After returning home, Jim Thorne relayed the message exactly as he’d heard it. Phoebe Huxley was in the courtyard washing clothes. She had to do communal labor during the day, leaving only the nights for housework. Of course, she could have chosen not to work. Many married women in the village didn’t; they stayed home to care for the young and old, tend their private plots, and raise pigs, chickens, and ducks, which kept them busy all day.

Felix Thorne didn’t want her to do the communal labor either, but Phoebe Huxley was strong-willed and wanted her family to be more prosperous. Her work points for the year were worth over two hundred yuan. Felix Thorne earned full work points, which only came to about three hundred and fifty yuan a year, so Phoebe Huxley’s earnings were nothing to sneeze at.

Lately, however, things had gotten much easier for Phoebe Huxley. Raina would come over to do some of her chores, and Phoebe Thorne would help out too. Phoebe Huxley only had to do a small portion, which was much more comfortable than before.

Phoebe Huxley scrubbed the clothes forcefully. She didn’t say a word after hearing the message, but when she looked up, her face darkened and she lashed out with a slap. "You just changed into those clothes and they’re already dirty! Can’t you save your mother some trouble for once? You keep messing around outside and I’ll make you run around with a bare butt! You’re not a little kid anymore, but you’re still so thoughtless... (two hundred words of scolding omitted)"

Jim Thorne didn’t seem to care as Phoebe Huxley hit him. He was used to it, having been hit since he was little, and was thick-skinned. He even had a cheeky grin on his face and didn’t mention he’d gotten dirty helping his sister build a rabbit hutch. The slaps landed with a THWACK, and Tang Xiaonan was genuinely worried her mother would beat her third brother into paralysis.

"Mom, Third Brother only got dirty helping me build the rabbit hutch. Let me help you wash."

Tang Xiaonan rolled up her sleeves, feeling ashamed. ’Phoebe Huxley works so hard all the time,’ she thought. ’It’s really tough on her, and I don’t do a single thing to lighten her load. I’m so thoughtless.’

"You’re such a good girl, sweetheart. You don’t have to wash. The water’s cold; it’ll freeze your hands."

Phoebe Huxley let Jim Thorne off the hook and carried Tang Xiaonan to the side, her expression filled with relief and comfort. ’Daughters really are more thoughtful,’ she mused. ’My son never thinks to help me with the laundry. All he knows is how to roll around in the dirt like a dog.’

"Then I’ll give you a shoulder rub." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Tang Xiaonan eagerly started rubbing Phoebe Huxley’s shoulders. She used to get shoulder and neck massages often, so she knew where the pressure points were. At first, Phoebe Huxley didn’t think much of it, but after a few taps from her daughter, she felt much more comfortable. A sweet feeling, as if she’d eaten honey, spread through her heart.

"My little girl is amazing! That feels much better than when your dad does it."

Phoebe Huxley was full of praise. ’My daughter truly is a prodigy,’ she thought. ’Even her shoulder rubs feel better than anyone else’s.’ The fatigue from her long day instantly vanished. She now felt like she could carry two hundred pounds of manure for miles on end.

Tang Xiaonan rubbed with even more gusto, but she was small and weak, and her hands quickly grew sore. Phoebe Huxley told her to stop and had Jim Thorne take his sister to wash up and go to bed.

"Jim, make a cup of malted milk for your sister," Phoebe Huxley added.

Lately, her little girl’s appetite had been shrinking. She would only eat a small bowl of rice and had lost her taste for meat. Her face had even gotten a lot thinner. The only thing she would still have was the malted milk, so Phoebe Huxley had Tang Xiaonan drink a cup every day. When it ran out, she would have Frederick Thorne buy more. No matter how expensive it was, she couldn’t let her child go without.

Phoebe Huxley went back to scrubbing the clothes, her mind churning. ’Tomorrow, we have to fertilize the fields. I’ll pick the load with the most maggots and dump it all on that old bitch. It’s a shame that hussy Phoenix Golding doesn’t do communal labor. Otherwise, I’d toss that slut straight into the manure pit.’

The next day after school, Tang Xiaonan dragged Amanda Chapman home in a hurry. She wanted to know if Phoebe Huxley had actually taught Mrs. Golding a lesson. Just imagining the scene—a body covered in poop, with writhing maggots...

BLECH...

She felt like she was going to throw up last night’s dinner.

The area around their house was quiet, and there was no commotion in the village. Tang Xiaonan breathed a sigh of relief. ’Maybe Mom put down the manure bucket and saw the light.’

However, before she could even catch her breath, a commotion erupted in the distance, coming from the direction of the fields. Tang Xiaonan’s heart skipped a beat. She was a little panicked, a little excited, and filled with a certain sense of anticipation.