Chapter 3 Marrying a Wife and Forgetting His Mother

When Sanwa saw his mother standing there in a daze, he knew that they had no intention of leaving anything for him.

He's used to it; he's never been someone's favorite since he was a child.

Song Chunxue looked at Sanwa squatting on the ground, the bones in his back clearly visible through his gray coarse cloth clothes.

Her eyes welled up with tears, her heart ached, and she dared not look at Sanwa.

"Let me wash it. You haven't even drunk anything, why should I wash it?"

She was so awful back then. They were all her children, and they were all her flesh and blood, so why did she not care about the third child at all?

Unlike the others, he doesn't make excuses to ask her for this or that. Does that mean she thinks Sanwa is only good for working and doesn't deserve to be loved?

She wiped away her tears, quickly put the bowl and chopsticks in the pot, poured in water, and washed them clean.

Then, she poured a little oil into the pot and took out two eggs from the porcelain basin containing wheat bran in the cupboard.

Soon, the two fried eggs were ready, and she placed them on a plate.

She handed the plate to Sanwa.

"Should I take it to my older brother?"

The third brother, who was tending the fire, took the plate, got up, and walked outside.

He never imagined that these good things were for himself.

“Wait,” Song Chunxue said, trying to suppress her sobs, “Sit down and eat by yourself. They’ve already eaten this morning.”

Sanwa looked at Song Chunxue in surprise, "Mother...aren't two too many?"

This silly child, even two are too many.

In the past, when I gave it to the eldest brother, he would only complain that it wasn't enough.

"Just two eggs, how is that too much?" Song Chunxue scooped out three bowls of flour and poured them onto the cutting board. "I remember you like pickled cabbage noodles, so I'll make them for you today."

"Cough cough cough..." The third child was flattered and choked on the egg that had just been put into his mouth.

He was somewhat uneasy.

"Mother, is there something you want to tell me?" He quickly put the plate on the stove. "If my elder brother wants to divide the family property, then let him. I have no objection. I'm not married yet, and I can do all the housework."

"..." This silly child is so heartwarming. Song Chunxue finally managed to suppress her tears, which then welled up in her eyes.

She turned her back to Sanwa and wiped away her tears, silently cursing her past self.

"It's alright, there's no rush to separate the family. We can't let him have all the good things. I've spoiled him enough over the years."

Song Chunxue lowered her head and kneaded the dough. "Go wash your face and rest for a while. Let your second brother come and tend the fire."

Sanwa hesitated for a moment, then quickly stuffed the two fried eggs into his mouth.

Before long, the second son came into the kitchen carrying a basket of firewood.

"Isn't Mother feeling unwell? Why is she cooking again? Isn't it Sanwa who's cooking?"

He moved closer to Song Chunxue, looking at the white flour on the cutting board. "Hey, what a special day it is today, that we're eating white flour?"

Traditionally, white flour is only eaten during the Lunar New Year.

"Today is indeed a good day. You come and light the fire. I have a few words to say to you."

The second son reluctantly sat down and broke off dry tree branches to stuff into the stove.

"Mom, you're acting strange today. You even hit my older brother. I just saw that Sanwa's mouth was all greasy. Did you feed him something good?"

The second brother said irritably, "You used to favor the eldest brother, but now you're favoring the third brother?"

Song Chunxue did not respond.

“That’s true. Sanwa will be the one to take care of you in your old age and see you off when you die. After the family splits up, you can’t rely on your eldest brother anymore. It’s normal to favor him.”

Song Chunxue, who was focused on kneading the dough, paused. How come she didn't understand such a simple principle before?

If she were even a little more lucid, she wouldn't have treated Sanwa so badly; she only feels guilty when she thinks of him.

"I don't care about distributing grain excessively, I want a bigger share of the silver. If I don't make something of myself in the future, I will never come back to see my mother."

"Don't worry, Mother, I will definitely bring you out of these mountains and give you a good life."

Song Chunxue sneered inwardly. He was doing quite well, but he was the one who was being filial to his wife's mother.

She spent her whole life in this remote mountain village, hoping her whole life, and feeling disappointed and regretful her whole life.

She was a failed mother.

She's such a foolish mother.

The meal was ready: pickled cabbage and white noodles, with a little minced meat sauce in each person's bowl.

Because he had scolded the eldest son's wife, Chen Feng, yesterday, she refused to eat with everyone. The eldest son took the noodles to the north room and then came back.

Looking at her four sons, Song Chunxue felt a mix of emotions.

They were so young then; when she died, their faces were full of wrinkles and their hair was white.

"Mom, the food smells so good today, what a wonderful day it is!"

Using reading as an excuse, the fourth child finally came out of his room, picked up his chopsticks, and drooled with envy.

"After this meal, we'll take turns eating from now on. Whoever doesn't work in the fields will cook." Song Chunxue didn't pick up her chopsticks, and no one ate.

Upon hearing this, the second and fourth brothers exchanged a glance.

"Isn't that what my second brother and I do?" the fourth brother protested with a stern face. "But I don't know how to do it."

"Then you can wash the dishes. You'll wash the dishes at lunchtime from now on."

The fourth son had never seen his mother act like this before, and nodded repeatedly.

"I don't plan to separate the family for the time being!"

“The second son is going to the army camp, and he will be at a disadvantage if he only takes money. The fourth son is still young and will have to share with me in the future. Since you all agree that I will be raised by the third son in the future, no one should covet that piece of land in Shuichuan.”

Song Chunxue picked up her chopsticks. "Alright, let's eat."

Apart from the three children, everyone at the dinner table was furious.

"Mother, this is not fair! The mules and grain in the house, do they all belong to Sanwa? How can you be so biased!"

The eldest son was the first to object, glaring angrily at the third son.

"What kind of spell did you cast on Mother? She changed her mind overnight."

Sanwa looked at Song Chunxue with some confusion and bewilderment.

“I said we’re not separating. If you don’t want to squeeze into the same courtyard as us, you can build your own courtyard outside. We’ll separate the courtyard but not the family,” Song Chunxue added calmly. “Besides, we’ll build the courtyard every morning and do farm work together in the afternoon.”

The old man got up angrily and left, saying, "I'm not eating!"

“It’s fine if you don’t eat, Sanwa will. He does more work every day when he comes back from herding sheep than you do in a whole day.”

The second brother muttered, "That's because he's capable. We can't beat him. What else can we do?"

"..." Song Chunxue almost couldn't help but throw the food in her hand at his face.

"If you think I'm being biased, you can send the third child away first, and then you can do the housework."

The eldest brother, who had walked into the courtyard, said in a deep voice, "That won't do."

"This won't do, that won't do, get out of here, nobody's in anyone else's way!"

After saying that, Song Chunxue picked up her bowl and ate, ignoring everyone else.

The third child was a little confused, but the food was really delicious and he was very hungry, so he picked it up and ate it in big mouthfuls.

After dinner, the fourth child obediently went to wash the dishes, while the second and third children went to sleep in the south-facing room.

As soon as Sanwa entered the house, he was punched to the ground by the eldest brother.

"What did you say to Mother? Why is she suddenly acting like a different person, always siding with you!"

"I thought you were honest before, but you've been scheming against me like this behind my back."

"You may not be good at studying, but you're not lacking in intelligence at all. You're secretly trying to trip me up, and you don't respect me as your older brother at all, do you?"

As he spoke, he began punching Sanwa repeatedly.

"Big brother, big brother, please stop hitting him."

The second brother claimed he was trying to break up the fight, but in reality he was taking sides, holding onto the third brother and preventing him from fighting back.

Hearing the commotion, Song Chunxue ran over and kicked open the door. "Boss, are you trying to rebel?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to split up the family? Get out of here now!"

The eldest son's wife came out of the north room and shouted, "You're bullying us too much! Eldest son, come back to my parents' house with me!"