Chapter 67: Business Next Door

When Su Yue made the cake, she also prepared a very small extra one, which she divided into three parts. One part was reserved for Han Aiguo to taste, while the other two were meant to be given to the children of Ma Cuiyun’s family and Xu Can’s family.

She placed the cake on a plate and carried it upstairs to Ma Cuiyun’s house. Unexpectedly, as soon as she reached the stairway, she saw Fang Xiaoli’s son, Feng Zitao, squatting on the ground playing.

Su Yue instinctively lowered her head to check the steps, wary that there might be marbles or other things lying around that could make her slip.

Feng Zitao noticed her too. The moment his eyes landed on the cream cake in her hand, his nose twitched at the sweet fragrance filling the air. He instantly recognized it as the delicious smell that had been drifting around recently.

Abandoning his toys, he ran straight toward Su Yue. Looking up at her, he demanded, “Hey, what’s that in your hand? Give me some to eat!”

The boy didn’t even bother calling her “Auntie.” His rude and overbearing tone immediately soured Su Yue’s mood. She disliked his arrogance and chose not to respond. After confirming her footing on the stairs, she simply continued upward without sparing him another glance.

Feng Zitao, enraged at being ignored, lunged forward and grabbed Su Yue’s trouser leg to stop her. She was on the steps and almost lost her balance. If she hadn’t been clutching the handrail, she might have fallen.

Anger flared in Su Yue. She seized his wrist and forcefully shook him off. Her brows knitted as she snapped, “If you dare do this again, I’ll beat you! And not only that, I’ll call your father! Let’s see if he doesn’t whip your backside raw!”

The mention of his father immediately made Feng Zitao tremble. He had been spanked quite a bit recently and was terrified of it happening again. He didn’t dare tug at her anymore, but he still refused to give up. Scowling, he asked, “I asked you what that was. Why didn’t you answer me?”

Su Yue loathed dealing with such spoiled children. Her patience thinning, she said sharply, “Whatever I have is none of your business! And I won’t give it to you anyway.”

Feng Zitao’s face turned red with fury. “Why won’t you give it to me! If you don’t, I’ll get my grandpa to shoot you!”

“Then go call your grandpa. I’ll be right here waiting.” Su Yue rolled her eyes and brushed past him. It was pointless to argue with a brat, so she left him behind and quickly entered Ma Cuiyun’s home, shutting the door behind her.

For Feng Zitao, this was the first time someone had refused him so bluntly. He had always gotten his way before. His face flushed with anger, and he began pounding both fists against Ma Cuiyun’s door. When his hands grew sore, he switched to kicking it, each bang echoing loudly through the stairwell.

“Open up! Come out! Come out right now!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Inside, Ma Cuiyun was spending time with her two children. Startled by the racket outside, she frowned and turned to Su Yue. “What’s going on? What’s that boy making a fuss about out there?”

Su Yue handed the cake to Dani and Taozi, then sighed in frustration. “I made a cream cake for your two children, but Fang Xiaoli’s boy saw it and kept pestering me for it rudely. I didn’t want to argue with a child, so I slipped into your house and shut the door. Who knew the little brat would throw a tantrum and start pounding on it?”

Hearing this, Ma Cuiyun’s temper flared. “That bear child! He’s going to break my door at this rate. I’ll teach him a lesson!”

She grabbed a laundry mallet and was about to head out when Su Yue quickly stopped her. “You can’t. You’re an adult, if you hit someone else’s child, no matter how justified you are, it’ll make you the unreasonable one. Then it’ll just turn into another shouting match. And remember, you and Fang Xiaoli are already enemies. Don’t let her drag you into trouble again. It’s not worth the anger, just let it go.”

Ma Cuiyun huffed, still fuming, but Su Yue’s words made sense. Thinking of Fang Xiaoli’s infuriating temper, she reluctantly slammed the mallet down. “Fine. I’ll let it go today. Let the brat kick all he wants. We’ll just ignore him.”

Su Yue nodded. “Exactly. Don’t pay him any attention. Once he realizes no one cares, he’ll get tired and leave.”

Sure enough, after several minutes of shouting and kicking with no response, Feng Zitao’s energy ran out. Furious and humiliated, he stomped off back home, intent on complaining.

Since his mother was at work during the day, he was usually left in the care of his grandmother. He ran straight to her, burying his head in her arms as he whined, “Grandma, that bad woman next door made something delicious and wouldn’t give me any! Go get it for me!”

Although Old Madam Feng wasn’t well-educated, she was a fair-minded old lady. She immediately frowned and scolded, “What others make belongs to them. Why should they give it to you? Why must you have it?”

Feng Zitao was stunned at her response. After a few seconds, rage overtook him. He shoved his grandmother hard, nearly knocking her over, then glared and shouted, “You’re a big bad witch! You’re not even my grandma! I’ll tell my Mother to kick you out!”

Old Madam Feng’s whole body trembled with anger. “You… you’re this spoiled because of your grandparents! Just look at yourself; so unruly!”

But Feng Zitao ignored her, storming off to his room to sulk until his mother came home.

That evening, the moment Fang Xiaoli returned, he rushed into her arms, complaining tearfully, “Mother, that bad woman next door made something delicious and wouldn’t give me any. She only gave it to the kids upstairs! When I asked her, she even scolded me. Mother, go get it for me! I want to eat it!”

Old Madam Feng angrily added, “Xiaoli, just look at how Zitao is acting! Why should he be entitled to food others make? I told him it wasn’t right, but he wouldn’t listen. As his mother, you should be teaching him not to take from other people’s homes.”

Fang Xiaoli hated anyone criticizing her son not even her mother-in-law. She had never gotten along with Old Madam Feng and had resented living together from the start. The only reason she had to tolerate it was because Feng Junwei insisted on bringing their son back from her parents’ home, and Old Madam Feng had come along to help raise him. Now, hearing her mother-in-law complain about her son the very first chance she got, her anger boiled over.

She snapped back, “Mother, you’re wrong. Zitao is only five years old. What could he possibly understand? Of course, a child will want to eat something when he sees it. But that woman next door made something so delicious and yet was so heartless that she refused to give even a little to a child. What kind of neighbor behaves like that?”

Old Madam Feng was so furious that she was speechless. She had never seen such twisted logic before.

The more she thought about it, the more she regretted agreeing to this marriage back then. Look at what kind of daughter-in-law they had gotten. People always said to marry a virtuous wife for a good life. Instead, they had ended up with someone unreasonable, and so life was a constant headache.

Not wanting others to laugh at her for quarreling with her daughter-in-law, Old Madam Feng swallowed her anger and said nothing more.

Later that night, when Feng Junwei returned home, Fang Xiaoli, unable to withstand her son’s pestering, brought the matter up. “Junwei, our son wants to eat the food made next door. Can you go get some for him?”

Feng Junwei frowned deeply. “If he wants it, then buy it. Why would we ask others for their things? If you let him behave like this, he’ll grow up spoiled rotten!”

Fang Xiaoli choked at his words. She had the urge to argue, but they had been quarreling frequently lately. He hadn’t even touched her in days, and she feared that if she pushed further, he would grow colder toward her. She wasn’t stupid; she knew when to yield.

So she swallowed her temper and said sweetly, “I’d buy it for him if I could, but it’s not sold anywhere else. It’s made by Su Yue next door. Her food is so fragrant that even I can’t resist it, let alone a five-year-old child. How could he possibly hold back? Just go ask her for a little, can’t you?”

Feng Junwei still refused. “If someone makes delicious food and we go to ask for it, are you not ashamed? I won’t go.”

Fang Xiaoli clung to his arm, speaking with a hint of grievance. “But Su Yue gave it to Commander Sun’s family upstairs and also to Commander Yu’s family. We are still her neighbors, yet she never thinks of giving anything to our family. It happens every time. Even if the child sees it, she hardens her heart and won’t give him any.”

Feng Junwei snorted. “With a neighbor like you, I would do the same if I were her.”

“You!” Fang Xiaoli was furious. “Feng Junwei, you’ve gone too far!”

But Feng Junwei ignored her and turned back to read the newspaper.

Seeing that no one was willing to give him food, Feng Zitao started crying. He used his old trick again that is lying on the ground and rolling around. “I want to eat! I want to eat! Help me get it!”

He often used this tactic whenever he didn’t get what he wanted at his grandparents’ house. Usually, his grandparents would give in as long as he acted like this.

But his father was different. Feng Junwei slammed down the newspaper in his hand, strode over, yanked the boy up, pulled down his pants, and spanked him hard.

Within just a few blows, Feng Zitao’s buttocks were red and swollen. His fake cries quickly turned into real ones. He sobbed and struggled, but no matter how much he fought, he couldn’t escape his father’s grip.

Fang Xiaoli’s heart ached. She rushed over to stop Feng Junwei, but in the chaos she was struck by the sweep of his hand. His palm landed sharply across her face, leaving a bright red mark.

She froze in disbelief, covering her cheek as she stared at him. “Feng Junwei, you bastard, how dare you hit me! I’ll fight you!”

She lunged at him, clawing and tearing at him in a frenzy.

The Feng household descended into chaos once again.

Feng Junwei’s head pounded. He finally managed to subdue Fang Xiaoli, who was thrashing about like a madwoman. Exhausted, he felt his chest heavy with despair. Training in the army was grueling during the day, and at night his home offered no peace either. He couldn’t even rest in his own house, sometimes he thought it would be easier to just sleep at the barracks.

But Fang Xiaoli sat on the floor sobbing and cursing. “Feng Junwei, you’re a brute! Your son just wanted something to eat, and yet you beat your child and your wife. You can’t even provide food for your own family, what good are you! I must have been blind to marry you.”

Beside her, Feng Zitao wailed even louder, screaming that he wanted to go back to his grandparents’ house.

The endless noise made Feng Junwei’s ears buzz, and even Old Madam Feng felt her head splitting.

“This can’t go on,” she said to her son. “Junwei, the neighbors will hear all this shouting and no one will sleep. Go to the people next door and spend some money to buy food. You can’t just demand things for free, but at least buy some to calm Zitao down.”

Feng Junwei agreed that the racket couldn’t continue. After a long pause, he wiped his face wearily, stood, and went next door. He knocked on Han Aiguo’s door.

Han Aiguo opened it and looked surprised. “Company Commander, what’s the matter?”

Feng Junwei looked embarrassed but forced himself to speak. “Did your sister-in-law make something delicious recently? It smells very fragrant. My kid has been fussing at home wanting to eat it, so I came to see if I could buy some from you to calm him down.”

Only then did Han Aiguo realize why the commotion next door had started; it was over food again.

Su Yue overheard and came out of the room, apologizing. “Captain Feng, that was the cream cake I made for a friend. I’ve already given it away. I only had a little leftover, but I ate it already, otherwise I would have given you some.”

Feng Junwei didn’t know what a cream cake was, but the sweet fragrance still lingered in the room. Even as a grown man, he felt tempted. No wonder his son wouldn’t stop clamoring for it.

He quickly said, “Sister-in-law, children don’t understand and just cry for food. Could you make one for my family? I’ll provide whatever you need, just tell me what to bring.”

Su Yue hesitated. She hadn’t intended to get involved with her neighbors, but with Captain Feng asking directly, refusing would be impolite. Since he was offering to pay anyway, why not? She could earn money without offending anyone.

So she nodded. “Alright, Captain Feng. I’ll make one for your family. But cream cake requires a lot of ingredients, it costs both money and ration tickets. You see…”

Feng Junwei immediately said, “That’s fine, just tell me what you need.”

Su Yue explained, “I’ll make a smaller one for your family. You can give me two jin of grain coupons, one jin of non-staple coupons, and two yuan. I’ll have it ready for you tomorrow.”

Feng Junwei was secretly shocked at how costly it was, but with his son still wailing at home, he decided it was worth it. He handed over the ration tickets and money on the spot. “Thank you, sister-in-law.”

After he left, Su Yue looked at the money and tickets in her hand with satisfaction. It felt good to do business right at her doorstep especially when it was Fang Xiaoli’s family footing the bill. Just imagining Fang Xiaoli’s reaction when she learned the price made Su Yue smirk.

Sure enough, when Fang Xiaoli found out that one cake cost two jin of grain coupons, one jin of non-staple coupons, and two yuan, she exploded, accusing Su Yue of daylight robbery. She stormed out, ready to settle the score.

But Feng Junwei blocked her with a dark face. “If you make a fuss now, forget about ever eating her food. If Feng Zitao throws another tantrum, I won’t care. You can deal with it yourself.”

That one sentence silenced Fang Xiaoli. She knew too well her son’s obsession. If he couldn’t get that cake, he’d scream the house down, and she would suffer most.

So she swallowed her pride and endured it after all, money spent could at least buy her peace.

The next evening, when she brought the cream cake home, even she had to admit to herself, No wonder it’s so expensive. Just look at the workmanship and smell it, you can tell it used good ingredients.

The moment Feng Zitao saw the cake, he couldn’t hold back. He grabbed a spoon and stuffed a huge bite into his mouth. His eyes lit up, and he kept shoveling in more, too busy eating to even speak.

When it looked like he would finish the whole cake, Feng Junwei quickly cut pieces for Old Madam Feng and Fang Xiaoli, taking a couple of bites himself. After tasting it, he had to admit Su Yue’s skill.

Old Madam Feng sighed in amazement. “How is this food so delicious? I’ve lived this long and never tasted anything like it. No wonder Zitao wanted it so badly.”

Feng Junwei nodded. “At first, I thought it was too expensive. But now that I’ve tried it, it’s worth every bit.”

Fang Xiaoli didn’t praise the cake aloud, but she couldn’t stop eating either. After finishing her slice, she still wanted more but Feng Zitao clutched the rest possessively, unwilling to share.

She licked her lips, forcing herself to hold back her craving.

From then on, Su Yue felt life was quieter. Ever since she made the cake for them, the neighbors had stopped their endless crying fits.

But her peace didn’t last long. Soon, the familiar wails of a child came from next door again. Su Yue knew instantly, it was Feng Zitao.

She glanced at Han Aiguo with a smile. “Husband, guess what that kid is crying about this time?”

Han Aiguo placed a gentle hand on her slightly swelling belly, stroking it softly. “I don’t know.”

Su Yue pinched his nose playfully and laughed. “I know. My sixth sense tells me the neighbors will be knocking on our door with money again soon.”

Han Aiguo only grunted, uninterested in their affairs. His gaze stayed fixed on her belly with tenderness. He lifted her blouse and kissed her stomach again and again, looking completely foolish.

Su Yue squirmed at the ticklish sensation, laughing as she let the noise next door fade from her mind. Instead, she turned her focus back to her pregnancy and murmured in puzzlement, “Don’t they say a belly doesn’t really show until four months? Thin women show even later. But why is mine already bulging this much, when it’s not even four months yet?”

Han Aiguo didn’t know how large a belly should be at this stage, but he had watched hers grow little by little. What worried him most was that although her belly expanded, her body seemed thinner than before. “The child is growing by taking your nutrition. You’re losing weight while he gains it. You must eat more.”

But Su Yue’s appetite had worsened since pregnancy. She could barely eat anything each day, and instead of gaining, she kept losing weight. No matter how much she forced herself, her body seemed to shrink while her belly swelled.

It could only mean the baby in her womb was stealing all her nutrients.

Han Aiguo’s heart ached. “I’m worried about you like this. I’ll write to my mother and ask her to come take care of you. She has experience. She’ll know what pregnant women like and what they can eat. She can care for you better than I can.”

Su Yue thought for a while, and then shook her head. “There are still chickens at home, and the fourth child is still young. What would happen if Mother left? And the third sister-in-law is about to give birth. If Mother doesn’t take care of her confinement, who will? I’m only four months along so it’s too early to trouble her.”

Han Aiguo considered her words and reluctantly let go of the idea, deciding to wait until Su Yue was close to giving birth before bringing his mother over.