The Qin family, under the team leader's arrangement, stayed in a slightly drafty thatched hut in the village. They had nowhere else to go, so they had to stay there.
The grain team lent them 500 jin of sweet potatoes to be returned next year. You can imagine how difficult that is. They'll have to eat them until autumn, and then they'll go hungry.
Fortunately, we brought back quite a few fish from the mountain, otherwise we wouldn't have made it through the winter.
"Qin Wild Vegetable, you jinx!" shouted Sister-in-law Qin. "It's all because of you that Wang Laizi burned our house down! If you hadn't said there were fish and no one was home, would anyone have set the house on fire?"
"Auntie, are you delirious with hunger? He wants to start a fire. He knows we're rich, so he'll have to come sooner or later. If it weren't for me, you would have starved to death this winter. Instead of being grateful, you're complaining about me. Aren't you going too far?"
“Father and Mother, I think we should kick this jinx out. There’s not enough food to begin with, so we should let them live on their own. The second son’s family has only produced a bunch of money-losing children, so they should be sent away.”
It has to be said that Sister-in-law Qin is ruthless. She knows how cold the winters are in Northeast China, and with no food, people are bound to starve to death.
Mrs. Qin knew it wasn't Qin Yecai's fault, but she still habitually shifted the blame onto them. "Fine, tell them to split up the family. Come here, all of you."
"Qin Yecai, let me tell you, this whole thing is your fault. Get out of here! Our house wouldn't have caught fire without you. Get the captain to find you a place to stay. Now get out of here."
"Grandma, are you trying to force our family to our deaths? How are we going to divide the food and fish? I was the one who found these fish."
"Let me tell you, everything before we separated was mine," Old Mrs. Qin said, making a scene.
"Tomorrow you can take your things and get out of here. You can borrow the grain from the team leader."
Qin Lao Er said sadly, "Am I not your son? Where can I go in this freezing weather?"
"Just because of your family, look at what we've been given. Hurry up and leave. The debt for this grain is still outstanding in the team. You'll have to take it."
"Mother, why can't we take the grain? Why do we have to share the debt? This is so unreasonable!" Wild Vegetable Mother shouted.
“Let me tell you, you good-for-nothing, you gave birth to five girls, get out of here right now, you have no right to speak in this house.”
"Grandma, we don't need the grain, but you have to give us half of this 800 yuan. I'm telling you, if you don't give it to us, we'll go find the team leader."
"Fine, you little brat, you dare threaten me? Boss Qin, you beat her up."
Qin Yecai knew she couldn't reveal her strength, so she ran off to find the captain.
"Go after her! Bring her back to me! Lock that brat up!"
"This wild vegetable is so strong, and it runs so fast."
"Uncle, are you home? My grandma is starving to death."
"Wild vegetables, are you telling the truth?"
“I’m telling the truth, Uncle. Please come to my house and help us divide the family property. My grandma won’t give us anything and wants us to leave tomorrow. Isn’t she trying to force our family to our death?”
“Okay, I got it. Let’s go. If we run into Boss Qin on the way, we’ll know that what this girl said is true. They must have captured her.”
"Sister-in-law Qin, what are you doing? I've heard from your family about Wild Vegetables. What era are we living in? How can you still do this? What kind of impact will this have on the team? Wang Laizi's matter is inseparable from you. Why can't your family keep quiet?"
"Captain, if this brat hadn't been allowed to go fishing in the mountains, how could the house have caught fire?"
"Grandma, you're wrong about that. I was just trying to find something to eat for everyone. Is that wrong? Besides, who said we're rich? Do they even know we're rich?"
“Grandma, all your things are tucked away in the inner room. That Wang Laizi is a notorious scoundrel who goes to this widow’s house all the time. It’s impossible for my mother to be so honest all the time. There’s only Auntie left at home. You can’t be the Auntie you’re talking about, can you?”
"You little bitch, what kind of filth are you spewing from your mouth? What evidence do you have?"
"Does this even need evidence? My mother is an honest person, and my grandmother wouldn't tell anyone, so it's even less likely that I would. My five sisters aren't well-liked. I even saw you talking to Wang Laizi that day."
Sister-in-law Qin was furious and wanted to hit her.
"Alright, all of you, stop now. If you keep doing this, I'll make you collect manure tomorrow."
When everyone heard the captain speak, no one dared to say anything.
“We’ll borrow the grain from the team, but we have to get 400 yuan of that money. We have to take the rest of the cotton quilts with us, and we don’t need anything else. Grandma, what do you think?”
"What business is it of yours how an adult speaks? You're just a little girl, yet you think you're in charge? Do you even have the right to speak?"
Qin Lao Er was also heartbroken because of his parents' favoritism. Wasn't making them leave in winter just trying to drive his family to their deaths?
Let's go with this suggestion about wild vegetables; I think it's a good idea.
"You heartless bastard! I raised a thankless wretch!" she said, before bursting into tears.
"Alright, Aunt Qin, don't go too far. The team can lend them 200 jin of grain, and give them 400 yuan in money, plus some coupons. There's a haystack house to the east, but it might collapse soon, so let's fix it."
"Who will pay back the grain owed to the team next year?"
"Qin Yecai shouted, 'Half for each of us!'"
"Sister-in-law Qin, what do you think? How do you want to resolve this?"
“Then that’s settled. They can take the grain debt with them. Otherwise, this family can’t divide it up. Old Mrs. Qin can’t bear to part with these 400 yuan.”
Qin Yecai couldn't see the problem, so she said, "We must divide the spoils. This aunt is siding with outsiders. If something happens in the future, won't she cause more trouble? We're afraid."
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