Li Dequan gave Zhao Yi a helpless look, shook his head, and walked back toward his own home.
"Husband, what did the Zhao family's eldest son call you over for so late at night?" Li Dequan's wife asked with a puzzled expression. They had watched Zhao Yi grow up since childhood – he had always been honest and quiet, rarely speaking.
"Dividing the family, what else could it be?" Li Dequan sighed as he spoke.
"Why would they suddenly decide to divide the family? They don't have many able-bodied laborers in their household." Li Dequan's wife quickly asked.
"Probably because Zhao Yi feels he's at a disadvantage staying with his parents. With two able-bodied workers earning work points, yet having to help support his younger siblings, he must feel it's unfair." Li Dequan voiced his speculation.
"This must be that Zhang family girl's idea. Look at Li Daju's fate – she worked so hard to raise her son, finally seeing some relief for the family, and now right after he gets married he wants to separate. What's left are all those half-grown kids who can't work much but eat a lot." Li Dequan's wife shook her head and sighed.
"Every family has its own difficulties. Let's not worry about theirs." Li Dequan shook his head as if unwilling to dwell on the topic. What mattered now was quickly completing the rush harvesting and planting, so he could still work at the Forest Farm for a month or two to earn over ten yuan.
Wangou Village wasn't near the city, so naturally there were no side businesses. There were no dividends throughout the year either. Fortunately, there was a Forest Farm not far away where families with more able-bodied workers could send one or two to do odd jobs and earn some money. Otherwise, relying only on the old hens at home could barely cover daily expenses, leaving no spare money to buy cloth to make clothes for the family.
In the Zhao family courtyard.
Zhang Jing followed Zhao Yi back to their room.
Meanwhile, Zhao Dahai and Li Daju sat in the main room staring at each other blankly, unable to make sense of what had happened today. Their son had changed so much since waking up this morning, as if he had become a completely different person.
He knew how to fight for his own interests now, unlike before when he only knew how to work honestly and quietly.
"Husband, what's going on with our eldest? Why does he seem like a different person?" Li Daju asked Zhao Dahai in confusion.
"He's grown up. He knows how to think for himself now." Zhao Dahai took a drag from his welded cigarette and remained silent for a long moment before speaking. Previously, they had thought Zhao Yi would always be that honest, quiet boy who wouldn't speak up even when bullied, assuming he would remain that way his whole life. Who would have thought marriage would change him.
In the room.
Zhang Jing felt restless, but when she looked at Zhao Yi, she found him completely at ease, already washed up and lying in bed ready to sleep.
"Husband, are we really moving out tomorrow?" Zhang Jing still couldn't quite believe it – her man acted so decisively. Her mother-in-law had only been scolding her verbally, yet this man actually wanted to separate from the family for her sake.
"If we don't move out, do you actually enjoy being scolded every day?" Zhao Yi laughed, patting the bed to signal Zhang Jing to stop overthinking and come to sleep.
"But…" Zhang Jing had only spoken two words.
"No buts about it. Living our own life well is what matters most. Let people say what they want. Those things you're worried about aren't our concern." Zhao Yi pulled Zhang Jing closer to him, indicating she should wash up and go to sleep.
Early morning.
The first light of dawn had just begun to brighten the horizon.
Zhang Jing followed Zhao Yi as they moved their luggage to the old house. The long-uninhabited home was covered in dust and cobwebs, so Zhang Jing tied a scarf over her head and began cleaning meticulously.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yi carried wooden buckets to the well, fetched water, and brought it back.
Without a wok or other cooking utensils, they could only eat boiled potatoes for the next few days. Fortunately, the rush harvest would be over in just a couple of days, after which the work in the fields wouldn’t be as demanding.
Watching Zhang Jing clean the room, Zhao Yi didn’t idle either. He retrieved a good number of bamboo strips left in the old house’s storage room.
Before his grandfather passed away, he had been a skilled craftsman who could make many things from bamboo. There were still plenty of thin bamboo strips left unused in the storage room.
While weaving fish traps, Zhao Yi kept busy by placing a clay pot on the stove to boil some corn kernels.
Before long, two simple fish traps were ready. He tied each with a thin hemp rope and placed a few boiled corn kernels inside. After eating a few potatoes for breakfast, the couple prepared to head to the Team Headquarters.
Not far from the old house flowed a large river, which curved around the village before continuing downstream—hence the name Wangou Village. Though called a river, it was nearly as wide as a major waterway.
This bend was particularly spacious, with a gentle current, making it the favorite spot for village children to cool off in the summer. Even though swimming there often earned them a beating, the temptation was irresistible.
Zhao Yi tossed the two fish traps into the river, securely tied the hemp ropes nearby, and then hurried with Zhang Jing to the Team Headquarters.
“Have you heard? That Zhang girl is no pushover. As soon as she married into the old Zhao family, she stirred up trouble, convincing the eldest Zhao son to split from the family—afraid of suffering even a little loss. That eldest Zhao is spineless, doing whatever his wife says. He doesn’t consider how hard his parents have it, counting on two strong laborers to share the burden. And now this—just listening to his wife, forgetting his mother the moment he married. What’s the point, I ask you?”
As Zhao Yi and Zhang Jing arrived at the Team Headquarters to collect their farming tools and start work, they overheard several women discussing the matter.
Zhang Jing nervously hid behind Zhao Yi—the very thing she had worried about had happened.
“Just treat it like a turtle chanting scriptures. These people love to talk without understanding the struggle. Whether life is bitter or sweet, only we know. Others just gossip.”
Zhao Yi paid no mind to what others said. No amount of talk would cost him a piece of flesh.
In his past life, he had worked hard and endured hardships for his family, yet the villagers rarely had a kind word for him. Instead, when his ungrateful younger siblings found jobs later, the villagers praised them for their capability, unlike him—good for nothing but hard labor.
If not for his backbreaking work, whether they could have continued their studies would have been uncertain.
Hearing her husband speak this way, Zhang Jing’s anxiety vanished completely. Yes, she was going to spend this life with the man before her. Nothing these people said could change their family’s life.
As for who spread this Bagua, Zhao Yi didn’t need to guess. Li Dequan’s wife had a loud voice and was always happy to broadcast anything freely.
“Xiao Yi, your parents have had it tough, you know.”
While collecting the farming tools, an elderly man looked at Zhao Yi and sighed.
"So even though they haven't reached retirement age yet, I'm willing to give them five jin of grain every month. As for when they do need support, I'll definitely provide more grain."
Zhao Yi said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, the village women secretly nodded in approval. It seemed the eldest son of the Zhao family wasn't an ungrateful person. Zhao Dahai and Li Daju were still strong laborers who didn't require support at all.
Since Zhao Yi was already willing to do this much, he would surely be even more filial when they could no longer work.