Chapter 29: Good Things Invite Envy

“Grandma, I made these pastries and I’m planning to sell them in town!” As Du Yun heard the smacking sounds of someone eating outside continuing, she dashed out of the house in a hurry.

Though they hadn’t spent much time together, Du Yun had already come to understand her third aunt’s character—she was the laziest and most gluttonous, willing to risk anything for good food. The plates of pastries she had left in the pot to sell would be gone in less than ten minutes if she didn’t act fast; most of them would end up in her aunt’s belly.

“What? Pastries to sell? Third daughter-in-law, you’re not allowed to eat them!” Upon hearing Du Yun’s words, her grandmother shouted toward the outer room, fully aware of just how much her third daughter-in-law could eat.

Even so, by the time Du Yun reached the stove, her third aunt had already eaten two big pieces of each pastry and was shoving another into her mouth with one hand, a plate in the other. Quick as lightning, Du Yun slammed the heavy iron lid back onto the pot.

“Yun, what are you doing? Can’t I just have a couple of your pastries?” Third aunt, having overheard Du Yun and her grandmother, grumbled as she stuffed another piece into her mouth from the plate she still held, her speech muffled.

“What am I doing? Aunt, you know I’m planning to sell them for money, so please stop eating!” Stifled by her aunt’s shamelessness, Du Yun didn’t hold back. She reached out and snatched the plate from her aunt’s hand. “If you keep eating like this, there’ll be nothing left for me to sell.”

“You little brat!” Still chewing, third aunt reached out, trying to grab another piece from the plate, but Du Yun nimbly dodged her. Sulking, her aunt muttered, “We’re all family. What’s wrong with eating a little?”

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Why did I ever bring home a wasteful daughter-in-law like you!” Grandma emerged from the house, brandishing a yard-long spindle stick, waving it threateningly at third aunt. “You useless woman! All you know is eating, never working. That’ll teach you to be so greedy!”

“Mother, I was just tasting them!” Third aunt, knowing she was in the wrong—and with her mother-in-law’s threat of splitting up the family still ringing in her ears—didn’t dare talk back. She darted around the room, dodging as her mother-in-law chased her, the place erupting into chaos.

“Grandma, stop hitting her!” Du Yun, seeing the situation getting out of hand, quickly put the plate back on the stove and tried to hold her grandmother back. But she hadn’t expected that, while being chased, third aunt would spot the plate left unattended, leap forward, snatch two more pieces, and dart away again.

Du Yun was nearly at her wit’s end, half exasperated, half amused as she watched her grandmother chase after her aunt. Even while being chased, her aunt’s mind was bent on grabbing more pastries—how hungry could she be? For some reason, a strange sense of amusement welled up inside Du Yun, tinged with a faint sadness.

This was all the fault of poverty.

The uproar didn’t settle until Old Master Du returned home. Panting, Grandma braced her hands on her knees and pointed at the third aunt. “If Third weren’t my own son, I’d have thrown you both out by now! Lazy and greedy, every last one of you, eating more than anyone else!”

“Mother, she just does it for me. Please, let it go,” Third Uncle pleaded, clutching a piece of radish cake third aunt had just slipped him. He was already trying to find a corner to quickly eat it, but his face was all remorse as he begged for his wife.

“If it weren’t for you, and for Du Tong and Du Fang, you think I’d keep her around? She even snatches food meant for her own niece—where’s the decency in that?” Grandma growled. The family’s poverty wasn’t her choice—everyone ate little, so why did her third daughter-in-law act like someone starved in a previous life?

“Mother, you’re being unfair! We’re all family—how come Du Yun can use the family’s grain to make pastries, but I can’t even eat a piece?” Third aunt, emboldened by Grandma’s admission that she wouldn’t be cast out for the children’s sake, hid behind her husband and shot back.

“What grain? The glutinous rice flour I used for the pastries, I bought with my own savings!” Hearing the argument coming back to her, Du Yun hurried to explain.

“What savings? Isn’t your spending money from the family? Don’t think I don’t know!” Third aunt rolled her eyes, arguing for argument’s sake, tugging at her husband’s sleeve for support.

“That’s right! Yun, you don’t earn your own money. If it’s not from your grandmother, where else could it come from?” Third uncle echoed.

“It really isn’t from Grandma—it’s from my mother’s family, and from scholarships I received at school,” Du Yun replied calmly. She knew exactly where her money came from: saving her breakfast allowance, the odd gifts from others, and her scholarship.

“No matter where the money came from, you still used the family’s stove, didn’t you? If you make money from these pastries, you can’t keep it all for yourself—it has to go to the family,” Third aunt, unable to find fault with the source of the money, started acting shameless.

“That’s right. And I’m sure you used other family supplies too. I don’t believe you didn’t,” Third uncle chimed in.

Du Yun nearly laughed in frustration at the pair. “Who said I wouldn’t turn over my earnings to the family? You two worry too much.” Grandma always complained these two were good for nothing, but at critical moments, Du Yun had to admit their cunning was impressive.

When there was food, they’d shamelessly eat without restraint; when there was profit, they’d find any way to get a share. While everyone else was still thinking about whether the pastries tasted good or who had eaten them, these two were already scheming for a cut of the profits.

Third uncle and aunt brightened at Du Yun’s words. Third aunt, having tasted how good the pastries were, knew that if she had money, she’d buy them. If Du Yun could turn a profit, maybe they could get a share—what luck!

“But,” Du Yun added, seeing their faces light up, “not everyone gets a share. I was raised by this family, so of course the money will be used for important family matters—like weddings for my brothers, or my own marriage.”

“What?” The couple’s faces immediately fell. Their own children were only thirteen at best—it would be years before they could benefit from that money.

Grandma, on the other hand, was delighted. She looked at Du Yun with satisfaction, feeling her affection for this girl had not been in vain. Du Yun understood exactly what troubled her most.