An Shuchao’s leg injury meant the household lost all its financial resources.
Bai Xue too began to worry day by day. At night, as she lay beside An Shuchao, she’d whisper into his ear, "Old An, with you falling ill, we don’t even have a single person left to work the fields."
An Shuchao looked up at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh, "I’m worried too! It’s all my fault. I was too hasty that day. The ox had just been bought and was still skittish; I whipped it too hard. Scared it silly!"
"Stop talking about that useless stuff," Bai Xue turned on her side, propped her head on her arm, and looked at An Shuchao, "We must have someone work to earn money right now. We still owe the villagers money. I could probably manage to work the fields with the state I’m in, but someone has got to earn the money, right?"
An Shuchao fell silent for a while, then reached for the dry tobacco pipe on the bedside table and took a few drags, "But how can we earn money? An Hao used to sell hawthorns to make some cash, but what about now? No more hawthorns, so what can we rely on to make money?"
"I heard there’s a garment factory in town that includes meals and pays fifteen yuan a month."
"Really? This job sounds good." An Shuchao’s eyes lit up.
"Sounds good, doesn’t it?" Bai Xue said with a smile, "Old An, I’ve got to discuss this with you. What do you think about pulling An Hao out of school to work at the garment factory?"
As soon as An Shuchao heard the suggestion to stop An Hao’s schooling, he immediately felt uneasy, "What? You’re targeting An Hao again?"
After all they had been through, An Shuchao had somewhat seen Bai Xue’s true colors.
She had her grievances with An Hao, and it wasn’t all An Hao’s fault.
"What do you mean by that?" Bai Xue’s eyebrows shot up, and her tone raised a few notches, "How am I targeting An Hao again? Aren’t I just thinking about what’s best for our household?"
An Shuchao glared at Bai Xue for a long time, struggled to speak, and finally managed to push out, "Then why not send Yanjiao to work at the garment factory?"
His words stunned Bai Xue, who then smirked, her eyes reddening as she began to cry and beat on An Shuchao’s chest, "Old An, you heartless man! How did Yanjiao’s father die? What did you promise at his grave? You said you wouldn’t let Yanjiao suffer a single grievance, so what are you doing now?"
After hitting An Shuchao, Bai Xue sat up in bed and began to wail miserably, "Yanjiao’s father, oh, open your eyes and look! You gave your life to save what kind of person? Yanjiao’s father, oh, you might as well come back and take me away too!"
An Shuchao, growing irritated, fiercely puffed on his dry tobacco pipe and growled lowly, "Stop crying! It’s late at night; do you intend for the neighbors to hear? We can discuss this calmly, what’s the point of crying? If the villagers hear they’ll think I’m mistreating you."
Seeing An Shuchao soften, Bai Xue quickly wiped her tears and her face broke into a smile again, "I knew Old An, you weren’t heartless. So, you talk to An Hao tomorrow, tell her to stop going to school."
"This..." An Shuchao felt it unfair to An Hao to stop her education, and felt like he was betraying his late wife, "I promised my daughter’s mother that I’d take good care of both siblings and support them through college."