Third Aunt, who had been listening intently, suddenly paused and asked tentatively, “What does that mean?”
What exactly had Sang Zhixia privately discussed with Old Master?
Old Madam had heard everything but couldn’t find grounds for objection. Seeing the bewildered expressions on her and Auntie Xu the Second’s faces as if they were detached from the matter, she snorted coldly in anger.
These two fools!
The fools were growing anxious, while Sang Zhixia, having gained approval, smiled with an air of complacency.
Seeing that she wasn’t volunteering to speak, Old Master knew he had to play the villain himself. After a pause, he declared in an authoritative tone, “Starting today, all household chores will be divided equally among the three branches. The three who are away are excluded, but everyone else must contribute.”
“Aor’s Wife will create a list specifying each person’s daily tasks. Duties will rotate daily, from washing clothes and cooking to tending the vegetable garden. Everything will be shared equally—no excuses, no delays. Any objections?”
Simply put, Sang Zhixia had proposed a basic personal responsibility system.
All tasks, big and small, would be assigned to each individual, who must complete them daily.
To preempt complaints, she also suggested rotating assignments: if Second Aunt washed clothes today, she would cook tomorrow, and so on in rotation.
The core principle was: None of you here can escape—everyone better get moving for me!
Had Sang Zhixia or anyone else present proposed this, there would have been opposition.
But it was Old Master who had spoken.
Sang Zhixia smiled, her eyes curved, quietly reveling in her success. Second Aunt and Third Aunt seethed with silent anger at the sudden burden but dared not voice it.
Seeing the decision was final, Old Madam simply went along with Old Master’s wishes: “This is just as well.”
“We can’t dwell in the past forever. It’s time for some fresh changes in the household.”
Sang Zhixia, quick to read the room, nodded vigorously and chimed in, “Grandfather and Grandmother are wise! It’s your brilliant idea after all!”
Old Master gave her a complicated look, a hint of softness inexplicably appearing on his stern face.
He set down his bowl and stood up. “Hurry up and make that list so everyone knows their duties.”
“I’m going for a walk around the village.”
Sang Zhixia replied cheerfully, “Yes, Grandfather! Take care on your way.”
This was the first time Old Master had stepped out since arriving in Luobei Village. For the first time, those who had been complaining and reluctant to work felt the helplessness of facing reality.
Old Madam retreated to her room to avoid the storm.
Auntie Xu the Second watched as Xu Minghui was forced to carry water buckets, her heart aching with frustration. “I’m washing clothes, Minghui is fetching water, and with Second Master away, our branch has three people working!”
“The eldest branch has three too,” Sang Zhixia said without batting an eye. “Xu Ao is out, I’m cooking, and my mother-in-law is weeding the vegetable garden. We’re not short-handed either.”
“Second Aunt, Third Aunt’s whole family is pitching in. At least your Mingyang is resting—it’s already not bad.”
Without waiting for Second Aunt’s grumbling, she picked up Xu Jinxi and said, “Mother-in-law, come, I’ll teach you how to weed.”
Xu Wenxiu, afraid of further criticism, quickly grabbed a basket and followed. But once in the vegetable garden, it was Sang Zhixia who started working first.
She spoke firmly, but Xu Wenxiu was hardly a capable laborer.
Xu Wenxiu clumsily gripped the hoe, attempting to turn the soil. After a few restrained attempts proved futile, she looked toward Sang Zhixia with a plea in her eyes.
The current predicament felt like hell for everyone in the Xu Family, yet Sang Zhixia had adapted with astonishing speed.
Watching her swiftly cut down the knee-high weeds and bundle them on the ground, Xu Wenxiu couldn’t hide her surprise. “How did you learn to do all this?”
Sang Zhixia’s mind flashed back to the countless odd jobs she’d taken in her past life just to survive. Without looking up, she replied, “Learned it to stay alive.”
She spoke the truth, but Xu Wenxiu’s first thought went to the miserable life Sang Zhixia must have led as a concubine-born daughter in her maternal home. It was widely known that the Sang Family favored legitimate children, while those born of concubines endured great hardship.
Had Sang Zhixia’s life in her family home been so difficult?
Xu Wenxiu’s expression grew indescribably complicated.
Noticing her silence, Sang Zhixia misunderstood it as distress over the labor and decided to bring up Xu Ao, who was out hauling bricks. “Mother-in-law, Mingxu and Jinxi are still young. We can’t just rely on Xu Ao to do all the heavy work. If we want to settle and survive here, we must contribute too.”
In other words: How could you bear to let your precious son suffer alone?
Xu Wenxiu couldn’t bear it.
Thinking of Xu Ao’s chafed and bruised shoulders, her eyes reddened, and she bent down to work with renewed vigor.
Seeing this, Sang Zhixia’s lips curved in a silent smile.
After all that buildup, this was exactly the effect she had wanted.
The vegetable garden wasn’t large, but tidying it up thoroughly required considerable effort. Sang Zhixia briefly explained to Xu Wenxiu which plants could stay, and when the time was right, she washed her hands and headed into the kitchen.
Auntie Xu the Third was in charge here and had already washed and neatly arranged all the utensils that needed cleaning. In the basket Sang Zhixia brought back were some potatoes dug up while turning the soil. Having grown wild and untended, they varied in size and shape, but once the muddy skins were peeled off, they were just fine—perfect for making potato braised rice.
She began by peeling the potatoes and cutting them into finger-sized chunks. After rinsing the white rice, she heated a little lard in the wok and stir-fried the raw rice briefly until the oil coated each grain. Then she added the diced potatoes, stirred everything together, poured in water, and let it simmer over low heat.
The small cabbages she’d found could be stir-fried into a mixed greens dish, which would suffice as a side for the meal.
As smoke continued to rise from the stove, Auntie Xu the Second returned from washing clothes, grumbling loudly as she carried a large basin. Sang Zhixia pretended not to notice her furious expression and said cheerfully, “Second Aunt, the clothesline is in that basket over there. Tie it between the two trees and hang the laundry, please.”
Auntie Xu the Second shot her a hateful glare before going to set up the line.
Xu Minghui, who had been struggling to carry two half-full buckets of water, finally managed to fill the water vat after nearly ten trips. Unlike his mother’s visible anger, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and politely asked, “Eldest Sister-in-law, is there anything else I can help with?”
This second brother, who had been hiding indoors all along without lifting a finger, was suddenly acting rather enthusiastic.
Where was all this energy earlier?
Sang Zhixia added two thin sticks of firewood to the stove and said wryly, “You’ve finished your share of the work. Go rest now.”
Xu Minghui gave a modest smile and retreated inside, enduring his discomfort.
With nothing urgent to do by the stove for the moment, Sang Zhixia took down Xu Ao’s old clothes, which he had hung on a tree to dry the day before.
Times had changed, and Xu Ao originally didn’t have many spare clothes to change into. The ones with worn-out edges could be patched up and still worn.
This was the scene the Old Master witnessed upon returning from his stroll.
Noticing the thickly stitched fabric Sang Zhixia had intentionally added to the shoulders, he quickly closed his eyes and said, “Do you know what kind of work Ao’er and the others are doing?”
Hearing the inexplicable tension in his tone, Sang Zhixia guessed he had inquired about how Xu Ao earned his six copper coins daily. She smiled and said, “Grandfather, this place is abundant in Cyan Bricks.”
“Since it’s labor-intensive work, it’s either carrying bricks or making and firing them in the kiln. What else could it be?”
Xu Ao was already working so hard—Old Master, you’d better not show favoritism.
Catching her implied meaning, the Old Master, whom few dared to contradict, chuckled softly in surprise.
“You’re quite bold, girl.”
Though she lacked some of the etiquette expected of noble ladies from prestigious families, in this situation, knowing how to protect her own was already commendable.
He slowly exhaled and said in a deep voice, “What were your plans for the charcoal burning you mentioned to me this morning? Come over and explain it to me in detail.”
Sang Zhixia had been waiting for this moment.
She moved a small stool closer and sat down beside the Old Master, clearly and methodically outlining the plan she had devised.
The Old Master occasionally asked a few questions, and she answered fluently, appearing fully prepared.
Meanwhile, in the west room, Xu Minghui watched through a crack in the window as Sang Zhixia chatted happily with the Old Master, his handsome brow furrowing silently.
“Mother, it seems Eldest Brother has married a capable wife.”
A disregarded daughter of a concubine was gradually gaining the Old Master’s attention.
For the second and third branches of the family, this was not good news.