Zhang Juyun and Song Yueqin returned home, reeking of urine and feces.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, Zhang Juyun shouted for Song Jincai, "Old Song, Old Song! Come out quickly!"
Song Jincai was sleeping in a daze, but he heard Zhang Juyun calling him.
The voice sounded very distant, nothing like it was from atop the bed.
He turned over and opened his eyes, only to see the other side of the bed empty, with no one in the room at all.
"Old Song, you better come out fast!"
The shouting in the courtyard became louder and more urgent with each call, and Song Jincai, thinking something serious had happened, rolled off the bed and jumped to his feet.
He didn’t even put his shoes on properly before rushing out of the room.
When he lifted the curtain, a nauseating stench overwhelmed him.
Hurriedly turning on the courtyard light, he saw his wife and daughter covered in feces, a disgusting mix of yellow and green that could make anyone vomit.
"Where the hell have you two been!" Song Jincai yelled, alarmed, setting the neighbor’s dogs barking wildly.
"Dad, can’t you keep it down? Do you have to alert the neighbors before you’re satisfied?" Song Yueqin dragged out her crying, never having been this bedraggled before.
"So where did you go?" Song Jincai held his nose and lowered his voice, asking again.
Neither mother nor daughter responded.
"Did you go sleepwalking and fall into a cesspit?"
"No." Zhang Juyun, seeing Song Jincai angry, didn’t dare to speak plainly.
"Went to eat shit, did you?" Song Jincai couldn’t suppress the anger building inside him.
"It’s you who went to eat shit." Zhang Juyun was also frantic, not caring anymore she screamed, "Old Song, do you have a problem with me or what? Why do you have to speak so disgustingly?"
"Haven’t eaten shit, yet your mouth is full of it! Just looking at you, I feel like throwing up."
"Enough! Are you two ever going to stop?" Song Yueqin was about to cry from frustration, "Dad, can’t you get us some water to wash first?"
"You and you!" Song Jincai pointed at Zhang Juyun and scolded, "Making trouble day in and day out, I don’t know what kind of mischief you’re up to every day! Look at yourself, covered in shit and piss, where are you going to wash? Do you intend to stink up the courtyard and the house as well?"
"I... I’ll just get some water to rinse off in the yard first," Zhang Juyun couldn’t take it anymore.
"Do you think boiling water doesn’t take time?"
"Just use cold water to rinse off!" Zhang Juyun clenched her teeth, ready for anything, even if she froze to death it was better than being suffocated by the stench.
"Dad, I’ll use cold water too." Song Yueqin couldn’t take it any longer either.
With only half a barrel of water, between a daughter-in-law and his own daughter, Song Jincai had to prioritize his daughter first.
Song Jincai scooped up a bucket of water and poured it over Song Yuqin’s head in one go.
It was a cold spring night and the water, just a few degrees, scooped from the water tank, felt like knives on her skin as Song Yueqin drenched herself, the cold was excruciating.
She sneezed twice in quick succession.
Zhang Juyun also rinsed herself with cold water, but it wasn’t enough to get clean, so she waited for Song Jincai to fetch more water from the well late at night.
After returning, he used the cold water to thoroughly douse Zhang Juyun.
Then they started lifting the covers of the big pots, adding firewood to boil water for the two women of the household.
The commotion lasted all night, disturbing the peace of the neighborhood.
By dawn, they had finally scrubbed themselves clean.
The whole ordeal ended up being quite serious, as they caught colds that very day.
Zhang Juyun began to run a fever, spiking to forty degrees, deliriously ranting, "Drown An Hao, that little wretch, in dung..."
Only then did Song Jincai realize that his wife and daughter had been up to mischief late at night.