Old Liu knew he had many sons at home, and if he didn't discipline them well, the family would eventually fall apart. So he put a lot of effort into teaching them and had a hard heart.
But this third son, when you hit him, he runs; when you scold him, he points at your nose and curses you back. What's the use of having a hard heart?
Old Liu was so infuriated that his hair turned white overnight.
A man in his forties, with white hair, looked as if he were sixty.
Seeing Liu Laosan was over fifteen, discipline was useless. Mrs. Zhang heard of a remedy from others, saying a fiery woman could tame an unruly man.
So, Old Liu thought of getting Liu Ji a capable wife to calm him down. After the marriage, they could live separately, leaving the home quiet, out of sight, out of mind, and he as a father would have done right by him.
The old couple put their heart and soul into choosing a wife for Liu Ji, eventually selecting Mrs. Mo, who was fiery and capable.
Unexpectedly, Liu Ji became much more settled.
But no one anticipated that such a good woman would die from difficult labor.
Old Liu was more devastated than Liu Ji. On the day they sent off the third daughter-in-law for burial, he cried all the way:
"Fate, this is my fate as Old Liu! In my past life, I must have done something awful to Liu Ji, and in this life, he came to my family to collect blood debt!"
At this moment, recalling the past situation, Old Liu dreaded that Qin Yao might leave Laosan's family and run away.
"Laosan's family, if you have any hardships, come to the old house. Let's all decide together as a family. Don't try to handle it alone," Old Liu urged.
Qin Yao thought Old Liu would blame her, but to her surprise, he said this, shocking her.
"Mm, I understand." She nodded in response.
Old Liu thought she understood his meaning and would come to borrow money to redeem Liu Ji, feeling slightly relieved.
The three brothers of Liu Bai held deep grievances against Liu Ji. Seeing Qin Yao agreed, they thought they'd only start worrying in the second round since he had a legitimate wife. They urged Old Liu to go home first to eat.
Old Liu looked at the five people in front of him, sighed, cursed Liu Ji as a mongrel, and called his sons to leave.
As they left, the four of them gave Da Lang and Second Lang a hard stare, indicating they should watch their stepmother.
Although Qin Yao seemed too frail to run far at the moment, given their current situation, anyone would want to run; who could say for sure?
Qin Yao watched them walk away, turned back to look at the four siblings standing at the door, "Are you hungry?"
The four siblings nodded honestly.
After a chaotic morning, the eight taro Qin Yao ate earlier had long been digested, and she was hungry too.
Qin Yao took the four still-warm taro from her pocket and handed them to the four siblings, "Each one, eat a little to fill your stomach."
Earlier, Qin Yao had already checked the shabby house; there were only wooden plank beds in the two rooms, covered with colorless bedding. Forget hiding money; there's hardly a place for a mouse to hide.
Luckily, there was still a stove and an iron pot, the water vat was empty, and they couldn't cook a proper meal, just roasted taro.
Qin Yao saw a small pile of firewood beside the stove, all broken branches, probably picked up by Da Lang or Second Lang at the foot of the mountain.
Qin Yao found the flint and cleaned the stove properly, then efficiently lit a fire.
The four siblings stood behind her, watching the fragrant taro in their hands, swallowing hard. In the face of food, they had long forgotten their wicked father being taken away by debt collectors.
There was feeling, but not much.
Sanlang and Si Niang, being young, couldn't quite control their instincts; they held the taro under their noses, licking their lips and looking at their brothers.
Da Lang watched as Qin Yao buried the black lumps from a vine trap in the fire, waited for them to cook, then pulled them out, stripped the skin, and put them in her mouth, finally nodding to the impatient younger siblings.
"Smells good~" Sanlang took a bite, and his eyes suddenly brightened.
"This is taro, it naturally smells good."
Qin Yao's voice suddenly sounded, causing the four siblings chewing taro to freeze collectively.
Second Lang's face changed slightly; he'd heard villagers say that taro is poisonous and eating it could cause strange sicknesses, unbearable itching, and scratching skin to death!
Qin Yao, seeing them cautiously observing her movements earlier, thought they knew it was taro, hence the caution.
Turns out they didn't know at all.
Qin Yao chuckled lightly, placed the remaining taro in her mouth, dusted off, stood up before the four siblings, grabbed two taros, and explained:
"The sticky substance from raw taro causes skin itching, rinsed off with water it's fine, cooked taro doesn't have this issue, eat comfortably."
After speaking, she buried the taro in ash to continue roasting, pulling out the already roasted ones, piling them beside the fire, and motioned to Da Lang, "Where's the bucket? I'll fetch some water back; let's clean up the house."
Life kissed her with pain, but she still sang in return.
Right now, Qin Yao couldn't tolerate this dirty house for even a night!
It had been a long time since Da Lang ate proper food. He paused for a moment before reacting, finished the taro in two bites, walked inside the house, and fetched a heavy wooden bucket from a dim corner.
Despite being lean, rural children started helping at home young and were quite strong.
Da Lang carried the bucket and said to Second Lang: "I'll go fetch water with stepmom."
Second Lang nodded; although home was poor, not all villagers were kind-hearted. Some people bullied you more the poorer you were.
The family originally had two wooden buckets and a carrying pole, but while the siblings were picking wild fruits on the mountain, they forgot to take them into the house for safekeeping. When they returned, a pole was missing, and a bucket was gone.
The older brother searched the village thoroughly, but everyone claimed not to have seen them, leaving it unresolved.
Qin Yao followed Da Lang towards the village well; Second Lang watched her walk away, quickly went to the fire, grabbed the roasted taro left by Qin Yao and shared it with the siblings, taking one himself, eating while advising: "Eat slowly, don't choke."
Sanlang and Si Niang cheeks puffed like hamsters, mouths moving, nodding unclearly, "Uh-huh!"
Soon, the small pile of taro was consumed by the three siblings.
Second Lang asked Sanlang to watch the roasting taro in the fire to prevent burning; he sat back at the threshold, leaned against the doorframe, rubbing his belly with one hand, and Si Niang's bulging belly with the other.
The siblings looked at each other and started laughing; the feeling of being full was wonderful.
As for Qin Yao, carrying the bucket, she followed behind her eldest stepson, the two silently walked towards the village.
Qin Yao wasn't one for many words; Da Lang wasn't familiar with his stepmother either, unsure what to say, chose silence.
There was a well in the village, with clear, sweet water. Villagers drew water from here.
If for washing clothes, they went to the village entrance, where river water was intercepted, forming a small pond, shared by cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, and used for washing vegetables and clothes.
Being fresh water, it wasn't dirty. Yet families not too far from the village well didn't fetch water from the pond.
Liu Ji was shunned in the village; after moving from Liu Family's old house, he built his home on the northern slope of the village. Living upstream, it was nearer to fetch water from the river.
But Da Lang brought her to the village well. She was new here, unfamiliar with the village, so she followed him for now.