishun ignored her and turned to Qin Qiumei. "Director Qin, let's take a look and see what exactly happened to the chickens."

"Alright, sorry for the trouble, Village Chief Wang!" Qin Qiumei looked embarrassed and pulled on her sister’s arm, telling her to say less. Although her status and position were more prestigious than her sister's, she had actually been frail since childhood and had been taken care of by her sister. In their relationship, Qin Dongmei was more like the older sister, and she was more like the younger one. This led to her sister always being more assertive in front of her.

...

The group entered Qin Dongmei's yard and squatted down to examine the dead chickens one by one. Soon, someone exclaimed in surprise, "These chickens weren't poisoned! Their necks were snapped by something!"

Chen Ling stood at the back of the crowd and took a look. He saw that each chicken had a bloody puncture wound on its neck, which didn't look very obvious. If not for the rain causing the feathers to mat together, it would have been hard to notice.