Chapter 12: Fierce Confrontation with Mother! The Newly Renovated House and the Snow Leopard's Arrival

This blunt statement left Wei Xiaoxia and Chu Long standing dumbfounded in place.

Then Wei Xiaoxia completely exploded.

“Chu Feng, I am your mother, and you actually speak to your own mother like that? Such wickedness and disrespect!”

“You are my mother, yet you withhold my monthly allowance, leaving my daughter hungry. You are my mother, yet you deliberately gave me this dilapidated house where we freeze and starve in winter. You are my mother, yet you allow my elder brother to make a ruckus in my home without reason. Not only do you not stop him, you let him shout and cause a scene?”

“In this world, what kind of mother does such things? If you continue like this, then we shall sever ties. You can take Chu Feng’s fertile land, but after we cut ties, do not come to my home asking for anything. There is nothing in my house that belongs to the Chu family!”

Chu Feng’s voice grew faster and clearer, until finally he was shouting directly at Wei Xiaoxia.

At last, Wei Xiaoxia fell silent.

Her eyes widened in disbelief, as if she never expected Chu Feng to utter the words “sever ties.”

Had Chu Feng said those words before, Wei Xiaoxia would have agreed without hesitation.

But now, seeing the meat in the courtyard, the broth in everyone’s bowls, and hearing the village chief sincerely praise Chu Feng’s hunting skills, she hesitated.

“We can’t sever ties… Mother, we’re family; there’s no need to be so harsh…”

Chu Long stepped forward, smiling slyly.

“Work means food. If you don’t want to work, then please leave.”

Chu Feng gave his final ultimatum.

He was too tired to continue talking with these two.

Wei Xiaoxia remained silent.

“Fine… I’ll work!” Chu Long said.

“小 Xiao, is there any broth left in the pot?” Chu Feng immediately asked.

“There’s about half a bowl left, and half a piece of bread.”

Chu Feng believed that guests who came to help shouldn’t go hungry.

So this time, he had cooked a large pot of broth, with over twenty bowls ready for serving.

Luckily, the pot was big enough to actually fill everyone’s stomachs.

Chu Feng looked at Chu Long.

Chu Long nodded, hunger making him put aside his pride.

“Your wife can work too. Should I call her over to help?”

“Didn’t you hear? There’s only half a bowl left. If you call your wife, there won’t be any left for her.”

“Right, you’re correct. Your wife is still nursing and shouldn’t catch a cold.”

Chu Long then leaned toward Wang Wei.

Wang Wei grumpily pointed to the muddy ground nearby.

“Mix the mud!”

The temperature was low, so they needed to keep boiling water or the mud would freeze quickly.

Fortunately, the work wasn’t complicated and was even somewhat warming.

Seeing this, Wei Xiaoxia could only shake her head, stomp her feet, and turn to leave.

Chu Long happily got his half bowl of broth and half a piece of bread.

He ate with delight and said to call him next time there was work.

---

By mid-afternoon, with the villagers’ help, all the work was finally finished.

Only the village chief and Chu Feng’s family remained in the courtyard.

It was then that Chu Feng had time to ask the question weighing on his mind.

“Village Chief, is it true that my family wasn’t originally from this village?”

“That’s right, but that’s ancient history. Your Chu family has lived here for thirty or forty years now and is considered part of the village.”

“What was the Chu family like back then?”

Chu Feng was very curious about this.

Growing up, he had been scolded and trained by his mother.

Wei Xiaoxia had never shown him a shred of warmth.

She had given all her affection to Chu Long.

At eighteen, she had found Chu Feng a wife from another village and basically thrown him out of the Chu family.

Yet even so, she demanded Chu Feng to feel a sense of belonging to the Chu family.

This didn’t make sense in the village.

After families split, even if they helped each other, they were still two separate families.

No one would say you must feel a sense of belonging to the original family.

And every time they communicated, Wei Xiaoxia’s imperious tone was clear.

The previous meek original owner had not noticed it, but Chu Feng could hear it clearly.

“Your family was quite large — more than a dozen people when they first came. Some were clearly servants, and many were later dismissed. Now only your immediate family remains, but we don’t care who you were before. As long as you’re not bandits or mountain thieves.”

At first, Chu Feng was unsure.

But after hearing the village chief’s words, he was certain.

It seemed the Chu family used to be a prominent, wealthy household.

Others in the village didn’t make such distinctions.

The original family was Chu Long’s family.

Chu Feng was Chu Feng’s family.

“I see. Looks like my family really does have a hidden history,” Chu Feng said with a shake of his head, though he wasn’t concerned.

No matter how glorious the Chu family was in the past, now they all lived in the village together, worrying about next month’s tax grain like everyone else.

“Your family has no grain left?”

“No, we ate it all today.”

There was truly no grain left.

But the house still had plenty of meat.

The tax grain payment day was coming soon — once a month.

The situation in the Great Qian region was worsening, seemingly due to the ever-spreading war.

At first, the village paid taxes once a year.

All the villagers’ grain was pooled and the village chief and the men delivered it to town.

Then it became twice a year.

Now it was once a month.

With many other harsh levies added.

Fortunately, since they lived in the village and not the town, the government only demanded grain.

Every month, officials came personally to collect it.

---

If the taxes couldn’t be paid, they would seize assets from the household as collateral.

This was why more and more people in the village were starving.

“If you have time, go to town to trade some meat for grain. Otherwise, those officials will surely search your house, and if they find meat there, it will spell big trouble.”

“I understand. Thank you, Village Chief.”

After the chief left, Chu Feng held his wife and daughter at the door, quietly admiring their newly repaired home.

All the drafts had been filled with mud and straw.

Opposite the kitchen, a new woodshed had been built, spacious inside.

Using it as a warehouse in the cold winter was a good choice.

The fence was built high, sturdy, and aesthetically pleasing.

The villagers had clearly put their heart into helping.

Looks like the meat broth they gave was not wasted.

“Let’s go and see what our new home feels like,” Chu Feng said with a smile.

In truth, the rooms hadn’t changed much.

The familiar kang bed was still there.

The kitchen stove had been burning all day long.

The kang was very warm.

Chu Miaomiao eagerly climbed onto the bed and rolled around.

In the past few days, due to the wall problems, cold drafts had made it hard to get warm no matter how hot the kang was.

Now the entire room was cozy and warm.

Zhou Xiaoxiao looked at them expectantly, holding Chu Feng.

“Husband, you’re amazing!”

“Husband’s even more amazing. Do you want to try?”

Chu Feng lifted Zhou Xiaoxiao and set her on the kang.

Her face turned as red as a monkey’s bottom, unsure if it was from the heat or embarrassment.

“Miaomiao is still nearby, don’t…”

Outside, night had fallen thick and black.

There wasn’t much entertainment for the villagers at this late hour.

Most went to sleep early after dinner.

“It’s fine, it’s pitch dark. She’ll sleep soon, and once she’s asleep…”

Before he finished speaking, Chu Feng heard a rustling by the fence.

In an instant, his nerves tensed.

“What’s that noise?”

“Nothing, I didn’t hear anything,” Zhou Xiaoxiao said strangely.

Today, a window had been sawed into the wall.

Chu Feng quietly got out of bed.

He slid the window open just a crack.

Outside wasn’t pitch black.

The snow had cast a dim, pale glow over the land.

The room was actually darker than outside.

So when Chu Feng looked out, he immediately spotted the creature.

A snow leopard with white fur and black spots!