"Settle the twenty-eight-yuan debt, or I’ll throw your entire family into a cesspit to eat maggots!"

Having delivered his threat, Felix Thorne turned to Phoebe Huxley. "Make some extra dishes tonight."

He wanted to have a few drinks with his old man. Today had been truly satisfying.

Phoebe Huxley was in high spirits and agreed with a chuckle, "I’ll have your dad and mom over for dinner tonight."

’I’ll make some stir-fried pork liver, pickled vegetables with pork intestines, braised pork belly, dry-fried loaches, and steamed eel. Jim Thorne caught a ton of river snails the other day, and they should be done spitting out the sand. I’ll steam them with ginger, chili, and garlic, then toss them with a bit of lard and sprinkle some scallions on top. They make a perfect side dish for drinks. I’ll stir-fry a few vegetable dishes too; that should be enough for the whole family.’

Felix Thorne smiled, pleased to see how close Phoebe Huxley had become with his parents. And after being reminded of how disgusting Phoenix Golding was, he found himself thinking that a straightforward "mother tiger" like Phoebe Huxley wasn’t so bad after all.

At least when Phoebe Huxley was angry, she blew up on the spot and didn’t let it fester overnight. Even if she pulled out a knife, it wasn’t a huge deal; he knew she’d never actually try to kill him. That was so much better than someone like Phoenix Golding, who would stab you in the back with a "soft knife." The little one was right about that.

The members of the Thorne family went their separate ways, and the villagers returned to their homes. Silas Golding pulled Phoenix Golding and her son from a haystack. Vernon Spann shot Phoenix a look of disgust and muttered, "Stop pretending. Everyone’s gone!"

Phoenix Golding finally opened her eyes and gave her husband a matching look of disgust. She scanned the area—everyone was indeed gone. Scrambling to her feet, she felt a pain in her lower back so sharp it felt like it was about to snap. She gritted her teeth. ’I’ll remember every last one of these debts. When misfortune befalls the Thorne family, I’ll make Phoebe Huxley kneel and beg me for mercy. And that brat, Annie Thorne! By the time she’s old enough to marry, no one will want her even if she comes with a dowry!’

Vernon Spann sneered. Without offering a hand to help her up, he simply turned and walked away. ’If I could just get back to the city,’ he thought, ’why would I put up with this tramp? Sooner or later, I’m going to divorce her.’

Clutching her back, Phoenix Golding limped along, glaring with hatred at Vernon Spann’s retreating figure. ’I must have been blind to marry this useless bum. He doesn’t provide for the family, and he even fools around on the side. If that bastard didn’t have dirt on me, I would have kicked him to the curb ages ago.’

Ulysses Spann walked over, sniffling, and called out timidly to Vernon Spann, "Dad."

Vernon Spann didn’t even acknowledge him. He gave his son a complicated look and quickened his pace. Ulysses’s lower lip trembled, and tears streamed down his face. Phoenix Golding, forcing down her pain, hissed, "Don’t you put on your high-and-mighty act in front of me, Spann! If you push me too far, you can forget about ever going back to the city. I’ll see you work yourself to death on Millstone Peak!"

Vernon Spann, who had been walking ahead, spun around abruptly. His face twisted into a snarl. "You just try me!"

Phoenix Golding sneered. "You think I wouldn’t dare? And then there’s your daughter. In six or seven years, she’ll be old enough to marry. Don’t you worry, I’ll find a fine match for her. In villages like East Pit or West Pit, there are plenty of bachelors. She won’t have to worry about having food to eat or clothes to wear."

Vernon Spann’s eyes went red with fury. "Jacqueline is your daughter too! Are you completely heartless?"

Although Millstone Peak was in a mountainous region, its proximity to the city of Wraven meant the villagers lived relatively well. The places Phoenix Golding mentioned, East Pit and West Pit, were in the true, remote backwoods. There wasn’t even a proper road leading into those villages. They were situated halfway up a mountain, inaccessible even by tractor. You had to drive to the mountain’s base and then walk for nearly an hour to reach them.

Back during the famine, plenty of girls had been willing to marry into those mountain villages. The remote mountains were less affected by the food shortages; with such vast wilderness to live off of, you couldn’t starve to death. But now, in these better times, no girl would willingly marry into such a place. Even the girls from those villages were trying everything they could to marry out, which was why the number of bachelors there grew with each passing day.