C16 Chapter 16

Chen Yongliang jumped when he saw the “Eight-foot Insect” and shuffled back a couple of steps, thinking, Why would my sister-in-law bring a bug like that home?

Pingping and An’an heard that Mom was back and came running out of the main room. They didn’t see her anywhere—only Third Uncle Dan squatting on the ground, staring at something.

They walked over to Chen Yongliang and squatted down too, peering at the creature crawling along the dirt.

An’an was the brave one. She stuck out her tiny finger to poke it, but Chen Yongliang stopped her right away.

She blinked up at him, wide-eyed. “Third Uncle, what is that?”

Chen Yongliang tried to scare her. “That’s an Eight-foot Insect. It bites!”

When he was little, he’d been bitten before—his hand had even bled.

“Can you eat it?” An’an asked, looking up.

Chen Yongliang choked on his words.

He was usually pretty smooth-talking around the village, but a kid had just left him completely speechless, and it felt embarrassing.

He cleared his throat and pointed at the big crab crawling on the ground. “No, you can’t eat that. It’s dirty. You’ll get sick.”

An’an frowned, lips puckered, clearly not satisfied with that answer.

Just then, a villager called from the gate, “Mr. Yongliang, your brother wants you to head up the mountain. He’s waiting for you up there.”

“Got it—thanks.” Chen Yongliang patted Pingping on the shoulder. “Pingping, keep an eye on your sister. Don’t let her touch the Eight-foot Insect, okay?”

“Okay,” Pingping answered obediently, stepping in front of An’an like a little shield.

Chen Yongliang glanced back at the tightly shut door, frowned, and headed out of the yard.

Wan Qiqi stayed locked in her room for a long time before she finally managed to calm down.

She didn’t know whether dying in this world meant she could still go back to modern life, so she needed to stay alive. She didn’t want to waste her life.

Thinking of how effortlessly Chen Yongnian had caught that snake, she couldn’t help but marvel. People who grew up out here had learned to adapt. Unlike her—everything still felt awkward and out of place.

Nothing in her day-to-day life—food, clothes, shelter, or getting around—was going the way she wanted.

Luckily, she kept her cool well enough that no one noticed anything was off. Otherwise, they probably would’ve written her off as crazy a long time ago.

“Whoa—where’d this eight-legged freak come from?!” someone yelped from the yard, followed by a clatter and banging.

Wan Qiqi’s heart jumped. Don’t tell me they’re about to toss my crabs.

Chen Yongxing was still holding two sticks, struggling to pinch a crab between them. The moment he spotted Wan Qiqi, the crab slipped free, landing on its back and flailing, unable to right itself.

“Big Sis, weren’t you headed up the mountain?” Lee Chongniang pinched her nose, her expression openly annoyed.

Wan Qiqi looked at the crab sprawled crookedly on the ground and felt a pang of sympathy.

“I came back early.” She strode over, flipped it upright, grabbed it by the shell, and tossed it into the basket with the others.

“Big Sis, why are you keeping these eight-legged things?” Chen Yongxing asked, baffled.

“To eat.” Wan Qiqi tilted her head and smiled.

Chen Yongxing and Lee Chongniang both shuddered.

You can eat that?

Still doubtful, Chen Yongxing pressed, “Big Sis, are you sure this is edible? I swear someone in the village tried before and said you can’t eat them. Yeah, my wife and I lost the grain, but we don’t have to risk our lives eating bugs, do we?”

Hearing him call it a “bug” over and over made Wan Qiqi want to sigh.

Something that delicious, and he’s calling it a bug?

“Today I’ll cook them for you. Once you taste it, you’ll know whether it’s good or not.”

She’d made up her mind—today she was going to show everyone what she could do and prove just how good crab could be.

Chen Yongxing and Lee Chongniang watched her bustling around, still not quite believing it.

Was this really their big sister-in-law?

“Second Brother, hurry—get Second Sister-in-law and Pingping and An’an inside!” Chen Yongliang stood in the yard with a bundle of firewood on his back, shooing the woman and the kids toward the house.

Chen Yongxing was just about to ask why when he saw Chen Yongnian walk in with a snake in his hand.

“Second Brother—quick, find something to put it in!”

The three brothers scrambled for a while. They finally got the snake secured and didn’t relax until they were sure it couldn’t get out.

Chen Yongxing couldn’t help asking, “Big Brother, why’d you bring a snake back?”

Chen Yongnian spoke as he washed his hands. “Your sister-in-law ran into a snake. I caught it so I can take it into town tomorrow and sell it, trade it for some grain.”

After that, he looked around but didn’t see Wan Qiqi anywhere. “Where’s your sister-in-law?”