Chapter 16: Half the Men in the Village Are My Brothers

“Father, Mother, try it. Is it still bitter?”

Zhao Dashu reached out and grabbed one, popping it into his mouth. Madam Song followed suit, using chopsticks—though they really didn’t need them, as long as they had their hands.

Zhao Zhenyu , being a medical student, watched with her eyelids twitching. Couldn’t they show a bit more hygiene? At least wash their hands!

“It’s not bitter anymore! What happened, daughter? We usually stew it; why is it bitter now?”

“I don’t know,” Zhao Zhenyu  shrugged. The question was too profound for her to answer.

“Father , this bamboo shoot, we could pickle it ourselves, eat it, and even sell some… but now we…”

She just wanted to occasionally provoke her cheap father, pushing him to figure out how to fall out with the old house and split the family.

Zhao Dashu: …

Damn it!

At this moment, the thought of splitting the family burned fiercely in his heart.

“Daughter, what do you think it would take for your grandfather to dislike me?”

Zhao Zhenyu  glanced at him and calmly replied, “He already dislikes you now.”

That hit hard, old buddy.

He was disliked, yet unwilling to let go. To put it plainly, it wasn’t that he couldn’t bear to part with him—it was that he couldn’t bear to part with a hardworking mule. No, his family had three of them.

Zhao Zhenyu  looked him up and down. “If you broke your leg now, Grandpa might throw you out of the house immediately, not even waiting a single extra day.”

Zhao Dashu clutched his chest, looking utterly wounded.

“I don’t want to become a cripple. Even if I want to split the family, there’s no need to break my leg, right?”

His little cotton-padded jacket wasn’t being considerate anymore.

Madam Song looked at the father and daughter in confusion. What were they even talking about? Why didn’t she understand? Split the family? Everything seemed fine now, so why bring it up?

“Is there another way?”

“If Uncle passes the provincial exam and becomes a Juren, to avoid us taking advantage, he would split us off without you even saying a word, and we’d be kicked out with nothing to our name.”

This dead girl, was she trying to make him die of anger?

What nonsense was she speaking?!

Zhao Zhenyu said with a relaxed tone, “Father , splitting the family isn’t easy.”

Zhao Dashu slumped, feeling defeated. If his daughter—whose brain had been blessed—couldn’t come up with an idea, then what could his pig’s brain think of? It seemed pretty tough to break away from the old house and live a better life with all the luxuries.

What should he do?

Zhao Zhenyu wasn’t joking with him; she had genuinely considered having him cripple his leg, though of course, it would be fake. The only person who couldn’t be fooled would be the village doctor. But as long as he cooperated, there wouldn’t be any issue.

“Dad, do you know the old doctor in our village?”

“Not very well. I asked him before if he had any secret formulas for having children.”

Madam Song’s face turned bright red. What on earth was he saying to his daughter? His mouth had no filter.

“How is he?”

“Pretty good.”

“Next time, when you have some free time, go chat with him. Get familiar with him. Then, when the time comes, ask him to help us tell a lie—do you think he’d be willing?”

“Tell a lie? What lie?”

“Just say your leg is broken.”

Zhao Dashu: …

So we’re really going through with this, huh?

Wait, his daughter said “lie,” which means… “You mean, fake broken?”

Oh, his little cotton-padded jacket hadn’t changed one bit.

“Yes. Unless you actually want it to be broken?” Well, it wouldn’t be impossible; she could probably still take care of him even if he was crippled. But, just for splitting the family, it really felt like a bit too much of a sacrifice.

“No, no, no, I don’t want it. A fake one is perfect, really good!”

Alright, her father was just a coward.

A night passed without dreams.

As soon as they stepped out of the house, they ran into Liu Shi and her husband, who were also heading out.

“Aunt Liu, you’re up early!”

“Mm, you two are up early as well? Have you eaten yet?” No wonder she never saw them—getting up earlier than the village roosters. It was a miracle to run into them.

“We’ve eaten. What about you? We still have some flatbreads, would you like some?” Madam Song said, already starting to lower her basket.

Madam Zheng ^[1]She is Aunt Liu – Uncle Liu’s wife  quickly stopped her, “We’ve already eaten, we’ve already eaten. No need for formalities, let’s just get going. Everyone has their own business, let’s hurry up.”

Madam Song smiled awkwardly. Aunt Liu always spoke so directly.

They walked together to the rundown house. “We need to go up soon, you two go ahead.”

Liu Shunzi, who used to be so close to him that they could wear the same pair of pants as children, immediately understood. Seems like there’s something suspicious about this old house.

“We’ll go ahead then!”

Zhao Zhenyu was quite pleased. Both of them were considerate without saying too much—just right.

“Zhenyu, what are we doing today?”

“We’re going to dig for mushrooms where we were yesterday.” The chicken mushrooms grow in clusters, so there should be plenty nearby.

“Good!”

Digging for mushrooms sounds great, and even a small amount could be worth quite a few coins!

“Let’s go, let’s go, we’re going mushroom hunting.” This job was much more promising than Liu Shunzi’s.

“Father, you two stay here digging. I’ll take a walk.” She wanted to go to the bamboo forest and pick some bamboo shoots. There were so many bamboo shoots, it would be such a waste not to pick them!

She’d ask her father later. If Uncle Liu was going to dig for dandelions, who else would have free time? Maybe they could team up—he could dig, and they’d take care of the rest. Then, they’d split the money when it was sold.

Thinking about it, Zhao Zhenyu stopped and turned back. “Dad, are there any other people in the village you’re close to and who have good character?” People like her father, who were open and easygoing, should have good relationships with others.

“There are plenty of them. What’s up?”

“I want to pick the bamboo shoots in that bamboo forest and sell them to the tavern.”

“Do you think they’ll buy them?”

“Why wouldn’t they? These bamboo shoots are delicious. The only issue is…”

Zhao Dashu sighed deeply, his heart feeling heavy. She always left half of her words unsaid, but he knew exactly what she meant. He looked down at his own sturdy, long legs—so long, so well-shaped. It would be such a waste if they were broken.

Then he glanced at Madam Song, who was desperately digging for mushrooms on the ground. What if his wife ended up disliking him later?

No, no, he needed to keep these legs. He still had sons to father and children to carry!

“I’m not bragging, half the men in the village are my brothers! Whatever you want to do, just tell me, and they’ll definitely help you out!”

Zhenyu finally understood why, despite being also his son, her grandfather didn’t think much of her father. He always seemed so unreliable and full of hot air. The old man, who was always so practical, would never approve of someone like him.

“I’m serious.”

“Hmph… So, do you know Uncle Li and Uncle Zhao? Both of them are good.”

Zhenyu shot him a glance. Yeah, those two were the village’s most famous for being poor and not exactly law-abiding, so it made sense they’d get along well with him.

“Dad, let’s dig mushrooms for half the day. Then, we’ll head to town and see if we can sell the bamboo shoots.”

“Alright.”

She was the eldest, so what she said went.

After lunch, the two of them set off with their freshly picked mushrooms. “Mom, you two keep digging here. If you run out, just move to another spot nearby. There’s no bamboo elsewhere, so this is the best place.”

“Hey, you two be careful on the road.”

Once they reached the bamboo forest, Zhao Dashu and his daughter dived into the work, pulling out bamboo shoots left and right.