Carefree Farmwife: Training the Husband, Raising the Bun - Chapter 68

“This matter isn’t urgent. It can be handled slowly in the future,” Ying Su thought, planning to later ask Officer Zhou if he could help her get a household register.

But Madam Li spoke very seriously, “This time, I’m determined to set aside my pride and have them write you and Huzi into the genealogy.”

After Madam Li left, Liu Chuncao stayed behind and explained to Ying Su about Madam Li and the ancestral home.

The old master of the Li family had three sons and two daughters. His favorite was the youngest, followed by the second son. When the old madam of the Li family gave birth to the eldest son, she nearly died from heavy bleeding during childbirth, and since then, she disliked him. Later, she gave birth to two daughters and another son without any difficulty, so she cherished them more and more.

One year, a blind man claiming to tell fortunes came through the village. He stopped by the Li household for a bowl of water, and to show his gratitude, he volunteered to tell the eldest son’s fortune. He said the boy was born under an ominous fate, and that anyone close to him would suffer misfortune.

The villagers were very superstitious. From then on, whenever the couple felt unwell or some small mishap occurred at home, they blamed it on the eldest son. Over time, their dislike of him only grew deeper.

As soon as the eldest was able to stand on his own, they hastily arranged a marriage for him and drove him out of the ancestral home.

Madam Li’s parents had no sons and no one to carry on the family line. They wanted to take in a son-in-law through marriage, but no one was willing. Even in a small village, men valued bloodlines, and no man wanted to marry into another family.

The Li couple, however, didn’t care. They only wanted to be rid of their eldest son. So they arranged for him to marry into Madam Li’s family.

Madam Li found this quiet, honest, hardworking man pleasing, and although both of them shared the surname Li, they weren’t related at all. The children would bear the father’s surname, so it wouldn’t count as taking the mother’s name. Thus, the two married.

Afterward, Madam Li often visited the ancestral home, trying to get along with her parents-in-law. But each time, her mother-in-law found fault with her, picking on her constantly. She also often harshly ordered her husband. In time, even a clay figurine would have grown angry. Madam Li inevitably felt resentment in her heart.

Later, instigated by the second son and the youngest, the old madam actually demanded that Madam Li hand over money every month to support the ancestral household. At that time, the youngest was preparing to marry, and the old couple even asked Madam Li to provide the betrothal gift for him.

The youngest had set his eyes on a girl from a small merchant family in town, so the bride price was shockingly high. Madam Li’s family was poor, and there was no way they could provide such an extravagant amount. She refused.

But the old madam came to her door, crying and making a scene, scolding Madam Li harshly. She swore that unless Madam Li produced the money, she would smash her head to death right at their doorstep.

The eldest son, standing up for his wife, was scolded terribly by the old madam, who even struck him hard several times. Madam Li was nearly forced to sell her farmland.

In the end, Madam Li gritted her teeth and agreed to pay for the youngest’s marriage, but only on the condition that she and her family would cut ties with the ancestral home thereafter. The old couple, overjoyed at receiving the silver, readily agreed. They had never liked the eldest anyway. From then on, Madam Li and her family rarely had contact with the ancestral home.

Later, seeing Madam Li’s family doing better and better, the ancestral home came several more times to stir up trouble. But since they had already publicly declared, in front of the villagers and the village head, that ties were cut, none of these attempts succeeded. However, the stress caused the eldest to fall ill.

Having been mistreated since childhood, the eldest’s health was already poor. Weighed down by grief, he collapsed from illness and lingered bedridden for over a year before passing away.

Fortunately, by then, Madam Li’s two sons were already somewhat grown, and even her youngest daughter was four or five years old. Madam Li singlehandedly supported the household and raised her three children. It was not easy, but no matter how hard things got, she never asked the ancestral home for anything.

For all these years, Madam Li harbored resentment toward them. She always blamed the old house for her husband’s death. The only time she ever showed her face there was during the old madam’s funeral.

Now, with the old master’s eightieth birthday, the only reason Madam Li was invited was because Li Dalang’s furniture shop in town had become well-known. Word spread throughout the village, and naturally the ancestral home heard as well.

Though the villagers weren’t wealthy, they valued celebrating elders’ birthdays. As the saying goes, “An elder in the family is a treasure.” Having a long-lived elder was considered a blessing. So for the old master’s eightieth, a banquet was arranged.

The ancestral home prepared only two tables this time, unlike wealthy families in town who would throw a grand banquet and invite the whole neighborhood. The Li’s only invited Village Head Zhang and one respected elder in the village.

Back then, after taking the silver from Madam Li, the Li’s had soon married off their youngest son, Li Zhi, to Feng Qiufang. Feng Qiufang’s family ran a small business in town, starting with a food stall. Later, her father proved shrewd and opened a general goods store, which did very well.

Because of this, Feng Qiufang was greatly favored at the ancestral home. When the old madam was alive, she valued this daughter-in-law above all, and even the old master treated her with great respect.

In recent years, Li Zhi worked at his father-in-law’s store, earning three hundred copper coins a month, an enviable sum for farmers.

Thus, Li Zhi held considerable influence in the ancestral household. He and his wife often stayed with her family in town. Their son had long been sent to study at a school in town and was now twenty years old, preparing for the tongsheng exam this year. Their daughter had just been betrothed to a town family.

By comparison, the second son, Li Wei, seemed far less impressive. He was honest and plain, and he had married the daughter of an ordinary farming family. She was a simple peasant woman who only knew how to farm. The old master did not care much for them, and when the old madam was alive, she often bullied the second son’s wife, Wei Ying. All the household chores fell on her shoulders.

Because Wei Ying had only given birth to three daughters and no son, she was always looked down upon at the ancestral home.

Her eldest daughter was already married, though she lived far away and seldom returned. The second daughter was also engaged and would be married after the new year. The youngest daughter was thirteen and soon reaching the age for betrothal.

When Ying Su and her group arrived, the ancestral home was already lively. Li Zhi’s family had just returned from town, and the table was piled high with goods they had brought back, a display of abundance that gave them considerable face.