That evening, Li Xinniang, Li Yueniang, and Li Xiangkang all returned, and Yan Qingqing told them about the family division.
The younger children remained silent, and Yan Qingqing assumed they were unhappy, so she spoke up, "I know that your opinions were not sought regarding the division of the family, and you all have some reservations."
But this family has to be divided. As you all know, we do all the dirty and hard work, but we never get any benefits from it.
"I want your future efforts to be rewarded, and I don't want you to suffer anymore."
A few words brought tears to the eyes of the children, especially the youngest, Li Xiangkang, who hugged Yan Qingqing and cried, saying between sobs, "Mom, that's great, does that mean we won't have to wait until dark to come back anymore?"
Yan Qingqing felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this. The original owner of this body had truly failed as a mother; look how aggrieved her children were.
Yan Qingqing reached out and hugged Li Xiangkang, saying gently to him, "You can come back whenever you want in the future. If you don't want to go up the mountain or down to the fields, you can stay at home and play."
Li Xiangkang chuckled upon hearing this, then said somewhat embarrassedly, "Mom, don't worry, I won't eat for free."
Just then, Yuan Huiniang walked in with a smile and said, "Alright, Silang, stop bothering your mother. There's a little brother in my belly."
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangkang quickly stood up straight and asked cautiously, "So, am I going to be a big brother?"
Niu Niu, who was standing next to her, also asked, "Am I a big sister now?"
Yuan Huiniang quickly corrected Niu Niu, "This is not your older sister, this is your uncle or aunt."
Yan Qingqing suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Given the current situation, she was not comfortable keeping the child, but it was a life after all, and she secretly wanted a child who would be closer to her.
Thinking of this, Yan Qingqing took a deep breath, then stood up and said, "Let's go eat, we'll talk after we've eaten."
Aside from Li Xiang'an, Li Xiangjian, and Yan Qingqing, whom they hadn't met yet, the rest were all good-natured children, though they were all thin and pale, with dry, yellow hair. Their clothes were also tattered and ragged. It was quite heartbreaking to see them like that.
Li Xiangjian's little hands and face were still dirty.
Looking cautiously at the wild vegetable porridge on the table, Yue Niang asked, "Mother, can we really eat this?"
In the past, Xinniang and Yueniang had the lowest status in the Li family. Not only were they not allowed to eat at the table, but their porridge was also thinner than others, so they were never full.
Yan Qingqing felt a lump in her throat, but she quickly held it back. She thought it was probably because of her pregnancy and the influence of the original owner of the body that she was being sentimental.
It's just a matter of making a living. After all those years of success in her previous career, surely she could have provided for her family?
Thinking of this, Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Of course you can eat, but you must wash your hands before eating. Illness enters through the mouth, so you must always keep your hands clean."
The younger children looked at their hands and then went to wash them, feeling embarrassed.
Even Li Xiangping, who was standing to the side, secretly glanced at his hands and then washed them clean when no one was looking.
The children ate happily, but Yan Qingqing had a hard time eating, mainly because the wild vegetable porridge with buckwheat husks was rough on her throat and she couldn't swallow it.
But seeing how much the children were eating, she felt embarrassed to be picky. Besides, given the family's current situation, there wasn't much she could do.
After dinner, Yan Qingqing went to rest. There really weren't many entertainment options in ancient times. And with it all dark, there was nothing to do. Yan Qingqing sighed, no wonder the original owner had so many children.
Yan Qingqing thought she wouldn't be able to sleep. But to her surprise, she fell asleep within minutes of lying down.
The next morning, before dawn, Yan Qingqing heard Li Xiangping and Yuan Huiniang talking in the courtyard.
Yan Qingqing glanced at the sky, turned over, and tried to go back to sleep. Aside from the first few years when she was building her career and working tirelessly from dawn till dusk, she hadn't developed the habit of waking up early.
But Yan Qingqing couldn't fall asleep whenever she wanted; someone's rooster kept crowing.
After tossing and turning countless times, Yan Qingqing finally got up after much dawdling.
She was the last one to get up in the family besides Niu Niu. Li Xiangping had already filled the water tank, and Yuan Huiniang had also prepared breakfast.
Li Xinniang cleaned the yard spotlessly, while Li Yueniang and Li Xiangkang were sorting through the wild vegetables they had dug up the day before.
Seeing that Yan Qingqing had gotten up, Yuan Huiniang quickly came over and said, "Mother, the meal is ready. I saw that you were sleeping soundly, so I took the liberty of cooking some coarse rice porridge and also made a few wild vegetable and mixed grain pancakes. Is that alright?"
Yan Qingqing then remembered that since the family split up yesterday, she had become the head of the household. Actually, being the head of the household wasn't much of a good thing, mainly because they were too poor and had nothing to control.
At this moment, Li Xiangping walked over and said, "Mom, since it's not busy in the fields now, I'll go to the county town to find some work. There are many wealthy people building new houses in the city this season, and maybe I can find a suitable job."
Before Yan Qingqing could speak, a sarcastic voice came from next door: "Oh, Second Sister-in-law is quite different now that the family has separated. Look at her, she's acting like the head of the household."
The speaker was Zhao Yumei, Li Chengye's wife, whom everyone in the village called "the wife of the young scholar." Zhao Yumei considered herself Li Chengye's wife and looked down on everyone else.
Among the three daughters-in-law of the Li family, Zhao Yumei was the most domineering and did the least work, not only because Li Chengye was a student of the imperial examination, but also because she was the cousin of the old lady Li's family.
Now that Yan Qingqing's family has moved out, there's no one to do the work in the fields. Yesterday, Old Mrs. Li made her take on the housework of washing, cleaning, and cooking, which made her unhappy.
Today, seeing Yan Qingqing's children all surrounding her, and thinking about how they were both mothers-in-law, Yan Qingqing used to be far inferior to Old Mrs. Li, but now she could act like the head of the family, she instantly felt resentful.
Seeing Zhao Yumei's sarcastic tone, Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Who says otherwise? I never dared to imagine that I would have such a comfortable life. But thinking about it, we're all getting old. If we don't act like mothers-in-law now and enjoy the blessings of our children and grandchildren, wouldn't we have lived in vain?"
Yan Qingqing was going all out to spite Zhao Yumei.
Zhao Yumei's face turned pale and then flushed upon hearing this.
Yan Qingqing felt that wasn't enough and continued to stir things up: "If you ask me, sister-in-law, you have sons and daughters, and your brother is a respected scholar. You're a mother-in-law now. If you could make your own decisions, your life would definitely be more comfortable than that of a god."
Zhao Yumei was indeed tempted by these words, but before she could react, Old Mrs. Li's cursing voice came from the side.
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