Chapter Six

“Just how long does it take you to deliver mushrooms? Stupid girl, dawdling the whole way. What did the chief say? Not that it’s any good to ask you…” Muttering angrily as she pinched her in frustration, Mother Vance shooed her into the house before she finally managed to respond.

“Mom, Chief say…” Her eyes practically crossed as she looked at the finger pointing at her face, putting on an act of trying to remember. “Make lots of rolls after breakfast. Mom gets…string?” Tilting her head, she asked innocently, “Mom needs string?” She kept looking at her little sewing kit, as if trying to figure out why the chief would be offering her mother something she already had.

Seemingly appeased, Mother Vance finally stopped scolding her as she figured out the garbled message. “That’s right. A whole string of coins for mom. Good, good. All right, go to bed early, you’ve got a lot of rolls to make tomorrow! You’d better not slack off.” She was jabbing at her, and Vivian made sure to unobtrusively turn her body so none of the pinches and pokes touched her stomach. Her finding the bottle would be disastrous.

“Mmm. Sleep early.” Vee obediently agreed, picking up her raggedy blanket and laying down obediently on the stone before the fireplace, curling up.

Leo looked from his mother to Vee as he asked plaintively, “Vee no play?”

Patting her son on the shoulder, Madam Vance consoled him, “That’s right Leo. Tomorrow is feast day, so we’re going to sleep early. Be a good boy and lay down with mommy.” She coaxed the giant child back to the kang bed while Vivian silently sneered in disgust.

She closed her eyes, at peace with the knowledge that one way or another, this was her last night here.

***

The bottle resting on her sunken belly sang a siren song of temptation as she made their breakfast. Mother Vance had come in early to tell her to just make porridge and then leave, which was perfectly aligned to her needs. The woman hovered over her as she scarfed down the small bowl she was allowed before shoving her out the door with the admonition to “Git on down to the village center and start baking.”

In the dark pre-dawn light, she slunk through the shadows towards Doctor Tang’s house. A few of the women were up, poking at their kitchen fires to get them going before the men awoke. She rapped softly at the doc’s door before slipping inside, surprised to find that he was already awake and making his own porridge. He looked surprised to see her, and she asked innocently, “Sick baby?”

“Ah, still worried about that little one, are you? Come in then, you can help me feed him before you go off.” He ladled a small bowl of fresh rice porridge, and she stepped inside, taking the bowl from him as he began to scoop his own portion. “Go on, give it to the baby.” He gently chided, and she gave him a bright smile before slipping into the room.

Slipping over to his bed, she put her hand on his forehead and felt him tremble as she checked his temperature. Quietly, she whispered, “It’s okay, Alex. It’s Vivian.” His eyes immediately opened, checking the door as she quickly pulled the bottle out of her shirt, pouring a small amount of white powder into the porridge before shoving the substance back where it belonged once more. She stirred quickly as she explained to the bright-eyed boy, “You’ll eat this and go back to sleep, and then it’ll all be over. Don’t worry. We’re gonna get you out of here.”

He nodded obediently and allowed her to feed him the drugged gruel. She stroked his hair as his eyes fluttered back closed, and she took the empty bowl back to the kitchen. “Did the baby eat it?” He asked her kindly.

Closing the door to the room behind her, she looked at the doctor, allowing the veil of stupidity to slip. “He ate it all, and now he’ll sleep.” Walking over to the sink where she efficiently rinsed it out and put it away, she turned to the stunned doctor as she informed him, “When Levi comes, you’ll tell him he never woke, that he’s slipped into a temporary coma and should wake up by tomorrow at the latest.” Her voice was soft, but commanding.

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“Vee, you…” He stared at her in shock.

“Don’t worry, Doc. After today, everything is going to change. You just have to protect this little boy until tonight. Have faith.” She paused, then said, “I’ve got to go. Remember, he never woke up.” She patted the poor shell-shocked doctor on the shoulder, then let him watch as her face morphed back into the dull half-wit she’d been pretending to be, giving him an innocent smile before carefully leaving the house once she determined no one else was around to pay attention.

She could feel his eyes on her until the door closed, and she made her way quickly to the village center.

After all, she had rolls to make, and promises to keep. There were mushrooms to drug before everyone fell asleep.

***

By the time anyone else arrived, Vivian was already elbow deep in mixing dough, working diligently in the dawn light. “Look at little Vee, already working long before you lazy sluts arrived. Hurry up and get to work.”

Vee glanced up at Old Grandma Stone and asked with an innocent tilt, “Help?”

Slapping the back of one of the women that was moving too slowly for her liking, Grandma Stone humped before replying to Vee. “That’s right, they’re here to help you and make soup.”

Vee nodded thoughtfully, then pointed with flour-covered fingers at the basin of mushrooms and onions. “Help wash and cut?”

“That’s right.” Grandma Stone nodded sagely, then kicked the nearest woman. “You heard her, get to cleaning! And don’t you dare sneak anything, I’m watching you!” Like a ruler of the realm, she peered over their shoulders as the poor women split up and silently got to work. Their shoulders were hunched as they obediently tended to the kitchen fire and cleaned out the giant pots that provided the second staple of the village feasts.

Under the granny’s strict supervision, they cleaned two freshly killed chickens to put in the soup, peeling potatoes and adding veggies to make a hearty stew, or as much of one as could be expected with how stingy the town was. Once Vivian made enough dough, she set it to rise in front of the only window, the dawn sunshine brightening the room. She absently hummed a little off-tune, just because she couldn’t stand the silence.

With that, she joined the crew chopping mushrooms and onions, mixing them into a large bowl as she added a sparing amount of salt and a few sprigs of rosemary for flavor.

It was nearly lunch-time by the time they had everything prepped, leaving the pots to simmer. The chief had popped by a few times, overseeing as they dropped off a cask of baijiu for later. Finally, Grandma Stone gave a few more kicks to the women as she grumbled, “Finally, you sluts wanted to make you watch until evening with how slow you are! Get moving, go back to your homes!” Several men had showed up to escort their prisoners back now that they’d finished their work, and the old granny exhorted Vee, “You stay here to finish your rolls, you hear? Make sure the pots don’t burn!”

“No burn, no burn. Finish the rolls.” Vivian bobbed her head obediently as the granny tsked before following the women out. They’d kept someone to watch over her before, but they’d left her to do it alone after she’d performed obediently for years, instead just giving her reminders before they took off to do their own things.

As soon as they left her alone, Vivian turned back to the kitchen, taking the bottle out of her shirt. No instructions? Who cared? She dumped half the bottle into the mushroom mix, making sure to stir it with a large wooden spoon. The rolls given to the captured women and children would be plain, so she was free to dose the filling as she pleased.

She hesitated on the next step. Soup or alcohol? It was only a momentary decision, and she immediately opened the cask and dumped the rest of the bottle in, stirring it vigorously to dissolve the powder before she was satisfied, closing it back up carefully. The women might get a bit of soup, but they’d never be allowed to touch the liquor.

And if those idiots overdosed by drinking and eating too much? Well, she didn’t see how that was her problem. Imagining their faces as she took the newly proofed dough and began to knead it into shape, she kept her back to the window to hide the smile on her face.

Carefully spooning the mixture into her prepared pockets, she took great care in making sure every last one of them would be dosed tonight as she stoked the fire of the oven.

There was no turning back.