The fact that Liu was forced into the red sedan chair that day was common knowledge. Everyone thought she would die in the county town, but unexpectedly she slipped back and demanded three hundred copper coins. She also said that her whole family would go to jail. Wasn't this a blatant admission that she had offended the wealthy Song in the city?
The third family was kind to the villagers and had the ability to escape from the clutches of Master Song. In comparison, one was a toad in a stinking ditch and the other was a swan in a pond. Why would they help the toad and offend the swan?
Therefore, Old Lady Fan's words are like a template, allowing people to simply follow along.
"That's right. Your eldest son's family has done a lot of underhanded things. Who knows if they'll get what they deserve?"
"The third son's family is all weak and frail. How could we force them to go? They are really lying through their teeth."
"Alright, things are going to get better for the third wife."
Liu was dissatisfied that no one was helping her. However, there was not much time left to raise money, and the third branch of the family was unwilling to help. She wished she could rush in and plunder all the money inside, but they had forced her to put her fingerprint on the document severing ties. If she were to report them to the county government, they would also be implicated. After thinking it over, she had no choice but to take Yun Da home.
The family had heard the commotion outside long ago. They were glad that Liu was back, and they thought that Liu was just angry and wanted to ask the third branch of the family for money. Little did they know that she really owed 300 guan and would go to jail. How could they sit still now?
"Mother! This is three hundred strings of cash, not just three strings! Where are we supposed to find the money?"
“If you can’t raise the money, your whole family will go to jail. When we received thirty strings of cash, everyone was enjoying the good life. Now that we’re in trouble, you’re all thinking of hiding your heads. You won’t get away with this.”
"Mother-in-law, we..."
“What do you mean, ‘you’? I’ve always turned a blind eye to you looting things at home and sending them to your parents’ house. Now that you’re going to ask for them back, it’s only natural that you do so. If you can’t bring yourself to do it, then you’ll go to jail.”
Seeing that there was really no other way, and worried that they would suffer in prison, everyone hurriedly set off. Some went to the dock, some went back to their mothers' homes, and their mothers' homes were gathered together and then returned to their mothers' homes. This went on for a while until they finally managed to scrape together fifty strings of cash.
Liu planned to sell all the small items in the house that were of some value and that were temporarily not in use. Yun Da also shamelessly went to the second branch of the family in the city. When the second branch heard about this, they only said that the third branch was not kind, and that was all.
But Yun Da was not as easy to talk to as Old Man Yun. When the fire was about to burn his eyebrows, he displayed all of Liu's tricks of throwing a tantrum, blaming blood ties, and ruining reputation. The second branch of the family did not know that the third branch of the family had come up with the idea of severing ties, so they were worried that their daughters would be ruined, so they gritted their teeth and borrowed fifty strings of cash.
They couldn't find anyone to borrow the remaining two hundred strings of cash, so they had to borrow money from underground banks and temples at interest. Finally, they paid the three hundred strings of cash on the last day of the agreement to avoid imprisonment.
The bricklayers who hadn't received payment for their work, seeing that Liu and her family were borrowing money everywhere, knew they had worked for nothing. To make matters worse, all the valuable items in the house had been sold, and they had nowhere else to turn. So they could only tear down the wall and take it home as compensation.
The big house that Liu had dreamed of was gone. Not only that, the front door that could have provided some privacy was also stolen. A perfectly good home had become a homeless hut, unable to withstand the sun or the storms. The three daughters-in-law were crying incessantly, like they were at a funeral.
"Alright, stop crying. How will you embroider handkerchiefs and pay back the money if you cry yourself blind?"
These days, Yun Da and Yun Dazhuang have been working at the dock, practically living there to carry more and earn more money. They can't carry heavy things, so they can only embroider handkerchiefs. They embroider day and night, and their eyesight is easily damaged by the strain. How can they cry again?
Liu regarded the handkerchief as the face of Yunling's family. She felt that she had fallen to such a state entirely because of them, and she wished she could skin them alive and drink their blood!
**
Yunling suddenly felt a cool breeze and watched as a yellow leaf slowly fell. Autumn had arrived.
This year, their wheat ears were still plump and heavy, and from a distance, their field had the darkest color. Old Man Yun was naturally happy and didn't feel tired at all. He and Yun Shenghua got to work quickly.
Meanwhile, the black fungus that Yunling was growing was ready to be harvested. The little skirts bloomed on the birch wood, even more translucent than when she found them on the mountain. Yunling was very excited, while Yun Chu, standing to the side, got goosebumps all over her body, shook herself off, and went back to her room.
"Auntie, how much do you think our black fungus can sell for?"
"Well... I haven't heard about it. People in the city rarely mention it, but our black fungus is so good. Once Manager Zhou sells it, it will definitely become popular."
A slight unease flashed through Yunling's heart, but it was so fleeting that she couldn't even grasp it, so she didn't take it to heart, picked a few pieces, and handed them to Zhang.
But when she handed it to Zhang, she hesitated. "Mother, should we dry these fresh wood ear mushrooms before eating them, or are they fine as they are?"
“You can soak them after drying, or you can boil them in water five or six times while they are still fresh. When I was your age, I would go up the mountain with my brothers to pick wood ear mushrooms and bring them home for your grandma to make into a cold dish. It tasted so good.”
With Zhang's words, Yunling felt relieved. During the apocalypse, some black fungus grew in the dark corners of the basement, but the question of how to eat it caused a sensation among the people in the basement.
A young man researched the information and said, "Fresh wood ear mushrooms contain porphyrins. If you eat them and then expose your skin to the sun, your skin will become itchy and swollen. So you have to dry the wood ear mushrooms and then soak them in water before you can eat them."
Another elderly man retorted, "You don't know anything. When I was young, supermarkets sold fresh wood ear mushrooms. If they weren't edible, would they have sold them? You're just talking nonsense if you ignore dosage. And sunbathing? There's no sun anymore, so what's the point of sunbathing?"
Yunling snapped out of her thoughts. Zhang cut the prepared black fungus into thin strips, added coriander and minced ginger, mixed in fermented black bean sauce, vinegar and light soy sauce, and finally added a pinch of pepper. A refreshing cold black fungus salad was ready to be served.
Yunling smelled the sour aroma, which whetted her appetite. She couldn't resist picking up a piece with her chopsticks and putting it in her mouth. The black fungus was crisp and chewy, and with the sauce, it slid into her mouth in a flash. It was smooth and refreshing, just like when Yun Shenghua and his father had finished their farm work and were hungry. This dish would surely make them eat two more bowls of rice.
Yunling was confident that the black fungus would fetch a good price, but when she and Yun Ruoxia went to Shengfu Restaurant to tell Manager Zhou, Manager Zhou's face instantly turned serious.
"Oh, young lady, I can't accept these black fungus. You should take them back."
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