Chapter 12: Your Whole Family Is Filthy! 

Zhao Dashu remained silent, Second Zhao didn’t dare speak, and the old woman was too cowardly to put up a front. Though she acted tough, the one she truly feared was Old Master Zhao. Back in his younger days, anyone who argued with him would get beaten half to death—mercilessly and viciously. These days, they simply obeyed whatever he said to avoid another thrashing. 

“Let’s go back inside.” 

Right now, anything they said would be wrong unless they obediently returned to work. But was that fair? Were they supposed to leave the flowers on the mountain unpicked? Stop earning money? 

Zhao Zhenyu pressed her lips together, her displeasure evident—she was furious. 

“Husband, are we still going up the mountain tomorrow?” Madam Song asked timidly. Her father-in-law had flown into a rage today, and she was frightened. 

“Of course we’re going! Do you want to give up all that silver?” 

No, no—Madam Song shook her head vehemently. “Let him curse all he wants. We’ll focus on earning the money first.” 

“Now that’s the right way to think.”

Madam Song was delighted—her husband had actually praised her! 

Zhao Zhenyu found it almost nauseating to watch. “Father, wouldn’t it be better if we just split from the family properly? Then we wouldn’t have to sneak around like this.” 

Zhao Dashu sighed. “It’s not as simple as you think. The only ones doing real work in this household are our two families—your grandfather would never let us go. Besides, if we left, how would we eat? Where would we live? Even if we took our share of silver, it’d barely be enough to buy land and build a mud-brick house. Without a home, would we just drink the wind?” 

She understood now—no money meant no leverage. ‘Then we’ll just have to earn enough to make leaving possible.’ But Old Master Zhao was another problem entirely. He’d never willingly let his free laborers go. This family would be hard to break away from. 

What could they do? 

It was enough to drive one mad! 

The next day. 

Before dawn, the family slipped out with baskets in hand. Old Master Zhao had meant to block them, but he was too late—when he rushed over, all he found was a locked door. 

‘Since when did Third Zhao’s family wake this early? Are they off to steal something?’

“Father, go to town quickly. Bring back some eggs to boil for dinner tonight, and buy some dry rations too.” 

“Aye!”

Their daughter was generous by nature. Though the silver was entrusted to her as dowry savings, she never pinched pennies. 

Madam Song initially thought buying so much was wasteful, but seeing her husband’s stern expression, she wisely held her tongue. 

The remaining honeysuckle on the mountain was scarce, so they finished early—before nightfall. 

“Let’s look around nearby to see if there’s more. We’ll head down when it’s darker.” Going back now risked being seen by others. 

“Good idea!” 

After searching the area, Madam Song gathered a large bundle of wild vegetables. 

“We’ll make vegetable soup tonight.” The main house surely wouldn’t leave them any food. With coarse bread and a boiled egg each, this meal would already be far better than what her father-in-law provided. 

“Daughter, tomorrow you should leave later—after I finish selling. Otherwise, where would I find you?” 

“We’ll still be picking honeysuckle in the same area. I’ll leave you a marker. If we don’t go out early, we might not get out at all. If Grandfather orders Mother to the fields, can she refuse? And I’ve noticed the firewood pile is running low—won’t he send me to chop more?” 

Zhao Dashu realized she was right. These past few days, the pigs at the main house had been constantly hungry, and no one had been sent to cut firewood. It almost gave the illusion that the old household could function without them.

They returned home early today, just as the family was finishing dinner. 

“Oh look, our great busybodies are back!” 

“Grandmother, we haven’t eaten yet.” 

“What’s that to me? The way you all act, do you even need to eat our food? There’s nothing left—not a crumb.” 

“Third Brother, you came back too late. The food really is gone.” ‘See? It’s not that we’re denying you—you simply missed the meal.’ How typically like Old Master Zhao—his words left no room for argument. 

“It’s getting late. Everyone should wash up and rest. Zhenyu, we’re out of firewood—you’ll carry several loads back tomorrow.” 

“Sorry, Grandfather, but Father said we’re resting for ten days. Besides, since we’re not eating the family’s food anymore, surely whoever eats should be the one to gather firewood, no?” 

“Since when do children interrupt their elders? You ill-mannered brat!” Old Master Zhao couldn’t stand this granddaughter. “Third Zhao, haven’t you noticed? Ever since Zhenyu was fished out of the river, she’s been different. Who knows what unclean thing might have possessed her.” 

Zhao Zhenyu: ‘You’re the unclean one! Your whole family is filthy!’

“Father, Zhenyu is perfectly fine. Surviving death just made her stronger, wiser, and sharper. If she’d stayed as timid as before, she’d have been chewed to the bone long ago. Zhenyu, remember—stay exactly as you are. And teach Lihua too, so she doesn’t grow up a fool.”

“Understood, Father!” Zhao Zhenyu replied loudly. 

Old Master Zhao: “…” 

If not for needing their labor, he wouldn’t tolerate this insolence. 

“Third Zhao, let me remind you—you still don’t have a son.” 

The words struck Zhao Dashu like a knife to the heart, brutal and bloody. 

His head drooped, deflated. 

“Father, Mother is still young—who says she can’t have another? And even if not, what’s stopping me or Lihua from taking in a live-in son-in-law?” 

Zhao Dashu looked up, eyes suddenly bright. ‘Right—why hadn’t he thought of that?’ A matrilocal marriage would mean any children would still carry the Zhao name. 

Old Master Zhao scoffed. “Don’t talk nonsense. What could you possibly offer to attract a live-in son-in-law? That basket of weeds?” 

‘Truthfully, finding a willing live-in son-in-law required property and standing—things they lacked.’ Even his own brothers refused to spare a son as his heir—dreaming of a son-in-law was pure fantasy.

Zhao Zhenyu ignored him. ‘What’s the point arguing with someone who refuses to see reason?’ 

Watching Madam Song boil wild vegetables in the kitchen, Old Master Zhao’s disdain deepened—this applied equally to Second Zhao and his wife too. ‘Choosing hardship when there’s decent food available, drinking wild vegetable soup every day—how pathetic!’ 

“This soup actually pairs well with the steamed buns!” 

“And we have eggs too,” Madam Song added. Two eggs a day—she’d never dared imagine such luxury before. 

“Next time, next time!” 

“Father, Mother, tomorrow let’s search more carefully. The mountains must hold more than just honeysuckle.” 

“Good idea. We’ll gather honeysuckle while you look for other herbs.” ‘Not that they’d recognize anything else anyway.’ 

“Even dandelions are medicinal—they just need proper drying, which we can’t manage.” 

Zhao Dashu slapped his thigh regretfully. 

“Actually… Father, Mother, what do you think of Auntie Liu’s family?” ‘If we can’t process certain herbs, why not let those who can benefit from them?’

“Good, good! A few times when I was too hungry to work, it was Auntie Liu who gave me a couple of cornbread buns from her home to keep me going.” 

“Don’t you know their family? Uncle Liu and your father grew up together, close as brothers. The reason Auntie Liu doesn’t get along with the main household is that she can’t stand seeing us treated unfairly.” 

“Father, go see Uncle Liu tonight. Tell him dandelions are medicinal—dig them up with the roots, wash and dry them, then ask at the pharmacy what price they’ll fetch.” 

“Aye, I’ll ask in town tomorrow whether they take fresh ones too.” 

“The herbs probably aren’t worth much, but unprocessed ones should still bring in something.” 

“As long as there’s money to be made, they’ll do it.” In the village, aside from farming, there were hardly any other sources of income. Odd jobs were scarce—carrying sandbags paid just twenty coppers a day and left you exhausted. Work was hard to come by, and competition was fierce. The only reason he got jobs every year was because he knew how to sweet-talk the foreman and slip him the occasional bribe. 

Dawn hadn’t yet broken, and the courtyard was still shrouded in gloom. Zhao Dashu’s family was already up and washed. Only Lihua was still asleep, carried in a basket on Madam Song’s back. 

“Third Zhao, where are you all off to?” A shadowy figure stood at the gate, barely visible in the dim light.