Wu Yulan: ?
Crazy!
She walked straight past Song Zhishu and slammed the door shut, not showing the slightest intention of acknowledging him.
Song Zhishu was stunned. Why wasn’t his mother coming to coax him this time? Wasn’t she afraid he’d starve?
Catching the aroma of meat in the air, Song Zhishu swallowed and mentally gave himself an out.
“Forget it, forget it. Mother’s getting old. I’ll reluctantly lower my head this once!”
With that, he hurried into the kitchen.
But after searching around, there was no sign of the chicken soup anywhere.
“Where’s the chicken soup? Where’s the chicken soup Mother left for me?”
Everyone stared at Song Zhishu blankly.
Spotting the bowls on the table still glistening with traces of grease, Song Zhishu flew into a rage. “It was you! You secretly drank the chicken soup Mother left for me!”
“Fourth Brother, I don’t know where the chicken soup Mother left for you is. But we didn’t secretly drink your soup.” Song Zhiyong said as he helped clear the bowls and chopsticks from the table.
Song Zhishu pointed at the dishes. “Take a look for yourself. These bowls are all greasy. If you didn’t steal my chicken soup, then did Mother give it to you to drink?”
“I gave it to them to drink. Is there a problem?”
Wu Yulan strode over, her gaze sweeping coldly across Song Zhishu.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to eat? Then go hungry!”
“Mother? You didn’t leave any chicken soup for me?”
Song Zhishu thought Wu Yulan was still angry with him. Catching the smell of meat in the air, he decided to compromise this once.
“Mother, you’re still upset with your son! I know I was wrong. Please don’t hold it against me.”
Wu Yulan let out a cold snort. “Who’s holding anything against you? Eat or don’t eat—starve to death for all I care.”
This old woman isn’t your real mother!
Song Zhishu had been coddled his whole life and had never endured such treatment. His eyes reddened with anger.
“Fine! If you won’t let me eat, then don’t. See if you have the guts to starve me to death!”
With that, he turned and stormed back to his room, slamming the door shut with a bang, as if venting his frustration.
Wu Yulan paid him no mind. She directed her eldest daughter-in-law to draw her a bucket of hot water for a bath.
After bathing, she instructed her eldest daughter-in-law to take good care of Li Xiulan, then returned to her room.
Back in her room, Wu Yulan spent four Mall Coins to buy two meat buns from the Medical Mall to fill her stomach, then lay on the bed planning her next steps.
The most important thing right now was to take good care of her third daughter-in-law, then gradually improve the family’s meals.
As for her eldest son’s leg, she’d find time to see if it could be treated.
Once the family’s situation stabilized a bit, she’d find a way to earn money to buy back her two granddaughters.
Oh, and there was also her second son, who’d been sent off to repair the river channel. If possible, she’d send word to call him back.
And of course, there was the Medical Mall. If the opportunity arose, she’d save more people and earn more Mall Coins to prepare for unexpected needs.
With her thoughts sorted, the exhausted Wu Yulan could no longer hold on and fell into a deep sleep.
……
The next morning, Wu Yulan was woken by the crowing of roosters.
When she came out, she saw the whole family already bustling about.
Some were watering the vegetable garden, some feeding the chickens, some weaving baskets, some washing and hanging clothes, some busy in the kitchen…
Wang Guiqin spotted Wu Yulan and gave her a fawning smile. “Mother, you’re awake. Breakfast will be ready soon.”
This breakfast, of course, was only for Wu Yulan and Song Zhishu. The others had no right to eat.
Never mind three meals a day—that old witch before would have been happy to make this whole family eat just one meal a day, or rather, she’d have been happiest if they didn’t eat at all.
At that thought, Wu Yulan went into the kitchen and lifted the pot lid.
There was only a tiny bit of coarse rice in the pot.
“Alright, you go on out. I’ll make breakfast!”
Wang Guiqin looked a little flustered. “Mother, I… did I do something wrong?”
“Go on out. Tell them to wait a bit before heading to the fields.”
With that said, Wu Yulan shut the kitchen door.
She first took stock of the family’s grain and flour—about three jin of polished rice, ten jin of coarse rice, and a half basket of sweet potatoes.
After thinking it over, she scooped two bowls of coarse rice into a clay basin, and worried it might not be enough, she picked out a few sweet potatoes to add as well.
Wu Yulan had grown up in the countryside, so making sweet potato porridge came as naturally to her as breathing.
While the porridge was cooking, she also boiled two eggs on the side.
Before long, a pot of sweet-smelling sweet potato porridge was ready.
After a moment’s thought, Wu Yulan found the large bowls in the house and ladled out a big bowl for each person.
Of course, Song Zhishu didn’t get one.
Once the porridge was served, Wu Yulan hollered toward the door, “Eldest daughter-in-law, bring this porridge to the main hall.”
With that said, she carried a large bowl of sweet potato porridge and the two eggs to Li Xiuyun’s room.
Li Xiuyun was just then wiping a child’s bottom.
When Wu Yulan saw her dipping her hand in cold water, she frowned slightly.
“Give me the basin!”
She set down the porridge and eggs, snatched the wooden basin away, and hurried off to the kitchen to fetch hot water to wash the little one.
Li Xiuyun watched her mother-in-law’s movements, frozen in place, not daring to move.
“Mother…”
Wu Yulan glanced back at the porridge and eggs on the table. “What are you standing there in a daze for? Eat up!”
“For… for me?”
Li Xiuyun’s eyes suddenly reddened. She bit her lip and pleaded, “Mother, I’ll work hard embroidering handkerchiefs to earn money from now on. Please don’t sell Chunni, alright?”
Wu Yulan set the child down on the bed and tucked in the blanket.
“Who told you I was going to sell Chunni?”
Li Xiuyun looked at the porridge and eggs on the table, her face full of wariness. “Before, when you sold Jinhua and Tonghua, you suddenly treated the eldest and second daughters-in-law well too.”
Wu Yulan let out a sigh. “Don’t worry, I won’t sell Chunni.”
As she spoke, she brought the sweet potato porridge and eggs over to Li Xiuyun and softened her voice. “Third daughter-in-law, I admit I did wrong before. I took advantage of your filial piety and mistreated you all.”
“But now I’ve thought it through. We’re a family. Only by pulling together in the same direction can we make life better.”
Seeing that Li Xiuyun still didn’t believe her, Wu Yulan simply raised her hand. “I, Wu Yulan, swear on my life that I will never sell my granddaughter Song Chunni. If I break this oath, may heaven strike me down with lightning!”
In this era that revered gods and Buddhas, the weight of taking such an oath needed no explanation.
Hearing these words, the tension on Li Xiuyun’s face visibly eased somewhat.
“Mother, you… you really mean it?”
“If you don’t believe me, then let’s split up the family. From now on, you can be masters of your own household.”
The more Wu Yulan thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. After splitting the family, she could live her own life, doing whatever she pleased.
Hearing this, Li Xiuyun’s face turned deathly pale.
Dongchen Guo upheld filial piety as the highest virtue. The crime of unfilial conduct, in severe cases, could result in exile.
Splitting the family while one’s parents were still alive was considered extremely unfilial. If they truly split the family and word got out that they had been unfilial to their mother-in-law, it would likely make it difficult for the children in the household to find marriage partners in the future.
With this thought, Li Xiuyun dropped to her knees with a thud. “Mother, your daughter-in-law has absolutely no intention of splitting the family.”
Wu Yulan pursed her lips. It seemed that splitting the family to live on her own wouldn’t be so easy.
Forget it. Putting in effort to make this fractured family better could count as repaying the “debt” of this life.
Once life improved, there would still be time to split the family and live independently.
With that thought, Wu Yulan gave up the idea of splitting the family for now.
“Fine, if you don’t want to split, then we won’t! But even if we don’t split the family, from now on, whatever I tell you to do, you’d better do it properly.”
Li Xiuyun nodded repeatedly. “Don’t worry, Mother. From now on, I’ll embroider handkerchiefs diligently to help support the household!”
Wu Yulan reached out and helped Li Xiuyun to her feet, patting her shoulder reassuringly.
“Alright, finish your food and get some rest.”
Wu Xiuyun didn’t feel at ease, so she watched Li Xiuyun finish the porridge and eggs before leaving.
When she stepped out of the courtyard, she found the whole family standing there waiting for her.
“What are you all standing around for? There’s porridge in the main hall.”
With that, Wu Xiuyun went into the main hall first, picked up a bowl of sweet potato porridge, and began to eat.
But after a few bites, the people in the courtyard still hadn’t moved.
Wu Xiuyun came out holding her bowl. “What’s the matter? Does what I say no longer count?”
Song Zhiyong, not knowing what kind of trick his troublesome mother was up to this time, asked directly, “Mother, if there’s something you want us to do, just say it. No need to put us through this.”
Wu Xiuyun: ?