Night.
Zhao Yi walked back from the mountains.
In the morning, he had harvested two pheasants and one hare from the traps in the mountains, earning a few dollars.
On his way back, Zhao Yi carried three half-grown chicks, all hens.
"Look, dear."
Zhang Jing pointed cheerfully at the iron pot in the kitchen.
"Mm, I'll put the chicks in the storage room first. I'll fix the fence tomorrow morning before letting them out."
Zhao Yi glanced at the iron pot and nodded.
After placing the chicks in the storage room and securing it, he headed to the riverside, lifted two fish traps, and took out the fish inside.
The fish today weren't very big, but it was better than nothing. After all, fish soup was more nutritious than wild vegetable soup.
Zhang Jing had become quite skilled at handling fish. As soon as Zhao Yi brought the fish back, she deftly scaled them, gutted them, rinsed them with clean water, and placed them in the iron pot. With the pickled cabbage she had brought from her parents' home that day, a pot of pickled cabbage fish was soon ready.
What Zhao Yi called "not very big" were actually two fish weighing about two jin each. Just the fish meat and soup alone were enough to fill them up.
Just as Zhang Jing set the fish soup on the table, Li Daju arrived with Zhao Yi's younger siblings.
They couldn't help but swallow their saliva at the sight of the fish soup on the table.
"Mom, little brother, little sister, come join us for some."
Zhang Jing quickly invited them.
"We don't have any rice. How can Mom eat? They must have already eaten. They're just here to chat with us. We don't have much grain ourselves, relying on just this one meal a day."
Zhao Yi said expressionlessly.
Upon hearing this, Li Daju knew Zhao Yi didn't want to share the food with them. She felt somewhat helpless, but Zhao Yi wasn't lying—he had indeed given up his share of the family's grain without taking any for himself.
She had gone to the brigade to borrow some grain on credit, to be repaid when the monthly rations were distributed.
"Brother, we can go home and get our own rice. Just let us have a taste, please."
Zhao Xiaoxiao looked at Zhao Yi and pleaded, swallowing repeatedly.
"If you eat this, what will I have? When there's extra, I'll send some to Mom and Dad to try. But today's portion isn't even enough for your sister-in-law and me."
Zhao Yi shook his head.
He would rather throw the food away than give it to these ungrateful people. In his previous life, when these people had jobs and both spouses were working, Zhao Yi had gone to them to borrow money for Zhang Jing's medical treatment. What did they say?
Their household expenses were high, the children needed to go to school, and there were elderly to support—they had no extra money. Maybe they could lend him a hundred next month after getting paid to help him out. They hadn't taken any of the family's land, leaving it all to Zhao Yi.
Originally, they were entitled to a share of the land, but they hadn't taken it because they saw how hard their eldest brother and sister-in-law had worked over the years. Their parents were living with them now, and they hadn't asked Zhao Yi to support them.
The eldest brother's family didn't have many children, so there wasn't much pressure—surely, he couldn't need to borrow much money. If not, why not ask Zhang Jing's parents to see if they had any?
Given the situation in Wangou Village—far from the county town and separated from the city by a large mountain—there was hardly any development, and the land wasn't worth much. When they were in school, weren't their parents living with Zhao Yi? Right after starting work and before getting married, they still asked the family for money.
If it weren't for Zhang Jing and Zhao Yi working tirelessly in the coal mine to earn their tuition fees, how could they have focused on their studies?
In his previous life, Zhao Yi had believed Li Daju's words, thinking these people would at least have some conscience—that once they had jobs, they might look after him a little. But what happened in the end? Now, he'd rather feed the food to pigs or dogs, or even dump it, than give them a single bite.
Hearing Zhao Yi speak like this, Zhao Xiaoxiao was immediately left speechless. Zhao Yi had made it clear he wouldn't share any with her.
She couldn't understand why her eldest brother had changed so much. The brother who used to bring home a wild pheasant egg he found in the mountains to fry with wild chives for her—how had he suddenly become so stingy?
Li Daju had originally come to confront Zhao Yi about Zhang Jing carrying a large fish to her parents' home during the day without sending any their way. But judging by Zhao Yi's current words and attitude, it was clear this had been his arrangement.
She couldn't fathom why Zhao Yi had become so alienated from the family. The family hadn't wronged him in any way—except for not dividing the grain equally during the family separation, but that was something Zhao Yi had voluntarily refused.
In their previous life, when Zhang Jing fell ill and was hospitalized in the county town—so close by—Zhao Dahai and Li Daju never once visited her.
Those three ingrates were still students back then, yet Zhang Jing never dared to treat them poorly. How could they be so biased? If not for the fact they were his parents, Zhao Yi would have severed ties with them during the family separation.
In the end, it was Zhang Jing's own mother who went to the hospital to care for her. Zhao Yi worked at construction sites during the day and scavenged everywhere at dusk, but the money he earned couldn't keep up with the medical expenses. He could only watch helplessly as Zhang Jing passed away.
Seeing Zhao Yi's attitude, the others knew there was no chance of tasting the fish soup. They could only stare back at the iron pot three times with every step as they left.
But as soon as they exited the room, Zhao Yi stood up and shut the door directly behind them.
Zhang Jing watched her husband, puzzled why the man of her house would act this way. He was so generous to her parents' family—letting her bring them brown sugar and fish—yet now he wouldn't even allow his own family to have a sip of fish soup.
However, this wasn't something Zhang Jing felt she could interfere with. Having married into the family only recently, she didn't know if there were past conflicts her husband had been suppressing without speaking of.
"Husband, families should live in harmony. If there are issues, they should be discussed openly," Zhang Jing said, looking at Zhao Yi in an attempt to mediate.
"You wouldn't understand. These people are ingrates. Being good to them is worse than dumping grain in the river to feed the fish—at least that serves some purpose. They'll take everything for granted and never remember a single kindness," Zhao Yi sighed.
Zhang Jing shook her head. She hadn't been in contact with the Zhao family for long and wasn't aware of these matters or had noticed such problems. But in this lifetime, she could only revolve around the man before her. As long as her husband treated her well, that was enough—she wouldn't trouble herself over other matters.
As soon as Li Daju and the others returned home, Li Daju sat in the main hall sighing.
"Mom, it must be our sister-in-law who's corrupted eldest brother. He used to be so good to us before," Zhao Xiaoxiao said to Li Daju.
"Are you blind or stupid? Can't you read people's expressions? Your eldest brother has changed—it's got nothing to do with your sister-in-law," Li Daju shot her daughter a disapproving glance. Anyone with eyes could see Zhao Yi held grudges against the family. When Zhang Jing suggested everyone eat together, Zhao Yi's face immediately darkened.
Li Daju couldn't figure out where Zhao Yi had been provoked, seeming to harbor some hostility toward his family.
Recalling past events, she still couldn't find any instance where they had wronged Zhao Yi.
"Should we report him to Li Dequan? Eldest brother caught fish but didn't turn them over."
At that moment, Zhao Yong looked at Li Daju and said.
Slap! A crisp sound of a slap rang out.
"That's your own elder brother, not your enemy. Now I understand why he resents the family—it's because there are ungrateful wolves like you."
Li Daju spoke angrily, immediately frightening Zhao Yong.