“Fuling, come quick!”
Although Yu Heng still held a grudge against Yu Fuling, he had to admit it was her decisiveness and calm that had brought his wife and child safely through danger. “This is your second brother, Yu Zhuo. Second Brother, this is Fourth Sister, Fuling.”
Only after pouring some water did Yu Fuling slowly walk over to her second brother. “Hello, Second Brother.”
Yu Zhuo looked up, glanced Yu Fuling over from head to toe, and gave a slight nod. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back to my room first.”
“Yu Zhuo, there’s so much on the cart, can’t you help me out a little?” Yu Heng reached out and grabbed his second brother’s sleeve, only to notice it was torn, and his tone turned displeased. “How did a perfectly good sleeve get torn like this? Yu Zhuo, what have you been doing out there these past few days?”
“Leave me alone!”
Yu Zhuo waved his hand and covered his sleeve, his expression just like the injured little animal Yu Fuling had encountered in the grove. “I’m exhausted right now, I need to rest!”
“Yu—”
“Has Second Brother always been like this?”
Seeing her second brother walk into his room without so much as a backward glance, Yu Fuling suddenly understood why the anger in her mother’s eyes had nearly overflowed when she’d mentioned him earlier.
“Second Brother just hasn’t started a family yet. Once he’s married and has a wife to keep him in line, he’ll be fine.” Yu Heng was immersed in the joy of becoming a father for the first time, and other people’s business was none of his concern. “I didn’t expect Father to be so generous, buying all these things in one go.”
Yu Fuling took in her eldest brother’s reaction, a smile on her face. “Big Brother, you still haven’t named the baby yet, you should think carefully about a good name.”
“Right!”
Yu Heng smacked his own forehead. “How could I forget something so important, once I’m done unloading, I’ll think up a few good names. How’s Shuiqin doing? Is she still in pain, does she need anything?”
“Mother and I changed Eldest Sister-in-law into clean clothes together, gave her something to eat, and she’s already asleep now. The room’s all been cleaned up too. Once you’re done, Big Brother, go keep Eldest Sister-in-law company.” Yu Fuling smiled. “I’ll go sort out the baby’s clothes with Mother.”
“All right!”
Watching her eldest brother humming a little tune, and her second brother’s cold rebuff, Yu Fuling felt more and more that there were turbulent undercurrents beneath this family’s calm surface.
“Fuling, you’ve come at just the right time.”
The moment Yu Fuling stepped into her parents’ room, Zhang Qiaofeng pulled her close and handed her the remaining silver. “Who’d have thought that small amount of matsutake would be worth even more than a pearl, your father sold it to a restaurant and made a full eight taels off it. After buying things and paying Doctor Mu’s and Midwife Zhou’s fees, there’s still more than four taels left, you keep it.”
“Eldest Sister-in-law just gave birth, this is exactly when she’ll need money. You should keep it.” If Yu Fuling wanted money for herself, she could find her own way to get it, but for her parents, having enough money on hand to manage things would save a lot of arguments in daily life, this was a lesson she’d learned at the Marquis’ estate.
“But I already have silver on me.”
“Mother!”
Yu Fuling held her mother’s rough hands in both of hers. “Eldest Sister-in-law needs to go through her month of confinement, and the little niece needs someone to look after her too. You won’t be able to keep up with the crops in the fields, but with money in hand, you won’t have to worry, we can buy whatever we need. If Eldest Sister-in-law has enough to eat and drink, her mood will be good, her milk will be plentiful, and the little niece will grow quickly and won’t fall sick easily. When the villagers see this, they’ll surely say you’re a good mother-in-law who dotes on her daughter-in-law, and a good grandmother who dotes on her granddaughter.”
These words left Zhang Qiaofeng’s heart in a tangle of emotions, and she pulled her daughter into a hug. “Fuling, the more sensible you are, the worse my heart feels about it.”
Her mother’s body was warm and had a pleasant scent. Yu Fuling couldn’t help nuzzling closer. “Mother, I’ve only been home one day, and you already see how sensible I am, that’s already enough for me. Besides, we’re truly mother and daughter, the more you try to keep accounts straight with me, the more unsettled I actually feel.”
“But I can’t let my daughter come out at a loss.” Zhang Qiaofeng stroked her daughter’s soft, fair cheek, thinking it over. “But what you say does make sense, Shuiqin’s always been the type to overthink things, if her confinement isn’t managed well, it won’t just be hard on her, the baby will suffer for it too.”
“There’s also the third-day bathing ceremony, we need to prepare red eggs to hand out to the villagers. We need to see if we have enough eggs at home, if not, Father will need to buy some at the market.”
“Right, right, right, the baby came so suddenly I hadn’t prepared any of this, but it’s not much trouble to get ready. I just don’t want Shuiqin to feel that because she had a girl, we’re treating her unfairly, a girl or a boy, they’re all the same to me, both are my precious treasures.” With money on hand, and her own birth daughter turning out to be so caring, Zhang Qiaofeng really felt she could laugh herself awake from a dream. “Fuling, go rest a while in your room, I’ll go make dinner.”
“Mother, let me help you, we’ll make it together. Let’s go.”
“All right.”
Zhang Qiaofeng now understood, her daughter helping her wasn’t to show off or curry favor, but to blend into this family as quickly as possible. If she didn’t let her do anything at all, she’d only be pushing her daughter further away.
Tonight’s dinner table had both meat and vegetables, and not just Yu Lehuan, even Yu Heng couldn’t stop swallowing at the sight of it.
“All right, sit down and eat.”
Zhang Qiaofeng handed chopsticks to her children. “I stewed some chicken soup for Shuiqin. Yu Heng, once she wakes up, bring it to her.”
“Got it.”
Yu Heng picked up his bowl and grabbed a piece of braised pork with his chopsticks. The moment it hit his mouth, the flavor left him completely dazed. “Mother’s braised pork really is the best in the world. These past two days at my father-in-law’s, I didn’t see a drop of meat oil, my stomach was growling from hunger at night.”
“Serves you right.”
Zhang Qiaofeng felt not the slightest pity for her son, and seeing her eldest son reach for the braised pork again, she immediately moved the dish over to Yu Fuling instead. “Fuling, eat some meat.”
“Mother, she’s a young girl, eating too much meat will make her fat.” Yu Heng bit down on his chopsticks, glaring at Yu Fuling with displeasure.
Yu Fuling glanced at him, then stood up and divided the braised pork among her parents and sister in turn. “Father, Mother, Lehuan, look how thin you all are, eat more.”
Yu Heng’s two thick eyebrows shot up at once, was Yu Fuling doing this on purpose?
“Isn’t Yu Zhuo back? Where is he?” Yu Qingshan looked around the table, his brow furrowing, his second son had never gotten along with the rest of the family, even as a child.
“He’s sleeping in his room.” Yu Heng, seeing that only a few big pieces of fatty meat remained in his bowl after Yu Fuling had divided it up, felt extremely unhappy. He liked the pork belly cuts with a mix of fat and lean, how was he supposed to eat all this fat?
“Big Brother’s not eating meat anymore?”
Yu Fuling pushed the dish toward her eldest brother. “This big piece of fatty meat was saved especially for you, Big Brother, it’s the richest in oil.”
“No need, I’ll just eat the other dishes.” Yu Heng gave a forced laugh, lowering his head to shovel rice into his mouth.
“Yu Heng, after you finish eating, come to my room, I have something to ask you.” Yu Qingshan wasn’t about to let the matter of his eldest son stealing the pearl just pass because his eldest daughter-in-law had given birth. “Qiaofeng, go check on Second Son in his room later, ask him what he’s been doing out there these past few days.”
“Got it, let’s eat first.”
Yu Fuling clearly noticed her mother’s tone suddenly turn heavy. She put some food in her mother’s bowl. “Mother, I’m not familiar with Second Brother yet, I’ll come with you later.”