Chapter 50

“Sister-in-law, have you seen my sister’s Lifebound Gu?”

Chi Li suddenly turned to Little Snake, asking curiously.

Little Snake paused, sitting in Ah Wan’s arms, hugging her neck. She asked, confused, “What’s a sister-in-law?”

“You don’t even know what sister-in-law means? Your Chinese studies really are terrible. How does my sister even teach you?”

“Aiya, it’s a pity I don’t understand your She language either. How can I explain it so you’ll understand… Well, sister-in-law is actually my sister’s…”

Chi Li rattled on. Just as she was about to explain properly, she suddenly felt a thorny gaze land on her.

She involuntarily shivered, slowly turning her head to glance. Finding her sister looking this way, face ashen, she immediately shut up.

Ah Wan intimidated Chi Li into silence with her eyes. Only then did she hug the human in her arms tighter, gently stroking her hair. Her words were full of affection: “No rush. Don’t listen to her nonsense. We’ll learn slowly.”

“What do you mean, no rush?” Chi Li couldn’t hold back words; keeping them in felt awful. She had to speak, even if it meant getting hit. “Sis, don’t be mad at what I’m about to say. But at the rate you’re teaching, it’s way too slow. A rough estimate says it’ll take you a lifetime for her to learn. If you ask me, it’d be faster to send her to school.”

“And let me tell you, for a pure kid like my sister-in-law who’s never left the mountains, you have to let her go to school, interact with others, gain experience, learn some life skills. That way, she won’t be taken advantage of when she’s out in society…”

“Seventy-three years.”

“What?”

Ah Wan suddenly spoke. Little Snake asked curiously, “What seventy-three years?”

“Nothing.” Ah Wan suppressed the emotion in her eyes, gave Chi Li a warning look, then coaxed the little one in her arms. “Go cook the rice in the rice cooker. I taught you how before.”

Little Snake immediately nodded vigorously, saying proudly, “I know this one!”

She hopped off Ah Wan’s lap and scampered away.

Only after Little Snake left did Ah Wan raise her eyes towards Chi Li. She lightly brushed invisible dust off her clothes, tugging at a slightly curled hem as she spoke deliberately: “I’ve calculated it. I still have seventy-three years. That’s enough time to teach her everything, to meet her basic needs in nature and human society.”

“Don’t interfere. We live very well here.”

As her words fell, she got up and headed straight inside.

Seeing this, Chi Li pouted somewhat dejectedly. Lowering her head, she muttered softly: “You should at least ask my sister-in-law if she’s willing.”

Almost instantly, Ah Wan’s footsteps slowly halted. She turned her head left to glance backwards.

Chi Li’s heart skipped a beat, wondering if Ah Wan had heard her grumbling.

But Ah Wan said nothing, didn’t acknowledge her further, and walked into the house.

That day’s meal was cooked by Ah Wan herself. As usual, a full meat feast. Little Snake ate with exceptional delight.

Watching her happily eat, Chi Li couldn’t help but swallow.

But looking down at the table full of chicken, she instantly lost interest. Putting down her chopsticks, she turned to Ah Wan: “Sis, you have to give my sister-in-law some vegetables or something. Just eating chicken every day isn’t right. You still need a mix of meat and vegetables.”

“Hey, let me tell you, in our neighborhood, there’s this kid who’s an incredibly picky eater, famous all around, and then…”

“Eating vegetables would cause malnutrition for her.”

Ah Wan directly interrupted, piling a large piece of meat into Little Snake’s bowl.

“How could it cause malnutrition? I’m not saying just eat vegetables and no meat. You need a bit of everything, a balanced diet. That’s balanced nutrition.” Chi Li continued earnestly.

Ah Wan couldn’t be bothered to explain. But she did consider Chi Li’s words, thinking the dishes on the table were indeed somewhat monotonous.

“Then we’ll change the main dish tomorrow.” As soon as Ah Wan finished, Chi Li jumped in excitedly: “Right! No matter what, you still need a mix of meat and veggies…”

Chi Li’s sentence was still unfinished when Ah Wan spoke softly to Little Snake as if no one else were there: “Let’s switch to fish. You rarely eat fish. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the river and catch a few to cook for you.”

Little Snake gnawed on a chicken bone, nodding vigorously. “Mm, mm! That sounds good. I like eating fish too.”

“But no bones,” she added, biting her chopsticks. She looked eagerly at the dishes on the table, asking, “Is anyone going to eat that chicken leg?”

“No.” Ah Wan picked up the serving chopsticks and placed it in Little Snake’s bowl without hesitation.

“Uh, okay, okay,” Chi Li comforted herself. “At least it’s a change.”

After the meal, Ah Wan wanted to go to the backyard to fence off that plot of land. She planned to prepare the soil first. After the new year ended and spring came, when the weather was warmer, she’d catch some chickens, ducks, and geese to raise.

Chi Li naturally went to help. Little Snake volunteered to wash the dishes, taking her bowl and Ah Wan’s and running off to the kitchen. She left Chi Li outside to deal with the rest of the bowls and chopsticks.

Actually, Little Snake had only washed dishes a few times, just during her first two days here. Afterwards, Ah Wan hadn’t let her lift a finger.

So, after such a long time, her plate-licking skills had gotten a bit rusty.

Little Snake diligently and conscientiously licked her own bowl clean, then reached for Ah Wan’s. Suddenly, a crash came from the doorway, followed by shattered ceramic scattering across the floor.

Ah Wan instantly appeared, standing beside Chi Li. She glanced inside, sighing in relief when she saw Little Snake wasn’t hurt.

Then she turned to Chi Li, who had just dropped a stack of bowls. Ah Wan pulled out a tiny abacus from somewhere, the beads clacking as she flicked them. She revealed a shrewd smile, saying politely: “Congratulations. You now owe me exactly one hundred thousand.”

Chi Li didn’t care about the hundred thousand. She was too shocked, pointing into the kitchen at Little Snake. “Sis, did you just see that?”

“See what?” Ah Wan asked, completely composed. Chi Li looked like she was about to lose it: “My sister-in-law… washes dishes by licking them?”

Ah Wan also looked like she was just noticing this. But when she met Chi Li’s gaze, she still raised her chin slightly, seeming completely accustomed. She spoke slowly: “Respect different customs. That’s just how the Snake Clan does it.”

“Impossible!” Chi Li absolutely didn’t believe it. “I’ve never heard of any She people doing that.”

She clutched her head, starting to contemplate seriously, mumbling: “Could my sister-in-law be so malnourished she’s developed pica? Why else would she lick plates?”

Hearing this, Ah Wan closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her expression growing even more disdainful towards her sister. She reached out, grabbing Chi Li by the collar and yanking her back.

“Get to work.”

Saying this, she tossed her outside. She herself went back to get a broom and swept up the broken shards.

Little Snake was still standing in the kitchen holding the bowls, looking somewhat lost. She stared blankly at Ah Wan, eyes reddening, and asked quietly: “Human, did Snakey do something wrong?”

Ah Wan walked over, studying her thoughtfully for a moment. She took the bowl from Little Snake’s arms and placed it aside. Then she lifted Little Snake onto the countertop, cupped her face, and lowered her head.

They tenderly rubbed foreheads together. Ah Wan soothed gently: “It’s not your fault.”

Her tone weakened, carrying a hint of remorse. “It’s my problem.”

Two days before Mid-Autumn was the Autumnal Equinox. The temperature in the mountains seemed to drop overnight.

In the morning, Ah Wan got up and swapped Little Snake’s wardrobe for the season. She hung up thicker jackets. The electric blanket was also taken out of the closet, ready to be put on the bed in a couple more days.

“Human!”

Little Snake shouted, waving her hand as she ran in from somewhere outside.

“So cold, so cold!”

Standing still, she stretched out her hands. Ah Wan walked over and naturally bent down, letting Little Snake place her hands against her neck. Then she covered them with her own palms, warming them gently. She asked tenderly:

“Gone without a trace first thing in the morning. What were you doing? Your hands are like ice?”

Little Snake squinted, smiling sweetly. “Went with Chi Li to climb the tree behind the house and pick pears.”

Ah Wan’s face instantly darkened a shade. She cupped Little Snake’s bottom and lifted her into her arms, walking outside. “Just the two of you?”

“Mm!” Little Snake sat securely in her embrace. She touched Ah Wan’s neck and leaned in for a cheek rub, saying softly, “Chi Li is so clumsy. She can’t climb trees. Snakey is better.”

Ah Wan gritted her teeth, the jealousy in her eyes almost overflowing. Yet she still smiled and agreed: “Mm, you’re the best.”

She actually wanted to ask why she hadn’t been invited along.

But after thinking about it, she decided against it, worried she’d seem too fussy.

Chi Li walked in carrying a basket of green pears, dripping water all over the floor.

Ah Wan glanced once and instantly understood why Little Snake’s hands were so cold. The only plausible reason was playing with water while washing the pears in the mountain spring, freezing them like that.

Thinking this, Ah Wan pulled Little Snake’s hands down, wrapping them in her own palms. She looked at her quietly, face stern, voice deep. “Playing with water?”

Little Snake knew she’d done wrong. She hid in Ah Wan’s arms, not daring to speak. Turning her head, she buried it in Ah Wan’s chest, letting out a mewl like a kitten, whining coquettishly. “Didn’t play. Just touched it a little.”

Chi Li placed the basket on the coffee table, plopped onto the sofa, picked a pretty pear, took a photo, and crunched into it.

While editing her WeChat Moments post, she couldn’t help but add: “Sis, you’re way too strict with her. She’s not a little kid anymore.”

Hearing this, Ah Wan slowly turned her head, glancing at her. In an unpleasant tone, she ordered: “If you’re bored, go pull the weeds in the field.”

“Then I’ll shut up.”

Chi Li wisely closed her mouth. She ate her pear while posting to Moments:

【Chi Li Doesn’t Eat Pears: [Image]】

Ten seconds later, someone saved as “Old Antique” liked it.

Opening their chat, the last message was still from the day Chi Li arrived here, the interrupted video call.

After thinking for a moment, Chi Li turned her phone sideways and opened a game. Looking up, she asked: “Sister-in-law, wanna play a game?”

“Yes! Yes!” Little Snake immediately answered, her face excited. She turned and reached out to Ah Wan. “Phone, phone.”

Ah Wan took out her phone, about to hand it over. But she glanced at Chi Li sitting opposite, and her heart went sour. Without hesitation, she pulled Little Snake up by the hand. “No games. Come with me to work in the field.”

Then she instructed Chi Li: “You cook.”

“Eh?” Chi Li put down her phone and stood up too. She offered proactively: “Let’s all go together. More hands make quicker work. We can come back and cook after we’re done.”

Ah Wan led Little Snake outside, rejecting without turning back: “No need.”

But Little Snake’s voice immediately followed: “Yes! Yes!”

“No.”

Ah Wan refused directly. Her voice was laced with cold, the kind of damp chill that could seep into the bones.

“Oh, no, no.” Little Snake quickly put on a serious little face, faithfully echoing Ah Wan’s words like a tiny repeater. “You cook.”