Mrs. Sun glanced at Yu Xiaolian, "Then you can take care of it. I'll go fetch water from the well. There's porridge in the pot; just bring it to a boil, no need to make too much."
After her instructions, Mrs. Sun picked up the carrying pole and two buckets, and went out.
Yu Xiaolian looked at the two fire stones on the stove and, following the memory of the original owner, knocked a few times. Her hand hurt from knocking, but the fire still wouldn't light.
Could it be that starting a fire with these stones is a skillful job?
Unwilling to be defeated, Yu Xiaolian tried a few more times.
In the end, her hand ached from knocking, but she still couldn't get the fire started.
"Sigh, if only I had a lighter."
Just as Yu Xiaolian finished lamenting, a red lighter appeared in her hand.
Only then did she realize that whatever she thought of, items from the convenience store would appear in her hand.
Yu Xiaolian was overjoyed.
Since she was there, she might as well settle in. Yu Xiaolian used the lighter to ignite the firewood under the stove, boiled the pot, and then swept away the bits of firewood.
At this moment, Mrs. Sun also came back with two buckets of water. Just as Mrs. Sun poured the two buckets of water into the big water tank, Mrs. Cao came over, "Sister-in-law, the tank isn't full yet."
Mrs. Sun put the carrying pole against the wall, not intending to fetch more water, "Since we've split the family, each should fetch their own water.
I only made a bit of porridge and brought back two buckets of water. No matter how you see it, you're the one benefiting."
When Mrs. Cao heard this, her face immediately changed. If Mrs. Sun didn't fill the tank, their mother-in-law would make her fetch water, and she didn't want to go that far to fetch water.
"That water tank is still ours, you know. We're lending the tank to you; you should fill it up. You can't just use our water tank for free, right?"
Mrs. Sun put the two buckets back in their place and glanced at Mrs. Cao, "Since you're so good at accounting, let's settle all accounts properly. When Changhe was a government official in town, your father borrowed one liang of silver from me because of an illness. It's still not repaid. Also, Zishu and Ziyi's gift money for school has always been paid by Changhe. When do you plan to return it? If you don't have money, you can repay in kind."
Mrs. Sun's words were righteous and stern.
Mrs. Cao froze on the spot, but she wasn't easily bullied. She immediately retorted loudly, "At that time, we hadn't yet split the family. The money was given by Changhe on mother's instructions. If you have the guts, go ask mother."
Mentioning Old Lady Yu made Mrs. Sun even angrier. All these years, both Yu Changhe's and Yu Changfu's earnings were handed over to Old Lady Yu, and the harvest from the family's farming was also controlled by her. How could she not have money?
Remembering that she got only 450 wen during the division of the family, Mrs. Sun felt a burst of frustration.
But right now, she didn't dare to fall out with Old Lady Yu. If they did, Old Lady Yu would definitely kick them out, leaving them without a place to live.
Seeing Mrs. Sun quiet down at the mention of Old Lady Yu, Mrs. Cao felt a bit smug, "You're talking as if your mother and brother never spent Changhe's silver. I'd say you secretly funneled money back to your maiden family over the years and still have the nerve to ask me for money. I think we should go to your maiden family to ask for money instead."
Upon hearing Mrs. Cao's words, Mrs. Sun was furious. She grabbed the carrying pole from against the wall and shouted at Mrs. Cao, "Go ahead if you dare. If you dare to find trouble with my mother, I'll cause a scene at Zishu's school and make sure your two sons can't attend classes."
Mrs. Sun's words hit Mrs. Cao's weak spot.
Mrs. Cao turned and hurried to the backyard, shouting as she went, "Yu Changfu... Yu Changfu..."
"What now?"
Yu Changfu, seeing Mrs. Cao with a long face, frowned and said, "I just finished working with mud bricks with Changhe, what do you want?"
"What for? We've split the family now, so we should each mind our own. I twisted my waist while washing dishes, hurry and go fetch water from the well, or else when mother sees the tank isn't full, she'll scold again."
As Mrs. Cao spoke, she forcefully pulled at Yu Changfu's arm. Yu Changfu turned to look at Yu Changhe, who immediately said, "Brother, go handle it, I'll take care of the rest myself!"
Mrs. Cao had given Yu Changfu two sons, the eldest, Yu Zishu, was fifteen this year, and the younger, Yu Ziyi, was eleven.
Out of consideration for Mrs. Cao giving him two sons, Yu Changfu usually treated her well and often indulged her temperament in smaller matters.
Yu Zishu and Yu Ziyi were the only two grandsons in the Yu Family, so they naturally received unconditional love from everyone. Among them, the elder, Yu Zishu, was quite talented in reading and often praised by the school masters, winning more attention from Old Lady Yu.
Although Yu Ziyi appeared more clever and lively, he wasn't willing to focus on studies. Recently, he even said he didn't want to attend school anymore.
Now the Yu Family wasn't as affluent as before; supporting two grandsons in school while also needing to prepare for Yu Changyu's marriage soon. So when Yu Ziyi expressed his desire to quit school, Old Lady Yu immediately agreed.
However, since the term's tuition had already been paid, even if he stopped attending, the money couldn't be refunded. Therefore, Old Lady Yu instructed that Yu Ziyi attend until autumn before quitting.
Mrs. Sun served the porridge into bowls and said to Yu Xiaolian, "Go call your father back for dinner from the backyard!"
Yu Xiaolian went to the backyard and saw Yu Changhe's walking stick thrown to the side. Yu Changhe was kneeling on the ground, removing the mold from the mud bricks. Because of his limited mobility, his legs were covered in dirt.
Seeing Yu Changhe like this made Yu Xiaolian feel uneasy.
"Dad, it's time to eat."
Yu Xiaolian walked over, helped Yu Changhe up, and handed him his usual wooden walking stick.
"Lian'er, you must be hungry. Go ahead and eat without me. I need to wash up first; otherwise, your mother won't let me inside," Yu Changhe said with a smile.
Yu Changhe was truly fond of this adopted daughter of his.
It should be known that during this time, sons were greatly favored over daughters. Who would willingly adopt a girl?
Grain was highly precious, and no family would want an extra mouth to feed for nothing.
Moreover, the conflicts between Mrs. Sun and Yu Changhe had deepened, largely because of her.
Maybe if Mrs. Sun had a child of her own, she would truly find happiness?
However, she remembered that Yu Changhe died when Yu Xiaolian was twelve, leaving no descendants.
She wondered whether her presence could change Yu Changhe's original fate.
Mrs. Sun served each person a bowl of porridge, which was very thin.
"We need to eat sparingly, or winter will be tough," Mrs. Sun explained.
The land that Old Lady Yu gave them still had crops growing, but once the harvest in autumn came, all the grain belonged to Old Lady Yu.
So Old Lady Yu gave them over two hundred jin of grain, which had to last until the next autumn.
Although they said it was two hundred jin of grain, it was actually two hundred jin of rice with husks. Once husked, it would only be a little over a hundred jin, so how could they possibly make it last until the next autumn?
Mrs. Sun intended that the grain last through this winter, and by next spring, they could survive on wild vegetables again.