What Yang Chuxia didn’t know was that Ms. Wang didn’t accept the silver because of these concerns, she wasn’t just worried about Yang Dachuan, but also about herself. After all, dealing with her sisters-in-law was one thing, but it was impossible for her to reject her parents-in-law.
After reaching a consensus on the issue of silver, the family started their daily dinner.
After a full meal, they each took turns to bathe before heading to bed.
When dawn broke, Yang Dachuan, as usual, went to town to find work, while Yang Chuxia, along with her two younger brothers, went to the small beach to collect sea goods. When they passed by Ye Zi’an’s house, they found that the door was locked, presumably, he had gone to town.
So, Yang Chuxia and her brothers returned home. Without uttering a word, they started cleaning the small crabs. Since Yang Dachuan had bought two more clay pots and other seasonings from the town the day before, Yang Chuxia made another two jars of drunken crabs.
However, while doing so, Yang Chuxia continued to occupy the kitchen of the Yang Family. The reason was that her own stove was built under the eaves, where anyone could see what she was doing.
The kitchen of the Yang family, on the other hand, had a small bamboo door. When she closed it while boiling the brine, with Yang Qingrui guarding outside, no one from the Yang family could pry into her affairs.
Hence, Yang Chuxia was using the Yang family’s kitchen to lock out the Yang family’s people. One can only imagine how angry Ms. Liu and Ms. Luo must have been.
As for Old Lady Hua, beyond glaring at her malevolently, she couldn’t do much.
Once the drunken crab was ready, Yang Chuxia continued to clean the tiny fish and shrimp and left them out to dry. Since the people of the Yang family were used to this, they did not pay much attention to what she was drying.
As it usually took about half a month for the drunken crab to be ready, Yang Chuxia couldn’t know if it had worked and if it could be exchanged for silver. Therefore, for the following days, she did not make any more drunken crabs, fearing an overproduction, they might not sell, resulting in wasted effort and resources.
Nevertheless, she continued her daily routine of collecting small scallops, fish, and shrimp. Most of them, along with some of what she collected, would be sun-dried and stored after serving as meals. Life was quite peaceful in general, except for those few who despised her serenity and tried to devise some mischief.
Generally, Yang Dachuan worked in town for three consecutive days and then took a day off. But on his off days, he would work on reclaiming wasteland instead of resting.
However, one day, Yang Dachuan neither went to town nor reclaimed wasteland. Why? Because he had invited Ye Zi’an for dinner several days ago, and the day fell on Zi’an’s day off from the tavern. As the host, Yang Dachuan stayed home and chatted with Zi’an.
Meanwhile, Yang Chuxia and her mother were busy preparing the meal in the kitchen.
Inviting a guest for dinner should be a joyful event, but not if someone tries to stir up trouble at the same time.
This was what happened. By noon, Ms. Wang and Yang Chuxia had finished preparing the food and had set it on the table. Ye Zi’an and Yang Dachuan had also seated themselves. Just then, voices could be heard from outside.
It was only when the voices entered the Yang family’s courtyard that Yang Chuxia realized they were from Yang Xiao’an’s family, who had just returned from town.
Yang Chuxia had no fond feelings for them, thus, when she saw them return, she just glanced at them and went back into the house.