The General’s Delicious Wife – Chapter 8 The family jewels

[Please be warned. This chapter contains vulgarities, self-defence and hunger alert]

Chapter 008: The family jewels

Xia Yue Chu takes the chance to struggle violently, twists her body and flexes a heavy kick landing directly on the critical point.

Her knee hits on full impact against Xue Li's crotch area.

Ahh---

Xue Li releases his hands instantly, emitting a cry pitched in an unusual octave, both of his hands covering his crotch and falling down into the vegetable patch, curling into a ball in pain and rolling left and right.

Xia Yue Chu is so furious that she catches up to him and repays him with more kicks. Then runs away when she hears some movement and somebody lighting a fire from the room from the east wing.

She runs back to her house in the west wing in a single breath, closing the doors as gently as she can, she leans her ear on the seam of the door so that she can monitor the situation outside.

Suddenly, the sound of firestones hitting can be heard from behind her. The initially dark kitchen brightens instantly.

Xia Yue Chu jumps up with fear and sees Xue Zhuang sitting on his wheelchair, holding a candle and looking at her.

"Why did you not make any sound, you scared me to my death!" Xia Yue Chu raises her hand to her chest.

The scare has nearly made her heart jumps out, and now the side of her throat is still pulsing violently.

"I was a little hungry and came out to see of there are any food left over in the kitchen."

Xia Yue Chu has been sick in the afternoon and has only heated up leftovers for them as dinner. Hearing that Xue Zhuang is hungry, she is inevitably apologetic.

"All the leftovers have been finished during dinner, what do you want to eat? I can make you some noodles or cook some dough knots soup?"

"Anything is fine, whichever that is convenient." As Xue Zhuang is saying, his attention is attracted to something that is on Xia Yue Chu's waist.

On the ocher red cotton gown waist sash, there is a dirty and muddy handprint.

By estimation, that muddy handprint is at least one size bigger than Xia Yue Chu's hand, it should be a male adult's hand.

Combining with the commotion from outside just now and how hasty Xia Yue Chu appears as she runs back…

Xue Zhuang narrows his eyes, that handprint bothers him very much.

Xia Yue Chu is still oblivious. Firstly, she arranges the coal in the fire stove and heats up the wok. Then, she washes a few pieces of white cabbage leaves, taking some scallion and shredding them finely.

About then, the wok is heated up, she pours in a tiny bit of oil, throws in the chopped scallions to fry out its fragrance, next adding in the white cabbage shreds, stir frying with a spatula until it softens and tops it up with half a ladle of chilled water.

Xia Yue Chu scoops out half a small bowl of white flour from the inner cabinets, carefully tipping it into another bigger ceramic bowl.

White flour is a rare ingredient in this house, Xia Yue Chu has yet to eat it after arriving here, not even once. Their usual meals consist of cornmeal flour or great millet flour, once in a long while for special occasions, then there will be steamed buns that are made from combining two flours. This half a bag of white flour is actually brought over by Madam Wu today.

Xue Zhuang suddenly tells her "You should take off your cotton clothes before making, it will be difficult to wash if it gets dirty."

Xia Yue Chu is perplexed when she hears that but soon decides that he is making sense. This is her only presentable cotton gown, if it gets dirty, she will indeed be greatly inconvenienced. So she goes to her room and changes into a gown that she normally wears while doing chores.

Xue Zhuang watches Xia Yue Chu getting busy, it should be a kitchen circumscribed by smoke and fire, but, when this person is making food, it indescribably gives a sense of heartfelt appreciation and pleasantness to the eyes.

Seeing her holding a ladle over the bowl with flour and pouring the water in, he has no idea how she manages it, that ladle is probably bigger than her own head, but when it is within her hand it becomes obedient and docile.

A thin strand of water flows and distributes itself evenly into the big bowl, the flow drips off into droplets, rolling into the white flour mix. With the nimble mingle stirs of the chopsticks, the dough gathers into little grainy knots similar to the size of soybeans.

At this point, the water in the wok is already boiling, spurring the white cabbage shreds within into rhythmic twirls of up and down rounds.

The white dough knots are then tossed into the wok, turning into pearls rapidly and they start to toss and turn in the water.

The dough knots are little in their sizes, so it cooks fast, the aroma of sweet white cabbage mixed with the wholesome scent of cooked wheat dough emanates from the wok.

Xia Yue Chu promptly dashes in a beaten egg and adds a couple drops of the sesame oil, the fragrance immediately intensifies and becomes inviting.

He quickly swallows his saliva, but in no time at all he is filled with another mouthful.

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Over here the dough knots soup is just served out from the wok, when a loud bang comes from the outside. Somebody is hitting the wooden door with tensile strength.

"In the middle of the night, what is going on?" Xia Yue Chu knows well in her heart but feigns ignorance as she goes to open the door.

In the forefront, the one knocking the door is Madam Sheng who is still in her cotton gown, Xue Yong is supporting Xue Li with his shoulder at the back.

When the door opens, Xue Yong sniffs with his nose and cranes his head to look inside, musing aloud. "What are you making in the middle of the night, it smells good, it's making me hungry."

Xue Li's face is distorted in pain, arching his back, one arm crutching on Xue Yong's shoulder, the other arm snatches up in attempt to grab Xia Yue Chu by her neck.

Xia Yue Chu hurries to take a step back, asking "Mother, what is happening here, in the middle of the night?"

"You little whore, you still have the shame to ask!" Xue Li spikes in his anger when he hears this, pointing to Xia Yue Chu's nose, slurring vulgarities at her, "I was just making a trip to the toilet, when you came to me, touching and caressing and seducing me, then when I pushed you aside, you kicked so hard at my family jewels…"

Madam Sheng sees that her son is sweating profusely and feels the pain on herself as if someone has stabbed her multiple times. Completely refusing to hear any excuses from Xia Yue Chu, she comes up trying to seize her by her hair.

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Suddenly, Xue Zhuang voices out sternly "Second brother, in any case Yue Chu is your elder sister-in-law, even if you don't call her sister-in-law, what comes out from your mouth should at least be cleaner."

Xue Li is stunned by that rebuke, within the seven to eight years where Xue Zhuang is away from the house, he has always acted as the eldest son, and he is already used to it. When has he ever treated Xia Yue Chu like a real sister-in-law.

"Fuck, now she made me injured, I can't even scold her a little?"

"Yue Chu has been in this kitchen making food for me, she has not left this door at all."

Xue Zhuang points to the stove in front of him, and sure enough there is a bowl of piping hot dough knots soup, still oozing that delicious aroma.

Madam Sheng's nose twitches and swallows her saliva loudly.

"Aiya my good heavens, you squandering woman, you actually used white flour for a bowl of dough knot soup, and with eggs, you are crazy!" Madam Sheng's attention has been distracted to the food, after confirming of the valuable ingredients that are in the bowl, her outrage turns her voice a pitch higher. Even when it comes to herself, she would rather save than lavish to eat as well as this. "You finish this meal without thinking about your next, is this the last meal you are planning to have!"

"Da Zhuang brother's health has not been well, my mother has instructed me before she went back, saying that these white flour and eggs cannot be given to others, they are only for Da Zhuang brother to replenish his nourishment."

Madam Sheng's intention to share a taste is instantly dissipated by Xia Yue Chu's last sentence which leaves her feeling gagged.

"Mother!" Xue Li groans in pain "It's so painful, I'm dying…"

Madam Sheng then remembers, scowling with her brows at Xue Zhuang "Da Zhuang, did your wife really not go out just now?"

"I woke her up at night to cook as I was hungry, and we have been in the kitchen since." Xue Zhuang looks grimly towards Madam Sheng, "I have said it once before, why bother asking the second time, do you not trust what I say?"

Madam Sheng is spooked by his piercing glare and begins laughing it off, "Isn't it because how your second brother has said it so convincingly, the form has its nose and its mouth*, I should at least ask to clarify, right? You see, it is good now that the situation is clear."

"You are good now but not for me." Xue Zhuang is not making it easy for Madam Sheng to get away with this. "It is late into the night, rushing in to treat my wife with insults and violence, just who are you doing this to show? I have only been back for a few days and a disturbance like this happens, how are we going to pass our days in the future?"

It is a habit for Madam Sheng to scold and beat Xia Yue Chu, so she does not think that it is any significant matter at all.

But ever since Xue Zhuang has given her that five taels of silver, she cannot help but conceives the idea that since he can come out with five taels in one go, Xue Zhuang should have even more money on him.

For the sake of hollowing all the money out from Xue Zhuang, she has been benevolence towards him these few days.

"Da Zhuang, it is just my habit to nag a bit more, I'm only asking a few more times make sure." Sensing that Xue Zhuang is offended, Madam Sheng is tapping away on her mental calculator and surprisingly decides to compromise. "Your second brother must be drunk, being hysteria in the middle of the night! Go to bed early after you eat, your father is going to the city tomorrow, to bring you a doctor!"

Xue Li has never imagined that his mother would choose not to believe him and speak favourably for the other party instead. With both his eyes blackening, he ends up passing out in indignation and pain.

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Translator Notes:

*The form has its nose and its mouth, she means that the story has been well shaped with details, making it believable.

This is a fan translation. But the story is not translated word for word, Chinese into English, there are a lot of movements in term of the syntax, because grammar structures of the English language does not correspond to the Chinese phrasing. So instead, the meaning that is within the context is prioritised, thus certain sentences are combined and certain sentences are broken up to upkeep the flow of the story.

Translated by Yellow. Aug 2022.