Chapter 9 Where Did This Family Go?

“Pick!” Pick it all!

In an instant, even the four-year-old child was picking honeysuckle.

“It’s a pity not to dry it. If it’s dried, it’s worth more.”

Zhao Zhenyu admitted that she did it on purpose.  Her cheap father only cared about money, only then would he consider buying a small courtyard for her.

At noon, “You all continue picking, I’ll go to town again.”

“Aren’t you afraid of running into acquaintances?”

“Cover it with a layer of grass. I’ll take the other  path, it should be fine. When I come back, I’ll bring you all some buns, don’t wait for me to eat.”

Zhao Zhenyu nodded. She didn’t want to return to the old house; the round trip was a waste of time, and it was too annoying to argue with them. Tomorrow, she would prepare thoroughly before going out.

….

“Father!”

Zhao Lihua, with her sharp eyes, spotted her father. Her little nose twitched; he smelled of meat!

“You must be starving. Hold on, one meat bun for each of you, and two dark bread rolls.” He then took out three bamboo tubes from his bag. “You must be dying of thirst. This was given to me by the bun seller. The other one is warm water, drink up!”

The water that Zhao  Dashu brought back was indeed refreshing. Zhao Zhenyu felt as if her throat was on fire and quickly gulped it down, “Gulps…”

“What’s wrong? Didn’t sell them? Did you run into acquaintances?”

“Not at all. The honeysuckle was growing in a remote place. This is close to the deep mountains, and the villagers don’t often come here. I didn’t see anyone on my way back, just a few people in the mountains.”

After a moment, Madam Song spoke up. “Zhenyu, let Lihua eat the buns. I’ll have the bread rolls.”

Zhao Zhenyu rolled her eyes, feeling annoyed during mealtime, pushing and shoving. “Mother, we have enough, one for each of us; no one can snatch from the other.”

Madam Song: … What’s with this child? Why would they snatch from each other?

“Wife, hurry up and eat, don’t dawdle. Once you finish, we need to pick more,” Zhao Dashu said impatiently.

Eating was such a hassle. If they didn’t finish picking the honeysuckle, he probably wouldn’t sleep well tonight.

Madam Song, scolded by Zhao Dashu, didn’t dare to delay any longer, took a bun, and took a bite.

Zhao Lihua had oil all over her mouth, “So delicious!”

Zhao Dashu looked at his daughter, “Lihua, when you go back, don’t share your buns with others. If they ask where you were, just say you were playing. Do you understand? If not, they might take your delicious buns away.”

The little girl hugged the big meat bun tightly, “I know! Lihua is playing with flowers.”

Zhao Dashu nodded in satisfaction. The child wasn’t lying; she was indeed playing with flowers. It was springtime, and wildflowers were everywhere.

After the meal, without much rest, they started picking…picking…picking…

It was almost completely dark before they reluctantly carried their baskets down the mountain.

“Leave the honeysuckle here; I’ll sell it tomorrow.”

Zhao Dashu looked at the well-covered baskets, quite pleased. From the outside, they looked like piles of straw.

“Alright, let’s go back.”

“Let’s go!”

Zhao Zhenyu deliberately walked behind. If they left it out all night, the flowers would rot. After they left, she quickly put the two baskets into her space and closed the door.

“The whole day, where did you all go? Nobody did any work. Third Zhao, what’s going on? Do you think I can’t say a few words to Zhenyu? One moment you’re spreading gossip in the village, the next moment the whole family disappears. What’s the meaning of this?” Old Master Zhao was indeed angry. There was so much work to be done, yet they disappeared for a whole day. If they didn’t work, did he and his wife have to do it?

Second Zhao rubbed his aching waist. With the Third Zhao couple gone, he was really tired. And the work done was less than one-third of a normal day. “That’s right, Third Zhao, what you did was really inappropriate. Hurry up and apologize to your parents.”

“There’s nothing to it, Father. Didn’t you say we were eating for free? We went to the mountains to dig wild vegetables and cook them to eat. We didn’t eat the food at home, so we won’t be accused of eating for free, right?” He then pulled the several people into the house and closed the door.

“He…he…he…he wants to turn the world upside down?!” His wife pointed at his son’s back, looking at Old Master Zhao in disbelief.

“Don’t pay attention to him. If he doesn’t want to eat, then don’t eat. Wild vegetables, huh? Let’s see how many days he can eat wild vegetables. In the end, won’t he be like a dog, obediently coming back to beg for my forgiveness?”

“Father, what about the work here for these few days?” He couldn’t do without his third brother, even for a day.  His third brother and his wife were really good workers. Before, the third brother was often lazy, not doing much more work than him, but these few days, especially after Lihua’s birth, they were like two strong mules, working incredibly hard.

“You bear with it for a few days. If we’re short-handed, call Dazhu and Erzhu. They’re so grown up now, it’s time they started contributing.”

His sons were still running wild in the village at their age, he  tolerated it for so long, thanks to the Third Zhao and his wife.

Second Zhao: …

Why did he have to suffer every time they fought?!

No, he had to persuade Third Zhao.

“Third brother, Third brother, why did you close the door? Open the door, second brother has something to talk to you about.”

Zhao Dashu ignored him, hiding in the house, eating dark bread rolls.

“Eat first. Later, I’ll go out and boil some hot water, soak my feet, and then go to sleep.”

He had seen through it.  His second brother wasn’t a good person either. When it came to work, he was always calling him “Third Brother,” but when it came to other things, he and his son avoided him like the plague.

A forced melon isn’t sweet; he should have known this a long time ago.

Second Zhao shouted for half a day, but no one opened the door for him. He was furious. That ungrateful Third Brother, his father was too kind, too lenient. He would starve him for a few days; then he would come crawling back begging for forgiveness like a dog.

“Humph!”

“Father, Second Uncle seems to have left.”

“Yes.”

“He seems very angry.”

Madam Song wasn’t very useful, but she had one good quality: she was very obedient.  Whatever her husband said, she did. Even if she wanted to open the door, if he wouldn’t let her, she won’t.

“Let him be angry. What does it have to do with us? I’ll boil some hot water. Don’t go out; otherwise, he’ll make a fuss when he sees you.”

“Okay.”

Sure enough, the grandmother’s curses came from outside, the most unpleasant words imaginable.  Sometimes, her cheap father was quite pitiful.  It was a good thing he was strong-willed; otherwise, he would have been depressed long ago.

After washing up, the family went to bed.

In the morning, before dawn, the family quietly slipped out of the courtyard.  She didn’t take the chickens. If they weren’t home for a few days and the chickens disappeared, they would definitely suspect them, and there would be chaos.

They would wait.  Anyway, they weren’t raising the chickens these few days.

Reaching the dilapidated house, Zhao Zhenyu rushed inside and took out the honeysuckle.

“Wow, these flowers have been left overnight, and they’re still so fresh.”