Chapter 10

The next morning, when she woke up, Mrs. Xiong was dressed and ready to go to work after breakfast.

She said to Xiang Dagen, “Xiufang isn’t going to work in the fields today. It’s rare that I’m back, so let the children rest today as well. Later, I’ll take you all for a walk around the village.”

Xiang Dagen had no objections and agreed.

On the other side, the third daughter-in-law got up early and hurriedly rummaged through the kitchen, then rushed to find Mrs. Xiang.

“That half pig’s head and half a bag of rice—they’ve eaten it all,” the third daughter-in-law said, exaggerating.

When Mrs. Xiang heard that half a bag of rice and the pig’s head were gone, her anger surged. She was about to storm out to confront Mrs. Xiong, but was stopped by her husband, Xiang Laotou.

“What are you going to do again? I finally managed to convince him last night, and now you’re going to make things worse.”

Mrs. Xiang huffed angrily, “It’s only been one night, and they’ve eaten half a bag of rice and most of a pig’s head. At this rate, this family will be ruined.”

Xiang Laotou glared at her, “How much rice can a few people cook? I even saw the pig’s head being sliced. We usually eat like this. If you can’t even bear this, then when he gets angry and insists on sending the second son to the army, you’ll have no place to cry.”

After being scolded by her husband, Mrs. Xiang reluctantly swallowed her anger.

Xiang Laotou glanced at the third daughter-in-law and said, “Let them eat whatever they want these few days. The porridge this morning should be thicker, don’t add water. We’ll deal with it after the eldest leaves.”

The third daughter-in-law quickly nodded and went back to cook the porridge.

When breakfast was served, Mrs. Xiong noticed that the porridge was much thicker than usual. She exchanged a meaningful glance with her husband.

Xinghua and Erniu couldn’t help but cheer with excitement, saying that today they could finally eat enough porridge.

Xiang Dagen watched his wife and children’s reactions, feeling both bitter and ashamed. Bitter because, as the eldest son, he wasn’t liked by his parents, and this affected his wife and children as well—they didn’t even have enough to eat. 

Ashamed because, although he knew his children were starving and growing thin, he had simply accepted it, thinking it was the same for every family in these hard times. After so many years, he hadn’t even realized what kind of life his wife and children were living.

As they were eating, Mrs. Xiang came over and said to Mrs. Xiong, “The eldest daughter-in-law should go and harvest the beans from the field below Dufeng today. Eldest son, don’t be idle either. Get the ladder and go fix the roof of the hall. Last time the hail damaged a section.”

Xiang Dagen pushed the rice in his bowl around, “That won’t do. I promised Xiufang and the kids I’d take them out today. Let the second son handle it.”

Mrs. Xiang was not pleased upon hearing this. “The second son doesn’t know how to do that. He can’t do it properly, you should do it.”

Xiang Dagen shook his head, “I’m busy every day in the army and want to rest for two days when I’m home. If the second son doesn’t want to fix the roof, then he can go to the army, and I’ll stay at home to do the repairs and work in the fields.”

“You—” Mrs. Xiang was so angry her chest hurt.

At this moment, Xiang Laotou walked over, puffing on his dry tobacco, and said, “Let the second son do it. The eldest son rarely comes home. Let him rest for two more days.”

Mrs. Xiang angrily replied, “The second son has never done this kind of work.”

“Alright, alright. If he can’t do it, he can ask Old Li from next door to help. Let the eldest son rest for two days.”

Mrs. Xiang was stared at by her husband and had no choice but to shut up. However, unwilling to give up, she said to Mrs. Xiong, “In the afternoon, you must finish harvesting those two acres of beans. The sun is strong, and if the beans stay in the ground too long, they’ll burst.”

Before Mrs. Xiong could speak, Xiang Dagen intervened, “Didn’t you hear what I just said, Mother? I promised my wife and children to take them out. If my wife goes to work, who will I take with me?”

“You can rest, but your wife isn’t in the army. Someone has to work at home.”

Pear Blossom, who had been silent until now, slammed her chopsticks down on the table, fuming, “It’s fine if San Shu (third uncle) and Erlang (second brother) are studying in the city, but Er Shu (second uncle), Er Sao (second aunt), and San Sao (third aunt) are all free. Dalang (eldest brother) and them are always available too. 

Why does it always have to be my mom? Grandma, you just don’t like my dad and my mom. You always make them do the hardest work. I don’t understand, we all have the same mother, so why are you so biased? Is my dad adopted?”

As soon as those words left her mouth, Mrs. Xiang’s heart skipped a beat. Her face changed, and she bared her teeth, glaring at Pear Blossom, then shouted sharply, “When have I been biased? When the eldest son wasn’t home, wasn’t it the second son’s family doing all the work? Now that the eldest son is back, you all start making trouble and stirring up discord. Are you trying to sow discord between us? You’re ungrateful! A person like you should be locked up in prison!”

Hearing this, Xiang Dagen frowned, displeased. “Mother, what are you saying? Why would you curse your granddaughter with prison? If you really think like this, I might suspect that Pear Blossom is right—maybe I was adopted. Otherwise, why do you dislike me so much?”

Mrs. Xiang was momentarily stunned by his words, and her voice instantly rose a few notches as she scolded Pear Blossom, “What are you saying, you little slut? What do you mean by ‘found’ or ‘not found’? When I was pregnant with you, I walked from the village head to the village end every day, and everyone in the village saw it clearly. 

I endured so much hardship to give birth to your father. Now, you, this ungrateful wretch, are saying I picked him up? Where did this unfilial descendant come from?”

The more she spoke, the more agitated she became, and in the end, she began sobbing loudly.

Xiang Dagen couldn’t stand it anymore, and he waved his hand, saying, “Alright, alright, Mother, stop crying. Anyway, we’re not working in the big house today; you do what you want. Erniu, Xinghua, hurry up and finish your porridge. I’ll take you all out now.”

Erniu and Xinghua quickly finished their porridge, saying, “Father, we’re done, let’s go quickly.”

It was Xiong family, who, after years of running around, didn’t have the leisure to wander the village, and after the scene with Mrs. Xiang, she hesitated but still intended to go to the fields. Pear Blossom grabbed her mother’s arm and said, “Mother, father’s back after a long time, why don’t you walk with him?”

Since her daughter said so, Xiong finally gave in, “Alright, I’ll just rinse the bowl and go.”

Pear Blossom happily helped her mother clean up the bowls and carry them to wash. The whole family of six left the house excitedly.

Mrs. Xiang watched the family’s backs, and the malice in her eyes seemed to overflow. 

Zhou, the second daughter-in-law, couldn’t help but say, “Your elder brother has changed so much since he came back.”

Hearing this, Mrs. Xiang glared at her and said, “No matter how much he’s changed, he still has to go serve in the army. It’s all that wretched Pear Blossom’s doing. When the eldest leaves, I’ll make sure she gets a lesson.”

Zhou could tell Mrs. Xiang had been angry since last night, so she didn’t dare say more and quietly retreated into the house.

Mrs. Xiong felt embarrassed to be walking around the village with Dagen, so after stepping out, she turned to chat with the village women.

Seeing her not returning to work, Dagen didn’t mind and took the children around aimlessly. The villagers, who rarely saw him, greeted him warmly.

However, some looked at him with a touch of pity. Villagers who didn’t have a good relationship with Mrs. Xiang couldn’t help but come over. 

“Dagen, you’ve been in the army for so many years, why not have your second or third brothers go instead? From what I see, you’ve been struggling outside, while your wife is having a hard time at home. The second and third households seem to be doing just fine.”

Dagen’s expression darkened. This was something he had just argued with his father about last night. His father kept using the family tradition to pressure him. 

There was no way out when it came to military service. Now, hearing this from outsiders, his face was even more embarrassed. He awkwardly replied, “The second and third households have children in school. I’m just a rough man. I can’t help at home, so serving in the army is fine.”

The person shook his head, “The second and third households send their children to school, why don’t you send your children too? I think Erniu is quite smart.”

Dagen shook his head, “My father said the village teacher tested the children before. He said Daniu and Erniu aren’t suited for studying. They’ll just take over their father’s work, or continue serving in the army, or become laborers.”

“The village teacher wouldn’t say such a thing. Your father must have been lying to you.”

Dagen didn’t reply. The person, sensing the discomfort, stopped bringing it up.

At that moment, Qin Dashan, the eldest from the Qin family, came up to him. “Dagen, I heard that Pear Blossom was sold to Yi County by your mother, but fortunately, the girl was clever and ran back.”

Dagen felt a lump in his throat. Everyone in the village was saying it, but his old parents were adamant in denying it.

“Brother Dashan, I was just about to talk to you about this. My parents refuse to acknowledge it, but I have to go back to the army tomorrow. I’m not close to anyone in the village, so I can only trouble you for now. Please help keep an eye on this, and when I come back next time, I’ll thank you properly.”

Qin Dashan sighed, “How could I not help you? But this can’t go on like this.”

Dagen felt unsettled. He didn’t understand why his parents had so much animosity toward their family, even planning to sell their daughter. It was too cruel.

“I know. I can’t think of a solution for now. After I return to the army, I’ll ask for a few more days off to sort this out. I’ll trouble you to help keep an eye on things.”

If nothing else works, he’d have to find a way to split the family.

Qin Dashan, who usually had a good relationship with Mrs. Xiong, naturally sided with the first household. He patted Dagen on the shoulder and sighed as he left.

Every time Dagen went somewhere, the villagers looked at him with strange eyes. The feeling of being scrutinized made him feel too embarrassed to continue. Just as he was about to turn back home, he unexpectedly bumped into Liu Youcai and his son at the village entrance.

Liu Youcai, about the same age as Dagen, had played with him as a child. However, Mrs. Xiang never liked Dagen associating with the Liu family, and since the Liu family was wealthy and looked down on poor families like his, Dagen had rarely seen them after he joined the army.

Now, Liu Youcai’s son had just passed the imperial exam and became the most admired scholar in the area. It was no wonder both of them walked around with an air of superiority.

Seeing Liu Youcai’s arrogant demeanor, Dagen’s heart was mixed with emotions. He grabbed the children beside him and was about to turn away.

But Liu Youcai had already spotted him. Smiling, he called out, “Dagen, what brings you back?”

Liu Youcai, who had once looked down on Dagen, now with his son becoming a scholar, wouldn’t care about the weak Dagen. He only called out to show off his son’s achievement.

Dagen, unable to avoid him, turned around and said, “There’s a break in the army these days, so I got a few days off.”

He then cupped his hands to Liu Qiming and said, “Congratulations, Scholar Liu. You’ll be living in the city from now on, and you’ll meet my third brother often. My third brother passed the imperial examination too, but he hasn’t been back to the village in years.”

Hearing Dagen mention the third son of the Xiang family, Liu Youcai sneered, “My son passed the scholar exam to attend the county school, not like your third brother.”

Xiang Dagen frowned slightly. 

Liu Youcai continued, “You probably don’t know this yet, but your third brother in the city spends his days cockfighting and loafing around, completely uninterested in studying. My son is different. 

He gets up at the crack of dawn every day, and now, even though he hasn’t yet reached adulthood, he’s already passed the Imperial exam to become a Xiucai. If he were like your third brother, who knows when he’d ever succeed?”  

Xiang Dagen couldn’t help but feel his heart sink deeper and deeper. He replied, “The Xiucai master is naturally gifted and intelligent—someone like my third brother could never compare.”  

Liu Youcai chuckled smugly and said, “Exactly. How could Xiang Laosan ever measure up to my son? You’ve been carrying the burden of military service for the Xiang family all these years, using your blood and sweat to send money back home to support them while your two younger brothers live comfortable lives. 

Honestly, I feel bad for you—tsk, but there’s no point in saying more since you won’t listen anyway.”  

As he spoke, his eyes swept over the raggedly dressed children behind Xiang Dagen, his gaze betraying undisguised contempt.  

The forced smile on Dagen’s face slowly froze.