Chapter 7: A Heroic Figure

Rubbing his temples with both hands, Li Heng forced himself to calm his mind and continue writing.

About an hour later, Tian Run’e, the assistant cook for the Chen family, returned. Seeing the faint yellow light still glowing from the second floor, she went into her own kitchen.

Shortly after, Tian Run’e placed a bowl of steamed egg custard on the desk.

“Manzai, eat this while it’s hot, or it’ll get cold.”

Li Heng knew his mother’s temperament all too well and said nothing, finishing the custard in one gulp under her watchful gaze.

When he finished, Tian Run’e pointed to the bowl of minced meat noodles and asked, “Who brought this?”

Li Heng replied, “Eldest sister.”

Her response was unsurprised. In her view, the second and third sisters were stubborn and proud, unwilling to lower themselves to such acts. Only the eldest was carefree and always laughing foolishly.

This made her question for a while whose child the eldest really was—how could someone be so careless?

Tian Run’e didn’t ask if he wanted to eat the noodles but cleaned up the dishes on her own.

As she opened the door to leave the room, Li Heng couldn’t help but call back, “Mom, second sister probably isn’t asleep yet.”

He was sure because Li Lan studied harder than he did, often still working on problems past two in the morning.

In the countryside, this was unavoidable: she had to help with farm work during the day and could only find time at night.

Tian Run’e glanced toward the second daughter’s room, annoyed: “She says she’s dieting and won’t eat!”

Li Heng’s face twitched but said nothing.

Apparently, second sister felt that when she wasn’t home, their mother never made her a late-night snack, so having egg custard tonight was just taking advantage of him. She refused to eat stubbornly.

Without a watch or knowing the exact time, Li Heng was awakened by a full bladder in the dead of night and noticed the kerosene lamp still burning in second sister’s room.

Thinking she must have been so tired she fell asleep without putting it out, and worried about the fire risk since the whole second floor was full of dried wood, Li Heng grabbed the door handle and pushed it.

Huh?

It wouldn’t budge—was it bolted from the inside?

Curious, he pressed his eye to the crack and peeked in.

Wow!

What he saw nearly made his eyes bug out.

Guess what second sister was doing?

She was secretly eating sweet rice wine—scooped out with a vegetable bowl, an enormous bowl bigger than her face.

She must have sensed the movement outside, because Li Lan glanced over her shoulder, then turned and extinguished the kerosene lamp.

Li Heng knocked on the door softly and whispered, “Second sister, didn’t you say you have a stomachache? The doctor said you can’t drink sweet wine. Why are you eating it?”

From childhood memories, three things about Li Lan stood out to him:

First, her fiery temper.

Second, her love of food.

Third, her chronic stomach pain.

Her stomach troubles seemed to have started in eighth grade, every morning she would wake up clutching her stomach, bent over the doorstep, vomiting clear liquid, with a pained expression.

The whole family had gone to great lengths to seek treatment—carrying her out before dawn every day, visiting doctors everywhere.

From the town clinic to well-known barefoot doctors in the surrounding areas.

This persisted for over a year, wearing everyone down and draining their spirits.

Ironically, the doctors at the town clinic couldn’t diagnose her illness. They gave her random medicine that only made it worse.

Eventually, a retired military doctor advised it was a stomach condition and recommended Ranitidine.

Li Heng remembered clearly that the retired doctor prescribed three yuan’s worth of Ranitidine, which worked wonders; after just over a week, her pain seemed to vanish.

Seeing he had caught her red-handed, Li Lan paused, then gave up pretending and resumed eating in the dark.

In these poor times, with little to snack on, sweet rice wine and pickled vegetables were rare treats, but both the doctor and Tian Run’e forbade her from touching them.

Yet, being a born foodie, how could she resist?

She had to bear it, but if unbearable, she’d sneak up in the middle of the night to eat.

Li Heng considered himself a foodie too, but compared to second sister, he was utterly outclassed.

He teased her, “If you keep eating, I’ll call Mom and Dad.”

“Bang!”

Before he finished, the door rattled as she kicked it.

The sudden thud startled Li Heng, who was standing right against the door.

After a moment of silence, the door cracked open, and a bowl clattered out into the darkness.

Li Heng felt an inexplicable joy, thinking this fierce second sister was finally subdued by good old Tian Run’e.

But his face fell when he saw the bowl was empty, its bottom cleaner than if a dog had licked it.

Resigned, Li Heng took the empty bowl downstairs.

That night, exhausted from writing, he slept deeply.

If not for the loud shouting and cursing outside early in the morning, he might still be asleep.

Hmm?

Why was it second sister’s voice?

She sounded like she was arguing with someone.

Still groggy, Li Heng confirmed the voice and instantly woke up, scrambling out of bed.

Who dared to argue with our second sister?

Could anyone win against her?

Wasn’t that just asking for trouble?

Dressing quickly, Li Heng hurried downstairs. Just as his foot crossed the threshold, he saw a crowd on the road, all watching a commotion.

Men, women, and children circled around three or four layers deep, shouting and jeering.

A rough glance showed nearly everyone from two nearby production teams was there—almost everyone who had gone to help the Chen family had come out to watch.

Pushing through the crowd with effort, Li Heng finally learned who the unlucky party was—it was Aunt Pang, the village gossip.

Listening to neighbors talk, he pieced together the story:

That morning, while gathering pigweed early, Li Lan overheard that Aunt Pang had been badmouthing Li Jianguo and Li Heng behind their backs and had even confronted Tian Run’e directly.

Enraged, Li Lan abandoned her pigweed gathering, grabbed a sickle, and found Aunt Pang pulling radishes in the field for a verbal showdown.

At first, Aunt Pang was defiant—after all, she was a fierce brawler known far and wide, having faced all kinds of fights over decades.

She had defeated so many men and women that they could have built dams with their bodies. How could she lose face in front of a mere girl?

So the two exchanged curses in the field.

But when Li Lan escalated to slapping Aunt Pang several times, the disheveled gossip’s spirit was crushed.

Attempting to fight back, she was grabbed by the hair and rubbed into the dirt. Unable to curse back or win in a fight, she could only cry and run home.

Used to being dominant, Li Lan relentlessly chased her along the ridge all the way to the Liang family’s home.

Liang, Aunt Pang’s husband, wanted to defend his wife, but standing no taller than five foot two, he was completely overshadowed by Li Lan’s five foot six presence.

Seeing her husband so useless and cowardly, Aunt Pang screamed and slammed the door shut.

But behind the door, feeling emboldened, she gestured wildly through the window and cursed loudly.

Li Lan wasn’t having it. She kicked the window, snapping three wooden bars.

Seeing neither door nor window could stop this fierce spirit, Aunt Pang panicked again, locked herself in the bedroom, and sobbed.

Terrified beyond measure, she stopped cursing Li Lan and instead swore at her husband and daughter-in-law, complaining that two grown adults couldn’t control a wild young girl, that they were useless and had let outsiders bully her at home, that they only cared about their affairs.

Annoyed by the baseless accusations, Liang’s face darkened and he gave up, letting Li Lan wreck the house.

Amid laughter, he slunk away.

With the father-in-law gone and her daughter-in-law never getting along with Aunt Pang, no one stopped Li Lan, who returned to her maternal village.

What a spectacle—a grand show that left half the village stunned.

Everyone knew Li Lan was sharp-tongued and untouchable, but no one expected her to be so fierce she would chase someone home wielding a sickle.

Village officials arrived after hearing the commotion.

Li Jianguo and Tian Run’e came too, along with many others, including Chen Gaoyuan, all trying to calm Li Lan down.

Though fierce, Li Lan was clever. Seeing the village elders there, she intimidated Aunt Pang at the Liang family gate before backing down and letting things rest.

On her way home, Li Lan looked like a warrior goddess, and the villagers respectfully cleared a path for her.

Chen Zitong arrived and quickly looked away when she caught Li Lan’s gaze.

Chen Xiaomi was also there, but unlike Zitong, she wasn’t afraid. The two exchanged meaningful looks before going their separate ways.