Chapter 99: Minor Friction

By noon, the two children had tasted a delicious braised snake dish and were instantly convinced they had discovered heaven on earth.

They swore they would catch as many snakes as they could, so their aunt could cook more for them.

Full and satisfied, they did not even wait for their nap before rallying their little gang and heading up the mountain.

Tang Banxia shook her head with a smile and let them be. She went back to her room and lay down for a nap.

Who would have thought she had barely fallen asleep when someone began pounding on the door.

“Miss Tang! Miss Tang!”

“Coming.” Woken from sleep, Tang Banxia was naturally not pleased.

She opened the door and found Hu Qixin’s sister-in-law standing outside.

“What is it?”

Hu Qixin’s sister-in-law did not notice the bad look on her face. “Your child has been bitten by a snake. Hurry up and come take a look.”

At once, Tang Banxia grew anxious too. Without bothering about anything else, she grabbed her first-aid kit from the house and hurried up the mountain with the woman.

On the way, Hu Qixin’s sister-in-law briefly explained what had happened.

After lunch, the two Mo brothers had led a few younger boys, including Guzi, Yangdan, and Dogdan, up the mountain to catch snakes.

Mo Shengning was a clever child. To spur his little friends on, he promised that whoever caught a snake would get a share of the braised snake meat.

And with Mo Shengsu vividly describing how tender and tasty the snake meat was, the boys were drooling with envy and naturally worked their hardest.

But the mountain was thick with grass and trees; snakes were not so easy to catch.

Before they knew it, they had wandered into another group of children’s territory, and just then, that other group had caught a snake.

Seeing this, Mo Shengning went up to talk politely, hoping to get the snake. But the other children looked down on him as a city boy, so their words were far from pleasant.

As for Mo Shengning, he was a little tyrant at home and could not tolerate such a slight.

Back and forth they went until tempers flared on both sides. In the pushing and shoving, the snake seized the chance to escape. Mo Shengsu had sharp eyes; when he saw it run, he lunged and grabbed its tail.

But he was unprepared for the snake to suddenly turn and bite him.

In pain, Mo Shengsu let go, and the snake slithered off for good, leaving only the bitten boy standing there and bawling his eyes out.

The commotion attracted the women digging wild greens at the foot of the mountain. When they saw that one of Miss Tang’s children had been bitten by a snake, of course they hurried to find someone.

Hu Qixin’s sister-in-law had volunteered herself for the important task of summoning help.

Tang Banxia’s expression turned cold and stern as she listened.

She quickened her pace, rushing to the foot of the mountain. Crouching beside Mo Shengsu, she took his hand for a look and immediately let out a breath of relief.

Fortunately, it was not venomous.

Mo Shengning stood off to one side. The eleven-year-old boy had tears glistening in his eyes. “Aunt, A-Su?”

Tang Banxia shot him a glare, though her hands moved swiftly as she disinfected Mo Shengsu’s wound, applied medicine, and bandaged it. “He’s fine. What are you crying for?”

The child was stubborn by nature. According to his older sister, he cared a great deal about saving face. Crying in front of so many people showed plainly how frightened he had been.

“The snake wasn’t venomous. Don’t be afraid. A-Su is all right,” Tang Banxia said gently. “He was just startled.”

Mo Shengning roughly wiped at his tears. “I wasn’t crying!”

Considering the boy’s pride, Tang Banxia did not expose him. “All right, all right, you didn’t cry.”

She brushed the dirt from his face. “Do you still want to play?”

Mo Shengning shook his head. “No.”

“Then let’s go home. I’ll make you some fried twisted dough to eat.” She took out a handkerchief and wiped the boy’s nose and tears, then held his other hand and said to Mo Shengning, “Call your friends. We’re going home together.”

After such a fright, Mo Shengning became much more obedient. He called his little companions over properly and followed Tang Banxia home.

They had only gone a few steps when they ran into a group coming the other way.

“Miss Tang, is the child all right?” asked the woman at the head of the group, a sharp-cheeked woman whose face was full of concern.

Tang Banxia saw the child she was holding by the hand and understood at once. “He’s fine. It wasn’t a venomous snake.”

“That’s a relief, that’s a relief.” The whole group let out the breath they had been holding.

The sharp-cheeked woman then dragged the boy behind her forward. “Miss Tang, this brat didn’t know his limits. I brought him to apologize.”

The boy shoved to the front had inherited his mother’s sharp cheekbones. His lips were pressed tight, his eyes rolling in stubborn defiance, giving him a somewhat mean look.

“You flatter me, sister. It was only an argument between children. A-Su’s injury was just an accident. There’s no need for apologies.” Tang Banxia met her halfway, neither soft nor hard.

“If anything, it was Ning’s fault. How could he expect to take someone else’s things for nothing?” she added with a smile.

Yet her words made the faces opposite her flush red.

Someone had already gone to tip them off, so they knew the whole story. They understood that what Mo Shengning had proposed was a trade, not taking it for free.

It was their child who had spoken too harshly, and that was what led to the dispute.

Thinking of this, the sharp-cheeked woman kicked her son in the back of the knee. “Hurry up and apologize to Ning and A-Su!”

But the boy was just as stubborn; he kept his neck stiff and refused to speak. Seeing this, the sharp-cheeked woman trembled with anger.

Thinking of her eldest son at home, already old enough to be settled, she steeled herself and was about to strike when Tang Banxia lightly intercepted her.

“Sister, it’s no big matter. Just a little friction. There’s no need to get so angry.”

“Since A-Su is fine, let’s leave it at that. The children will still be playing together in the future.”

If you want to beat him, do it at home. What was the point of doing it in front of her?

Wasn’t it because they figured she would be embarrassed and might step in to stop them?

“The children’s business should be left to them,” Tang Banxia said, turning to Mo Shengning and blinking at him. “Ning, what do you think?”

Mo Shengning understood at once. “My aunt is right. Let’s just let it go.”

After saying that, Tang Banxia did not linger. She took the children home.

Meanwhile, the sharp-cheeked woman let out a sigh of relief and pulled her son aside. “Does it hurt?”

Her stubborn little son still said nothing.

The woman’s temper flared all over again. She grabbed him and took him home.

Only when they got there did she carefully explain the severity of the matter to him. “That Mo Shengning is the child of a big county official. If something really happened to him because of you, how could we possibly contend with them?”

“Even the top leaders say everyone is equal!” the child protested, still unconvinced. “Why should I give way to him?”

The woman raised her voice. “Who said anything about giving way? If you had been in the right today, I would have fought tooth and nail to get justice for you, but were you in the right?”

“People were speaking nicely to you, asking to trade. What were you muttering under your breath so rudely for?”

Even though he was her own son, she could not, in good conscience, say he had done the right thing.

The boy still refused to submit. “It was only a few words. City people are so delicate!”

The woman nearly fainted from rage. How had she given birth to such a blockhead?

“Shut your mouth. No dinner tonight!”

“If there’s no dinner, then there’s no dinner. Hmph!” the boy snapped back. “Like I care!”

With that, the little brat ran outside.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Before long, he found himself near Tang Banxia’s house. Seeing the group inside sharing the fried twisted dough, he grew even more irritated.

He kicked at the clods of earth underfoot, feeling wronged beyond measure.

Then, looking at the two Mo brothers surrounded by the others, his eyes rolled. He slipped into the woodpile nearby and hid himself.

Just wait, he thought with a sly little grin. Just wait.