stingy landlady

Chapter 9 Sense of Crisis

The fifth son, Wang Yiyun, settled his belongings and books; a scholar always carries books with him wherever he goes. The fourth son had a new house, and he now lived alone in the old house's north-facing kang (heated brick bed). The family didn't have enough rooms; building more would have to wait until he got married.

Everyone gathered in the old house, chatting amongst themselves. They were all family members. Wang Yiyun listened and watched, feeling a sense of warmth. This was the taste of home.

These past few days, when Guizhi's family returned from selling goods, they would also help bring back meat and vegetables from town to serve guests at the old house. Guizhi's family would help, but they wouldn't go over for a meal.

After Zhao and Qian finished eating, the children played in the old house. The two sisters-in-law cleared away the dishes and went to the outer room to wash the pots and pans. Qian asked, "Second sister-in-law, what did eldest brother and the others do after they divided the family property? Mother said that the oxcart was bought after they divided the property?"

“They go to town to sell food every day. You live in town too, haven’t you ever run into them?” Zhao thought that her third son and the others knew.

“I haven’t run into them. My second sister-in-law and third brother are busy and frequently travel to and from the county town. I stay at home taking care of the children and rarely go out. I haven’t run into my eldest brother and sister-in-law,” Qian explained.

Zhao looked around and said, "Third sister-in-law, eldest brother and his family must have made a lot of money after they divided the family property! They bought cattle and carts, eat meat and vegetables every day, and even buy cotton and coarse cloth for our parents! Look at the kangqin on fourth brother's kang, isn't it beautiful? That was also bought by eldest brother and sister-in-law!"

As she spoke, she pouted and said, "We haven't separated from the family, and all the money we earn goes to our parents. But we haven't had a good life. Sigh, our parents can give money to whomever they want. We're so poor we can't even get enough to eat."

Qian asked, "Making so much money selling food in town? Where did you sell it? What kind of food did you make? I've never heard of or seen anyone selling food like that before. I only know that food stalls and restaurants sell food. Does your brother have a shop in town?"

“There’s no shop. We just pack the food into food boxes and sell them one by one. Who knows where they’ll end up? Surely someone will buy them, otherwise why would we go every day?” Zhao said.

"Third sister-in-law, it just so happens that you live in town, and we haven't separated our households yet. Your second brother and I can come to your place, and we can cook and sell our food. What do you think? If my eldest brother can sell, we can sell too!" Zhao Shi thought it was a great idea!

Madam Qian didn't express her opinion, but she had her own plans. If it were really going to be sold, she would definitely do it with her own family; how could she possibly bring her second brother and sister-in-law along?

The next day, when Li came to the old house to help wash and prepare the vegetables, Qian came over. "Sister-in-law, are you done with your work? Where's Siya? Who's taking care of her? Come on, let's wash together!"

“Okay! Your older brother and the others went to town, so I brought Siya here. Siya is playing with her older brothers and sisters at Grandma's place,” Li replied.

"Did your older brother take three girls to town? Is business good? Will he bring back any leftovers?"

"It's alright. They usually don't take it back," Li said honestly.

“Sister-in-law, we’re family. We live in town, so please don’t be shy if you need anything. It’s also convenient for you to stay at my place when it’s windy or rainy,” Qian said warmly.

"Your older brother and the others usually come back in the afternoon! They don't stay overnight."

"Sister-in-law, if anything comes up, come to my house. Or if nothing comes up, you can come over for a meal! Besides, family members should visit each other more often to stay close!" Madam Qian said with a smile in a low voice.

“Okay, I’ll talk to your older brother.” Li agreed with Qian.

"Sister-in-law, have you ever gone to town to sell food with them? Who did you sell to? Let me see if I know anyone, and I'll put in a good word for them to help sell more. Family members should definitely help each other!" Qian's words were loaded with meaning, her probing intentions mixed with her offer of help, making it hard to tell if she was being genuine or not.

“I haven’t been there. I heard it was sold to the shopkeeper. Why don’t you ask your brother when he gets back? See if you know anyone there.” Li didn’t think much of it and assumed Qian genuinely wanted to help.

"Oh! Okay then. Hey? Sister-in-law, what delicious food do you make to sell? It must be very special! Otherwise, how could you sell so much every day? It must be delicious!" Madam Qian asked again.

"These are all home-cooked dishes made by me, Da Ya, and Er Ya. There's nothing special about them! Besides, I don't know how to cook them! Whether they're delicious or not, we're fine with them ourselves," Li said without any guile.

"Sister-in-law, can you really make so much money just by selling food? Does your brother have any other ways to make money? Sister-in-law, if you really have a skill, you could open a food stall in town!" Madam Qian seemed to be very considerate of her brother and sister-in-law.

Suddenly, Li felt something was wrong. Remembering Dazhu's warning, she became wary.

"Third sister-in-law, these are all washed. I'll put these vegetables away! You keep going. Siya is still little and cries a lot. I'll go check on her so she doesn't disturb Mother." Li put down the washed vegetables, stood up, and walked into the inner room.

That evening, Li told Dazhu and her three eldest daughters about her conversation with Qian during the day. "I have a bad feeling about this! Am I just overthinking it? Could a family really be trying to steal our business?"

Dazhu was at a loss; how could he speak ill of his own family? "You're just too honest! From now on, if anyone asks about our business, just ignore them and say you don't know!"

Guizhi thought for a moment and said, "Mom and Dad, our business can't always be run by just our family. I guess Auntie San heard that she's making money, so she wants to start her own business in town too."

Daya also said that someone still had their eye on it: "Grandma secretly told me that my second aunt also wanted to sell food to make money, but Grandpa and Grandma stopped her from doing so."

Dazhu felt helpless. "Let's just do it this way for now! We can earn as much as we can in a day. From now on, we need to be more discreet and not answer any questions. We need to be more careful!"

The family felt pressured. Except for Siya, who was carefree, everyone was silently preoccupied with their own thoughts.

Guizhi lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), wondering how she could make money. "How did I end up in a child's body with this small frame?" she sighed inwardly.

It seems this business won't last long; I need to find a solution. When will I be able to buy land and become a landowner? This black soil is the modern-day granary of Beida! Black soil, such fertile land, I want to own so much of this black land!

Make money to buy land! Rack your brains to figure out how to make money.

From that day on, Li intentionally or unintentionally avoided spending time alone with Zhao and Qian. The fourth son's wedding was a grand affair; the bride, surnamed Sun, was very beautiful!

Guizhi greatly admired the ancient wedding ceremony. After the wedding procession returned, the couple would bow to heaven and earth, then to their parents, and finally to each other before being led to their bridal chamber. Then they would have a feast with eight dishes and a soup, which was quite a high standard for the time!

While watching the excitement, Guizhi ate her food without stopping, her mind constantly racing. What kind of opportunity was this? Being young had its advantages; she could listen to gossip here and wander around there. What would suit her current status?

"Hey, have you heard? Old Wang from the east end of the village is gone! Gone just like that!" "What disease?" "Tuberculosis. I heard he coughed up blood all over the wall. Everyone says it's contagious!" "Yeah, it's true. His wife is trying to sell the house and land!" "I heard the land sold, but the house won't sell!" "Who would dare buy it! Are they crazy?! If you catch the disease, no amount of money can buy your life!" "I wouldn't even take it for free!" "His wife knows it won't sell, so she keeps saying she's selling the yard. His yard and vegetable garden are quite big." "That won't do either. Life is more important!"

Guizhi thought for a moment; she did indeed know the place, because it was near the two mu of land her family had just been allocated. Her grandfather had mentioned it when they passed by while herding cattle. She had noticed it; it was the first house in the fortress, and the vegetable garden was quite large, with a pigsty inside. Guizhi had even taken a closer look and thought the family was quite thrifty. But man proposes, God disposes; illness strikes like a landslide!

Guizhi pulled her father, "Dad, let's go herd the cattle after we've eaten! Grandpa definitely won't have time today!"

Dazhu was chatting with some villagers when he heard Guizhi calling him to go herd the cattle. "Come on! Brothers, eat slowly, I have things to do!" He took Guizhi's hand and said, "Come on, Dad will take you to herd the cattle today!"

"Sanya, did your grandpa send you?" "No, I saw Grandpa was happy and was still drinking. It's so late, hurry up and go, Dad, it'll be dark soon!" Guizhi and Dazhu walked quickly out of the lively courtyard.

The two men led the ox out, and Guizhi said, "Dad, let's go to the east end of our land. The ox's poop can fertilize our land!"

"This little girl! Okay, I'll listen to you!" Dazhu patted Guizhi's head to indicate his agreement.

Walking along the road, Guizhi looked around to make sure no one was watching, and whispered, "Dad, I heard that Wang Dalai's wife in the east is moving and is selling her house. She can't sell it and is in a hurry to leave, so she said she's only selling the yard and vegetable garden. Let's go see if it's cheap and buy it! Anyway, it's right next to our land."

“She asked me, but I didn’t agree. There’s poison in her house; it’s contagious. Whoever buys that house will get that disease. You’re just a kid, you don’t understand. You can’t just take advantage of every little thing,” Dazhu whispered to Guizhi.

Guizhi said, "Okay, Dad. Let's go ask. If it's really cheap, we can buy a vegetable garden to grow our own vegetables. We don't need a house. Our family always needs vegetables for cooking, and growing our own will save us a lot of money!"

Dazhu thought this made sense, and Sanya was indeed clever!