The General’s Delicious Wife – Chapter 3 Stir fried eggs with little garlic sprouts

[Please be warned. This chapter includes violent content.]

Chapter 003: Stir fried eggs with little garlic sprouts

Seeing how hard Qin Zheng is restraining himself from his cravings, Xia Yue Chu hands him a pair of chopsticks and brings the dish before him. "I have no idea if Da Zhuang prefers saltier or blander food, can you help me have a taste?"

Rationally, Qin Zheng ought to reject because it is rude to sneak a bite, but the way Xia Yue Chu has tactfully phrased this behaviour, supporting him with such an established excuse. After a moment of contemplation, he decides to follow her lead and takes it up.

.

The garlic sprouts in this season are crisp and tender, and it is harvested before it turned fiery and pungent.

It has the fragrance resembling onion and resembling garlic, enveloped inside the fluffy and delicious egg complimenting it with a different texture, when one takes a bite, it is as if one has tasted spring.

"This is really delicious." Qin Zheng gives the praise it deserves before he even swallows what is in his mouth.

"Bring it in, we will start the meal soon." Xia Yue Chu hands the dish over to Qin Zheng, turns around and opens the lid of the other wok, she plans to salvage this cabbage and potato stew.

Suddenly, the portiere is raised, Madam Sheng brings the winter chill into the room as she runs in, immediately snatching the dish from Qin Zheng.

After verifying what she is holding, she snaps at Xia Yue Chu and starts berating. "No wonder I counted two eggs missing, it is stolen by you, you shameless donkey, we only have a handful of chickens in the house, now your younger sister-in-law is pregnant, even your father and I are saving these, how are you so brazen, you think I won't know if you pig out in the room?"

After saying that, she randomly picks up a long kitchen hook and starts to bash Xia Yue Chu.

This has been a daily routine of Madam Sheng, already a habit, she spares no mercy and hits with her full strength.

But the Xia Chu Yue now is no longer the docile little bride that arrived here, pliable to everything thrown at her. She can still choose to ignore when it comes to the usual scolding and nagging, but to turn to violence every time she has nothing else to say is intolerable.

She catches the hook in the air and grapple it over. "These eggs are given by Father-in-law, he said its for Da Zhuang, he needs some nutrition, Mother-in-law if you don't believe me why don't you ask around, even though I have never eaten anything good in the Xue family, no matter how hungry I was I would never degrade myself to become a thief."

Madam Sheng has been ruling the household with her tyranny and has never met with such defiance, her agitation escalated in an instant.

She bends down to grab a thick stick of firewood and points at Xia Yue Chu, screaming "You wench, you think you grown up overnight after getting sick, what I say is no use now? You dare to fight back! Are you crazy!"

Qin Zheng has never been in such a situation as this, he is stupefied with shock and only begins to react after a moment. He curbs himself before Madam Sheng. "Madam, why are you doing this! Is it worth it for the sake of eggs!"

"What you mean worth it or not, you never need worry about household expense, you don't know how expensive everything is, our family has nothing, even a single egg can be saved up and sold for money, how much can we make with just digging for food every year, we got so many people in this house, getting married giving birth, which one doesn't need money…"

In the heat of the fight, the portiere is raised, and a young bride walks in. This is the Xue family's third son's wife, Madam Zhou.

Madam Zhou wears a woolen gown and she is covered also with a cloak. The white fuzzy rabbit hair at the collar partially covers her porcelain-white round face and she is carrying a large baby bump.

She sees the stir-fried eggs with little garlic sprouts and starts to crave for it, swallowing her saliva, she leans against the door frame and begins saying with a snide smile. "Mother, you don't understand yet, times are different now, now that Big Brother has come back, Sister-in-law has found someone to back her up."

Being incited by Madam Zhou, Madam Sheng is convinced that this must be true. She pushes Qin Zheng aside and charges at Xia Yue Chu.

"No wonder you fight back today, you think your husband is back and there is someone to support you! Pei---! Keep on dreaming! He may not be born from me but I raised him up, we have yet to branch out our family, but even if we are branched out, I will still be your Mother-in-law, if I scold you, it is your part to listen! Besides he is now crippled on the bed, can't say for sure but the family might even have to provide him for life. You think you got backing now, its still too early to tell!"

Before Madam Sheng's hit lands on Xia Yue Chu, she feels her neck tightens, somebody is grabbing her from the back, choking her painfully and she cannot move.

Qin Zheng throws Madam Sheng aside, scowling down at the woman on the ground. "Don't let me hear such words again, even if Big Brother's legs have problems, we don't need you to run your mouth like that. Isn't it just two eggs, we will pay for it!"

When Madam Sheng falls, the ceramic dish in her hand smashes into eight different pieces with her, and the stir-fried eggs with little garlic sprouts is strewed all over the ground.

Xia Yue Chu contemplates over the eggs and garlic sprouts that are on the ground, and she is filled with regret*, it is not easy to gather this little bit of delicacy, she has yet to taste a single bite and it is already gone.

Madam Zhou has not expected Qin Zheng will resort to physical force. It scares her, making her initial pale and plump face even paler. When she notices that Qin Zheng is looking at her, without much thought for Madam Sheng who is still laying on the ground with her stomach side down, she escapes in a hurry to her own room.

With no one there to help Madam Sheng, who was plunged, to get up, this circumstance is equivalent to stabbing a hornet's nest.

She quits getting up too, crying as she smacks the dirt. "What did I do in my previous life** to deserve this? Now the old ones and the young ones all dare to stare at me and hit me, why at my age now I am still living like this, I might as well die, less you people think I'm in your way…"

When Madam Zhou left, she did not close the door. So the entire family can hear Madam Sheng lamenting at the top of her voice.

Xue Liang Ping is full of joy in receiving back his son but recalling that he is now crippled and cannot walk he becomes woeful. His intention to buy some meat was called off by Madam Sheng's indignation and he does not have a single coin in his pocket, all of a sudden he is wallowed with self-pity, why he is such a good-for-nothing. At that point of time, he is quenching on alcohol in the room of the east wing, when he hears Madam Shang crying and making a ruckus. He hastens over to see what is going on.

He comes over from the main room and frowns at Madam Sheng who is on the floor. "Da Zhuang just came back, what are you trying to do again?"

"You still dare to ask, your good son, only just came back and now know how to instigate his wife to go against me. And who is this, dare to lay hand on me, how to continue living like this…"

Xue Liang Ping notes how upset she is and how much she is crying, and he knows that she will not give him the full context. He turns his head, "Yue Chu ah, what is going on here?"

"Father-in-law, you gave me two eggs and said that its for Da Zhuang brother***, he needs to eat something better, so I fried it. Mother-in-law came in before I could bring it back to the room and said that I stole the eggs from the house. She said Da Zhuang brother is crippled now and needs to depend on the family to survive so I shouldn't be too full of myself…"

Xia Yue Chu is selective in what she said, coming to the end of her speech, she stoops her head down and wipes the corner of her eyes, this impression leaves him to complete the full story based on his own imagination.

Xue Liang Ping has since been unhappy at their current situation, and now hearing that Madam Sheng is making a scene going on and on, intoxicated by alcohol, he is spurred to lift his leg and kick her.

He works on the fields all day, even during the low peaks of the harvest seasons, he frequently goes up to the mountains, so the strength of his legs is exceptional.

This one kick, with great impact, unfortunately collides to where her heart is.

Madam Sheng is in so much pain, she is trembling and making a soundless scream.

"Father, Mother is going to die from your kick!"

Xue Yong who is sneakily observing the chaos from outside, rushes in when he sees that there is a bad turn of events. He grabs Xue Liang Ping's waist and pulls him back preventing him from going in for another kick.

Xue Qin coming home from a neighbour's place, hears the commotion in the west wing and enters to take a look. She is so startled that she drops the embroidery designs which she is holding, bolts up to pat Madam Sheng's chest so that she can smooth out her breathing.

"Mother, what happened? Isn't everything just fine awhile ago, why is there a fight?"

Madam Sheng is finally able to catch her breath, seeing that her son and daughter is right by her side, she is instantaneously energised. Pointing at Xia Yue Chu hatefully, "who else but this hussy, she entices your father and abets him, now he only listens to her, with just a few words he started to beat me…"

If Madam Sheng and her children are not glaring at her so intently, Xia Yue Chu will give in to the urge of rolling her eyes.

She receives a painful consequence just a while ago, and still manages to credit it back to her. How much grudge and grievance exactly is she holding?

.

Translator Notes:

*Not that she regrets what she did, but she experiences a sense of disappointment and loss. The Author describes as heart pain (direct translation of Xin Teng).

**Chinese has a common belief in reincarnation, where after one is dead, they will be reborn and go through the life cycle again after forgetting everything from the previous life. But they believe that karma continue to exist and is carried forward to the next generation of life cycles for each person, so they believe that what they did in this life will determine if they receive rewards or punishments in the next.

***In the Chinese culture, it is rude for a younger person to call an older person directly by name. The friendly manner a younger person refers to an older person is by calling their names and adding a suffix term, either brother or sister. This is a form of respect that is regardless of their marital status.

Translated by Yellow. Aug 2022.