Chapter 37: Yu Liang’s Realization of the Situation
It was just a small favor, but who knew that on this journey, everyone from the Yu family’s third branch would remember Yu Luo’s family’s kindness.
From then on, Yu Yongcai and his brother took care of all the firewood without Yu Haojie having to lift a finger.
On the other side, Old Madam Chen looked at the fish that Yu Liang and his son had brought with disdain.
“You got the basket all wet and only caught these worthless fish? They’re so small! How are we supposed to eat these?!”
Facing Old Madam Chen’s anger, Yu Liang could only force a fawning smile, at a loss for how to respond.
They did catch some fish, but they were all small. The largest was only three fingers wide, while most were barely one finger wide.
He couldn’t figure out why Yu Yongcai and Yu Haojie could catch fish weighing one or two pounds, yet they could not.
“Auntie, that’s all we managed to catch. We have so many people and only kept half. Even the largest one, the three-finger-wide one, is all yours…”
“What?! You shamelessly took half for yourselves? Wasn’t this supposed to be for your uncle’s recovery? What do you mean by this? Hypocritical much?!”
“Mother, that’s enough. They don’t have much food either. It’s good that the kids can have some nourishment. Hurry up and clean the fish—we can at least make a pot of fish soup for everyone.”
Yu Zhengqing lay on a straw mat, trying to rest. He hadn’t planned to meddle in these trivial matters, but his mother’s incessant nagging was too much. Exhausted from the day, he only wanted some peace and quiet.
“I’ll clean them then. Mother will soon have fish soup.”
Seeing the situation, Lady Lan, who had a good sense of timing, quickly took the basket and started preparing the fish.
Even though she had never handled fish before and could barely stand the smell, she had to live humbly to avoid being abandoned by her husband’s family.
Seeing that Yu Zhengqing had spoken, Old Madam Chen finally relented.
Awkward and embarrassed, Yu Liang and Yu Shanhai returned to their resting spot. He had thought he could gain some benefits from the main branch, but it was clear his sister-in-law was just as harsh and stingy as ever.
“This won’t do. We can’t rely on the main branch for the rest of the journey. If my elder brother was still healthy, maybe we’d have a chance. But with him bedridden and Old Madam Chen being the way she is, it’s a miracle if she doesn’t exploit us. Hoping for their help is wishful thinking.”
“Huh? Where did this big fish come from?”
Back at their spot, Yu Liang’s eyes widened when he saw the women preparing a fish that was at least three pounds.
But he clearly remembered that they hadn’t caught any fish this big. Could his honest eldest son have secretly hidden such a big one without telling him?
“Dad, it’s from Yongcai’s wife. They caught a lot of fish and gave us this big one because Xiaoju is pregnant and we have so many kids.”
Yu Shanhai’s younger brother, Yu Shanhe, cheerfully helped the women clean the smaller fish, feeling invigorated at the thought of a hot bowl of fish soup and some meat soon.
“So that’s it. I guess we owe our thanks to our grandson’s wife for this big fish. Alright, let’s roast the big one and use the smaller ones for soup.”
Wang Ying’s reason for giving a big fish to the second branch was entirely due to Huang Xiaoju, who was her niece and was pregnant. Otherwise, Wang Ying wouldn’t have been so generous.
Looking at the large fish, Yu Liang turned to his second daughter-in-law, Zhang Fen.
“You, go chat with Yu Haojie’s wife. You seem to be about the same age—get friendly with her and see if you can borrow their clay pot. That way, the whole family can enjoy some hot soup.”
“Huh? Me… Would they even lend it to me?”
“Useless! Why wouldn’t they? You’re all women—just chat a bit, and they’ll lend it to you. It’s not like you’re asking to keep it!”
Seeing his timid daughter-in-law, Yu Liang scolded her in a low voice, full of disdain.
Zhang Fen hesitated. She still hadn’t properly thanked Yu Haojie for saving her son, Xiaogang. How could she bring herself to borrow something now?
“Sister-in-law, maybe we shouldn’t ask for the clay pot. It uses a lot of firewood and takes forever to cook. I saw they have a big iron pot—why not ask to borrow that instead?”
Hearing Liu Lan’s suggestion, Zhang Fen’s face turned even more troubled.
“I’ll go with you. It might be awkward to ask, but our family needs proper food for the road. Besides, we haven’t even thanked them properly for saving Xiaogang.”
Yu Shanhe stood up decisively, glancing at his hesitant wife.
Meanwhile, Yu Luo’s family’s braised fish had just been served when Yu Shanhe’s family approached.
Yu Shanhe was thirty, a few years younger than Yu Haojie, and was accompanied by his twelve-year-old son, Yu Xiaogang.
As soon as they arrived, Yu Xiaogang fell to his knees with a “thump!” and gave Yu Haojie a heavy kowtow!
Startled, Ye Jiamai quickly pulled him up, not giving him a chance to continue.
“Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, this is the least Xiaogang could do. If not for you, we would be mourning him right now.”
“The child must be terrified. Don’t make him go through this. The road ahead is still perilous—you should start preparing for what’s to come.
“Your family has the most mouths to feed. If you can gather more game and wild vegetables along the way, that would be best. By the time we reach the icy northern frontier, there’ll be nothing to eat.
“Do you really think you can survive on two black buns a day? Commander Wu already said that when we reach Pingyang, a different group of officers will take over. Those officers are used to escorting exiles to the frontier—they won’t be as lenient as Commander Wu. Use this time to plan ahead.”
Seeing that the second branch seemed sincere, Ye Jiamai couldn’t help but offer some advice.
After two days of traveling together, she had figured out that in the second branch, only Yu Shanhe’s family of five seemed sensible. With their overbearing in-laws still trying to curry favor with Old Madam Chen, they were essentially digging their own graves.
Old Madam Chen exploiting their labor was already a mercy—hoping for her to share food was like asking her to part with her life.
“You’re right, Second Sister-in-law. Thank you for the advice. Oh, by the way, could we possibly borrow your iron pot for a while? We…”
(End of Chapter 37)
