FTS Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Evil Intent

By the time Song Hongcao finished washing the clothes and headed home, the sky was nearly dark. 

In the main house, Old Mrs. Song had already lit the kerosene lamp and was eating with Old Mr. Song.

In the courtyard, Zheng Ying was holding a bowl of egg custard, chasing after a two-year-old boy to feed him.

The boy was named Song Zhifu. 

Two years ago, Zheng Ying and Song Decai had gained this precious lump of gold, and they doted on him to the heavens.

Zheng Ying, who had never cared much for her daughters, now focused her heart entirely on Song Zhifu. 

She insisted on saving everything for him, even going as far as docking the rations of Song Honghua and Song Hongcao, who were still at home, to exchange them for fine grains for the boy.

The first branch of the Song family did not eat dinner, yet Song Zhifu would have his bowl of egg custard without fail every single night. These were all exchanged for by squeezing the rations of the other family members.

Song Hongcao rubbed her shriveled stomach. After hanging the clothes in two or three quick motions, she went into the house and gulped down a large jar of water, but the heart-pounding sensation of hunger refused to stop.

They were both Song family girls, remembering the difference in treatment between Song Baozhu and herself, Song Hongcao let out a sarcastic smile. 

She truly couldn't bear the hunger anymore and did a lap around the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, everything was locked up by Zheng Ying, who guarded against her two daughters as if they were thieves.

Thinking of her own tragic lot, a towering rage rose in Song Hongcao's heart. When she was younger, she didn't understand why she was ignored and mistreated by Zheng Ying, but now that she was older, the constant comparison between her treatment and Song Baozhu’s caused her sense of injustice to grow day by day, impossible to suppress.

"Here, take this, and take this one for your sister Honghua." Old Mrs. Song came out of the kitchen after clearing the table. 

Seeing Song Hongcao staring at Zheng Ying and Song Zhifu in the courtyard, she knew the child was hungry and handed her two sweet potatoes.

Song Hongcao looked at Old Mrs. Song and took them without a word.

After returning to the main house, Old Mrs. Song said to Old Mr. Song, "That girl Hongcao had a very dark look in her eyes just now, something seems off with her."

Old Mr. Song remained silent, his personality had always been this way.

Old Mrs. Song didn't like to meddle in the affairs of her children and grandchildren either, since the family had already split, they could toss and turn however they liked. 

The eldest couple didn't treat their two granddaughters well, she had spoken to Song Decai once about it, but he was obsessed with wanting a son and simply wouldn't listen. 

As for Zheng Ying, don't even mention he, before anyone could even do anything to her, she’d put on a look as if she’d been severely bullied.

Old Mrs. Song found it exhausting to watch, so she simply stopped caring, only occasionally giving them a little something to eat when she couldn't bear the sight. 

Beyond that, there was nothing else, if even their own parents didn't love them, what could the two elders, who relied on the next generation for their old age, really do?

After getting the two sweet potatoes, Song Hongcao did not follow Old Mrs. Song’s instructions to give one to Song Honghua. Instead, she hid behind a wall and wolfed them both down.

She felt no gratitude toward Old Mrs. Song. This dead old woman usually kept a stiff, expressionless face, she knew clearly that Zheng Ying mistreated them, yet she watched coldly from the sidelines. 

Others said Old Mrs. Song's personality was just like that, cold and hard, not close with the younger generation. 

Yet, she was incredibly devoted to Song Baozhu. Every time Baozhu visited, the old woman would smile with immense kindness and find every possible way to give her delicious treats.

If Zheng Ying and Song Decai were parents she was just unlucky enough to be stuck with, then given they were both granddaughters, what right did the Old Mrs. have to treat them so differently?

It wasn't just the Old Mrs, it seemed everyone liked Song Baozhu. Even the boys and girls in the village liked to revolve around her.

She wiped her mouth, unconsciously digging her fingernails into her palms until red marks appeared.

Song Baozhu had absolutely no idea that her taciturn cousin harbored such hostility toward her.

She was currently squatting on the open ground behind the courtyard. 

Here, she had begged Song Dezhu and her brothers to dig a pit, which was now filled with a dense, crawling mass of Five-Footed Bugs.

Squatting by the pit, her eyes were filled with excitement as she watched the insects. She used a wooden stick to constantly poke at the bugs, occasionally pouring in water containing unknown components.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Song family was busy in their private plot. The production team’s fields were all planted with filling staples, so most families used their private plots to grow fruits and vegetables to go with their meals.

A few days ago, these plants were nearly dead because of the pest infestation. Later, Song Baozhu told them to scatter the burned insect ash into the soil, and Song Dezhu and Wang Guifang did so without a second thought. 

Compared to the communal land, they had scattered much more ash on this plot. This resulted in the vegetables growing frantically in just a few days, becoming nearly a third larger than they were before the infestation.

Some branches were already breaking under the weight, so Wang Guifang and Song Dezhu had to lead their five sons in a busy effort to build support trellises.

"It’s a good thing we listened to Baozhu and scattered those insect ashes into the fields back then, otherwise we’d be regretting it to death just like Deling." 

Song Dezhu was immensely proud. 

Song Deling hadn't listened to his sweet daughter's words, and now he was so full of regret he was practically breaking out in bumps, leading the villagers everywhere to hunt for leftover insect ash. 

He, on the other hand, was different; the moment Baozhu spoke, he agreed without a second word. Why else would he be the biological father?

Wang Guifang spat playfully at him: "If you didn't listen to your daughter, would you even be a father!"

Song Dezhu just rubbed his hands and let out a silly laugh.

The five Song brothers exchanged looks, and Song Zhizhong shouted toward Wang Guifang: "Mom, then I’m still your son, too! Why don't you listen to me? Are you still a mother?"

Wang Guifang gave him a light thump: "Can you be compared to your sister? Your sister can solve pest crises, ensure a bumper harvest, and even earn this much money for the family. Can you? if any of you could, I’d treat you like a deity just the same!"

The five brothers were left speechless by the rebuttal, it seemed that aside from eating, there really wasn't any area where they could measure up to Baozhu.

"Where’s Baozhu?" Song Zhidong asked Qian Xiaoe after taking a sip of the water she brought over.

Qian Xiaoe’s belly had grown a bit more, and her pregnancy was now clearly showing. Song Zhidong was becoming increasingly careful with her, not only did he stop letting her work in the fields, but he would even help her with some of the household chores.

This made her feel more and more that she had married the right man. Because of Song Zhidong’s thoughtfulness, she had even let go of that bit of resentment toward Song Baozhu. 

Forget it, she’s just a girl, no matter how much she’s doted on now, she’ll be married off sooner or later once she’s grown. She wiped the sweat from Song Zhidong’s brow and said softly, "Little sister-in-law is in the backyard."

"Is Baozhu squatting by that dirt pit again?" Song Zhinan glanced at Qian Xiaoe and asked while wiping his sweat. That pit was dug by them a few days ago at Song Baozhu’s begging, it was both deep and wide. 

Song Baozhu was acting all mysterious about it, raising something unknown inside the pit and keeping it tightly covered, specifically instructing them not to open it.

She would head there by herself from time to time to squat for a while, peel back the covering leaves, mutter to herself for a bit, and then cover it back up.

They were curious, but since Song Baozhu wouldn't let them look, there was nothing they could do.

Qian Xiaoe nodded: "Yes, children just like to play." 

However, Song Baozhu’s "playing" had quite a lot of variety. 

Previously, she tinkered with plants and discovered the way to solve the pest problem; now her play wasn't like other children’s games of 'house'—it seemed like she was raising something.

It was all very mystical. But given her previous experience, Qian Xiaoe didn't say anything this time.

Once the work in the vegetable garden was finished, Qian Xiaoe brought the food to the table. The variety of dishes on the table was much greater now: cold-dressed eggplant, cold-dressed cucumber, roasted peppers, potatoes stewed with green beans, and a bowl of stir-fried cabbage. 

These were all freshly picked from the field, crisp, tender, and incredibly fresh in flavor.

"Why do I feel like these vegetables taste better than in previous years!" Song Zhizhong took a bite of eggplant and his eyes immediately widened.

They were fresh and crisp, with an indescribable, delicate fragrance.

The others tasted carefully and agreed, "It's true, the flavor of these vegetables is indeed better than in past years."

Song Baozhu also took a bite of eggplant to taste and instantly her eyes widened. The data mentioned that the Five-Footed Bug's body is rich in trace elements and has extremely high nutritional value, possessing a massive nourishing and stimulating effect on both plants and animals. 

She hadn't expected it could also improve the flavor.

Although Song Baozhu hadn't been studying with the system for long, she vaguely sensed the immense potential of the Five-Footed Bug.

If she could cultivate the 'Five-Footed Bugs' mentioned by the system, just imagine how delicious the resulting crops or the meat from livestock fed on them would be!

Unfortunately, the system would not grant her access to study the data for those Five-Footed Bugs, claiming they exceeded the technological level of the current era. 

Of course, if she could research and develop them herself, the system would not intervene and would even maintain an encouraging attitude.

Song Baozhu had never forgotten that her initial goal in studying was to eat meat. Thinking of the future where she could feast on fragrant, delicious meat whenever she wanted, her little feet couldn't help but wiggle.

After everyone expressed their surprise in fits and starts, their chopsticks moved even faster. Once everyone was full and satisfied, Wang Guifang took advantage of the fact that the whole family was gathered to discuss the matter of Song Zhinan’s marriage.

"The County Magistrate gave us two hundred yuan; that's more than enough now to build a few more rooms and get Zhinan a wife. You brothers aren't small anymore, and we can see you'll be getting married one after another. You should help come up with some ideas for these matters. Your father and I have our eyes on girls from two families. One is from the neighboring Shuisha Village; the girl is the second child in her family, very capable and has a frank personality. The other is from my natal village, Houtu Village, the daughter of Li Erzhu from the west end of the village. She has a good appearance, and her parents are very amiable; we all know their backgrounds well."

Song Baozhu’s eyes suddenly brightened, this meant another second sister-in-law was joining the family! 

She listened to Wang Guifang’s introduction with great interest.

The other brothers started heckling. Song Zhizhong stood up directly, "Mom, this is Second Brother getting a wife, why are you telling us all this? It has to be someone Second Brother is satisfied with! Anyway, when I get married in the future, I definitely have to pick her out myself."

Song Zhinan didn't get shy. Among the five brothers, he was the most observant; he had vaguely sensed that Eldest Sister-in-law didn't actually like Baozhu all that much.

Regardless, he wouldn't marry a wife like her. It was lucky that Eldest Brother had a straightforward personality and didn't notice his wife’s hidden schemes, otherwise, the couple would run into trouble sooner or later, and that would be an exhausting way to live.

"Mom, we should at least have a formal look before saying anything." At any rate, he was certain that even after marriage, he would continue to dote on Baozhu just the same. If a wife couldn't accept this and threw tantrums, it was better to call it off early.

Song Baozhu threw herself excitedly into Song Zhinan’s arms: "Second Brother, Second Brother, I want to go with you to see Second Sister-in-law too!"

The author has something to say:

A new family member might be on the horizon!