Chapter 5

"What do you mean by 'your clothes'? These are my clothes!" Zhang Chunfen immediately jumped up like a rat whose tail was stepped on. "Ye Jia, are you crazy because of poverty? Life is so hard for the Zhou family, so you think every good thing you see is yours?"

Zhang Chunfen is not someone you can get along with easily. She is capable of living in the Ye family and ordering other girls around. Where is her sense of shame?

He put his hands on his chest, turned around and wanted to go into the house.

Ye Jia stopped her and pulled her clothes in front of her, half-smiled. How could she know what clothes the original owner had? It was just a casual lie, but Zhang Chunfen's guilty look made her believe it.

The dress was a bright yellow silk jacket. It was obvious it wasn't sold in Libei Town. If it was a gift from an outsider, it wouldn't be so ill-fitting, right? Look at the girl's sleeves, they're a bit too short, and the hem of her skirt only reaches her ankles. Ye Jia laughed and said, "You're not afraid of being seen by the owner of something you're taking!"

Zhang Chunfen naturally refused to admit it.

Ye Jia nodded and said, "Okay, I'll ask that person someday. I'll go see if someone is using my name to gain benefits!"

Zhang Chunfen's face turned pale, and she subconsciously pinched her ear. Even a guilty conscience was not as obvious as hers.

Ye Jia narrowed her eyes.

Ye Zhang naturally protected her sister and chimed in, "Jia Niang, Chunfen really brought these clothes back from outside. You took the cabinet with you on your wedding day, so how could there be clothes left at home? I know you're having a hard time, but I can't just accuse someone of being a thief. How can I say that? Besides, Chunfen is getting married, and the people who want to see her are lining up outside the village. Naturally, someone would rush to give her good things..."

With the Ye and Zhang sisters' support, Zhang Chunfen insisted that someone else had given it to her. Ye Jia was amused. The Zhang sisters were truly interesting. They asked someone to do something for them, yet they still had to put them first. They wanted a good reputation and a good price, but they couldn't afford to lose. How could it be so easy?

"Okay," Ye Jia nodded, not wanting to argue with her. She had been begged back by Ye Zhangshi this time. "Now that she's found a good home, sister-in-law, please arrange it for her. I won't join in the fun. Someone at home is injured and can't get up, so I'll leave now."

Ye Zhang's face changed immediately and she reacted and tried to stop him.

She was used to protecting her sister. She had always done that at home, and no one would say anything. She had forgotten that Ye Jia was different from the rest of the family, and had a very bad temper. As they were tugging and tugging, a few men came in from the doorway.

Leading the group was Old Man Ye and the village chief of Yejiazhuang, followed by several village elders.

In the poor mountain village of Yejiazhuang, it's not easy to find a scholar. Old Master Ye was a student and had some prestige in the village. Whenever there was something going on in the village, the village chief would come to consult him. It was spring and conscription was coming, and every household in the village would be required to serve. These days, fighting is like putting your head on your belt, and no family wants to be killed. But if you don't kill someone, you can't explain it. The group of people were gloomy and could hear the Yejia women making a fuss from a distance. Old Master Ye's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

He glanced at Zhang Chunfen, and the anger that had been pent up in his heart for several days suddenly burst out.

If it weren't for the fact that the eldest daughter-in-law had contributed greatly to the Ye family by giving birth to four sons, and the fact that the eldest son of the Ye family was serving in the army, and that she, a woman, had a hard time, and that bringing a girl home was just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks, then they would have agreed to let her stay at home. Who could have known that this little girl from the Zhang family was so vicious? She ate from the Ye family, wore the Ye family's clothes, and then dared to push the Ye family girl into the water.

No matter how kind-hearted a family is, they would never be taken advantage of like this.

"Didn't I tell you to send her away? Why is she still at the Ye family?"

"Dad, no, look, Jia Niang came to mediate in person." Ye Zhang nudged Ye Jia's arm and said, "Jia Niang, come and tell Dad, didn't Chun Fen push you intentionally back then? Jia Niang, please tell me."

They still expect her to speak for them. Where does she get the confidence from?!

Tired of being pushed, Ye Jia immediately said, "Dad, Zhang Chunfen didn't just push me into the water. Look at my forehead. She hit me with a stone. She didn't kill me, but she was afraid I'd come back to get back at her, so she threw me back in. Luckily, someone saw me and fished me out. Otherwise, I'd be a water ghost. She must be mad at me for meddling in her affairs."

"You're talking nonsense!" Zhang Chunfen was about to pretend, but she didn't expect Ye Jiahong to be so blunt and slander her. "I just pushed you, and you hit your head on the rock! At most, I watched you fall into the water, but I didn't throw you!"

The moment she opened her mouth, she let everything slip.

Old Master Ye's face turned pale and he angrily said, "Zhang, if you don't send her away today, you'll leave on your own! The old man is out there and can't come back to write the divorce letter, so his father wrote it for him! Divorce you, you idiot!"

"Dad!" Ye Zhang was panicked.

Old Master Ye didn't even bother to give his eldest daughter-in-law face in front of others. Who in the village wasn't secretly complaining about his family raising a bunch of cowards? They laughed at his own daughter being bullied by outsiders and yet still being well-fed and well-fed. His own daughter was almost killed, how could Old Master Ye tolerate it? "Still not leaving? If not, then I'll write you a divorce letter right now."

Ye Zhang was so frightened that she dared not say a word and pulled Zhang Chunfen into the house. But this time, Mr. Ye was determined to send Zhang Chunfen away no matter what he said. Zhang Chunfen said it all and it was too late to regret it. She cried with a pale face.

Ye Zhang slapped her thigh and sat down, wanting to imitate her old ways and start crying about her miserable life. She lamented how her husband had been away all these years, raising five children on his own. She hoped the old man would forgive her for her hard work. Although Old Master Ye was a kind man, scholars were always concerned about their reputation. Everyone was watching, and Ye Zhang's clinging was truly bringing shame to the Ye family.

He immediately went into the house to write the divorce letter. No one could stop him.

Ye Zhang was so frightened that she dared not cry. She didn't care about her sister at the moment and rushed over to beg the old man not to divorce her.

When the father-in-law and daughter-in-law started arguing, it was natural for Ye Zhangshi to give in. Even if she continued to protect her sister, it wasn't as important as herself. Besides, she already had four sons and one daughter. How could her sister, no matter how close she was to her, be closer than her sons and daughters?

Despite all the fuss, the divorce wasn't finalized, but Zhang Chunfen's departure was a done deal. She'd be leaving today. If she wasn't, he'd write the divorce. Mrs. Zhang couldn't care less about Ye Jia at the moment. She sobbed as she packed her sister's things. Ye Jia followed her inside and stumbled upon Zhang Chunfen hiding quite a few things. The silver earrings and hairpins, similar in style to the ones she'd pawned, filled a whole box. Not only jewelry, but also quite a few clothes.

When Zhang Chunfen saw Ye Jia's eyes fall on the box, she packed the things up as if she was guarding against a thief.

Ye Jia came out of the house and saw that there was no one in the yard, so he turned around and left.

Yejiazhuang looked even larger than Wangjiacun, with at least two hundred households. The two villages were not far from each other, sharing a river. Ye Jiacai had just left her mother's home and passed by the river at the end of the village. She caught a glimpse of several women washing clothes on the riverbank.

Ye Simei was squatting on a stone, rubbing a few soap nuts on the sheets vigorously.

But these days, country folk don't bathe often, and in the cold of winter, they naturally avoid it. Some people might not even wash once all winter. Their quilts and clothes are so grimy they can't be washed. Fourth Sister Ye lathered her quilt with soap several times, her hands red from the cold, and the old dirt still clung to it. Ye Jia glanced to the side and saw a row of women in the same situation.

I was thinking, how can you wash the soap nuts clean? Is there no soap or laundry detergent?

She was just mumbling casually, but after she finished muttering, something moved in her heart.

In the days since arriving here, Ye Jia has racked her brains trying to figure out how to make money. She's been thinking about it over and over again, but she can't seem to come up with a plan. Now, looking at the soap nuts, she's wondering if she can make soap from them. She'd made handmade soap in the modern era, and it wasn't difficult to make. She'd made it at home just for fun, but the result was better than what she'd sell outside.

The raw materials are a bit expensive, and given the Zhou family's current situation, it's hard to make ends meet, let alone spend money on homemade soap.

If soap is expensive to make, what about pancakes?

When Ye Jia first started making handmade soap, he'd done some research. The ancients used scented soap, made from pig pancreatic secretions mixed with soap. A large bar of soap was expensive, but mixing it with the pig pancreas could yield a dozen or so. But only the wealthy could afford this stuff in ancient times, so it must have been very expensive. Ye Jia frowned. There wasn't a market for it in Libei Town...

But that's not necessarily the case. Libei Town is located on the border. There are trade routes to Central Asian countries here, and many caravans travel here. Those who can afford to travel this route are large caravans, and they don't mind a little money. If the goods can be collected by the caravan, the money should come quickly.

Thinking about it this way, it's still possible. However, if the target is the traveling caravans, then the stuff must be good.

An idea popped up in Ye Jia's mind, and he immediately came up with a plan. But when he reached into his pocket, he realized he had to put the plan aside. He had to eat one bite at a time, and earn money one penny at a time. He had to find a way to earn his first pot of gold.

The weather in the northwest is really cold. It's already mid-February and there is no sign of warming up.

The weather was gloomy, and halfway through the journey, a gust of wind threatened to freeze Ye Jia's ears off. She hunched her neck and hurried toward Wangjia Village. When she arrived at Zhou's house, a heavy downpour came pouring down as soon as she entered. Ye Jia was completely drenched.

At the same time, in the east room of the Zhou family.

Looking at her son who had finally woken up, Yu advised, "Yun'an, I know you're feeling wronged. I was indeed anxious to force you to marry Ye, but I was also afraid! Your father, your four brothers, and your nephews are all gone! In this dark place, you're the only one left in my Zhou family. You're not in good health either. If anything happens to you, what will I and Ruijie do?"

Yu cried bitterly, fearing that the Zhou family's prosperity would end in her hands.

"Mother knows you're thinking about Mingxi. You've been engaged since childhood and grew up together, so naturally your feelings are deep. But there's nothing we can do about it!" she said anxiously. "The Zhou family is ruined, but his Gu family is still prominent. Gu Mingxi lives a life of luxury, so why would she come to this bitter cold place to look for an exile like you? Why are you so stubborn?!"

"Mother," Zhou Jingchen said helplessly, "It has nothing to do with Miss Gu."

"If it's not for Gu Mingxi, then why?"

Yu had held on alone until now, but it was the end of her life. "Jia Niang is indeed a little vulgar, but she is extremely beautiful, even more beautiful than Gu Mingxi! If you think she is dull and dislike her personality, it would be good to have a child first. You can keep her by your side and raise her yourself. Are you going to watch the family line die out like this? How can I face the Zhou family ancestors in the future..."

"Be obedient and move in first." Yu didn't want to force him, but the situation forced her to do so. "I know you look down on her as a country woman, but with the current situation at home, marrying her would have already drained our family's wealth. Just try to see her in every way..."

…

The mother and son quarreled fiercely in the house, or perhaps Yu Shi could no longer bear the suffering she had endured in the past few years.

Ye Jia returned home with a head full of sweat. As soon as she entered the door, she heard Zhou Jingchen sigh in a compromising tone: "My son has no intention of getting married in this life. It has nothing to do with Miss Gu or Ye's situation."

The voice was as clear as mountain mist, and it made my ears numb.

Ye Jia glanced at the hanging door curtain, wiped the water off his head with a towel, and turned back to the house.