Later in the evening, a rich aroma of meat wafted from the west wing.
The fragrance spread throughout the entire Yu family residence, leaving the people in the first and third branches restless during their meal.
Especially in the first branch, since tonight’s meal was prepared by Yu Qin. She had just learned how to cook, and managing to make the food edible was already an achievement—taste was out of the question.
Of course, all she had made was a pot of vegetable soup and some shredded pickled radish, which required very little skill, so there wasn’t much to discuss in terms of flavor.
In Qingshi Village during the summer, people often liked to cook vegetable soup. They would simply boil a pot of water, toss in some cleaned vegetables, and once the vegetables were cooked, ladle the soup into a bowl. It provided both greens and soup, perfect for quenching thirst.
At the Yu family’s house, they didn’t even add salt.
After all, salt cost money. Since the pickled vegetables were salty, it was enough to make do without adding any more.
Chen Shi and her two children ate with grim expressions.
If they were in the county town, they would never eat such bland food. Even if they were making vegetable soup, a few drops of sesame oil and an egg would be added for flavor. As for the pickled vegetables, they would be finely chopped and stir-fried with pork scraps, giving off a rich aroma that made it easy to finish several bowls of rice.
But in the village, this was how the Yu family had always eaten.
Now that Old Master Yu and his wife were staying with the first branch, with the old lady keeping a watchful eye, there was no way they were allowed to eat as they did in the county town. It was just vegetables and pickled radish, with perhaps the occasional steamed egg, but nothing more.
Smelling the rich aroma of meat at this moment only made everyone crave it even more.
“Mother, I want to eat meat,” Yu Jingzong complained. “We’ve been back for so many days and haven’t had a single bite of meat.”
Living on vegetables and pickled radish all the time made him feel like he was turning into a vegetable himself, green and leafy.
This was also why he didn’t want to stay in the village and wanted to join his father in the county town.
Chen Shi said nothing but glanced at Old Madam Yu.
Old Madam Yu, however, was also distracted and didn’t catch her gaze. Otherwise, she would have surely gotten angry.
As she inhaled the rich aroma of the meat, Old Madam Yu grumbled under her breath, “The second branch is truly unfilial. They’re cooking meat at home but didn’t even bring us a bowl. It’s clear that ever since the family split, their wings have grown hard, and they’ve forgotten how to respect their elders…”
The more she spoke, the angrier she became. Old Madam Yu suddenly slammed her chopsticks onto the table and stood up.
“No, I have to go and take a look.”
However, just as she stood up, something seemed to occur to her, and she sat back down again.
Noticing that everyone in the room was watching her, Old Madam Yu turned her head and said to Yu Qin, “Qin Niang, go over to your second uncle and ask what kind of meat their family is eating today.”
It was clear from her words that she was sending Yu Qin to ask for a bowl of meat.
Wasn’t it perfectly normal for a mother to ask her son from the split family for a bowl of meat?
Old Master Yu heard her but remained silent, merely slowing down his pace of eating.
Yu Jingzong, on the other hand, looked at his sister with a face full of expectation.
Yu Qin froze for a moment and hesitantly said, “But… Li Niang doesn’t seem to have left yet…”
She didn’t dare to go, afraid that Yu Li might hit her.
Sure enough, as soon as he heard this, Yu Jingzong also shrank back, while Chen Shi’s eyes grew dim.
Old Madam Yu knew perfectly well that Yu Li hadn’t left yet, which was precisely why she didn’t dare to go herself. She said instead, “I told you to go, so just go. Do you really think she’ll hit you?”
Yu Qin thought to herself, she actually might.
But Old Grandma’s orders couldn’t be disobeyed. With no other choice, Yu Qin reluctantly put down her bowl and chopsticks and headed toward the west wing.
—
The west wing consisted of only two narrow, dimly lit mud-brick rooms. Due to the family split, the rooms were cluttered with various items, leaving no space to even set foot properly. Naturally, eating inside the house was out of the question.
Fortunately, under the urging of his daughters, Yu Lao’er had built a simple shelter next to the house yesterday and constructed a mud stove. Now, the second branch of the family was eating by the shelter.
Sitting out in the open, basking in the glow of the sunset and feeling the evening breeze, there was a unique charm to it.
The second branch was eating meat.
The meat was stewed to perfection, cooked with a homemade farmhouse-style soybean paste. Fresh bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms, and other ingredients had been added, soaking up the rich meat juices. The portions looked generous.
Yu Li had brought back a lot of meat, but Yu Jin was reluctant to cook it all at once. She had only cut one-third of it for the stew, while the rest was salted for preservation. Tomorrow, she planned to turn it into jarred meat, which could last a long time without spoiling in the summer heat.
When Yu Qin arrived, she saw the second branch eating large bites of meat and couldn’t help but swallow her saliva secretly.
In the past, it was always the first branch who ate meat, especially during the New Year or festivals. The meat dishes were always placed in front of the first branch, while the second branch sat farther away, eating pickled vegetables and not daring to reach out with their chopsticks. Otherwise, they would be scolded by the old lady.
Back then, they hadn’t thought there was anything wrong with it.
Now, the tables had turned. The second branch was eating meat heartily, while they had none to eat at all.
And now, she had to come over to ask for meat from the second branch.
Yu Qin’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. If not for fear of being scolded by the old lady, she would have turned around and left.
When the second branch saw Yu Qin approaching, their eating motions paused, but no one spoke.
Yu Lao’er and his wife were naturally reserved people, usually absorbed in their work and rarely engaging in conversation. Even now, after the family split, their temperament hadn’t changed. Seeing the niece from the first branch, they didn’t even greet her.
If the old lady were here, she would probably scold them again for being wooden blocks.
Yu Li glanced at her briefly, then continued eating.
Yu Yin and Yu Zhu looked at their elder sister but said nothing.
Finally, it was Yu Jin who broke the silence. “Qin Jie, what brings you here?”
Yu Qin’s gaze kept drifting toward the plate of meat on the table. The meat, stewed in soybean paste, was a glistening reddish-brown, its appearance irresistibly enticing, making her crave it even more.
“Grandma asked me to come see what kind of meat you’re making…”
Hearing this, Yu Jin and the others immediately understood—she had come to ask for their meat.
By custom, even though the family had split, showing filial respect to one’s elders was still a must. Whenever a family cooked meat, they were expected to offer some to their elders as a sign of respect.
Otherwise, if they ate meat without giving any to their parents, they’d be criticized as unfilial.
The principle was clear, but Yu Jin couldn’t help feeling reluctant.
So she said, “This meat was brought back by my sister. Are you sure Grandma really wants to eat it?”
Yu Qin: “…”
She glanced at Yu Li, who was eating with her head down, not even sparing her a glance, as if eating was the most important task in life.
Summoning her courage, Yu Qin said, “Li Niang…”
Yu Li raised her head and looked at her. “What’s the matter?”
She was clearly the same person, but for some reason, Yu Qin instinctively felt a sense of fear.
Perhaps it was the scene of Yu Li forcing her father to kneel that had left too deep an impression, or maybe it was the terrifying moment when she kicked a stone pier into pieces, or the sight of her slapping both Chen Jicheng and Yu Jingzong into the air with one strike…
Yu Qin didn’t dare to meet her gaze. Fear rose in her heart. “N-no, it’s nothing. Enjoy your meal; I won’t bother you!”
Watching Yu Qin leave in a hurry, the people of the second branch fell silent, their eyes collectively turning to Yu Li.
Anyone with eyes could see that Yu Qin had been scared off by her.
Yu Li picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and said to them, “What are you looking at me for? Eat!”
Yu Jin and her sisters obediently continued eating, cheerfully enjoying their meal of meat. They didn’t dwell on Yu Qin’s visit or the implications of her coming and leaving, and they were even a little glad they didn’t have to share the meat.
It wasn’t that they were stingy. It was just that thinking about the past—during New Year’s and festivals, when the family slaughtered chickens and pigs, yet the second branch couldn’t even get a piece of meat and had to gnaw on chicken bones boiled countless times—left a sour taste in their hearts.
Clearly, they were also part of the Yu family. Why could everyone else eat meat, but not them?
They had wanted to reach out for some meat too, but their grandmother would immediately scold them, calling them gluttonous freeloaders who only knew how to eat meat and never worked hard. She’d berate them, saying there wasn’t that much meat for them to eat.
But there had been plenty of meat…
Yu Lao’er spoke softly, “Li Niang, how about… we send some meat to your grandfather and grandmother?”
He knew that the meat was brought back by Yu Li. In his mind, Yu Li was a married daughter, and her return to her natal family was akin to being a guest. Therefore, it didn’t feel right to casually give away what she brought back, which was why he hadn’t suggested sending meat to the first branch earlier.
But now that Yu Qin had come over, wasn’t it proper to send some?
Liu Shi remained silent.
She quietly ate her meal. Though it was coarse grain, it was dry and satisfying.
Of course, the meat was even more satisfying—it had been brought back by her daughter. In her heart, she didn’t want to give it away, but she was used to keeping silent and enduring everything, so she didn’t voice her thoughts.
Yu Li looked up at him, her tone calm. “Father, if you want to send them meat, then next time, when you buy some, you can send it over.”
Yu Lao’er: “….”
Even though she was his daughter, Yu Lao’er still felt an inexplicable sense of guilt and weakness.
In the end, he quietly lowered his head and continued eating, no longer mentioning the idea of sending meat.
Yu Jin pressed her lips together, swallowing the smile that had almost escaped.
During the family split, the land deeds and silver allotted to the second branch had been collected by her personally. Her parents hadn’t dared face the furious old lady, fearing her scolding, so they had sent her instead.
After all, if the old lady dared to scold her, she would complain to her elder sister, and the old lady wouldn’t dare scold her anymore.
After taking possession of the deeds and money, Yu Jin hadn’t handed them over to her parents but had kept them herself.
Strangely enough, her parents hadn’t asked for them either, tacitly agreeing to let her hold onto them.
As a result, Yu Lao’er and Liu Shi were just as penniless as they had been before the split, with no money to buy meat or anything else. It seemed unlikely that Old Madam Yu would ever taste meat sent over by her second son in her lifetime.
Yu Li turned her head to Yu Jin and said, “Since the family has split, it’s not ideal to keep living together. Should we build a new house?”
The west wing was truly too dilapidated and unsuitable for long-term residence.
Yu Jin said, “We definitely need to build a house, but we don’t have enough money right now. Twenty taels of silver won’t cover much. Let’s wait until I’ve earned some money, then we’ll build it. For now,” she continued, recalling Yu Qin’s visit earlier, “we can spend a little to build a wall here to separate us from the first and third branches. We can also open a door over there, so we’ll use that door in the future. It won’t cost too much.”