Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 160: Chapter 90: The Unlucky Little Black Dog

Just then, a foul smell wafted in, and Juhua knew Laishou had pooped. She was about to find something else to do to avoid her second aunt calling for her when Mrs. Lin’s voice drifted in from outside, soft and gentle. ”Hua’er, can you come shovel some ash over? The baby’s all done.”

Juhua was so angry she wanted to complain to Mrs. Yang, but she held her tongue.

’Complaining is addictive,’ she thought. ’If you have a problem with someone, venting about it feels good for a moment, but then you can’t stop yourself from bringing it up. After a while, you get trapped and just become a nag.’ So, with a sullen face, she picked up the iron shovel leaning against the chicken coop, shoveled some ash from the stove pit, and dealt with the mess.

She thought of Qingmu’s words. ’If I’m not even as good as my older brother, wouldn’t I die of shame?’

So, while sweeping the floor, she turned to Mrs. Lin with a beaming smile and said, ”Second Aunt, next time you should take him to the latrine to do his business. If a little kid poops everywhere and is still doing it when he’s several years old, people will make fun of him. They’ll say his parents never taught him any discipline! Besides, it can lead to accidents. There was a kid in our village whose mom wasn’t around when he was pooping. After he finished, he just picked it up and put it in his mouth. Tell me, isn’t that just asking to get sick? Laishou is still young and doesn’t know any better. If you don’t teach him to use the latrine from an early age, then one day when you’re not watching, he’ll just poop all over the floor. He’ll either step in it or pick it up and eat it.”

Mrs. Wang, who was washing vegetables by the well, added her own scolding. ”It’s not like your legs are broken. Are you too lazy to even make a trip to the latrine? Look at you, dressed all neat and clean, but it’s all for show—you don’t even take the baby to the latrine to poop.”

Seeing the color drain from Mrs. Lin’s face, Juhua finally felt a sense of satisfaction. Shovel in hand, she leisurely made her way back to the kitchen.

Mrs. Yang had also heard what her daughter said to Mrs. Lin. Seeing the triumphant glint in Juhua’s eyes, she found it rather amusing. Without a word, she shot her daughter a look and then gently tapped her on the forehead.

Ms. Zhang lowered her head, trying to stifle a laugh. This made Juhua feel quite embarrassed. ’So they all caught on,’ she thought. ’I wonder if Second Aunt realized what I was doing.’

Mrs. Yang put some meat on the chopping block and said to Juhua, ”Juhua, slice this up. We’ll make steamed pork with rice flour for dinner; I’m afraid there isn’t enough time for lunch. We already finished the last batch.”

Juhua agreed, then drew some water to wash her hands and got to work slicing the meat!

When Mrs. Wang came back from washing vegetables, she saw the meat and asked what it was for, remarking that even if they had a lot of meat, they couldn’t just eat it so extravagantly. Mrs. Yang then explained the plan to her.

Mrs. Wang listened and said grudgingly, ”In that case, just use some lean meat for steaming. We should save the fatty parts to render into oil for stir-frying.”

Mrs. Yang replied, ”Mother, if there isn’t enough fatty meat in the dish, it won’t render enough oil, and the rice flour will be too dry. But too much fat makes it greasy. It has to be a mix of fat and lean. When the fat renders out, it soaks into the rice flour, making it rich and moist. That’s what makes it so good.”

Mrs. Wang pursed her lips. ”Of course it’s good if it’s ’rich and moist’! Isn’t that just being wasteful? That’s no way to live! We have to eat the meat sparingly. You still have to build a house this year, you know.”

Juhua was dumbfounded. She quickly shot her mother a meaningful look, begging her not to reveal it was her idea. Otherwise, her grandmother would surely scold her for being a spendthrift.

Mrs. Yang glanced at her daughter and agreed, suppressing a smile.

After Juhua finished slicing the meat, she mixed it with ginger and soy sauce to marinate and set it aside. Just then, her father came in carrying the washed loaches, so she immediately started preparing the braised loaches.

After a flurry of activity, when it was nearly time to eat, she chopped some green garlic and added it to the clay pot of stewed pig’s blood. She also spooned in some pork cracklings to add flavor. The steam rising from the pot was fragrant and spicy, instantly filling the air.

Ms. Zhang sniffed the air. ”That smells wonderfully spicy. Is that pig’s blood?”

Mrs. Yang smiled. ”It sure is. You should try Juhua’s pig’s blood with pickled vegetables. She makes it even better than I do.”

Mrs. Wang looked at Juhua with affection and praise. ”Juhua is just like her paternal grandmother. Your mother-in-law was an excellent cook. It’s a shame she passed away so early. If she were still here to help, your life would be much easier.”

Mrs. Yang sighed. ”Isn’t that the truth. They say it’s hard for a woman to get along with her mother-in-law, and I thought I was so lucky to have found a good one. But who knew my good fortune wouldn’t last? She passed away far too soon.”

Just as they were speaking and about to serve the meal, they heard Laicai start wailing outside, his cries mingled with Black Dog’s frantic ”BARK! BARK!”. The next moment, the dog came tearing inside, WHOOSHING into the kitchen. It hid behind Juhua and peered back toward the door.

Seeing the dog’s behavior, Juhua’s heart sank. ’Oh no!’ she thought in alarm. ’He didn’t bite Laicai, did he?’

The adults hurried outside to see what had happened.

They saw Mrs. Lin standing under the eaves, shouting, ”You stupid dog! Where did you run off to? I’m going to beat you to death! You made Laicai fall and cut his head open!”