Chapter 62 - Being Sold (1/2)
Xiaocao and her siblings dodged her happily, “We already ate in the kitchen. You can touch Younger Brother’s tummy. It’s as round as a bloated frog. Mother, you eat it!”
Madam Liu clearly didn’t believe them. She was very familiar with her mother-in-law’s stingy character. Her mother-in-law knew exactly how much of each ingredient was in the kitchen. It was alright for the coarse grain, but without her permission, they were strictly forbidden to use things such as wheat flour, rice, and eggs.
Xiaolian and Little Shitou also patted their bellies to ensure her that they had really eaten. So Madam Liu slowly fed the noodles to her husband. Yu Hai’s heart ached for his wife and refused to eat alone. He insisted that he would only eat after Madam Liu took a bite. In this way, the couple shared the bowl of noodles, taking a bite one after another.
Under Yu Hai’s insistence, the family of five enjoyed the two fried eggs that were found at the bottom of the bowl together. The small fried eggs were incomparably precious within Yu Xiaocao’s heart because they contained strong familial affection and love.
“Father, Mother! I think that we should take this opportunity to leave this family and live by ourselves!” Yu Xiaocao had already reached the breaking point of her endurance for Madam Zhang’s stingy and harsh character. In the past, when her father was still able to hunt and fish, Madam Zhang definitely wouldn’t allow them to leave. But it might not be the same now!
“Splitting from the family? Your grandparents are still alive, so they won’t agree to dividing the family!” Madam Liu felt somewhat sad within her heart. They were still uncertain about whether her husband could keep his leg. Moreover, the condition of her health made it impossible for her to do heavy labor and their children were still too young. What would they rely on to feed the family if they separated from this family?
Yu Xiaocao didn’t agree with her! With the little divine stone as her special weapon, the injury on her father’s leg would eventually recover. Although there was the possibility of him being crippled, he would still be able to do ordinary handcrafts. After being nourished for months with the mystic-stone water and herbal medicine, her mother’s health had almost completely recuperated. As long as they could separate from this family, with her expert skills in braised foods, they would definitely live in better conditions than right now!
“Grandmother and Eldest Aunt must be eagerly looking forward to us leaving this family! In their eyes, our second branch is just a major burden. As for Grandfather, we will definitely have a chance to way to convince him!” That’s right! She had been waiting for an opportunity, a perfect opportunity to suggest splitting up the family!
While Yu Xiaocao and her family were discussing the matter of dividing from the family, Madam Li was also speaking ill of the second branch in the main room, “Mother, since Second Brother-in-law got injured, there isn’t a single able-bodied worker in the second branch. Furthermore, Second Sister-in-law and Xiaocao are both medicine guzzling fiends. Think about it. We have already spent dozens of taels in the past several days. Although Second Brother-in-law has woken up, Doctor Sun have also said that one of his legs was going to be useless even if he woke up! Second Brother-in-law’s family is filled with sick and weak people who are all relying on us to support them. Mother, our family’s situation just got a little better off. We can’t let them drag us down.”
Madam Zhang received an extra three hundred taels as income, but when she saw the money in her hands gradually decreasing every day, it was as if someone was cutting her heart over and over again. When she heard her eldest daughter-in-law’s words, she angrily pounded on the kang bed several times and said,
“What are we supposed to do then? Do you think we can just kick them out? Even if we disregard the fact that your father would definitely disagree, the villagers’ gossip and criticism alone would be enough to drown us!”
“But we can’t just waste all our money on them without anything in return!” Madam Li viciously wrung the rough-cloth handkerchief within her chubby hands, feeling frustrated.
Madam Zhang glanced at her and said, “What ideas do you have? Let me hear it…”
All the meat on Madam Li’s face squished together as she smiled and said, “My maiden family knows a trafficking matron [1], who does business with the wealthy families in town. She even has business with some of the rich people in the prefectural city. I heard that a wealthy merchant in town, the Zhou Family, wants to buy a batch of young girls… That trafficking matron has offered the high price of eight taels for the trade.”
Madam Zhang lifted her brows, “You mean… we should sell their eldest daughter?” She pointed towards the direction of the second branch’s room.
“Who would want that unhealthy wretch, Xiaocao? Xiaolian is competent and well-groomed, so we can definitely sell her for a good price!” Madam Li replied with a crafty smile and narrowed her beady eyes, which had nearly disappeared into the wrinkles of fat in her face.
If they sold one of the useless brats, not only would they earn a few extra taels, but there would also be one less person to feed. Moreover, Xiaolian had a stubborn personality and was also the most disobedient. Without her, it would be even easier to control the second branch! Madam Zhang became interested in the idea…
In the early morning of the next day, Yu Xiaocao carried a bundle of firewood and followed behind Xiaolian. Her heart ached for the weak and small figure in front of her, who was nearly covered up by the mountain of firewood on her back. Thus, she would reach out her hand to help support the firewood on Xiaolian’s back from time to time. Little Shitou, who was also carrying a bundle of firewood, followed behind them.
Originally, Xiaolian had planned to gather firewood by herself, but Xiaocao and Little Shitou both expressed that they wanted to ‘share bliss and misfortune together’. Thus, they went out to collect firewood together. It was currently the end of winter and the beginning of spring, so dried firewood could be readily found on the West Mountains at this time. Hence, the siblings had obtained a fruitful result this morning.
Yu Xiaolian, who had known how to take care of her younger siblings from an early age, took on the task of carrying most of the firewood. She only allowed her frail younger sister and younger brother to carry some firewood as a token of helping out. In her previous life, Yu Xiaocao had always taken care of her younger siblings, so she felt somewhat weird being taken care of now. She had repeatedly expressed that her health was fine and that she could carry more, but Xiaolian rejected her every time she made the suggestion.
“Eldest Sister, Second Sister, there’s a guest at home!” As soon as Little Shitou looked up, he saw Madam Li eagerly invite a colorfully dressed middle-aged woman into the courtyard. Thus, he curiously ran over.