CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 46: POISONOUS SUGARCANE

San Gouzi, seeing the situation, hurriedly went to fetch the village chief to break up the fight. However, Sister-in-law Jin said that the village chief had gone to Dongnan Miao Village early in the morning, mentioning that Li Quqi had returned, wanting to meet up and discuss a cooperative affair between the two villages.

Zhu Shijun was in no hurry. He mentioned that there was no hot tea at home and sent Xiao Xian to fetch Sister-in-law Lian. Xiao Xian felt somewhat displeased. The Qian family’s two white-eyed dogs, do they even need hot water to welcome them? Without being chased out with a broom, it was already polite enough.

Dahuang, though greedy, had a good nature. Upon seeing familiar faces in the village, it would wag its tail a few times. Unless cornered, why would it bite into Wang Chunhua’s body full of stinky flesh? If it did, it would fear aching teeth afterward. But she couldn’t ignore her grandfather’s words, so Xiao Xian pretended to run towards Sister-in-law Lian’s home; once she was out of Mr. Zhu’s line of sight, she scampered to Qian Yongfu’s house to check if Wang Chunhua truly contracted rabies.

At the entrance of the Qian family’s house hung a couplet brought back from the city, and a pair of festive golden boy and jade girl were affixed to the door. Xiao Xian hid behind the house, peering towards the Qian family’s entrance.

Qian Duoduo’s wife and her chubby son were sitting at the door, mother and son indulging in the sesame candies that Wang Chunhua had hidden in the biscuit tin, "Mother-in-law, I see that the sesame candies in the jar are about to get worms. While it’s sunny, I brought them out for you to sun."

Wang Chunhua was notoriously stingy, both at home and outside. When other families see their daughters-in-law and grandkids visiting, they would bring out everything they have, yet she was so stingy, only willing to dig out a piece of candy from the tin box to give to her grandson, not leaving even a sesame seed for her daughter-in-law. After a few days, her daughter-in-law’s mouth was becoming bland from the lack of taste.

The scent of sesame from the outer room was too tempting; Wang Chunhua couldn’t stay still any longer. She stepped in her clogs and came out, "Are you mad? Candy can’t withstand the sun; it melts once it’s sunned. If your mouths really taste bitter, go chew on the sugarcane drying outside. It lasts longer to eat and saves money." In truth, Dahuang had been quite polite that day; it merely scratched Wang Chunhua a little, and after getting a shot at the town’s vaccination center, everything was fine.

But both Wang Chunhua and Qian Yongfu had a sly plan. After hearing Qian Duoduo describe Zhu Shijun as a big corrupt official who had kept a considerable amount of funeral money upon retirement, they plotted to extort a sum of money, seizing the opportunity to create an uproar over Dahuang’s incident.

Qian Duoduo’s wife, being from the town, couldn’t care less for the few stalks of sugarcane too tough even for a dog. Besides, she had seen the bunch tied behind the house; they were dry and brittle, more suited as firewood than sugarcane.

Sugarcane in the south and beetroot in the north were the raw materials for sugar refining in the country. Ge Village, located in the Southwest, naturally grew sugarcane. The common sugarcane eaten by ordinary households came in two varieties: One was the purple-skinned variety with plenty of water but slightly less sweetness; the other was the green-stalked sugarcane, less juicy but more concentrated in sweetness. The Qian family had several bunches of the purple-skinned sugarcane, grown in Wang Chunhua’s own field. As winter came, the frost made the sugarcane sweeter, but due to the Qians’ stinginess with fertilizer, the sugarcane was small, dry, and even developed a few mold spots on the wrinkled skin.

Xiao Xian’s black and white eyes stealthily glanced at the bunch of sugarcane. With a closer look, she saw something interesting and chuckled, spat on the sugarcane, then slipped away.

About five minutes later, Wang Chunhua, seeing that her daughter-in-law was still pouting and angry, looked around to make sure no one was around, then ran to the back of the house. Unafraid of being seen feigning illness, she found the bunch of dried purple-skinned sugarcane. Upon closer inspection, she was delighted, "Daughter-in-law, look, this bunch of sugarcane looks fresh, I bet you can’t find this in the city."

It was indeed odd. The sugarcane harvested from their own field had been thin and withered, but after being placed outside for a few days, it turned greener, and the stalks thickened. What Wang Chunhua didn’t know was that it was the work of Xiao Xian’s spit. The spiritual power within Xiao Xian, derived from the seed leaves, had already integrated into her bones and blood. Although the power had faded over time and could no longer double a tree’s age with face-washing water as it did with the White Pear Tree, it was still enough to change the appearance of a few shriveled stalks of sugarcane.

Wang Chunhua grinned as if she had found a huge bargain, peeled a sugarcane, chopped it into two or three sections, and the three of them hid behind the door, sitting inside the house, chatting about how much money Qian Duoduo and his son might swindle from this trip while spitting out sugarcane fibers.

No sooner had Xiao Xian reached the doorstep than he saw Qian family’s father and son, their necks blue with fury, standing inside the room.

After a round of discussions, Qian Yongfu ended up getting no benefit at all.

At first, when they just started talking about the matter, Zhu Shijun was all polite and let Secretary Qian speak first, but once the other party had spun a fantastic tale, Zhu Shijun’s tone changed too.

"Secretary Qian, you’re also a servant of the state, so let’s just open the door wide and make things clear. Apologizing is fine. Since Dahuang belongs to our family, we won’t shirk our responsibility for what he’s done. It’s also right that we should pay some money, but there must be evidence and documentation for that. A certified doctor from a standard hospital must provide a written proof to determine the amount. Moreover, about Sister-in-law Qian’s illness, what exactly is her condition? Is it rabies? How severe is it, and will it really affect her future life? How much money did the Qian family spend? According to national standards, the total for medical and lost wages needs to be clearly itemized." Mr. Zhu’s lips opened and closed, listing regulations, stipulating figures, just to make one thing clear, the money of Zhu Shijun wasn’t so easily taken advantage of.

Upon hearing this, Qian Duoduo started mumbling beside his father, "That won’t do. If we follow the state’s standards, there’s one for urban areas and one for the countryside. Wang Chunhua has no job, barely earning anything in a year. Even calculating lost wages, it’s just a matter of tens of yuan. It wouldn’t even compare to the cost of getting a fake medical certificate made in the city."

"Zhu Shijun, don’t you use a stick as if it were a ladder just because it’s in your hand. If it weren’t for our Ge Village taking you in, you wouldn’t be standing here talking; you’d have been squatting in jail long ago," blurted Qian Yongfu, his neck reddening with rage after hearing his son’s words.

Xiao Xian pretended to be gasping for air, rushed into the door, and said in amazement, "Oh no, it’s a disaster now. Aunt Chunhua and the others have caught rabies." She deliberately dragged the word "others" out long.

Hearing this, Qian Yongfu and his son exchanged a glance, wondering what was going on. Hadn’t the child’s mother been vaccinated long ago? Needless to say, it must be Zhu Family’s brat stirring up nonsense.

"Go, go, go, can’t you see the adults are discussing matters here? What a wild child without any parental education," Qian Duoduo grabbed Xiao Xian and shoved her toward the outside of the house.

Before he could even push her out, San Gouzi ran in: "Duoduo, Secretary Qian, why are you still here? Big trouble at your home. Your sister-in-law and mother-in-law are rolling their eyes back in their heads, can’t stand up. Your kid is also having convulsions, foaming at the mouth like he’s got rabies."

"Ah," both Qian father and son were stunned upon hearing this, and hurriedly ran out. Xiao Xian made a face at their retreating backs, thinking to herself, you try to frame Dahuang, curse Mr. Zhu, now retribution has come knocking at your door.