Old Granny Zhang scratched her head and chuckled with a sheepish smile, "Mom, didn’t I just not see it? Why did you bring all this from so far away? It’s not like we don’t have them in town—"
Old Granny Zhang looked at him and got annoyed. She climbed into the cart with a lift of her foot. "Stop talking nonsense. It’s getting late; let’s go home early."
Wang Yongping hurriedly climbed onto the shafts, motioning for Song Chongjin and Wang Yongzhu to get on the cart.
Song Chongjin and Wang Yongzhu exchanged a few courteous words with Steward Lu before reluctantly bidding farewell and boarding the cart.
Steward Lu watched the carriage slowly move away and then shook his head, walking back.
Aboard the cart, Wang Yongzhu asked about the situation at home first, "Fourth Brother, is everyone at home doing well?"
Wang Yongping’s face, which had been full of smiles, faltered for a moment before he covered it up, saying, "Everyone’s fine! Everything at home is just fine! It’s just that with mom and you, my little sister, not being home, we always feel a bit out of sorts."
"I heard from Steward Lu that you’ve been bringing mountain goods to town to sell every day. How’s business?" Wang Yongzhu sensed something was amiss from Wang Yongping’s tone and decided to ask about business matters directly.
Wang Yongping flicked the whip, and his voice steadied a bit. "For some reason, this year’s spring goods are selling really well. The wild vegetables and fresh mushrooms and such, we collect them overnight and send them to town at the crack of dawn, so they’re sold fresh and fetch good prices! The kind that can be stored are all still kept in the warehouse."
"Has anyone from Boss Zhang’s side come by?" inquired Wang Yongzhu.
"It’s still Steward Guan on Boss Zhang’s side. He just came to town a few days ago. When he heard about our family’s situation, he made sure to send a condolence gift. He also said he wanted to see you. Initially, he planned to send a message, but I told him that you would probably be back these days, so he let it be. He said once you’re back, you have to meet with him no matter what, as there’s something important to discuss," Wang Yongping hurriedly replied.
Wang Yongzhu nodded, getting the picture in her mind.
Seeing Wang Yongzhu return made Wang Yongping feel as if the backbone of the family had come back. Since Wang Yongzhu and the others had left, the house had been in a chaotic mess, like chickens and dogs in a frenzy.
When Old Granny Zhang was there to keep things in order, it was fine, but now, even after the division of the household, there were always some minor frictions.
Wang Yongping probably had also been holding back rage. He didn’t care that they were still on the road; after all, everyone on the cart was from the same family, and there were no shameful family affairs that couldn’t be disclosed.
The grievances that he had been unable to bear all came spilling out, and once he started talking, he couldn’t stop. He seemed to want to share everything that had happened over these many days with Wang Yongzhu.
After Wang Yongzhu and Old Granny Zhang went to the county town, everyone at home started to feel a bit unaccustomed, habitually looking for Wang Yongzhu for everything.
After several such instances, they gradually got used to being the decision-makers in their own homes.
Since the household had already been divided, there wasn’t much left to dispute over, and everyone cooked in their own courtyards, firing up their own stoves.
It didn’t take many days for the differences to become apparent.
Previously, the household expenses were unified, and Wang Yongzhu was generous, ensuring that the family never lacked meat and eggs, nourishing everyone’s health.
The Wang Family folks visibly gained weight, with both their bodies and faces filling out, and their complexions were no longer pallid but more ruddy.
Especially the children, who grew taller swiftly, appearing healthier and more robust than other children in the village.
But with the division of the household, coupled with the period of mourning,
In the first few days, everyone had sufficient portions, and as it was their initial experience running their respective households, the mistresses were quite relaxed with the budget. Being caring for their children, they made sure there was at least some tofu and eggs every day, even though there was no meat.
Though life was harder than before, due to the mourning period, everyone was able to endure.
However, after just a few days, first, Lady Lin from Eldest Brother’s house started to feel the pinch.
Their room had the largest number of people, all male, and each one had a hearty appetite.
Without meat, relying only on tofu and eggs, which aren’t as rich in fat, meant that they consumed an excessive amount of grain.
Steaming a pot of bread rolls was just enough to last for the day.
As she watched the grain in the rice bin dwindle, Lady Lin’s heart ached. Calculating that there were still several months until the spring harvest, she wondered how they could possibly manage with such a small amount of fine rice and white flour.
Therefore, within a couple of days, the bread rolls Lady Lin served began to include millet flour, and then she’d steam half a pot of sweet potatoes or the like; she also reduced the variety of dishes, boiling a large pot of green vegetables for each meal, adding a bowl of pickled vegetables drizzled with a few drops of oil.
These days, with wild vegetables sprouting abundantly, she simply went up the mountain every day to dig some up and bring them back.
She’d either wash them clean and chop them up for a cold salad, or boil them and drizzle a few drops of oil after lifting them out of the water.
The whole family ate meals, their faces turning pale like the color of vegetables.
Everyone had spoiled their taste buds when Wang Yongzhu was in charge, long accustomed to eating meals rich in oil and flavor, with at least two types of flour blended into their bread rolls daily. How could they bear meals like these now?
It seemed like a return to the days when Old Granny Zhang managed the household, only worse.
Even when Old Granny Zhang was in charge, occasionally there would be some meat on the table. Now, using mourning as an excuse, Lady Lin flatly stopped even the eggs.
Over this half month, both the adults and the children had lost weight.
Wang Yongfu was still fine, and Jindou and Jinhu, being older children, could hold out.
But Jinguan was always one with a sweet tooth. He could bear with it for a day or two, but not every single day .
He knew that during the mourning period, making a fuss for meat would get him hung up and beaten by his father and brothers.
So he didn’t ask for food, only waiting for when the third and fourth Wang families were having their meals and standing by their kitchen doors.
Usually, he could tell who cooked something delicious by smell alone, his nose so keen that he could detect it from afar, and he would wait there early on.
All being his family and having shared meals from the same pot for over a decade, Lady Jiang and Liu Xiaoqiao naturally invited Jinguan to eat with them.
Once or twice, for a day or two, it wouldn’t matter much.
But Jinguan, the child, almost did this every day.
The third Wang family, because Wang Yonggui was the type who would rather have sores bursting with pus than suffer hunger, used to manage to find something tasty to satiate cravings even when they had no money.
Now that he was in charge, he certainly wouldn’t treat himself poorly.
Even though they couldn’t eat meat, there were still eggs and tofu every day, and the vegetables were always well-oiled.
Not to mention the fourth Wang family, with their newlywed couple—just the two of them—plus the Liu family pitied their son-in-law and daughter, sending over wild eggs, bird eggs, or nourishing mushrooms and fungi from the mountains.
Liu Xiaoqiao wasn’t stingy. With just the two of them, they couldn’t eat that much. Besides, they couldn’t eat meat during the mourning period, and they couldn’t neglect the farming chores, so she was especially generous.
Jinguan, smelling the fine dishes from the fourth Wang family, would wait at their place.
If the third Wang family’s food smelled good, he’d wait there.
Lady Lin understood all too well, but she always felt that she had been shortchanged when they divided the household. Now, she thought, how could they divide by households? It should have been by headcount!
They had the most able-bodied men in their main branch, and they should have received a larger share from the start.
Not long after they had split the household, she was already tasting the pressure of managing it: racking her brains every day, tearing her hair out thinking of how to get by on the least amount of grain so as to fill everyone’s stomachs while also preventing their food stock from depleting too quickly.
She had to make sure it would last until the next harvest season.