Chapter 54: Two Little Pigs
When Jiang Huaizhen returned, it was already evening. Two bamboo cages were hanging from the back of the carriage, each containing a small pig.
Old Madam Jiang was sitting at the door. Seeing her take down the two cages with the small pigs, she walked over with her cane and circled the cages. “The big black horse is doing well. These two piglets shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
She had raised several pigs over the years, and they had all died within a month. She was afraid of raising them.
Jiang Huaizhen said, “She said they can be raised well, so there won’t be any problems.”
“She” was naturally Lin Shuang.
Old Madam Jiang still believed in Lin Shuang. This girl had been here for so long and had never made any mistakes.
Lin Shuang was sewing clothes in the room. Hearing the oinking of the little pigs outside, although she was still a little resentful of Jiang Huaizhen’s actions of taking the household register to the yamen to make changes at noon, she couldn’t hold a grudge against her. Suppressing the discomfort in her heart, she went out with Ping’er to see the little piglets.
Seeing the two white and plump little piglets oinking in the cages, her mood improved slightly. She squeezed out a smile and said, “If we raise them well, we won’t have to buy pork from Butcher Zhang at the end of the year.”
Seeing her come over, Jiang Huaizhen took out the household register from her robes and handed it to her. “I’ll take the little pigs to the pigsty. You take this back and put it away.”
Lin Shuang said “oh,” took it, and watched her carry a cage in each hand toward the pigsty at the back door.
She stood for a while, then led Ping’er into the house.
After entering the room, she tightened her grip on the booklet. She couldn’t resist and untied the rope wrapped around it, opening the booklet.
To her surprise, the line that had been added to the head of household page last time, “Jiang Huaizhen, Head of Household, Wife: Lin shi…”, was still printed there, unchanged.
No changes had been made.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She flipped through the back and saw that her own page of records was also unchanged, but a new member’s information had been added at the end.
[Sister: Jiang Huaiyue]
Ping’er’s name had been changed after all. Now she was completely cut off from the Lin Wasong and Hao family.
The matter that had been weighing on her mind was finally settled. Lin Shuang was happy.
But at this moment, what made her little face burn was the line on the head of household page. The word “wife” fell into her eyes, and her heart pounded.
She still couldn’t believe her eyes and looked at it carefully again.
That’s right. Her relationship with Jiang Huaizhen was still husband and wife.
Jiang Huaizhen had not specifically changed it.
What did this mean? Or… did she actually not mind these things?
No matter what the reason was, Lin Shuang was extremely satisfied at this moment. She felt a little light-headed, and even her hands were trembling.
It wasn’t until Ping’er pulled on her sleeve and asked, “Aunt Shuang, what’s wrong?”
Lin Shuang finally managed to calm down and said, “The yamen has recorded Ping’er’s name in the book. From now on, we are a family. Auntie is happy.”
Hearing this, Ping’er shook her hand and said, “I’m happy too.”
“And, Ping’er has a new name. Her full name is Jiang Huaiyue.”
“Jiang Huaiyue…” Ping’er savored this new name in her mouth.
“Yue is the moon. The moon represents longing and care.”
“Longing…”
Ping’er’s eyes instantly lit up, and the small dimples on her cheeks became more obvious.
“From now on, Aunt Huaizhen will be Ping’er’s older sister. Sisters should love each other,” Lin Shuang patted her little head.
With a beautiful new name and an older sister, Ping’er snuggled up to Lin Shuang’s side, biting her lip and smiling foolishly.
Lin Shuang was afraid that Jiang Huaizhen would come in and see her infatuated look. She quickly rolled up the household register, tied it with a hemp rope, and put it in the wardrobe. She then sat back down on the bed and continued to sew.
But her heart was restless, and after a few stitches, she couldn’t sit still. It wasn’t until she heard the conversation between the grandmother and granddaughter in the kitchen that she simply put down her needle and thread and pulled Ping’er to the kitchen.
Jiang Huaizhen was mixing the pig feed. Hearing the footsteps, she turned her head.
The two of them’s gazes met, and Lin Shuang, as if scalded, quickly looked away.
Then she cleared her throat and asked, “How are you going to feed them?”
“Coarse flour, plus the soup you left over from lunch. I’ll just mix it together and feed them.”
Before Lin Shuang could speak, Old Madam Jiang couldn’t help but nag, “If you feed them like that, how much rice will we have to buy for them to eat? They’re eating better than a living person.”
Lin Shuang had cooked a lot of pig feed when she was at the Lin residence and smiled. “Let me do it.”
Seeing that she was about to start a fire, Ping’er ran over and brought her some firewood. Lin Shuang was in a very good mood at this moment and praised, “Our Ping’er is so good. She knows how to help her aunt.”
Being praised by her, Ping’er was very happy.
Lin Shuang added, “Ask your Sister Huaizhen if she has eaten lunch and if she wants to heat up the food.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Jiang Huaizhen instantly realized that she had seen the household register. Her body stiffened, but she quickly returned to normal and said softly, “I troubled Seventh Grand-uncle to make a few trips. I treated him to a bowl of noodles in the city, and I also ate.”
Old Madam Jiang noticed the detail. “Zhen’niang is a year older than you. Why does the little girl call you aunt and her sister?”
Lin Shuang said nonchalantly, “When she registered Ping’er, she wrote her as her younger sister.”
“Then what did she write for you?” the old woman asked.
Jiang Huaizhen suddenly said, “Grandma, I just came back and bought you a new pair of shoes. Go and try them on to see if they fit.”
Hearing that she had bought something for her, Old Madam Jiang’s eyes lit up. “You’re spending money recklessly again. You’re just afraid that the few rattling copper coins in your pocket won’t be spent.”
Jiang Huaizhen pulled her to the main hall without any explanation.
The old woman cursed, but the corners of her mouth couldn’t be suppressed.
Her granddaughter had bought something for her. How could she not be happy?
Lin Shuang chuckled, bent down to light the firewood in the stove, and said to Ping’er in a low voice, “Grandma is like this. You see, she even scolds Sister Huaizhen. If she says harsh words to you in the future, don’t take it to heart, you know?”
Ping’er nodded. “I know. She doesn’t have the strength to hit me. I’m not afraid of her.”
She could hit Sister Huaizhen because her sister stood there without moving and let her hit her.
And she had even given her Sister Huaizhen’s childhood clothes to wear. She was not bad.
Hearing her say this, Lin Shuang remembered the bruises on her body when she had wiped her down this morning and said with a heartache, “Don’t worry. In this family, no one will hit you.”
“From now on, that person is not your grandmother. You have to avoid her when you see her and don’t talk to her.”
Ping’er hummed in agreement twice.
The little piglets were still small and should not be fed raw food. It was better to cook it.
It was now the spring equinox, and the vegetables in the fields had just grown not long ago and could not be used to feed the pigs yet. Fortunately, there were many wild vegetables growing around, which people could eat and also feed to the pigs.
The goosefoot at the foot of the mountain could be pulled up by the half basket. She washed the roots, chopped them up, and set them aside.
Lin Shuang had found some poison hemlock in the valley before. She guessed that this was the thing that Old Madam Jiang and the others didn’t recognize and had mistakenly fed to their livestock as wild vegetables, which was why the pigs, cattle, and sheep had never been able to be raised.
For this reason, she had specially taken the time to clean up these poisonous weeds a while back.
The little piglets were delicate and had to be fed some grains. Since there was no wheat bran or rice bran, she ladled two bowls of coarse flour into boiling water, stirred it, and when it was almost cooked, she poured in the chopped goosefoot. After it had cooled, it could be fed.
When she was feeding the pigs, Old Madam Jiang found it novel and also came over to watch.
They hadn’t made a special pig trough yet, so they used an old basin for now. The two little pigs had been starving on their way back and were eating with relish from the wooden basin.
Their greedy little appearance also made the old woman find them cute. She couldn’t even say a single harsh word and just clicked her tongue, finding them both cute and pitiful.
Jiang Huaizhen also stood by the pigsty and watched for a while. Seeing the little pigs lick the bottom of the basin clean, she turned and went to the woodshed, found a round log, and began to peel it.
Ping’er had originally wanted to stick to Lin Shuang, but thinking of what Aunt Shuang had just said, that from now on, Aunt Huaizhen would be her older sister, and the two sisters should be close, although she was still a little afraid of her, she found her wielding a knife very impressive. She hesitated for a moment and finally chose to squat beside her and watch her work.
Jiang Huaizhen was planing the wood and didn’t say anything. Ping’er didn’t dare to speak either.
In the end, it was the adult who spoke first. “Do you know what I’m doing?”
“You’re making a pig trough,” Ping’er said.
Jiang Huaizhen glanced at her. “You’re a clever one.”
“I’ve seen a pig trough before, so I know.”
“Then am I doing a good job?”
“A very good job.”
Being praised by a little girl, Jiang Huaizhen smiled.
Seeing her planing off the corners of the wood, Ping’er went to find a small bamboo basket, collected the corners, and then painstakingly dragged them to the kitchen for Lin Shuang to burn.
Jiang Huaizhen looked at her small back and bald head, and her heart ached.
A child who was too sensible only made people feel more sorry for them.
And she was trying her best to please her new family and fit in.
Jiang Huaizhen couldn’t bear it.
But she was not yet familiar with this child and was not good at talking to her. And she was not good at this kind of thing, so she could only leave it to Lin Shuang to comfort her.
Lin Shuang was making dinner.
She had originally wanted to make something good to welcome Ping’er this afternoon, but Jiang Huaizhen had gone to the yamen with the village chief to handle the household registration. She was unhappy, and since there was one less person to eat, she had just made some porridge and a stir-fried dish.
Even so, Ping’er still found it extremely delicious, but she didn’t dare to eat more after one bowl. It was only after Lin Shuang had given her more rice that she had eaten another half bowl.
Now that the household registration matter was not as she had expected, which made Lin Shuang very happy, she thought of making a good meal.
Although Jiang Huaizhen had gone to the city, she had brought back the piglets when she returned and had not bought any other meat. There was only cured meat at home. She spent twelve parts of her effort and made a stir-fried cured meat with garlic sprouts and a few steamed eggs, as well as a plate of vegetables.
The vegetables of this season were still small seedlings and were very tender. A little oil and salt was enough to make them delicious.
Ping’er loved steamed eggs and could eat as much as she was given. Lin Shuang patted her round little belly and smiled. “This little belly won’t stop even when it’s full.”
Ping’er also realized that she had eaten a lot and shyly put down her chopsticks.
Seeing this, Old Madam Jiang said to Lin Shuang, “If she loves to eat, then let her eat. Can a small bowl of steamed eggs make her stomach burst?”
Lin Shuang said, “She’s been eating little for a long time. If she suddenly eats a lot now, she’s bound to get a stomachache.”
Sure enough, Ping’er frowned and clutched her stomach.
Old Madam Jiang snorted. “It’s all that Hao’s fault. No wonder her daughter-in-law ran away. With a mother-in-law like that, you’d live ten years less.”
Hearing her mention her mother, Ping’er was at a loss.
Jiang Huaizhen called out, “Grandma.”
Old Madam Jiang’s chattering mouth finally closed.
Jiang Huaizhen changed the subject and asked Lin Shuang, “Now that the dolls are settled, what about the small clothes and decorations?”
Lin Shuang said, “We have to find someone to help. The two of us can’t do it alone.”
Old Madam Jiang snorted a couple of times. “Who can we find? These people dislike us. How many are willing to work with us?”
“Money can make the devil turn the millstone. As long as it’s a matter of earning money, there’s no need to worry about not finding anyone,” Lin Shuang said. “From what happened yesterday, not everyone in the village dislikes us. I’ll go and ask tomorrow morning and see if they’re willing.”
