Chapter 2 The Poor Third Child
Hearing her eldest son's words, Song Chunxue chuckled. He really was her good eldest son.
Seeing that things were not going well, the second and fourth brothers were so frightened that they quietly slipped out.
Song Chunxue always thought that she had spoiled her eldest son, and that he was too obedient to his wife, which was why they had become estranged.
I never imagined he was so wicked at heart.
If she hadn't been reborn, she wouldn't have been able to see it clearly.
But then she suddenly remembered that the three of them had always dared to talk to her like that.
"Mother, my face is all swollen, how could you hit me so hard?"
"Is Mother suddenly being so protective of Sanwa because he's bribed her?"
"Even though we've separated the family, it doesn't mean I'll abandon my mother. I'll take care of her when she gets old and see her off in her final days. Do you expect me to rely on the third child?"
Song Chunxue took a deep breath. How could she have raised such a son?
If she hadn't been living with Sanwa in her old age, she might have died without anyone knowing.
She'd be better off ending her own life than relying on her boss.
Extremely disappointed, Song Chunxue wished she could stomp him flat.
She gave a cold laugh.
"As expected of my eldest son, he's even threatening your mother now."
“I don’t want to separate the family for now. Haven’t you made money outside? If you feel it’s too crowded, you can prepare to build a yard first.”
“Your father has been gone for ten years. I raised you all on that piece of land in Shuichuan all by myself. You certainly know how to pick a place.”
“I’ve thought it through carefully. Whoever follows me will own that piece of land in Shuichuan.”
"Ha, the second and fourth brothers are smarter than you. Who doesn't want money? But I don't even have a copper coin to buy new clothes. I've really raised a bunch of ungrateful wretches."
Song Chunxue looked down at the patches on her clothes and felt a lump in her throat.
Last time, knowing that it wouldn't be good to give anything to the eldest son after the family split up, she gave most of her money to him, and also divided it among the second and fourth sons, but left nothing for the third son.
In the end, she couldn't even receive their paper money.
Sanwa had many children, and they were so poor that they couldn't even afford to burn many sheets of paper money.
“We can discuss the land in Shuichuan, but we brothers are all grown up and we will eventually have to divide the family property. How could Mother be so confused?”
Song Chunxue looked up at her eldest brother and had an idea in mind.
"Because I love you the most, I don't want to separate from you."
She decided to use delaying tactics to scare him into giving up some things on his own initiative.
She patted the eldest son's shoulder gently, "Once you've finished building the yard, I'll live with you. I'll hand over this old house to Sanwa. At that time, I'll bring out not only the land in Shuichuan, but also all the grain from home."
The eldest brother, Jiang Yeming, froze.
"This...didn't we agree on this?"
"Don't you dislike Feng'er and can't get along with her? I also think she's clumsy and often causes you trouble. It's better if we don't live together."
"Sanwa isn't good at studying, but he's better at farm work and herding sheep than we are. He'll be getting married in a few years. Didn't you decide to have him support you?"
Hearing him reveal the truth so quickly, Song Chunxue felt a chill in her heart.
If she hadn't been so selfish back then, she would have realized long ago that the boss was unreliable.
She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair to suppress her anger.
"I think you're the better one. Sanwa has too much of a temper and doesn't know how to talk nicely. I want to live with you in the future."
Upon hearing her say that, the eldest brother, Jiang Yeming, stood up irritably. "Then I'll go and discuss it with Feng'er."
"No matter what, I'm worried about Sanwa. What if his wife has a worse temper than yours? I'll never have a good life in the future." Song Chunxue sighed. "I love you the most. You're the only one I can count on."
Upon hearing the words "I love you the most," Jiang Yeming frowned deeply and stepped out the door with one foot.
“Then I’ll have a good talk with Feng’er. She’s pregnant now and her temper is bad.”
The saying "He married a wife and forgot his mother" perfectly describes Jiang Yeming.
After the eldest brother left the room, Song Chunxue breathed a huge sigh of relief.
She quickly stood up, moved her still relatively nimble legs, went to the mirror, saw her still youthful face, and couldn't help but slap herself hard.
It hurts so much, she's really back!
Thank God for giving her a second chance.
Afterwards, she took out her key from her pocket, quietly opened her treasure box, and took stock of all her possessions.
The total was ten taels of silver, most of which came from selling sheep and mules, as well as from the money she saved by shoveling medicinal herbs such as Artemisia capillaris and dandelion.
She had saved it up with all her might to pay for her four sons' weddings.
Hearing footsteps in the yard, she quickly locked the box and put it back on the cabinet.
Before long, the eldest brother's voice could be heard in the courtyard instructing the second brother.
Soon, the second son lifted the curtain and came in.
"Mom, it's almost noon, what are we having for lunch today?"
Song Chunxue looked at the second son; he meant for her to cook.
"Where's your sister-in-law? She's only five months pregnant, and she's already forgotten how to cook?"
She leaned back in her chair, looking exhausted.
"I'm not feeling well, so I won't be cooking today. You'll have to figure out what to eat yourselves."
Before the family split up, she was always the one cooking. When the eldest son first got married, it was his wife, Chen Feng, who cooked.
However, last month, Chen Feng fell and felt unwell, so she handed over the cooking task back to Song Chunxue.
If it were the old Song Chunxue, she would get up and cook for them even if she was sick.
But now she felt utterly cold inside and didn't want to serve them anymore.
However, thinking about how Sanwa would need to eat after returning from herding sheep, she thought to herself that she couldn't let him go hungry, even if it meant the others went hungry.
It's late March now, the weather isn't hot, and Sanwa came home late.
When he comes back, Song Chunxue can eat with him.
Thinking this, she lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed) and dozed off for a while.
After some time, someone nudged her arm.
"Mother, what's wrong?"
It was the voice of the third child.
When Song Chunxue looked up, she saw Sanwa's nervous expression.
At only sixteen years old, he had delicate features and a youthful appearance, but when he looked at her, he frowned with worry.
His lips were dry and chapped, his face was covered in dust, and his skin was slightly dark.
He was still holding the sheep whip in his hand, which meant he hadn't even had a sip of water before coming to see her.
"My brother said you weren't feeling well and haven't cooked yet. I'll cook. What should we have for lunch?"
What? You want Sanwa to cook?!
Song Chunxue was furious and sat up to look at him.
"Where are your older brothers? They won't even cook a meal for you, they just have to wait for you to come back?"
"My eldest brother is cleaning the sheepfold, my sister-in-law just came back from the fields, and my second brother is chopping firewood. Anyway, I'm not tired, so I can cook." Sanwa said, getting up and walking outside. "I want to eat buckwheat noodles. Where are the noodles?"
Song Chunxue slipped off the kang (a heated brick bed), put on her shoes, and went to the kitchen.
As she descended the steps, a smile spread across her face.
It feels so good to have my legs and feet free, and it feels so good to feel relaxed all over.
She walked past the three children into the kitchen, and seeing the unwashed bowls on the cutting board and stove, she flew into a rage.
"The dishes haven't been washed yet, who's going to wash all of them?"
Sanwa looked at the remaining egg bits in the bowl, his tone somewhat disappointed, "You had egg drop soup this morning?"
Song Chunxue's heart skipped a beat. Meeting his disappointed and aggrieved expression, she felt a sharp pang of sadness.
If I remember correctly, she was the one who made this egg drop soup.
Sanwa gets up very early every day to herd sheep, drinks water, eats a few dry breads, and then leaves.
The eldest brother said his wife wanted to drink egg drop soup, so she splurged and gave each of them a poached egg.
She was so foolish before. Sanwa was so well-behaved and sensible, why didn't she leave one for him?
"I left too early this morning, so it's normal that I didn't get to drink. I'll wash the dishes."
Seeing his mother's troubled expression, Sanwa quickly looked away, rolled up his sleeves, and started washing the dishes.
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