Sunlight shone into the front area corner of the pigsty.
A tiny ball was curled up on the ground, just like a dog.
The doghouse was messy and untidy, stinking, although it smelled like a pigsty.
Rong Jinye stood to the side, feeling disgusted again. Her hands were not clean, and she seemed dirty all over.
She had just changed into her flowered silk blouse today, wearing a pink skirt underneath; she was no worse off than a Young Lady in the city.
Madam Mao came over; she had been busy since early morning and hadn't had time to dress up.
As for the dog on the ground, naturally, no one had dressed it up for her; it was in the same state as when it was dragged back yesterday.
Its clothes were dull gray and filthy, not even comparable to what others threw away.
Madam Mao said to her daughter, "Find an outfit of yours for her to wear when she goes out tomorrow."
Rong Jinye was furious, "My clothes? She deserves to wear them?"
Madam Mao persuaded her, "I didn't ask you to find a good one. She is younger than you. Give her something you used to wear that you don't want anymore. That red silk skirt from last year would be fine."
Rong Jinye’s face flushed! If this weren't her birth mother, she would have started a fight.
Last year, Ye Cao washed clothes for her, and she got angry, tore the clothes, blamed Ye Cao for tearing them, and made Ye Cao take a beating. Later, even after they were mended, she still wouldn't wear them.
Even so, Rong Jinye was still unwilling to part with this somewhat special item.
Madam Mao was firm, "Do you want to wear more nice clothes in the future? That outfit is just ordinary; there are plenty better than what you have on. This isn't about giving her face; it's for the Tan Family to see, for your Elder Brother, for yourself."
Rong Jinye stomped her foot and kicked Ye Cao.
The grass and the dog on the ground were bundled together.
Madam Mao pulled her daughter out, "Go wash your clothes."
"I won't!" Rong Jinye absolutely refused!
Madam Mao sighed helplessly, "You are almost ten after the New Year."
Rong Jinye shouted, "Buy a Maidservant!"
They must buy one!
Madam Mao angrily said, "Do you know how much Silver your Elder Brother's studies cost? Rong Zhi is starting his education next year, and how much Silver have you spent yourself?"
Rong Jinye immediately said, "I won't study anymore! I'll go to Little Aunt later, and have Grandmother come back."
The Man returned from working all morning, carrying a Hoe.
He was young and handsome; even though he labored daily, he was somewhat different from the average Peasant.
The Man was not polite, "Your Little Aunt hasn't given birth yet, and your Grandmother is almost sixty."
Rong Jinye retorted, "Our fates are different."
The Man asserted his authority, "You will go to the fields with me today, and don't even think about slacking off during the autumn harvest!"
Rong Jinye, dressed beautifully, was about to break down, "Why must Ye Cao leave tomorrow? Let her stay until after the autumn harvest!"
Madam Mao said, "It's settled with the Tan Family. Their household also has a few Mu of Field to harvest."
Rong Jinye was extremely angry, "This Tan Family is truly something! Elder Brother is already a Tongsheng, why do we need to beg them?"
Madam Mao got angry, "Don't you know that the higher one advances in the imperial examinations, the harder it gets? There are plenty of Tongsheng, but how many Juren are there? If your brother wants to achieve success quickly, do you expect to wait twenty years?"
Rong Jinye didn't know about twenty years later; she only knew that things were bad for her right now.
So angry she didn't eat, she grabbed a basket and headed to the Township.
Madam Mao chased her to the door and shouted, "Take some Eggs to your Grandmother and Little Aunt!"
Rong Jinye angrily said, "I want to study Needlework!"
Madam Mao coaxed her, "Then study hard. You must have a skill."
The sounds from the front area were faint and indistinct.
The pigs in the pigsty behind started squealing again.
Madam Mao rushed from the front to the back, stopped for a while, and was running around frantically.
At one point, a hen clucked, and she had to go get the Eggs; she was busy for half the morning and hadn't even eaten breakfast.
Rong Yeman hadn't eaten either; she just lay there, slowly making preparations.
From eating a little at noon yesterday, to fainting from hunger in the afternoon, until now, she had only drunk a few sips of cold water.
It was because she hadn't eaten enough for a long time; she couldn't even manage to get food while working in the fields, where she was busy inside and out every day.
Therefore, even starving, she intended to lie there until she died.
Madam Mao returned after washing the clothes and then busied herself making lunch.
The Man ate lunch and then continued to the fields; the autumn harvest was approaching, and preparations needed to be made in advance.
After tidying up, Madam Mao could finally catch her breath, looking so disheveled she barely resembled herself.
After tidying up a bit, she came to see Ye Cao; Madam Mao was counting on her to be a great help to her son.
It wasn't impossible to seek tutelage, but it wasn't easy to ask, and the price would be high. If she sought tutelage, people wouldn't necessarily accept Ye Cao.
If the Tan Family made a request, everyone would get what they needed.
If Tan Xianglin didn't teach Rong Bai diligently, Madam Mao could still go to their door to complain.
Therefore, to have leverage in the future, she needed Ye Cao's appearance to be a bit better.
"Ye Cao?" Madam Mao called out, touched her forehead, and realized she was truly delirious.
Madam Mao went into the room, brought out an old quilt, covered Ye Cao with it, and lay down with her.
Madam Mao went to the Kitchen and brought back a bowl of Millet porridge with a little Pickled Vegetables.
Ye Cao under the quilt was like a small dog.
Madam Mao treated her like a dog, put the food down, and left; she still had plenty of work to do.
Rong Yeman, who was starving to death, was lured by the aroma of the food. Before Madam Mao got far, she scrambled up and devoured it ravenously.
She was truly starving.
This household had fifteen Mu of Field, and the harvest was good; they basically had three meals a day.
But the Original Owner seemed not to have eaten such a bowl in a long time.
This one bowl would be enough to bring her back to full health.
If she were clever, she would hurry up and go work to avoid a beating.
But that was the Original Owner, not the Old Ancestor.
Rong Yeman didn't revive to full health; she reached half health.
She got up and crawled out of the doghouse and the pigsty.
She saw the weather outside was nice!
The front of this house was a Three Main Rooms and Two Side Rooms House Structure; behind the house, one side was the pigsty, and the other was the Kitchen, next to which was quite a large chicken coop.
They raised over a dozen hens in total, and on a good day, they could collect ten Eggs.
Rong Yeman didn't have time to eat chicken, but she could eat the Eggs.
Rong Yeman entered the Kitchen. This Kitchen was not small and was quite neatly kept; there was water in the Water Vat.
She lifted the wooden lid of the large pot and scooped half a pot of water into it with a bamboo tube.
Then she got a wooden basin and scooped a basin of water.
She placed a basket of Eggs to the side, washed them one by one until clean, and put them into the pot.
Rong Yeman then started Tending the Fire.
This wood stove was not difficult; for boiling Eggs, she just needed to bring it to a boil and keep it going for a while longer.
She left the Eggs there and turned to go into the rooms.
In the central Main Hall, the East side belonged to Rong Huaixiu and Madam Mao, and the West side belonged to the Tongsheng Rong Bai.
Rong Yeman entered the East side room; the front room held a bed for Rong Zhi to sleep in.
The back room had a bed covered with a neatly made quilt.
Beside it was a cabinet, and in front of the bed was a table.
This cabinet was not old and was quite exquisitely made. The Mao Family's conditions were average; Madam Mao had it made later when she had Silver.
Rong Yeman opened the cabinet and found a hidden compartment.
The hidden compartment was not large and was filled with Copper Coins.
Rong Yeman took out a string; this was not a standard string of coins.
For daily use, one didn't necessarily need a full string; a full string wasn't a small amount of money. It was customary to carry a string of two hundred wen, which was convenient to keep in one's bosom.
String after string, Rong Yeman took out a total of twenty strings and put them all into the Spatial Dimension.
The hidden compartment was empty, making the Silver inside very conspicuous.
Although they were all small ingots worth two taels each, fifteen of them amounted to thirty taels.
The Rong Family gave her twenty taels of silver when they sent her to the Rong Family, and Madam Mao sold her to the Tan Family for ten taels of silver; that matched up.