Bai Xinghua could also see his eldest sister’s evasiveness, but he wasn’t a talkative person. His sister knew what she was doing and had her own plans.
Returning home, everything looked exactly as it had when she left. It seemed the Gao Family hadn’t come over these past few days.
"Let’s start a fire first and get warm before heading out." Bai Jiu was never one to mistreat herself. "There are no vegetables in the house, so let’s just make some noodles." Coincidentally, she had some dried noodles stored away.
"Alright."
Bai Jiu had just gotten the fire going when Aunt Peng’s voice rang out from outside.
"Jiu’er, are you home?" Aunt Peng called out from the yard, not coming straight in.
Hearing the familiar voice, Bai Jiu hurried out of the house.
"Aunt Peng, why are you standing out there in the cold wind? Come in, quick," Bai Jiu immediately stepped forward to welcome her. She figured the older woman had seen her arrive and hurried right over. "Why are you running about in this freezing weather? I was actually planning to go visit you in a bit."
"I just happened to be outside sweeping snow when I saw you," Aunt Peng replied. "I figured you wouldn’t have any vegetables to eat at home, so I brought some over for you. How come you’re back now? Have you fully recovered?" She looked at the young woman, who seemed a bit thinner than before, with deep concern.
Bai Jiu knew Aunt Peng was worried about her, but she hadn’t expected the woman to come check on her the very moment she returned.
"I’m all better now, don’t worry. I haven’t lost weight, I’m just wearing fewer layers. I was just tidying up the house."
Aunt Peng obviously didn’t buy that. The basket she brought contained a piece of meat weighing about a pound, a dozen or so eggs, and a packet of brown sugar.
"We don’t have much of anything good at home, but take these to nourish your body. Don’t mind that it’s so little." Once inside, Aunt Peng began taking the items out one by one.
Bai Jiu didn’t want to accept it, but seeing Aunt Peng’s expression, she didn’t dare refuse. "That’s perfect. I’ll eat them all in a bit," she accepted the gifts with a smile. Naturally, she didn’t forget to pull her younger brother over for an introduction.
"Hello, Aunt Peng. Thank you so much. Bai Jiu must have caused you a lot of trouble in the village. Please come over for dinner tonight so I can repay you as a junior. It won’t be anything fancy, so please don’t mind." Bai Xinghua was actually quite skilled in social pleasantries; he just hadn’t cared to show it in the past.
Aunt Peng didn’t refuse. "Haha, you’re quite wrong about that! If we’re talking about helping, your sister has helped this old woman far more. As for dinner, I’ll definitely come. We aren’t strangers, so there’s no need for thanks." She had a very good impression of the young man. He was truly Bai Jiu’s brother; both siblings were good people.
"Then it’s a deal. You have to keep your word, Aunt Peng." Bai Jiu was thrilled to hear that the older woman would be joining them for dinner. Though they had eaten together a few times before, it was always because Bai Jiu had forcefully insisted she stay. This was the first time Aunt Peng had willingly agreed to come over for a meal.
"I’ll keep my word." The smile on Aunt Peng’s face couldn’t be hidden.
With Aunt Peng’s help, the house was quickly tidied up, and the smell of cooking oil finally wafted from the stove.
"In a bit, I want to go thank the people who took me to the Public Security Bureau last time. Aunt Peng, could you tell me who exactly was there?" Regardless of their original intentions, they had helped her, and a proper thank you was in order.
This reminded Aunt Peng about the Gao family’s situation. There was currently a lot of gossip about Bai Jiu in the village. If she went around visiting, she’d likely have to listen to some unpleasant remarks. However, she decided to first tell her about the Gao family leaving.
"When did this happen?" Bai Jiu was stunned to hear that the Gao family had moved out of the village.
Aunt Peng actually felt a bit bitter about it. Being forced to leave their hometown because of those two troublemakers was truly a shame. "They left on New Year’s Eve. They didn’t even celebrate the new year at home.
"But they still went to collect the bodies of that mother and son, though they only brought back ashes." She couldn’t help but sigh.
"I never expected them to leave the village, but as for that mother and son, I have no regrets." If she had let them off easily after they tried to kill her, there would be no peace for her own family of three in the future. Besides, she was no saint. Forgiving someone who had tried to murder her? She would have to have water on the brain to do that.
Aunt Peng didn’t think Bai Jiu had done anything wrong. Those making snide remarks were simply scared and jealous. "I knew a girl with your temper wouldn’t feel remorseful. But you’re not wrong, they are the ones at fault.
"Still, there’s a lot of gossip in the village right now. If you hear anything, don’t take it to heart." She made sure to warn her in advance.
"As long as they don’t say it to my face, I’ll pretend I don’t know." She couldn’t care less about other people’s opinions. If she cared about how others saw her, she would have died of frustration long ago.
"I doubt they’d dare cause trouble in front of you. You don’t know this, but a lot of people in the village are actually terrified of you now." Speaking of this, Aunt Peng couldn’t help but chuckle.
She rarely went out, so she didn’t hear much of it herself. But whenever Aiguo went out, people would always mutter in his ear, telling him to be careful of Bai Jiu before she dragged him off to face a firing squad too. Aiguo was thin-skinned; he would retort a few times and then ignore them.
However, Aunt Peng knew the boy firmly kept these grudges in his heart. Otherwise, why would so many bizarre things have happened in the village recently? It was obviously a child’s pranks.
"It’s good that they’re afraid of me." Bai Jiu didn’t see anything wrong with people fearing her. In fact, she found it annoying when they weren’t. Fear kept them obedient, and fear kept them from gossiping.
While boiling the noodles, Bai Jiu made a bowl for Aunt Peng as well. Since Aiguo and Weimin had gone into the mountains and wouldn’t be back for lunch, Aunt Peng simply decided to stay and eat. It had to be said, the girl’s cooking skills were excellent. Even using the exact same ingredients, no one else could match her flavors.
After resting for a while, Bai Jiu brought out the thank-you gifts Mother Bai had prepared. She took out a portion for Aunt Peng to take back with her, saving herself an extra trip.
How could Aunt Peng have the nerve to accept them? In the end, Bai Xinghua had to step in before she finally relented. However, Aunt Peng did agree to let Aiguo take him into the mountains the next day. Bai Xinghua was overjoyed, while Bai Jiu just rolled her eyes from the sidelines.
Ten people had gone to town with her last time. Excluding the three from the Production Team Leader’s family, that left seven, including Aunt Peng. Among those seven, two were brothers, and the rest were from separate households. She also had to pay a visit to the Village Head. Since his house was farther from the production brigade’s main area, Bai Jiu decided to go there first to give her thanks.
Although the Village Head didn’t care much for her, he had been the strongest advocate for reporting the previous incident to the public security. If it had been left up to the Team Leader, he would have likely tried to suppress the matter.
But the Village Head wasn’t an easy person to talk to, either. He had caught quite a bit of flak during the annual meeting this time. Sure enough, when Bai Jiu and her brother showed up at his door, he didn’t give them a single pleasant look. After a few brief words, the Village Head told her to behave herself and sent them on their way. He only accepted half of the gifts and left the rest.
The Village Head’s wife, however, was quite level-headed and wasn’t greedy for those few items. She smiled and saw them out the door.
On the way back, Bai Xinghua felt like he hardly recognized his eldest sister anymore. How did someone who used to be so soft and weak end up infuriating the head of a village to this extent?
She noticed his suspicious gaze. Did he really think she couldn’t see it?
"Spit it out," Bai Jiu snapped, smacking him lightly. Could he be any more obvious?
"Bai Jiu, did you suffer a lot of grievances after getting married?" Bai Xinghua choked out.
Bai Jiu paused, surprised by the question. "It has nothing to do with suffering grievances. I’ve just grown up, that’s all." She shook her head with a bitter smile. "Come on, I’m doing perfectly fine now, aren’t I?"
Knowing he was hurting for her, Bai Jiu felt an even deeper surge of affection for her younger brother from the bottom of her heart. "Hurry up. It gets dark early, and it’s best we finish this all today since you have to go to work tomorrow." If he hadn’t been taking exams these past few days, she wouldn’t have brought him along in the first place.
"Okay."
When they arrived at the Team Leader’s house, Bai Jiu took one look at his face and thought, "Sure enough." The Team Leader truly disliked her more and more.
But so what if he disliked her? There was no way she was going to wrong herself just to please others.