Chapter 66 - Maternal Family (2/2)

Madam Liu nodded her head and said, “Cao’er’s body has also gotten better, and she’s become much more lively. As her mother, I now feel a lot more relieved. If only her father’s leg would get better…”

“It’ll get better, it’ll get better! Good things will happen to good people, Brother Dahai’s leg will definitely be cured!” Madam Fang had also heard of Yu Hai’s wounded leg and hastily comforted Madam Liu.

“Second Sister, Second Sister! Look! Brother Xiaowu and I found some wild pheasant eggs in the grove, there are three total!” Later on, Eldest Sister can boil them, then Father, Mother, and Second Sister can each have one to eat!”

Just as everyone had almost finished clearing the weeds from the front and back courtyards, Little Shitou, who had gone out with the next door neighbor, Qian Wu, came back. No one knew where they had gone, but Little Shitou still had leaves and grass in his hair as he held the pheasant eggs in his hands with a large grin on his face.

The second daughter from the Zhou Family, Shanhu, deliberately teased him, “You want your eldest sister to help cook the eggs, but you’re not giving her a share. Little Shitou, are you not afraid of Xiaolian accusing you of being biased?”

Little Shitou glanced at Xiaolian, and then gleefully replied, “Older Sister wouldn’t do that! Father is injured while Mother and Second Sister’s bodies are weak. If Eldest Sister had good food to eat, she would also give it to them first.”

Madam Fang rubbed the little guy’s head and smiled, “Younger Sister Muyun, your son is so sensible. People like us, ah, we don’t need to envy other people, we just need to live our own lives to the fullest.”

No one wanted to monopolize the three pheasant eggs. Thus, Xiaocao proposed to use them to make egg drop soup. Every single member of the five person family happily drank a bowl of the soup.

At around lunch, Xiaocao’s maternal grandmother, three uncles, and aunts all came over with a borrowed ox cart. The cart was stuffed full with household goods meant to be used in this new home. The largest items were tables and stools, the smaller items were pots, bowls, ladles and basins. Some were new and some were items that were pre-owned.

When Yu Hai first got injured, Grandmother Liu had come over the see them and even left behind two taels for her daughter to give to her grandson and granddaughters to buy food to eat. As soon as the Liu Family left, the two taels were confiscated by Madam Zhang who said that she needed to take them to pay for Yu Hai’s medical fees.

Xiaocao’s maternal grandmother, Madam Yao, could tell that her daughter and grandchildren’s complexion had all improved a lot, and felt the worries ease in her heart. She hugged Shitou closely and spoke to Madam Liu with a slightly choked up voice, “It’s good to split, it’s good to split! At least in the future you won’t have to be your mother-in-law’s punching bag anymore.”

Madam Liu wiped the corners of her eyes and smiled, “Yes, that’s true. Although our future may be a little harder, it’s good to be the one in charge of the household. I don’t have to think about other people’s moods or worry about my children being beaten and scolded. Living in hardship will still taste sweet.”

Madam Liu’s maternal family lived on the other side of the mountain, and they only had four plots of dry land to farm. Thus, they also didn’t have a very comfortable life. Madam Liu had two older brothers and one younger brother. The eldest one, Liu Pei, had a strong and muscular body. During the off season, he often went out to take temporary jobs. His wife, Madam Han, usually went to the docks to sell things and could often earn a couple bits to subsidize the income at home.

Eldest Uncle’s family only had two girls. The oldest one was named Liu Feiying and was fourteen years old. She was already betrothed and was just waiting until she reached marriageable age, fifteen, before she married. Their second daughter, Liu Feiyan, was around the age of Xiaocao’s eldest brother, Yu Hang. The two families had even joked about having them marry each other in the future.

Second Uncle, Liu Han, was an honest and hardworking man. He was the expert in planting, and the few fields they had were managed by him and Cao’er’s maternal grandfather. The output from these fields were somewhat better than other people’s. Although Second Aunt, Madam Hu, was a little bit selfish, she didn’t have any other glaring problems. She had birthed two sons and a daughter, so she felt that she was superior to Eldest Aunt, who didn’t have a son.

Third Uncle, Liu Hao, was the youngest in the family and it could be said that Madam Liu had done half of his upbringing. Therefore, he was the one closest to his older sister. The year before last, he had married Madam Bian, and they had a son who had not yet turned one. Liu Hao had been apprenticed to a village carpenter and had learned woodworking. Thus, he often went out to find carpentry work to make money. Third Aunt, Madam Bian, was skilled at embroidery and could often sell her work every month.

The Liu Family had not split its branches off, and the three sons were all filial and respectful. All the money they made was given to their mother, Madam Yao, to keep. However, Madam Yao was not like the stingy and parsimonious Madam Zhang. Other than spending the money on the family’s food and clothing, from time to time, she would also give her daughters-in-law some spending money. The Liu Family had few providers but a lot of mouths to feed, so they didn’t have a lot of income. Thus, they weren’t able to save a lot of money from year to year.

The previous evening, Madam Yao had heard that her daughter and son-in-law had split off from the family. Madam Liu had a lot of young children and an injured husband. In addition, their branch was only given three plots of sandy land and an old, broken-down, three-room house. With her daughter having such poor resources, Madam Yao couldn’t idly sit by. This morning, at dawn, she had packed up household goods, such as bedding and utensils, and borrowed an ox cart to rush over there.

The Liu Family lived in Xishan Village and the West Mountain was in-between Xishan Village and Dongshan village. Traversing by foot through the forests of the mountain usually only took one hour. However, bringing an ox cart over required skirting around that area on a different road, which took twice as long as the mountainous trail.

Before the sun rose, Madam Yao and her sons and daughters-in-law left home to go to her daughter’s new home. They had only arrived at noon and even had to eat their breakfast of dried rations on the road.

When she saw that the old house’s roof had almost fallen off, Madam Yao felt angry and distressed. Their in-laws were really too excessive! They almost let her daughter and her son-in-law leave with barely any clothes on their backs. Having a stepmother really meant that one had a stepfather! Madam Yao was also very familiar with Madam Zhang’s shrewish and crafty personality. Even if she confronted the old woman, it would be of no use.

She fished out a bulging embroidered pouch from her pocket and stuffed it into Madam Liu’s hands and said in a voice choked with emotion, “Yunzi, the pouch has ten taels in it. Take it and use it to fix the house. The earlier you move out, the better it is, so you can avoid the enmity of others. As for those three plots of land, don’t worry about them. This past year, we have more sweet potato seedlings than before, so during spring I can have your brothers come over and help you plant some…”