W Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Choosing People to Go Down the Mountain

Shen Lai has been very busy these past two days. He has to get up before dawn to practice martial arts, take Wu Xue to run at the foot of the mountain, and then practice the characters Ling Yue taught him the previous night.

In the afternoon, he has to identify herbs, remember all the details, and spar with Shen Hui to practice moves.

In the evening, Ling Yue checks how well he has learned the characters. If he passes, he learns the next one. If he doesn’t, he continues studying.

The most idle person in the family right now is Zhao Yuanqing, who is only a few months old. He eats and sleeps all day, and when he opens his eyes, he either smiles or blows bubbles.

When he sees Wu Xue, he will widen his eyes, clap his hands, and babble.

Because he has heard Wu Xue bark, he tries to imitate it but ends up saying “wa wa.”

Shen Yan has been here for two days, and the smile on her face is noticeably more frequent.

Her ge’er-husband, younger siblings-in-law are all good to her, always thinking of her when there’s something delicious or fun.

Not to mention her parents and brothers, Shen Yan feels a long-lost warmth and happiness.

It’s not that things were bad in the Zhao family, but she had to be careful around everyone except her husband.

She needed to think carefully before speaking and acting, for fear of saying or doing the wrong thing.

It has been a long, long time since she has been this relaxed.

At this moment, the Zhao family in Shanwa Village is making a ruckus again.

Liu Qihua is holding six-year-old Zhao Yuanbao, sitting on the ground crying, her worn-out clothes covered in dust.

“How is anyone supposed to live like this! I just wanted Yuanbao to have a bite of stewed egg, why is it so difficult!”

Granny Zhao watches coldly, “The wild chickens at home aren’t laying eggs, there are no eggs.”

What do you mean there are no eggs? The Shen family just sent ten eggs the day before yesterday, big ones, round and plump, how can you say there are no eggs!

Liu Qihua knows in her heart that her mother-in-law is just being biased and doesn’t want her Yuanbao to have any, so she says that.

“Mother, do you think I’m blind and have no eyes? What’s locked in the cabinet in the kitchen if not eggs?”

It would have been better not to mention this, but the mention of it makes Granny Zhao angry.

That day, if any of her daughters-in-law had been sensible, the in-laws wouldn’t have taken their daughter and grandson away.

“Those eggs were sent by Yan’er’s mother, what does it have to do with you, Liu Qihua? You keep yelling about not being able to survive, but you can single-mindedly covet other people’s eggs.”

Granny Zhao’s words leave no room for courtesy. Her third daughter-in-law isn’t bad at heart, but she loves to take advantage of others and won’t allow herself to suffer any loss.

These are all minor flaws, and they don’t amount to much when you think about it.

In the past, Granny Zhao would turn a blind eye and wouldn’t bother to fuss over it.

But after repeatedly receiving things from the Shen family, Granny Zhao doesn’t think that way anymore.

It’s not just about being beholden to someone who feeds you or taking advantage of someone’s generosity.

It’s that the things the Shen family sends are very unusual.

Not to mention how expensive rice and flour are, just consider the buns and steamed buns, which she had never seen or eaten before.

She heard from her sons who went down the mountain earlier that the ge’er-husband left behind by Shen Hai is capable and runs a small business in town.

It was also because his business was good that people were jealous and wanted to steal his recipes, which led to the later matter of them going up the mountain to ask their family to send people to help guard things.

The recipe matter was resolved later. The day the child was born, the in-laws came up the mountain and, when asked, heard that the yamen had resolved it.

Granny Zhao thought at the time that the ge’er-husband left behind by Shen Hai was no ordinary person. Common people wouldn’t have his courage.

Someone like that, what wouldn’t they be able to accomplish?

And the food that the Shen family sent one after another also confirmed Granny Zhao’s thoughts.

The Shen family is going to rise.

This time, even though they sent few things, only eggs and pickled vegetables.

But eggs are also good things. Which village family would be willing to eat them? They all take them to sell for money. Even when visiting relatives, they rarely bring eggs.

And the pickled vegetables, the moment you open the pottery jar, the smell is extraordinary, completely different from the ones at home that are only pickled with coarse salt grains.

They smell so fragrant, and they look very good too. They can’t bear to eat them, thinking of saving them for the winter.

Granny Zhao didn’t expect to be pulled up by the Shen family, but no matter what, she can’t become enemies with them.

None of the daughters-in-law are bad-hearted, it’s just that they have small flaws that never end.

To put it bluntly, they’re petty and can only see what’s in front of them, with no foresight.

She could tolerate it in the past, but not anymore.

The Shen family has enough strength to protect Shen Yan. If Shen Yan lives directly with her parents and doesn’t come back, there’s nothing the Zhao family can do about it.

The Shen family isn’t like the other daughters-in-law’s families, all hoping for one less mouth to feed.

The Shen family could really do something like keep their married daughter at home and continue to raise her.

Granny Zhao ultimately wants her family to continue to prosper in the long term. The trivial matters she didn’t care about in the past, she now not only cares about but also takes very seriously.

Liu Qihua didn’t expect Granny Zhao to be so straightforward. The whole family is looking at her, and her face is burning red.

“Get up quickly, don’t make a scene.”

Zhao Changyuan, under his father’s reproving gaze, goes to help Liu Qihua up.

Already feeling uncomfortable because everyone is staring at her, Liu Qihua suddenly throws off his hand when she sees the disgusted look in her husband’s eyes, “Are you blaming me? What right do you have to blame me? I’m doing all this shamelessly for your son!”

Zhao Changyuan’s arm is slapped, and it hurts so much that he winces.

“What are you going crazy for!”

“Going crazy? That’s right! I’m crazy! Since I married into your family, how many full meals have I eaten? How many new clothes have I worn? When you married me, you said sweet words, promising to let me eat my fill and dress warmly. And now? Now you can’t do it, and you stillDislike dislike dislike me!”

“Everyone in this family canDislike dislike dislike me, but not you, Zhao Changyuan! I’ve scrimped and saved, and I’ve risked my life to give you three children, what right do you have toDislike dislike dislike me!”

Liu Qihua cries sadly, crying together with Zhao Yuanbao in her arms.

Zhao Changyuan listens to the endless crying, looks at his thin wife and children, and sees the family’s gaze on him, as if blaming him, or as if there’s no emotion at all.

These days have been very difficult for him too. His parents want him to give an explanation, but he really can’t.

His wife just wants an egg.

He can’t tell his wife not to want an egg, and he can’t get his parents to give her one.

Zhao Changyuan is in a dilemma. In the midst of his wife and children’s crying, he slaps himself hard and roars, “Yes, I’m useless! I can’t earn money, I can’t support my family. My leg was bitten, and I only managed to save it thanks to the help of my married ge’er-brother. But this is all I am in this life, this is all I can do!”

Doesn’t he want his wife and children to eat their fill and dress warmly? Doesn’t he want to be like the Shen family, supporting their married ge’er?

His Yuan Shu was beaten black and blue by that beast for taking money back to show him his leg. He has a big body but can only watch helplessly.

He is beholden to them, what face does he have to lay down rules for his son-in-law?

Zhao Changyuan cries silently, his straight back bent down. Due to long-term labor, at the age of thirty-something, there are already some white hairs mixed in his temples.

Liu Qihua has never seen her husband shed a tear before. Even when his leg was bitten bloody, he didn’t utter a sound.

She is stunned for a moment, stops her crying, but the tears flow even more fiercely.

She also feels sorry for her husband, who gets up early and works until late every day, recklessly digging into the mountains, just hoping to dig up a little more food.

But as her husband said, that’s it, that’s all it will be in this life.

They can only manage not to starve to death and solve basic survival.

The Zhao family elders also shed tears silently.

Life in the mountains is difficult, there’s no place to earn money, and the grain in the fields isn’t enough to pay taxes.

Granny Zhao wipes her tears, her cloudy eyes looking at the clear sky. Heavens, how are we supposed to live!

“Third brother, you come down the mountain with me tomorrow. My mother-in-law said she’s found us work.”

Zhao Changming’s voice rises abruptly in the midst of the sobs.

The Zhao family elders react quickly. Grandpa Zhao’s voice trembles, “Fifth brother, what do you mean?”

Zhao Changming doesn’t hide anything, “My mother-in-law said when she went down the mountain that day that there was work at home and that she wanted me to bring a few brothers down the mountain to help in three days.”

The food the Shen family sent are all good things, and the Zhao family knows that the ge’er-husband the Shen family left behind has a business in town.

Therefore, the Zhao family doesn’t doubt Zhao Changming’s words, and their eyes all shine with light.

There’s money to be earned! There’s a way out!

Eldest Sister-in-law Zhou Yu smiles kindly, her tone filled with barely suppressed excitement, “Fifth brother, you just said bring a few brothers, how many are you bringing? Did your mother-in-law say?”

Yes, how many are you bringing?

The Zhao family’s eyes all fall on Zhao Changming. This is the question they’re most concerned about.

Zhao Changming lowers his head, “I plan to bring third brother, seventh brother, and ninth brother.”

Granny Zhao had nine children and lost two.

A total of seven sons, one daughter, and one ge’er.

It’s precisely because of such a thriving family that no one dares to bully the Zhao family.

But they’re also poor enough.

If it weren’t for the sons being able to hunt, they wouldn’t have been able to survive.

Hearing Zhao Changming’s words, the eldest son Zhao Changjiu and the third son Zhao Changyuan are the most confused.

Zhao Changjiu didn’t expect that he wouldn’t be included, and Zhao Changyuan didn’t expect that he would be taken along.

After all, his wife had yelled at Fifth Sister-in-law and has been staring at her eggs these past two days, trying every means to eat them.

To put it bluntly, Fifth Sister-in-law was forced back to her parents’ home by his wife.

“Fifth brother, you miscounted, right?” Zhao Changyuan asks in confusion.

Zhao Changjiu hears this, looks at Zhao Changming with a solemn expression, waiting for his answer.

Liu Qihua comes back to her senses from her ecstasy. She pulls Zhao Changyuan back, goes forward, smiles through her tears, and looks at Zhao Changming.

“Aiya, Fifth brother, don’t listen to your third brother talking nonsense, his head is muddled from crying, he hasn’t recovered yet.”

Zhao Changming smiles.

He quietly observed things at home for two days, listening to his mother-in-law’s words.

At first, he also thought that Third Sister-in-law was bad and disliked his wife.

He only discovered after careful observation that Eldest Sister-in-law and Sixth and Eighth Sister-in-law always gossiped in front of her.

Saying that Yuanbao is young, but doesn’t have good treatment, saying they feel wronged for Third Sister-in-law, and that she has never been favored by her mother.

Not one of these words says anything bad about Shen Yan, but it makes people feel uncomfortable in their hearts.

Third Sister-in-law has a fiery temper and a straightforward personality, never beating around the bush.

After listening to these words many times, she kept them in her heart and single-mindedly wanted to prove that her son could have good treatment and that she had a place in her mother’s heart.

In Third Sister-in-law’s view, the way to prove it was with eggs.

So she wants an egg, staring at the eggs, wanting to get a share ofPreferences that belongs to her.

And to get something for her son to eat.

Eldest Sister-in-law looks kind and is all smiles to everyone, never seeing her lose her temper.

Zhao Changming also used to think that Eldest Sister-in-law was the best, and that he didn’t like Third Sister-in-law the most.

But he discovered that Eldest Sister-in-law was the one who provoked the conflict.

With a few words, she can make the sisters-in-law feel unequal, and then unknowingly make them her shock troops, fighting battles for her.

This time, Third Sister-in-law was chosen by Eldest Sister-in-law to be the shock troop targeting his wife.

Eldest Sister-in-law is actually very concerned about that extra wild egg, which her mother didn’t give to her.

As for the other two younger sisters-in-law, there’s the reason that they were instigated by Eldest Sister-in-law, but more than that, it’s their own feelings of injustice.

In just two days, Zhao Changming secretly overheard them getting together to say bad things about his wife three times.

Not long after Liu Qihua finishes speaking, the two younger sisters-in-law also anxiously ask.

“Fifth brother, why aren’t you taking my Changtuan? He’s your sixth brother too.”

Oldest Eighth’s wife is also anxious, “What about Changping? Why aren’t you taking Changping?”

Zhao Changming doesn’t plan to hide the reason. He can’t hide it, and it saves him from thinking of people as worse than they are.

But he can’t say it’s his mother-in-law.

He counts on his fingers.

“These past two days, I’ve caught Eldest Sister-in-law provoking my wife and Third Sister-in-law’s relationship four times, and Sixth and Eighth Sister-in-law getting together to scold my wife three times, so I’m not taking eldest brother, sixth brother, and eighth brother.”

The Zhao family understands.

So that’s the reason for taking some people and not taking others.

“What do you mean by catching…” Zhou Yu’s face is mostly red, and she’s flustered, “No, Fifth brother, you misunderstood, how could Eldest Sister-in-law be that kind of person?”

Liu Qihua’s simple mind, in the face of being able to earn money, finally has a flash of brilliance.

“Eldest Sister-in-law, you told me today that if your family sent eggs, you would definitely share them directly with us, and wouldn’t follow your own family first.”

Zhou Yu doesn’t control herself and glares at Liu Qihua.

Liu Qihua, who has never seen Eldest Sister-in-law with such a fierce expression, is frightened all of a sudden and stays stunned for a long time.

The Zhao family elders stand on the side and watch without saying anything.

Zhao Changming raises another finger and seriously corrects, “Eldest Sister-in-law provoked five times.”

Zhou Yu is going crazy and wishes she could slap these two blocks of wood.

The two younger sisters-in-law aren’t experienced enough. After being caught, they feel very guilty and don’t dare to open their mouths to defend themselves anymore.

They wondered why they always felt like something was watching them when they whispered these past two days.

They thought it was an illusion but didn’t expect it to be fifth brother.

They don’t know where he was hiding to eavesdrop…

Zhao Changtuan and Zhao Changyuan know that there’s no hope of going down the mountain to earn money and feel extremely disappointed.

But there’s nothing they can do, who told their wives to say bad things about fifth sister-in-law?

The two sisters-in-law never thought that because they said these things behind people’s backs, their respective husbands wouldn’t have work to do.

It would be a lie to say they don’t regret it. They just wish they could go back to before and seal up their own troublemaking mouths.

In the evening, Zhou Yu doesn’t give up and goes to find Granny Zhao.

She wants her to talk to Zhao Changming and take Zhao Changjiu with them.

After all, he’s the eldest son in the family, and he’s being left at home from the job of earning money. Zhou Yu can’t swallow this anger.

Granny Zhao sees it clearly. This must be her in-law’s meaning. She won’t touch this matter now.

And the eldest daughter-in-law really needs to suffer a little loss to learn a lesson.

“I won’t say anything, I don’t have the face to open my mouth.”

While provoking other people’s relationships, she also wants to go to the family to earn money. Who has the nerve to say that?

Zhou Yu sees that Granny Zhao is determined not to go, and fifth brother has also remembered it and is unwilling to let go.

She cries in the room for a while and can only give up.

The next day, Zhao Changming takes a few brothers down the mountain.

For a time, the Zhao family has some who are happy and some who are sad.

The Zhao family arrives at the Shen family in the late afternoon.

The Shen family had just finished lunch not long ago. Shen Gui didn’t know when the Zhao family would arrive and was wondering if he should go to the village to collect vegetables first.

Wu Xue smells the scent of strangers and starts barking from afar.

Shen Gui comes out of the house, looks at the people in the distance, and the person in the lead looks like his third sister’s husband.

He pats Wu Xue’s head, “Good Wu Xue, these are people we know.”

Wu Xue seems to understand the words and immediately stops barking.

Shen Gui finds it very strange, hugs the dog and rubs it, praising in surprise, “Wu Xue, you’re almost as smart as me! You’re such a good dog!”