Yu Qin couldn’t help but ask, “Mother, is that son of the Fu family really that ugly?”
“He must be very ugly!” Yu Jingzong replied with conviction, “I heard he’s been sick since childhood. No sick person looks good. Just look at the son of that old Deng woman—he was only sick for two years and became that hideous…”
The Deng family that he mentioned lived in the same alley where Yu Laoda rented a house in the county.
The old Deng woman’s son had fallen gravely ill two years ago. That illness completely ruined their family. When the son appeared in public afterward, his frail and emaciated appearance was so terrifying that it scared people.
Many children even had nightmares at night because of it.
As Yu Jingzong spoke, his face showed a schadenfreude expression. “Anyway, our eldest cousin is ugly too. They’re both ugly. Isn’t it perfect for ugly people to pair up with ugly people?”
With such a comparison, Yu Qin could already imagine how ugly the Fu family’s son must be.
She felt a little sympathetic. She hadn’t expected Yu Li to marry such an ugly man. She wondered if Yu Li would be so frightened by his ugliness at night that she’d have nightmares herself.
Chen Shi’s expression turned somewhat odd upon hearing her son and daughter’s conversation.
The Deng woman’s son had tuberculosis. Since ancient times, no one with that disease ever looked good, right?
It was said that the Fu family’s son was premature, born sickly, and needed to take medicine daily. That illness wasn’t the same as tuberculosis, but… well, a sickness is a sickness—they shouldn’t be much different, right?
“I heard the Fu family is quite wealthy,” Yu Qin added.
The Fu family had once been merchants. Even though they had fallen on hard times, they still had quite a bit of money. Yu Li marrying into their family meant she probably wouldn’t lack for money. No wonder she could come to the county and shop at Jinhua Embroidery Shop.
Thinking of this, Yu Qin felt a bit uncomfortable.
Although in the Yu family, their household appeared to live relatively well, it was only “relatively.”
Compared to the Chen family or the Yang family, the Yu family was just countryside peasants. Not to mention the rented house in the county was like a tiny birdcage that couldn’t even fit the whole family. This forced her, her mother, and her younger brother to live in the village. As for clothes and jewelry, the Chen family could buy new outfits every season and ate well with meat at every meal.
But their family could only buy new clothes during the New Year, and they only ate meat every few days.
Of course, compared to the villagers, their life was indeed better.
Yu Qin knew that her family lived better than her second uncle’s daughters, but she still felt that their family was poor and nowhere near as well-off as the Chen or Yang families.
Now, thinking of how even Yu Li had married into a wealthy family, she felt a little upset.
Chen Shi said nonchalantly, “Even if the Fu family has money, I’m afraid there’s not much left. With a sick person at home and no steady income, they’ll run out sooner or later.” Thinking of something, she let out a sneer. “Otherwise, why would the Fu family only give twenty taels as a bride price?”
In the countryside, twenty taels of silver was indeed a lot. However, in the county, it was nothing.
Look at the dowry sent by the Yang family this time—it was carried over in piles of gold, silver, and jewels. Now that was wealth.
As for the Fu family, just a down-and-out countryside household with a little silver couldn’t be considered rich. If they were truly wealthy, they could’ve moved to the county long ago. Why would they stay holed up in a village full of dirt clods?
Yu Jingzong exclaimed, “Only twenty taels? The Fu family is so stingy! Eldest cousin is marrying to bring luck to their family, so why couldn’t they give more?” Then, with a cheeky grin, he said, “Luckily, it seems the marriage did bring some luck—the person recovered! Looks like this ‘Chong Xi’ actually worked. Eldest cousin must have some fortune; no wonder she dares to hit people now.”
“What fortune?” Chen Shi snapped. “She’s probably just emboldened by seeing how wealthy the Fu family is.”
Not only did she make trouble at her maiden home, but now she even went to the county to hit people. Her boldness was truly astounding.
Chen Shi believed that Yu Li’s actions must have been emboldened by her marriage into the Fu family. She likely felt that with the support of the Fu family, she had nothing to fear anymore.
This kind of mindset wasn’t uncommon among women. After marrying into a family better off than their own, many would return to their maiden homes acting arrogant, looking down on others, and flaunting their newfound power.
After chatting for a while, the mother and her two children began tidying up.
The next day, Yu Laoda took leave from the rice shop and brought his wife and children on a boat back to the village.
They rode on Boatman Wang’s boat, as they always did whenever they returned to the village. The main reason was that Boatman Wang never charged them for the fare. Sometimes, even if his boat hadn’t arrived yet, they were willing to wait for it.
Seeing them, Boatman Wang greeted them warmly and struck up a conversation.
As they chatted, he mentioned how he had recently encountered Yu Li in town buying grain. Laughing, he said, “The Fu family even has to go into town to buy grain—it shows they must be quite wealthy. Now that your Yu Li is married into the Fu family, she’ll be living the good life.”
Yu Jingzong blurted out, “Living the good life? She married a man who’s sickly and ugly!”
“Huh?” Boatman Wang was startled and hesitated, saying, “R-Really? I heard that the Fu family’s son is a scholar. If not for his poor health, he might have been able to take the imperial exams…”
When the Fu family first moved to Qingshi Village, Zhou Shi had indeed mentioned this to the villagers. People sometimes referred to the Fu family’s son as “Scholar Fu.”
In Qingshi Village, only Yu Laoda and his son were considered scholars. With the addition of Fu Wenxiao, there was now one more.
Many people felt pity for Fu Wenxiao’s poor health. If not for his condition, he could have been a highly respected scholar.
Yu Jingzong scoffed, “Well, of course. If he weren’t too ugly to show his face, why else would he never appear in public?”
Boatman Wang found this reasoning plausible.
Although he wasn’t from Qingshi Village, he worked in the area ferrying boats and was well-informed about local gossip. He, too, had never heard anyone mention seeing the Fu family’s son.
There were other passengers on the boat, too.
These passengers were from villages near Qingshi Village, and they all pricked up their ears to listen.
Within a few days, many people in the nearby villages had heard the rumor that Scholar Fu from Qingshi Village was so ugly he couldn’t show his face.
Half an hour later, Yu Laoda and his family arrived at Qingshi Village.
It was almost noon by the time they reached the village. The villagers, having worked all morning, were heading home to eat and rest as the sun reached its peak.
Seeing Yu Laoda and his family, the villagers greeted them warmly, asking why they had suddenly returned.
Yu Laoda replied kindly, “I’ve been busy with work and haven’t come back to see my parents in a long time. I’ve been feeling guilty about it, so I took a day off to visit them and also to bring the kids back.”
Chen Shi smiled at the right moment, looking as though she was very pleased that her husband had accompanied them back.
Hearing this, the villagers praised Yu Laoda for being filial.
However, not everyone in the village got along with the Yu family, such as Aunt Guihua and her family.
Aunt Guihua muttered under her breath to those nearby, “If he were really filial, wouldn’t he bring something back for his parents? Every time he comes back, he’s empty-handed, but when he leaves, he takes away chickens, ducks, and grain…”
“Is that filial piety?”
“That’s just a poor relative coming back to scavenge!”
The people walking with Aunt Guihua exchanged strange glances, finding her words rather reasonable.
Thinking about it carefully, wasn’t that exactly the case?
Yu Laoda and his family, aside from Chen Shi and Yu Qin carrying two small bundles of clothes that clearly didn’t contain much, brought nothing with them. Yu Laoda, especially, was completely empty-handed—there was nothing to indicate they had brought anything.
It seemed like every time he came back, it was like this.
He really talked a good game, but his actions said otherwise.
Although the villagers thought this, Yu Laoda was a scholar and had two promising sons, so they dared not voice their thoughts in his presence.
As for gossip behind his back, no one was tactless enough to let it reach the Yu family’s ears.
Yu Laoda greeted the villagers one by one, maintaining a friendly and approachable demeanor. However, as soon as he arrived at the Yu family home, his expression turned indifferent.
When they entered, the Yu family was in the middle of their meal.
Seeing them, everyone froze in surprise.
Old Madam Yu quickly stood up and rushed toward her eldest son. “Laoda, you’ve finally come back!”
She was so emotional that she grabbed her eldest son’s hand, her lips trembling with excitement.
Old Master Yu also wore a look of delight and said to the Yu Jin sisters, “Your eldest uncle is back—quick, go get them some bowls and chopsticks!”
“Yes, yes! Laoda, you all probably haven’t eaten yet. Come, sit down and eat!” Old Madam Yu hurriedly pulled her eldest son to sit at the table, afraid her precious firstborn might go hungry.
Yu Jin said nothing and went to fetch bowls and chopsticks for them.
Only the third branch of the family had slightly peculiar expressions. Watching Old Master Yu issue instructions to Yu Jin so naturally, they thought he might have been so overjoyed by the return of the eldest branch that he forgot how rare it was these days for him to ask anything of the second branch’s daughters.
Yu Laoda and his family sat down to eat as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
They had deliberately timed their return for this moment, just in time to have lunch at home, saving themselves the trouble of cooking in the county and sparing some grain and firewood.
Living in the county, even drinking water or burning firewood cost money.
Yu Jingzong and Yu Qin glanced at the food on the table, both looking displeased.
Bean porridge, vegetable soup, and salted pickles—there wasn’t even a trace of oil or grease. It was such bland fare—how could they eat it?
They immediately regretted not eating lunch in the county before coming back.
Chen Shi instinctively looked at Wang Shi.
In the past, Wang Shi would have immediately tried to curry favor with the eldest branch. She would have loudly suggested to Old Madam Yu to quickly fry an egg or add a dish for them.
But after the terror Yu Li had inflicted on the Yu family during her recent stay, Wang Shi had no such intentions anymore.
As long as Yu Li’s oppressive control over the Yu family remained in place, Wang Shi had no desire to please the eldest branch. What if, as her husband speculated, even Yu Laoda couldn’t rein in Yu Li? Then all her efforts would be in vain.
Because of this, the third branch of the family remained unusually quiet.
The odd behavior of the third branch puzzled Chen Shi, who had just returned and hadn’t figured out the situation yet. Seeing that Wang Shi was unresponsive, she could only drop the matter.
However, she felt somewhat annoyed in her heart.
When Yu Jin served them porridge, Chen Shi and the others were even more stunned to see the watery, thin gruel in their bowls.
When had they ever eaten such diluted porridge?
Old Madam Yu noticed the sparse grains in her eldest son’s bowl and was about to scold someone. But then she seemed to think better of it. Her dry lips moved awkwardly as she said, “We didn’t know you were coming back today, so we didn’t prepare food for you. Just make do for now, alright?”