Free Web NovelChapter 360: Chapter 360: A Jubilant Phoebe Huxley
Linden Golding and his son went up with their heads bowed. They called over a few other clan members and carried Vernon Spann and Phoenix Golding down. Jacqueline Spann trailed behind them, sobbing, her eyes swollen like peaches. She looked so pitiful. Though everyone hated Phoenix Golding, their opinion of Jacqueline remained the same; they even felt more sorry for her now.
Preston Thorne raised his megaphone and warned, "Everyone on Millstone Peak must stand united if we want to live good lives. If anyone dares to cause trouble behind the scenes, don’t blame me for getting nasty. I’m giving you all fair warning, so you’d better behave yourselves!"
"We get it! No one’s going to cause trouble. Who doesn’t want to live a good life?"
Everyone chimed in with agreement. Over the years, under Preston Thorne’s leadership, life on Millstone Peak had been quite good. Even during the famine years, no one in the village had starved to death. It wasn’t like other villages, where people were so hungry they ate roots and tree bark, and even rice chaff. That stuff was indigestible, and after eating it, they couldn’t relieve themselves and ended up dying, painfully impacted.
(P.S. The rice chaff mentioned here isn’t the fine bran used for pig feed nowadays. It’s the empty husks left after winnowing rice, which are sharp and prickly enough to scratch your throat. Eating this kind of chaff could kill you. Back then, fine bran was a valuable commodity that ordinary people couldn’t get their hands on.)
Other villages had all suffered casualties, but Millstone Peak alone had none. Although people didn’t have full bellies, no one starved to death. Life had gotten even better in the last two years, and Preston Thorne deserved much of the credit. This was also why he had been elected village head for over a dozen consecutive years.
The farmers’ wishes were simple: they just wanted to eat their fill. They would vote for whoever could put food on their tables. Jethro Golding didn’t have that ability, but Preston Thorne did. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
"Meeting’s dismissed! Get to bed early. We all have to work in the morning!"
As soon as Preston Thorne finished speaking, the villagers began to disperse. In just a short while, most of them were gone.
In high spirits, Phoebe Huxley walked over with a smile on her face. She took Tang Xiaonan from Adrian Hawthorne’s arms and planted several hard kisses on her cheeks. Tonight was the most satisfying day she’d had in the twenty-odd years since she’d married into the village. Seeing that seductress beaten black and blue felt better than feasting on ten pounds of meat.
"Xiaonan, what do you want to eat?" Phoebe Huxley asked cheerfully.
Even if her daughter asked for the most extravagant fried sesame balls, she would be willing to make them.
"What do you want to eat, Third Brother?" Tang Xiaonan asked, looking at Jim Thorne. She didn’t really have a craving for anything in particular.
Jim Thorne’s eyes lit up, and he blurted out, "I want *tangyang*! The kind with a thick layer of bean paste and lots of sugar."
WHACK!
Phoebe Huxley smacked him. "How about a five-finger sandwich instead? Get to bed!"
Jim Thorne rubbed the back of his head and shot Tang Xiaonan a cheeky grin, pulling a funny face. He was still a little disappointed. He really loved *tangyang*. It was a shame they only made it once a year. ’If only I could eat it every day,’ he thought.
Tang Xiaonan covered her mouth, unable to stop giggling. This time, she didn’t indulge her third brother. Making *tangyang* was too much work and used up too many ingredients. They only made it once a year for the Ghost Festival, and it was usually a joint effort between several families. The process was so exhausting you had to pull an all-nighter.
"I don’t want anything."
Tang Xiaonan shook her head. ’I really don’t have any special cravings. No, that’s not right. There are so many things I want to eat: spicy hot pot, grilled skewers, bubble tea, Korean barbecue, Cantonese dim sum... I even miss wolf-tooth potatoes and junk food like spicy gluten strips...’
’So much delicious food. I’m dying for it all; I even drool in my dreams. But where could I possibly get any of that now?’
Sigh.
For the next few days, Phoenix Golding stayed home obediently to recover from her injuries. Vernon Spann didn’t go to work either; he had been beaten so badly he was nearly crippled and would probably need more than half a month to heal. Jacqueline Spann also skipped school to take care of them at home. From time to time, the sounds of Phoenix Golding’s curses could be heard coming from the Golding house, and Jacqueline was often seen crying alone in the yard. The villagers felt even more sympathetic toward her, but there was nothing they could do.
