Chapter 5 Daily Life of Mohists
The Mohists would have dinner together unless it was windy or rainy.
Today, my uncle has a social event outside.
My father has gone out and has not returned. My third uncle is away all year round.
My eldest brother is at Xishan College and hasn’t had his holiday yet.
The only men in the family are Mo Fan and Mo Bao.
Mo Yi had something to tell his aunt, so he went to the main house's courtyard early to have dinner.
In the dining room, only my aunt Zhuang was sitting there, apparently checking the accounts.
"Aunt!" Mo Yi bowed and called.
"Hmm!" Zhuang replied casually, without even raising her eyelids. She was wearing a casual jacket, with her hair in a bun and a silver hairpin. She had two carved silver bracelets on her wrists. She looked neat and tidy, but really unrefined.
My aunt was a woman of ordinary appearance and talent, and she had a dowry that was appropriate for her status.
Both cousins married decent men. However, my second cousin Mo Fan was not very well educated and was far inferior to my eldest brother in every aspect.
She had to take care of the household affairs while holding a considerable amount of money in her hands, and also deal with two troublesome sisters-in-law.
So, my aunt usually doesn't have a good face.
Just as he was about to talk about the daffodils, he heard footsteps behind him. Looking back, Mo Yi saw his mother coming, followed by Mo Wen and Mo Qing.
Seeing this scene, Mo Yi himself found it funny. His estrangement from his mother was truly reflected in every aspect.
Although she was thinking about it, she still bowed quickly: "Mother. Sister. Xiaoliu..."
Today, Wang looked at Mo Yi seriously, hummed, and turned around and called, "Sister-in-law!"
My mother had a lot of dowry, and her family owned various shops, so she was dressed much better than my aunt! Mo Wen was still wearing the same green dress as before, and when she passed by, she glanced at me meaningfully.
This look...what does it mean?
Mo Qing's temperament was very much like his grandmother's. He was not very stable and called out carelessly, "Aunt!" and sat down with a plop.
Before Wang sat down, Liu came in.
The Liu family only married her off according to the standard requirements for a concubine's daughter, without any extra charges!
Therefore, among the three sisters-in-law, although her family background was not low, she had the least dowry.
However, her aunt who gave birth to her was very cunning. She had transferred all the property she had when she was in favor to her brothers from her natal family.
So when the concubine died, the head wife came to check and found nothing was left in the house.
Although the brother was not very capable, he was not a bad person by nature. When Liu got married, he returned all the things to her.
These are what my mother said when she criticized Aunt Three in private...
So, although Third Aunt didn’t have much dowry on the surface, she did have some stock in hand.
Especially jewelry, there are quite a lot of them, and they are all very good!
At this moment, Third Aunt was also dressed neatly, as if she was going out for a banquet. Behind her, Fourth Sister Mo Yuan was following quietly.
According to Mo Yi, the fourth sister does not look like her third uncle and aunt, but rather looks more like her deceased "great aunt".
She has an oval face, watery drooping eyes, narrow shoulders, a thin waist, round hips, and fingers as thin as bamboo shoots.
Not only is she beautiful, but she also has that kind of pitiful and romantic aura that the other girls in the Mo family don't have and can't learn.
Mo Wen and Mo Yuan are rivals, and it is common for them to compete with each other.
For example, today, Mo Yuan probably knew that Mo Wen was wearing green, so she also wore an emerald green dress to compete.
Although she is not as bright as Mo Wen, her figure is as graceful as a valuable vase. Her watery eyes and charming smile should make Mo Wen look better than her.
If it were as usual, Mo Wen's face would be ugly and he would say some shady things.
But today, she just sat there calmly, with her eyelids slightly drooping, her expression reserved, and no reaction at all.
This is not right!
Mo Yi was puzzled, took a sip of water, and turned to look at his mother again.
Her mother straightened her back a lot today and looked a bit pretentious.
However, there seems to be no desire to show off.
What's going on?
Something good must be happening, right?!
But on weekdays, whenever something good happens, I would show off endlessly.
How can I control it today?
Mo Yuan even deliberately lingered past Mo Wentao and called the two aunts in a tender voice.
"Third sister!" She even called out with a smile...
Mo Wen nodded with a forced smile.
There were the sound of footsteps outside; Mo Fan and Mo Bao were coming.
Two young men came in, started shouting at the top of their lungs, and then sat down with a bang.
Mo Fan looked over to the table and found that Mo Yi was also looking at him, grinning. He pointed to the small bag he was carrying...
It should be time to bring her something delicious! Mo Yi winked at him happily.
Liu looked at the table before she even sat down. Today's dinner was: fried tofu with chives, pickled vegetables, a plate of scrambled eggs, two kinds of steamed buns, small bean buns, and multi-grain porridge... She curled her lips.
When the family is not around, dinner is extremely simple.
On her way back, Wang bought Wuxiangzhai's braised beef in soy sauce. She wrapped a piece just now and asked the kitchen maid to cut it, but only served it to the boys' table.
Mo Fan and Mo Bao were looking at dinner with frowns on their faces, until the braised beef in soy sauce came up, then they started to smile.
Liu's face darkened and she said in a strange voice:
"Oh Mo Yuan, today's meal is delicious. Mother has been suffering from internal heat these past two days, so eat some plain food to clear your stomach."
Mo Yuan smiled with her lips pursed, full of charm, and responded in an inaudible voice.
Liu glanced at Zhuang, then looked at everyone, and finally turned to stare at the beef on the table over there.
Zhuang said calmly, "The beef was bought by your second sister-in-law herself as a snack for the boys."
Liu said with a mocking look on her face: "Really?! Oh Mo Yuan, who made you fail to give birth to a boy? Your mother is incompetent, and your father... Ha! He is as good as dead! As for you, just don't starve to death!"
Wang finally couldn't help but open her mouth: "Mo Wen and her three sisters also eat the same thing as Mo Yuan!"
This is indeed true.
But Liu was quick to retort: "Yes! The three of them ate Mo Yuan's melon! Otherwise, there are only a few children in total. How could they care less?"
This made Wang very angry. She thought to herself: It’s just the same, why don’t you buy it?
She took a breath and was about to retort, but Mo Wen gently touched her.
Wang remembered something, smiled, stopped talking, and concentrated on eating.
Liu is always calculative in every aspect, which is really annoying.
The money that the second and third wives originally paid to the public treasury was the same.
But Uncle San is not at home all year round, so only the mother and daughter are at home.
But the second wife has five children! The couple always eat at home. Is it fair to pay the same amount of money?
In fact, Mo Yi knew that her mother married into the Mo family with the promise of benefits from the Mo family!
Because the Wang family is a pure peasant-turned-businessman family. My mother can't even read a few words!
The Mohists, at least, were farmers, scholars, and officials. My father was a scholar with rosy lips and white teeth.
Without benefits, she won't marry in!
The Mo family was able to afford three courtyards. Even if the houses were not very good, they were still better than the officials in the capital! This was not unrelated to the mother's marriage. In this way, the marriage was balanced!
The mother was very firm. Even though Liu made a fuss, she, who was rich and powerful, did not care and generously paid more to the government.
Moreover, she often bought some food for home, but most of it was prepared for the boys.
Liu had no son, so she couldn't take advantage of this, and she was very angry...
Mo Yi glanced at Mo Yuan... This fourth sister is the most interesting. She is very good at playing dumb, as if she knows nothing.
He was eating attentively and taking small bites.
Mo Qing's eyes flickered as she looked at this and that. She was happy when there was excitement.
As for Mo Wen...his movements while eating today were slower and more elegant than usual.
There must be something wrong!
After taking a quick look at the scene, Mo Yi also concentrated on eating.
(End of this chapter)
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