Madam Yan stretched her neck to glance at the basket Madam Fang had brought in. Her expression darkened slightly as well, but she still forced out a stiff smile.
“Forget it. She’s just a little girl—there’s no point arguing with her.
At least these wild vegetables are still fresh and tender.
Didn’t my Shiying bring some back too? Mix them together and there’ll be just enough for one stir-fried dish.”
Most wild vegetables carried a faint bitterness or some odd aftertaste.
They had to be blanched first before stir-frying, otherwise they were nearly impossible to swallow.
And though the pile looked decent enough before cooking, once they hit the boiling water, they’d shrink down to next to nothing.
In truth, despite what Madam Yan said, she had already made up her mind.
Later, she was definitely going to complain to her mother-in-law about the second branch.
Those children from the second household were getting completely out of hand.
Third Son was studying at the academy, so naturally he couldn’t help in the fields. That was understandable.
The eldest girl was already fifteen and nearing marriageable age. Letting her stay home to keep her hands soft while learning embroidery from Old Madam Zhao was also reasonable enough.
But that Fifth Girl of theirs, Zhao Ningshuang—
Officially, she was supposed to be helping in the fields.
In reality, she was just tagging along to play.
After a full day, she barely accomplished anything.
And yet that second sister-in-law still had the nerve to defend her, saying things like, She’s still young. She can work properly once she’s older.
And now this youngest one—
Seventh Girl was a whole month older than her own Eighth Girl.
Yet look at what she’d dug up.
Not even half as much as what her Shiying had gathered.
That whole family was full of lazy freeloaders.
Being sisters-in-law with people like that was truly the misfortune of eight lifetimes.
Before long, the people working in the fields gradually returned home.
Old Master Zhao also came back from the academy with several of his grandsons.
Soon, two tables were set up in the main hall, and dish after dish was brought out.
The Zhao family was simply too large.
So at mealtimes, the men sat at one table and the women at another.
Zhao Shiyu, naturally, was very enthusiastic when it came to eating.
She helped carry a bowl of food from the kitchen, set it down on the table, and promptly plopped herself onto a stool.
Just then, Zhao Shiying entered from outside.
The moment she saw Zhao Shiyu already seated, her steps faltered briefly.
Then she quickly walked over and sat directly beside her.
Old Madam Zhao naturally presided over the women’s table.
She casually reached into the food basket, took out a coarse cornbread bun, bit into it, then picked up her chopsticks and stuffed a mouthful of vegetables into her mouth.
Only after that did everyone else begin reaching for their own buns.
There was no need for Old Madam Zhao to distribute portions herself.
At lunch, there was no porridge.
According to family rules, every female at the women’s table—regardless of age—received one bun each.
The men at the other table got two.
The Zhao family followed the rule of no talking while eating, no speaking while sleeping.
So for a time, the only sounds at the table were those of chewing.
The bun was just as hard to swallow as ever.
Thankfully, the vegetables had at least a little oil in them.
And Zhao Shiyu really was hungry.
She managed to force down the entire thing.
Everyone in the family ate the same food.
She needed to adapt to life here as quickly as possible.
After all, she’d be staying for the long haul.
Unless, of course, she could somehow change this family’s circumstances.
The first thing she ruled out was business.
In this era, society was ranked as scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—with merchants firmly at the very bottom.
If the Zhao family were classified as merchants because of doing business, they would lose their eligibility for the imperial examinations.
And that was absolutely impossible.
Leaving aside the fact that Old Master Zhao was already a xiucai and forbidden from engaging in trade—
though his sons lacked academic talent, several of his grandsons showed promise.
In Old Master Zhao’s eyes, at least two of them had genuine hope of passing the xiucai exam.
There was no way he’d allow the family to jeopardize that future for money.
Yet relying solely on the fields wasn’t enough even to guarantee everyone full meals.
They still depended heavily on the tuition Old Master Zhao earned from teaching.
Another reason the family was managing at all was because, as a xiucai, Old Master Zhao was granted fifty mu of tax-exempt farmland.
The family owned sixty mu total.
That tax exemption was what allowed them to live as comfortably as they did.
As for households that had to pay taxes on all their land—
one could only imagine how difficult life was.
And families who owned no land at all, surviving by renting fields from others?
Their lives were even harsher.
Even so, compared to most households, the Zhao family’s meals were still decent.
Three meals a day.
Four large bowls of dishes on the table.
And an extra plate of pickled vegetables.
Though everything was vegetarian, there was at least some oil mixed in.
Otherwise those buns would have been even harder to choke down.
No one lunged for the food like starving wolves, as happened in some families.
Still, everyone ate quickly.
Especially when it came to reaching for the dishes.
Fortunately, the portions were large enough.
Otherwise there truly wouldn’t have been enough for everyone.
Even so, Old Madam Zhao looked displeased.
With a sharp clack, she set down her chopsticks and lifted her eyelids to stare at Zhao Shiyu.
“Seventh Girl.
I heard that after an entire morning, you only dug up one tiny handful of wild vegetables.
That won’t do.
Our Zhao family does not raise freeloaders.
If you truly don’t want to dig vegetables, then go properly learn embroidery from your eldest sister. The money from selling embroidery can at least help support the household.
And if you keep acting like before—unable to settle down and always slacking off—
then don’t blame this old woman for being harsh.
I’ll punish you by forbidding you from eating.”
Zhao Shiyu glanced at Third Aunt Madam Fang, then at Fourth Aunt Madam Yan.
Both women kept their faces perfectly expressionless.
But Zhao Shiyu was certain.
One of them had tattled to the old lady.
Thinking of the survival rules in this household, she wisely chose not to argue.
She merely nodded lightly.
“I understand, Grandma.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she secretly glanced at Zhao Shiying.
The entire meal had passed without hearing a single one of that girl’s inner thoughts.
For a moment, Zhao Shiyu even wondered whether her mind-reading ability had somehow failed.
But looking at Zhao Shiying’s distracted, dazed expression, she dismissed the idea.
The girl had probably just taken too heavy a blow.
She likely didn’t even know what she herself was thinking anymore.
After lunch, everyone helped carry the bowls and dishes back to the kitchen.
Today happened to be the third and fourth households’ turn to cook.
That meant Zhao Shiying was immediately drafted into dishwashing duty.
Seizing the opportunity, Zhao Shiyu slung a basket over her back and slipped out the door.
By the time Zhao Shiying finished washing up and came out looking for her, Zhao Shiyu was already gone.
There was no time to stew in frustration.
She hurriedly grabbed her own basket and rushed toward the hillside.
But when she arrived, Zhao Shiyu was nowhere to be seen.
An uneasy panic rose in her chest.
It felt as if everything was slipping beyond her control.
And that frightened her.
Spotting a figure nearby, she immediately ran over.
“Xiaoni, have you seen my Seventh Sister?”
Zhao Xiaoni froze for a moment.
Once she recognized it was Zhao Shiying, she shook her head.
“No, I haven’t.
I just got here too.
Why don’t you ask them instead? They arrived earlier than I did.”
She pointed toward a pair of sisters standing behind a clump of shrubs not far away, her tone slightly hesitant.