In the back courtyard, the siblings were consumed with worry, praying Jiang Yue wouldn’t be hurt. In the front hall, the others harbored more venomous thoughts, hoping someone would beat the “meat-stealing idiot” to death—she deserved it!
Jiang Yue touched her face. Blood was bubbling from her forehead, trailing down her cheek, sliding past her nose, and gathering at her chin before hitting the floor with a rhythmic patter, patter, patter.
She had returned to drag her “cheap” parents out of that den of vipers. She hadn’t expected to be caught off guard and have her head split open by a bowl thrown by Old Man Jiang!
With her face masked in crimson, Jiang Yue began to walk toward Old Man Jiang, one deliberate step at a time. Jiang Youtian, who was closest to her, shuddered in fear and scrambled behind the old man’s back.
Old Man Jiang’s face went white. He cursed inwardly—Ungrateful son! In a moment of crisis, you push your own father to the front to take the blow?
He couldn’t believe his aim had been so true, yet he wished it hadn’t been. This child looked feral, like she wanted to devour someone whole!
Under the watchful eyes of the entire family, Jiang Yue did something unexpected. She reached out and began grabbing the steamed buns from the basket. In this ancient world, there were too many stifling rules, and the concept of “filial piety” could crush a person to death. She would settle the score for her head later; for now, these buns would serve as her “medical expenses.”
Madam Liu opened her mouth to curse, but seeing Jiang Yue’s blood-soaked face made her skin crawl. She stayed silent.
The rest of them were paralyzed with terror. Is this still Jiang Yue? Or is it a vengeful ghost?
CRASH—!
The room jumped again. Before leaving, Jiang Yue had delivered a straight punch that knocked the door right off its hinges.
The door panels in the main hall were three fingers thick. How could a mere child possess such terrifying strength? Everyone in the room trembled. If that fist had landed on one of them…
It wasn’t until the eldest branch had retreated to the back courtyard that Madam Liu’s voice finally rose in a string of curses, though she sounded far less confident than usual.
Jiang Yue thought to herself: The intimidation worked. They weren’t afraid of an “idiot,” but they were terrified of a “maniac.” In front of people like this, a fist is worth a thousand words.
The pheasant had finished stewing. Jiang Yue placed the basins of meat on their rickety table and pulled the buns from her tunic. One, two, three… she produced a total of six.
“Sister brought back six!” Jiang Xue chirped.
“Eat. One for each of us.”
Jiang Xue’s eyes widened in surprise. “Sister, you even know how to count!”
Jiang Ming walked in, clutching a handful of medicinal herbs. He held up two fingers. “Little sister, what number is this?”
The corner of Jiang Yue’s mouth twitched.
Jiang Lei set his bun down, his eyes sparkling. He held up three fingers. “Big Sister, what about this?”
Even Jiang Youshan joined in, leaning close to Jiang Yue. “And how many people are in our family?”
Jiang Yue sighed inwardly. “Eat. Just eat.”
Madam Cai let out a gasp of realization and rushed to grab a handkerchief. “Heavens, Yue’er is still covered in blood!”
With Jiang Ming applying the herbs and Madam Cai binding the wound, the family finally sat down to eat.
“Husband,” Madam Cai whispered, “should we find a physician for Yue’er? Maybe with a few doses of medicine, she’ll recover completely!”
Jiang Yue realized that this family didn’t doubt her for a second. She pulled Jiang Youshan down into his seat. “No need. I’m already better.”
Jiang Youshan was overjoyed. He persisted, “Yue’er, how many people in our family?”
“Six.”
“And who am I?”
“You are Jiang Youshan. My father.”
The family froze. They had prayed for Jiang Yue’s mind to clear for years, watching their hopes dwindle with every passing season. And now, just like that, she was back!
Jiang Yue patted her stomach. “I’ll stay well as long as I have a full belly.”
Jiang Xue began to sob. “So that was it. Grandmother never let Sister eat her fill. How could she have gotten better?”
Jiang Lei lowered his head. It wasn’t just his sister; who in the eldest branch ever truly ate their fill?
Shame clouded Jiang Youshan’s face. “It’s all your father’s fault for being useless. I’ve made you all suffer…”
Madam Cai sighed and began to cry along with him.
Jiang Ming’s temper flared. “No one is useless here, especially not you, Dad. You do the most work in the fields, and Mom is the busiest in the house. Why don’t they give us our fair share of grain? She isn’t even our real grandmother! Pui! Dad, why can’t we just split the household?”
Jiang Youshan coughed nervously. “Your grandfather has it hard too, managing such a large family. How can we talk about splitting? Your Fourth Uncle needs money for his studies. I’m the eldest son; I have to be considerate…”
Madam Cai nodded in agreement, saying they would just have to work harder and take on more of the burden.
Jiang Yue’s temper flared. Her own family was on the verge of starvation, yet they were still making excuses for their oppressors. She looked at them, her expression deadly serious. “If they don’t give us our share of grain, are we just supposed to live like this forever?”
Jiang Youshan faltered. “When your grandmother’s anger cools, I’ll go and plead for help again.”
Jiang Yue was speechless. The other children remained silent as well, focusing on their meat and steamed buns.
Madam Cai looked at the half-basin of meat the children had set aside for her and her husband. She hesitated, her voice trembling. “Husband, this half isn’t touched yet. Maybe… maybe we should send this meat to the front house?”
For some reason, Jiang Youshan shot a cautious glance at Jiang Yue before testing the waters. “Yue’er, your grandfather and grandmother didn’t get to eat…”
Jiang Ming’s eyes burned with resentment. “Dad, do you want us all to be dragged to the front yard and forced to kneel all night again?”
Arguments like this had happened countless times before, and every single time, the eldest branch was the one to suffer. If it wasn’t a punishment of kneeling, it was a lashing across the palms. Back then, Big Sister didn’t know how to speak or hide; she had suffered more than anyone.
If they sent this meat to the front now, Grandmother would surely use the “filial piety” card to force the entire family to apologize, ending in a night of forced kneeling anyway.
Jiang Youshan promptly shut his mouth.
Jiang Xue snatched the basin and slammed it onto the table. “Dad, Mom, are you going to eat this or not? If not, I’m throwing it out!”
Jiang Youshan and Madam Cai exchanged a look. “You child,” Jiang Youshan whispered. “How can you waste food like that? If we don’t eat it, save it for the three of you to have tomorrow.”
The stench of stagnant water from the yard wafted into the room, and Jiang Yue found this excessive “politeness” unbearable. “If we tell you to eat, then eat! Otherwise, out it goes!”
If you really love your children, she thought, then stand up for yourselves. Split the household! Escape that old witch’s slavery and move out of this dump.
Her “cheap” parents were like mud that couldn’t be used to plaster a wall—utterly spineless. Just you wait, she vowed. Sooner or later, I will change this family’s fate. Otherwise, these kids are going to be dragged to the grave by their own parents.
Seeing the fury on Jiang Yue’s face, the couple didn’t dare argue further. They sat down and obediently polished off every scrap of meat in the basin.
Once they finished, Jiang Youshan rubbed his belly. It felt incredible to have a full stomach. It had been years since he had felt truly satiated.
“Don’t go to weed the fields tomorrow,” Jiang Yue said. “I need the hoe.”
“What’s wrong, Yue’er? What do you need it for? Just tell me what to do.”
Jiang Ming chuckled. “Dad, I’ve got this. You don’t need to worry. Sister wants to dig for taro.”
“What? The taro from the mountains?”
“You can’t touch that!”
Jiang Youshan and Madam Cai crowded around her, checking her skin for a rash. “Daughter, you can’t go near that stuff. It’s poison. Do you feel itchy?”
“I’m itchy,” Jiang Yue replied flatly.
Between the stagnant water around the old house and the swarms of mosquitoes, she already had several bites.
“Ah! Don’t scratch! I’ll go find a physician!”
Jiang Yue sighed. Her “cheap” father was a coward, but his love for her was undeniable. Still, sentimentality aside, she looked at him blankly. “Do you have any money?”
Jiang Youshan: …
My daughter finally learns to speak, and the first thing she does is poke me where it hurts. He felt like he could never hold his head up in this house.
Jiang Ming stepped in to explain. “Taro isn’t poisonous once it’s cooked.” He went on to describe how they had fed the roasted taro to the pigs and the chickens first, though he conveniently left out the part where he had snuck a taste himself.
The parents listened, stunned. Since when did Ming’er start acting as crazy as Yue’er? Feeding taro to the pigs… what if they die?
That night, Jiang Youshan and his wife barely slept. They spent the entire night taking turns running to the backyard to check on the two pigs.
By morning, the pigs and the big rooster were perfectly fine. Only then did the family cautiously roast the remaining taro and share it. It was sweet, creamy, and far more filling than their usual watery wild-green porridge.
Since it wasn’t the busy farming season yet, Jiang Youshan decided to find odd jobs at the Village Head’s house. He heard they were renovating, which meant a free lunch and ten copper coins a day. Meanwhile, the children prepared to head to the mountain to dig for more taro.
Before they left, young Jiang Lei shook his head like a little old man. “The people in the front house are definitely going to give us trouble today.”
Jiang Xue turned to Madam Cai, her voice full of concern. “Mom, be careful.”
Madam Cai stroked Jiang Xue’s hair with a sad smile. “I’ve raised such a worrier. Go on, now. Look after your sister, and don’t lose the hoe!”