Chapter 286: Past
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Jiang Qing pulled Jiang Xia’s hand, leading her onto a large rock and slowly walked deeper into the mountains.
“He’s pitiful because my mother never liked him. They’ve always slept in separate rooms. There are so many houses in the courtyard, built according to my mother’s wishes, just to leave enough space for each other.”
Jiang Xia recalled that Zhao Wan’s room had no men’s belongings. She realized it wasn’t because the room was cleaned well, but that Old Master Zhang had never stayed in her room.
“The Old Master drinks every day to drown his sorrows. When drunk, he often scolds the children. Zhang Ling agreed to marry far away just because she couldn’t stand his temper.”
Jiang Qing blushed slightly and said, “When Zhang Ping came of age, the old master got a matchmaker for him. He was reluctant to meet prospective brides, but Zhang Ling took the meetings on his behalf. After several meetings, aiming to find a pretty bride for her brother, she took a liking to me. To find a bride for my uncle’s son, a marriage exchange was necessary. Zhang Ling, wanting to avoid the old master, therefore she agreed.”
In fact, Jiang Qing didn’t know much. The Old Master Zhang indeed pursued Zhao Wan for a long time. But in reality, she never agreed, and they lived in the Zhang family residence even without a marriage certificate.
The children, not knowing the truth, called him ‘Dad’. But Zhang Ping knew vaguely and never asked in detail. She referred him as Old Master Zhang, and Jiang Qing followed her lead.
During the war, the Old Master Zhang was once under the command of Zhao Wan’s husband. He was injured in the war and died shortly after it ended, leaving Zhao Wan alone.
Only then did Zhao Wan agree to move to the mountains with the Old Master Zhang.
Though they lived as a couple, Zhao Wan never truly acknowledged him. She made all the decisions in the house, and Old Master Zhang was like an invisible man to her.
He drank to forget his troubles, trying to get Zhao Wan’s attention by scolding the children. But she just let it be, leading the children to dislike him even more.
Until two years ago, as the children had grown and started to form their own judgments, Zhang Ping finally revealed the truth about the family’s past to his younger siblings. This further eroded the already shaky status of Old Master Zhang in the family.
Regarding his fall off the cliff a month ago, it was genuinely an accident.
Zhao Wan had caught a cold, so the old man personally went down the mountain to the pharmacy to get her medicine. However, she showed no gratitude and refused to take it. Distraught, the old man took to drinking from his wine jar, but was stopped by Zhang Ping.
Already upset, this confrontation made the old man even more furious. He stormed out of the house with his wine jar, headed up the mountain, and ultimately, tragically slipped and fell to his death.
After hearing all of this, Jiang Xia did not dwell on the Zhang family’s matters. She changed the subject and said, “Sister, our parents are discussing the idea of having your whole family move back to the village. Do you think Aunt Zhao would agree?”
By the time the two of them reached the riverbank, Jiang Qing was keenly looking for river shrimps in the water. She casually remarked, “Although Mother seems stern, she’s actually quite easy-going. While it might be challenging to convince her to move back permanently, she’d likely agree to live in the village for a month or two.”
Jiang Xia, recalling the gold foil she had seen, probed further, “Sister, has the Zhang family been living in the mountains to guard something?”
Jiang Qing seemed perplexed, “Guard what? They initially moved to the mountains because there were no able-bodied men in the family, and with six mouths to feed, they couldn’t meet the grain tribute. So, they were forced to relocate. There’s plenty of wild animal meat in the mountains, and with the old man knowing how to shoot, they wouldn’t starve.”
Seeing that her elder sister didn’t seem to know much about this either, Jiang Xia did not press further. She focused on helping her sister search for shrimps instead.
The stream at the mountaintop had a strong current. With the current drought, the water was already over a meter deep, indicating it would be even deeper in regular times.
Jiang Qing rolled up her sleeves and trouser legs, fiddling with stones on the stream’s edge, checking if any fish or shrimp were hiding beneath.
Luck was on Jiang Qing’s side. She found a group of small shrimps hastily darting away. Though each shrimp was only half the size of a pinky finger, their sheer number was enough to provide a sumptuous meal for everyone when taken home..