Yun Jiao remained silent for a long time.
A few months ago, her father went to another county to treat someone and inexplicably disappeared.
Neither alive nor dead, there was no trace of him.
Her mother fell ill and couldn't get up, consumed medicine for two to three months, and spent all the dozens of taels of silver the family had saved.
If it weren't for the ten or so acres of land they had, rented out to tenant farmers who paid rent, the whole family would be left with nothing to eat.
Hearing Aunt Wang's words, Yun Jiao wasn't surprised. Her mother was brainless, never thinking about what the family would eat or drink after selling the land.
Perhaps she thought that going to Prefecture City would be sure to find her father, and then the family would happily live together again.
After resting for a while, several people set off together.
Three or four miles didn't take long.
At the village entrance, Jiang Youzhi stopped, "I won't go in; I'll wait for you here."
Given his status, it would be awkward to go to Yun Jiao's mother's house alone.
Yun Jiao nodded, "At most, half an hour, and I'll come out."
Jiang Youzhi waved his hand, "No rush, it's rare for you to go home; have lunch before you leave."
"I'm fine, just wandering around will do."
Yun Jiao glanced at him without saying anything and headed towards home with Aunt Wang.
At the doorstep, Aunt Wang shouted towards the yard, "Gu Family, your Yun Jiao is back home."
At the shout, a seven or eight-year-old boy ran out of the house, clinging to Yun Jiao's leg, choking, "Second sister, I miss you so much—"
The bond of blood is indeed a strange thing.
Even if Yun Jiao felt she should be a stranger to her brother Gu Chuan, when he hugged her leg, her heart softened a bit.
She was just about to reach out and touch Gu Chuan's head, but her hand quickly retracted.
Gu Chuan didn't know how long it had been since he washed his hair, and it was matted and knotted in strands, she really didn't want to touch it.
Yun Jiao gently pulled him away, "Where's Mother?"
Gu Chuan pointed towards the house.
Yun Jiao held Gu Chuan as they entered the house, and saw her mother, Li Shi, lying on the bed, looking listless.
Seeing her enter, Li Shi's eyes brightened a bit, propping herself up, "You came back just in time; I want to go to Prefecture City to find your father, but I have no travel money, yet your elder sister is stopping me from selling the land."
"Help me up; I want to find your second uncle to have a good talk with your sister."
Yun Jiao looked down at Li Shi, "Mother wants to sell the land to go to Prefecture City to find Father?"
"What if you can't find him, what will you do?"
Li Shi was stunned for a moment, "Can't find him? How could I not find him, I will definitely find your father."
Yun Jiao said bluntly, "Prefecture City is so big, finding someone isn't that easy. Besides, people only said he looks like Father; it's not necessarily him."
"If you sell the land for travel expenses and can't find Father, what will the family eat and drink when you come back? Wait to die?"
Li Shi cried while clutching her chest, "Do I have to worry about so much?"
"Anyway, if I can't find your father, life has no meaning for me. I might as well die clean."
Yun Jiao pursed her lips, "Elder sister is grown; she can get married, but what about your brother? Do you want him to die too?"
Li Shi cried even more, shaking her head on the pillow, "I don't know; how would I know? Anyway, I want to find your father."
Yun Jiao was extremely disappointed.
Li Shi was like a parasitic vine, unable to live without a man.
Since Father disappeared, this mother wasn't standing up to take care of the children, only crying all day long. How could her health get better?
From the looks of it, she only cared about herself, not even wanting to bother with her brother.