Ning Yuchan was also anxious.
They had not seen any meat for a month. This big rooster might be the only source of meat in the house.
She had loved eating meat since childhood. If she really went a whole month without meat, she might become so weak that she could not even walk.
She could not care about a woman’s modesty or the need for a bride to mind her status. She pounced forward and pinned down the big rooster, hurriedly calling out to Tian Fengying for help.
Tian Fengying was also quick and decisive. Grabbing the kitchen knife, she abandoned Eldest Aunt Huo and hurried to help her daughter-in-law restrain the bald rooster.
She found the kitchen knife in the way, and the bald rooster was hard to hold down. She could only throw the knife aside and then tightly hug the rooster.
Old Lady Huo had already heard that the second son’s family had come to the door, but she had remained seated inside the house without moving.
At this moment, she supported herself with a cane and trembled as she walked out of the room.
Seeing Tian Fengying holding the featherless rooster, looking utterly improper, she felt a surge of disgust in her chest.
“You’re already someone’s mother-in-law, yet you’re still so unruly. What kind of scene is this, making such a racket early in the morning!”
After all, she was her mother-in-law, so Tian Fengying did not want to argue with her.
She noticed the instigator, Huo Changfu, coming out of the room.
Tian Fengying could not hold back. “Huo Changfu, you short-lived wretch. Changsheng went off to join the army and could not perform the wedding ceremony, so this big rooster stood in for him. How can you have the nerve to catch it and eat it? Are you even part of the Huo family?”
Huo Changfu was Old Lady Huo’s eldest grandson, twenty-five years old this year.
He was big and burly, but spent his days idly and without proper work.
He would sneak dogs from one household and chickens from another. Whenever he got a bit of silver, he would go to the town to gamble.
He would not return unless he had lost everything down to his last pair of underpants.
Five years ago, he married a wife and had two daughters. He looked down on his wife every day, blaming her for not being able to bring in money, and would beat or scold her at the slightest provocation.
Yesterday, he had gone to the town to gamble again. After losing all his copper coins, he set his sights on his second uncle’s big rooster.
Originally, he planned to steal it out in the middle of the night, but he overslept.
It was only when dawn was approaching that he stole it, otherwise the feathers would not have been only half-plucked before his second aunt chased him here.
At this moment, with an unpleasant expression, he replied, “I’m my second uncle’s own nephew. What’s wrong with eating one chicken from your family? Besides, Grandmother is being supported by my household. Have you shown any filial respect all these years?”
These words struck directly at Tian Fengying’s sore spot.
“Fine, now you want to talk about filial piety. When the family was divided, we didn’t take a single coin, not even one mu of land. Go ask around and see which villager doesn’t think you were excessive. And now you want to talk about filial piety with us?
Fine, then divide the land equally and split the family property equally.”
Huo Changfu, who was addicted to gambling, was Old Lady Huo’s most favored eldest grandson.
Since her beloved grandson was being scolded, how could Old Lady Huo let it go?
“Second son’s wife, do you not know why I didn’t give you any family property? Changfu’s grandfather was killed because of your Tian family. And you still had the nerve to marry into the Huo family. If you had the ability, you should not have married in the first place.”
Tian Fengying was being scolded, and Taohua could not stand it, so she helped to retort.
But she was still just a child, and no one took her seriously.
Huo Changfu relied on his large build and did not dare to do anything to Tian Fengying, but he raised his hand and was about to hit Taohua.
Ning Yuchan became anxious and quickly pulled Taohua behind her. She then went to pull Tian Fengying. “Mother, the rooster has been found. Let’s go back.”
Tian Fengying had only one mouth, while Old Lady Huo, Eldest Aunt Huo, and Huo Changfu together had three mouths. She could not outcurse them or win the argument and could only simmer with anger.
Father Huo was worried about his wife and also came over to pull her.
“That’s enough, the rooster has been found. Let’s go back.”
Holding the rooster in her left arm, Tian Fengying raised her right hand and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
With a face full of anger, she glanced at the people of the eldest branch.
Her eldest son had great strength and fought without regard for his life.
When he was seven or eight years old, he already dared to pin Huo Changfu down and smash his head with a stone.
From that time on, the eldest branch no longer dared to bully their family.
Until five years ago, when her eldest son went off to the army.
At first, the eldest branch only tested the waters and did not dare to go too far.
But two years ago, news of her eldest son’s death spread, and the eldest branch became bold again and even seized five mu of their land.
Her husband was honest and simple. Her daughter was strong-willed, but still young and a girl. Her youngest son was only ten. In terms of mischief, he was even worse than the eldest, but he paid no attention to household work at all.
Now they were being bullied right in front of their faces. This life was becoming more and more unbearable.
Tian Fengying alone could not argue against so many people. Father Huo was honest and did not know how to argue.
Taohua was young and lacked presence.
Changshou was still sleeping at home and had not come out at all.
Ning Yuchan had just married into the family. Not to mention that she did not know how to argue, even if she did, she would not dare to speak.
Tian Fengying was filled with pent-up anger.
In the end, under Ning Yuchan’s pulling, she held the featherless rooster and cried all the way back to her own home.
After entering, she first covered the rooster with a wicker basket.
Then she sat at the edge of the kang, wiping her tears while cursing.
Knowing that the neighbors could not hear, she noticed Ning Yuchan standing at the doorway, clutching her clothes and looking as if she did not know what to do.
Unhappily, she said, “You’ve seen it yourself, what kind of life our family is living. Changsheng won’t be coming back, and we’re bullied every day.
The eldest son’s wife wasn’t wrong. Yesterday’s banquet was paid for with borrowed money.
There are four or five mouths in the family. Not only are we eating next year’s grain in advance[1]meaning living beyond one’s means jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1949184_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1949184_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, we also have debts to repay. After you married in, you’ll have no good days with us.
Fortunately, you only performed the wedding ceremony with a rooster. If you feel it’s unsuitable, you can leave now. Let your father-in-law hitch the donkey cart and send you back. You can still marry like an unmarried girl.
Our Huo family…”
She continued crying, “doesn’t have such fortune. Changsheng also doesn’t have such fortune. That short-lived wretch went out for just a few years and can’t come back. I gave birth to him and raised him, and this is how he repays me.”
Since Ning Yuchan had decided to marry into the Huo family, she would not go back on it.
If Huo Changsheng could not return, she would stay in the Huo family and live properly with her parents-in-law.
If he did return…
In her mind, she could not help but recall the image of the tall, strong man staring at her in a somewhat foolish way.
Originally, he should have been her brother-in-law.
After learning the truth, what choice would he make?
Would he go to Scholar Liang’s house to snatch her elder sister back and drive her out, or would he accept this marriage by default?
Ning Yuchan had no confidence.
She both hoped that Huo Changsheng would return later, and hoped that the news of his death had been mistakenly spread.
Before Ning Yuchan got married, Old Man Ning sorted through all the family’s savings and found a total of thirty taels of silver.
Fifteen taels were given to her elder sister Ning Yuqiao, and fifteen taels were given to her.
However, Ning Yuqiao felt it was unfair. Why should an adopted daughter receive the same amount of silver as her?
So she snatched five taels from Ning Yuchan.
Ning Yuchan did not say anything and silently kept the remaining ten taels.
As an adopted daughter, having ten taels of silver as a dowry was already quite good.
Life in the countryside was harsh. Many girls did not even have a new set of clothes when they got married.
Old Man Ning not only made each of them a beautiful set of wedding clothes, but also prepared eight sets of clothes for all four seasons of the year.
She brought all of them with her to the Huo family.
Seeing Tian Fengying crying so sorrowfully, she hesitated, then took out two taels of silver from her bundle.
“Mother, use this to repay them.”
When Tian Fengying saw the silver, her eyes lit up.
But then they dimmed again.
“This was given by your family for you to rely on. How could we take it? Good child, keep it yourself.”
Since Ning Yuchan had already taken it out, she would not take it back.
“Mother, there’s not much I can do for this family. Take this silver and use it to repay the debts. From now on, we’ll live well together.”
Tian Fengying still refused to take it. “Good child, Mother understands your intention, but you should put this silver away. Don’t let others see it, otherwise thieves will sooner or later set their eyes on it.”
By now, her anger had eased somewhat, and she had cried enough. She stood up and went out to gather firewood to make breakfast.
Ning Yuchan tucked the silver away and planned to cook together with Tian Fengying.
When she stepped out, she almost bumped into Huo Changshou, who was hiding by the doorway.
“Why are you here?”
Huo Changshou was ten years old this year. He was the kind who only remembered eating but not being beaten, a reckless troublemaker.
His mind was somewhat clever. Tian Fengying had even sent him to the school for a few days, but he did not even want to learn how to write his own name. He once grabbed a nest of hornets and had them sting the teacher all over his head, and was driven out by the teacher.
After that, he wandered around the village all day like a hooligan.
Ning Yuchan did not know these things.
She simply thought he was a child playing around and asked casually when she saw him.
Huo Changshou was tanned dark, but his eyes were bright and shrewd. He blinked and stared at her.
Ning Yuchan frowned. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Huo Changshou snorted. “My elder brother is already dead, so why did you still marry into the family?”
Ning Yuchan also snorted in the same way. “You didn’t see the body, so what right do you have to say Huo Changsheng is dead?”
Huo Changshou’s eyes shifted. “Anyway, everyone says so.”
Ning Yuchan said, “That’s because they’re jealous that Huo Changsheng is capable, so they deliberately say such things to anger the Huo family.”
Huo Changshou did not know what he was thinking about. After a long moment, he squeezed out one word, “Stupid!”
Ning Yuchan did not argue with him.
Seeing Tian Fengying washing the rice, she reached out to take the basin. “Mother, let me do it.”
The more Tian Fengying looked at her daughter-in-law, the more she liked her.
Tall and well-proportioned, neither fat nor thin, with a full chest and hips, she looked like someone who could bear sons.
She treated people well, was generous, and not greedy.
Just after marrying into the family, she had already taken the initiative to find work to do, and was even willing to take out her own private savings to help her in-laws.
Just now at the eldest branch, the way she pounced forward to grab the big rooster, Tian Fengying dared to say that no one in the surrounding villages could match it.
It was a pity that such a good girl had married into a family where her son did not have that kind of fate.
If he could come back alive and see such a beautiful wife, who knew how happy he would be.
“Then you cook. I’ll go feed the livestock.”
Taohua came over to help tend the fire.
She quietly took an egg from the jar and put it into the pot.
Ning Yuchan naturally assumed the young girl was cooking one for herself.
After all, five people could not share one egg.
As the sister-in-law, she would not argue with her over such things, so she pretended not to see it.
After putting the rice into the pot, she went out to help Tian Fengying feed the chickens.
There was not much grain at home, and it was early spring, so there were not many wild vegetables in the mountains.
Several chickens were so thin they were skin and bones.
Only the bald rooster was somewhat plump. She suspected Tian Fengying had been secretly feeding it extra these past few days.
Seeing her diligence, Tian Fengying smiled. “A few days ago, Changsheng’s father was still worried that your family lived well and that you might look down on us after marrying in. Now he’s been proven wrong, hasn’t he?”
The new bride had a thin face and felt embarrassed when her mother-in-law spoke of such things.
“Mother, my family’s life is also ordinary. It was better a few years ago. My father used to make pastries, steamed buns, and buns to sell, and could easily support my elder sister and me.
These past few years, his hands have not had much strength, so he can make fewer and fewer things. Yet he refuses to let my elder sister and me do the work, so we can only barely maintain our livelihood.”
Tian Fengying sighed. “Being able to maintain a livelihood is already not easy. Your father raised the two of you by himself. That must have been very hard. In the future, you should visit him more often. When our family’s life improves, bring him more food and show him proper filial respect.”
As she spoke, her eyes reddened again.
“Saying this feels like a slap to my own face. With our family living like this, what can we give you to show filial respect to your family? Those who understand know I speak sincerely, but those who don’t might think I’m only talking.”
Ning Yuchan knew that Tian Fengying was not just speaking empty words.
She truly had that intention.
It was only that life was poor, and she had the heart but not the means.
Otherwise, when Ning Yuchan took out the two taels of silver this morning, Tian Fengying would definitely have accepted it without hesitation.
References[+]