Chapter 165: Chapter 157: Digging for Wild Vegetables

Liu quickly waved her hands. "Mother, it’s not like you don’t know my family’s situation. How could I possibly bring that up with them? They’re more likely to want to borrow from us."

Seeing that there was no hope in bringing up the household division, Ms. Zhang could only suppress the idea for now. ’This will require a long-term plan. The saying goes, "Where there’s a will, there’s a way." After all, didn’t Bai Zhi and Zhao Lan manage to split from this wretched family and make their lives prosper? Sooner or later, I, Zhang Shumei, will get my wish too.’

Old Mrs. Bai shot Liu a sideways glance, cursing inwardly, ’Useless thing.’

Over a dozen pairs of eyes from the entire family were fixed on the old matriarch, waiting for her to make a decision.

The family had no rice or oil. They had to figure out a way to get some, whether by borrowing or buying.

Old Mrs. Bai’s heart ached for the small amount of broken silver in her little box. All of it added together didn’t even amount to two taels. She had been saving it for so long, and it had been so hard to accumulate. ’Making me take out even a little would be like carving flesh from my own bones.’

The old matriarch waved her hand dismissively. "Are we going to die without rice? Go dig for wild vegetables. Dig a lot of them. We’ll just eat wild vegetables; it’s all the same. It’s not like we haven’t done it before."

Ms. Zhang, however, was indifferent. ’As long as everyone’s in the same boat, no one is living better than anyone else.’

Bai Xiaofeng sighed and turned toward the backyard. ’I have to go study. I have to practice my calligraphy. I must pass the exam to become a Scholar, I must become a scholar, and I must become a high-ranking official! Only then can I escape this life of poverty that’s driving me mad.’

Bai Dabao tried to slip away too, but the sharp-eyed Ms. Zhang caught him. "Da Bao, where are you going?"

Seeing Da Bao’s awkward expression, Liu quickly jumped in to defend him. "Where Da Bao is going is none of your business! Don’t you have your own son to look after? What are you doing meddling with someone else’s?"

Ms. Zhang scoffed. "As if I care to meddle. Let me tell you, from this day forward, whatever chores need doing, our two branches of the family will split them equally. Don’t think it’ll be like before, with your eldest branch doing nothing and just expecting others to do all the work while you wait for a ready-made meal. I’m telling you, there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world! Before, you had that workhorse Zhao Lan to boss around as you pleased. Well, Zhao Lan is gone now, and there’s no one left in this family you can order around so casually."

Liu planted her hands on her hips, ready for a fight, but the old matriarch doused the raging flames of war with a single sentence. "If you keep arguing like this, we’ll likely go hungry for another day. In the time you’ve spent bickering, you could have already gathered a potful of wild vegetables. Now stop it, all of you! Everyone who can move, go!"

Bai Dazhu hurriedly said, "My arm can’t move. I can’t go."

Bai Dabao clutched his stomach and yelled, "My stomach hurts!" as he ran toward the latrine.

Liu quickly moved to stand beside Dazhu. "I have to stay and take care of Dazhu. I can’t leave."

The old matriarch’s gaze fell back on Ms. Zhang’s face. "The second branch should go then. Your whole family is hale and hearty, not like them, a whole family of invalids."

Ms. Zhang gave a cold smile but said nothing. Bai Erzhu’s heart turned to ice. Even Bai Fugui was so angry his teeth were chattering. This was blatant bullying of the second branch.

Ms. Zhang said, "Fine. The second branch will go, then. But whether we can find anything is hard to say. You all just wait here at home."

With that, Ms. Zhang gave a meaningful look to Erzhu, Fugui, and Zhenzhu. The family then filed out, each with a basket on their back.

Old Mrs. Bai felt a prickle of unease. ’There was something not quite right about that look from Ms. Zhang.’ She followed them for a few steps and called out to Bai Erzhu, "Erzhu, come back soon! Your mother is hungry!"

Bai Erzhu didn’t say a word or even look back at her. Once they were a good distance away, he quickened his pace to catch up with Ms. Zhang. He asked urgently, "Dear, are we really going to dig wild vegetables for the eldest brother’s family to eat?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.