"Mom, where’s the meat?"

Su Lihui and Su Shengli had pushed their bicycles all the way back from the county town. Su Shengguo had kept the father-son duo for lunch, where he’d also asked about Su Qing splitting from the Su Family. Su Shengli gave Su Shengguo’s family a rough account of what happened, which left them furious. Su Shengguo declared that on his next day off, he would return to the old house to have a talk with Old Mrs. Su.

The father and son had just stepped through the gate when Su Lihui caught a fragrant scent in the courtyard. Thinking his family was cooking meat, he forgot all about his exhausted, jelly-like legs and eagerly dashed into the kitchen, only to find not a single scrap of meat.

"Lihui, you’re not in pain anymore? We’re not cooking meat today. That’s from next door—that bitch Su Qing is rendering lard." Seeing Su Lihui run into the kitchen full of life, Tian Aixiang felt a surge of joy. ’He must be fine now.’ But the smell of lard from next door filled her with indignation. ’Just from how rich that aroma is, that damn girl must be rendering a ton of it. What a wasteful brat.’

The Su Family had money, but Old Mrs. Su kept it all in a death grip. She was incredibly stingy; the family was lucky to have meat even once a month. Even when she did cook something special, it was a private meal just for Old Su, her sons, and her grandsons. The daughters-in-law and granddaughters were always left out.

Especially now, after losing seven or eight hundred yuan one way or another, Old Mrs. Su had become even more tight-fisted. In past years, they would at least get a taste of meat during the busy farming season. But these last couple of days? Nothing but sweet potato and wild vegetable congee with a side of pickles.

"What? No meat?!" All Su Lihui could think about was meat. The fragrant aroma made his stomach rumble, and the craving was unbearable. He started to whine, "I want meat, Mom! I want meat!"

An idea popped into Tian Aixiang’s head. She whispered to Su Lihui, "Lihui, go tell your grandma."

"Okay." Su Lihui nodded eagerly. He bolted from the kitchen and burst into Old Mrs. Su’s room, yelling, "Grandma, I want meat! I want meat!"

At that moment, Su Shengli was telling Old Mrs. Su and Old Su about their trip to the county town. "Dad, Mom," he said resentfully, "that doctor at the county hospital is useless. He couldn’t find anything wrong and told us to take Lihui to the city for a check-up. Don’t you think Lihui might have some terrible disease?"

"Shoo, shoo! Stop jinxing my grandson." Old Mrs. Su slapped him in displeasure.

Su Shengli looked aggrieved. "I’m not the one who said it, the doctor did! I even argued with him. But that doctor at the county hospital was completely unreasonable. Even the hospital director came out, and they still insisted their examination was correct. If Lihui were perfectly fine, how could he be in so much pain?"

"Then we’ll go to the city. Go find the brigade leader later and get a letter of introduction." A trip to the city for medical care, plus travel and lodging, would cost a fortune. But Old Mrs. Su doted on her grandson, so she was determined to spend the money.

"Yes, okay." Su Shengli quickly agreed. ’As long as she agrees, that’s what matters. She’ll give me the money, since I don’t have any myself.’ Just as Su Shengli finished discussing the trip to the city and was about to bring up Su Shengguo, Su Lihui burst in, making a racket.

"Bao’er, be a good boy. Have your sister go next door and get some. She’s been lying in bed for two days; it’s time for her to get up and move around a bit." The Su Family had three grandsons. Besides the eldest, Su Lidong, Old Mrs. Su doted most on Su Lihui, whom she had raised herself. When he said he wanted meat, how could she possibly refuse?

As for Su Tao, Old Mrs. Su was currently seething with anger. ’What a disgrace! To think she’d copy that damn girl Su Qing and threaten to cause a scene at the Women’s Federation and the Public Security Bureau. She’s nothing but trouble.’ Now, everyone in the village knew about her and Shitou. Old Mrs. Su wondered if Su Tao would ever be able to get married. She felt Tian Aixiang had let Su Tao off too easily with that beating.

"Oh, okay! I’ll go get my sister." Su Lihui happily turned and headed for Su Tao’s room.

"Mom, so we aren’t the ones cooking meat?" Su Shengli had thought the smell was coming from their own house.

"No." At the mention of it, Old Mrs. Su’s heart filled with rage. "That damn girl, may she be struck by plague! Taking our Su Family’s money to live the good life. Who knows how much lard she’s rendered or how much meat she’s stewed. Why doesn’t she just eat until she bursts!"

"Mom, if we go next door to get some meat, won’t that damn girl cause a scene again?" Su Shengli felt uneasy, remembering that both the brigade leader and the village party secretary were on Su Qing’s side now. ’That damn girl has gotten bold,’ he thought. ’She even dares to use their authority to defy us.’

"She wouldn’t dare!" Old Mrs. Su craned her neck and shouted in the direction of Su Qing’s house, "I’m her grandmother! It’s her god-given duty to show me respect. If she doesn’t, she’s no better than an animal that deserves to be struck by lightning!"

Old Mrs. Su believed that as an elder, it was only natural that Su Qing should be filial to her.

"Sis, get up! Grandma wants you to go next door and get some meat," Su Lihui said as he entered Su Tao’s room. No, it was the woodshed.

The two rooms Su Qing had taken belonged to Su Shengguo’s side of the family. This meant Su Shengli’s family had to vacate one of their rooms for Su Shengguo’s. Consequently, Su Tao lost her private room and was sent by Old Mrs. Su to live in the woodshed. The woodshed happened to be empty since Su Qing had moved out, so it now served as Su Tao’s room.

Tian Aixiang had given Su Tao a brutal beating the day before yesterday, and she hadn’t been able to get out of bed for two days. Although she felt a little better today, she was still nursing a deep sense of grievance and refused to leave the woodshed.

"Grandma wants me to go?" Su Tao frowned slightly. Su Qing’s recent transformation had left her feeling unsettled; it was as if Su Qing had become a completely different person, nothing like she used to be.

"Yeah, hurry up and go," Su Lihui urged.

"Fine, I’ll go." ’Su Tao seethed with hatred for Su Qing, but she had also been thinking about approaching her to figure out what was going on with that damn girl. Besides, she was craving meat too. Once she got it, it wouldn’t be out of line to take a couple of bites for herself first, would it?’

Su Tao climbed out of bed and went to the kitchen to grab a large bowl. Seeing her, Tian Aixiang, still annoyed, poked her on the forehead. "You troublesome girl, what are you doing with that bowl?"

"Grandma told me to go next door and get some meat," Su Tao said with a pout. She then left their yard, went to Su Qing’s house next door, and banged on the gate. "Su Qing, open up!"

Su Qing had just finished rendering the lard and was pouring it into a clean jar when she heard Su Tao’s voice outside. She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. ’Well, well. Su Tao. I haven’t even decided how to deal with her yet, and she’s already shown up at my door.’

Su Qing wiped her hands and went to open the gate. She didn’t let Su Tao inside, instead blocking the entrance as she asked coldly, "What are you doing here?"