"Weren’t you going to your second brother’s place? How did you get your third brother mixed up in this?"
"My second sister-in-law said my third brother has money. I figured, ’I’m his younger sister, after all. Even if I didn’t ask to borrow from him, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for him to give a little sothing, right?’ But you know Third Brother... HIC. He actually chewed out and told to my face that he has money, he just doesn’t want to lend any. HIC. Tell , what kind of brother does that? He’s worse than a stranger."
Hearing this, Mrs. He’s anger flared. "You believe whatever anyone tells you. If your third brother is a stranger, then why did you go running to him to borrow money? His money is his money. Why on earth should he lend it to you?"
He Yun looked at Mrs. He in disbelief. "Mom, how can you say that too? He’s my brother. I’m in trouble now, shouldn’t he help ?"
"What do you an, ’shouldn’t’? It’s true he’s your brother, but he has his own family now. Besides, what have you ever done to make him feel you’re worth helping? Let ask you, a few years ago, on the second day of the New Year, your brother and sister-in-law went to her parents’ house. Did you or did you not go into your third brother’s room?"
When He Yun heard this, her hiccups stopped instantly. Her eyes darted about, not daring to et her mother’s gaze, and she stopped crying.
Mrs. He pointed a trembling finger at her. "I knew it was you. As his sister, how could you? Sneaking in to rummage through your brother and sister-in-law’s things just because they weren’t ho. Don’t you find that shaful?"
He Yun’s face flushed and she pursed her lips, muttering, "But when I was little, couldn’t I just go into anyone’s room whenever I wanted? Can’t I do that now? Besides, I was just looking. I didn’t take anything of theirs."
’So I ate one of their peach shortcakes and a pastry,’ He Yun thought. ’Is that really worth making such a fuss about?’
Mrs. He said irritably, "You said it yourself—that was when you were a child. Now you’re all married and have your own separate lives. What right do you have to go into their ho and rummage through their things without permission? To put it bluntly, that’s stealing. It’s petty. Did you think you were being discreet? They’ve known for a long ti. You think your third brother didn’t know it was you?"
He Yun stared blankly at her mother, completely stunned.
"Hmph. With how sharp your third brother is, you think he wouldn’t know it was you? He didn’t say anything just to save you so face, and you still have the nerve to go ask him for money?"
He Yun hesitated. "If Third Brother won’t lend the money, then, Mom... you and Eldest Brother—"
Mrs. He refused flat out. "We don’t have any either. We have to live, too. We don’t have extra to subsidize the Liu Family. As for your eldest brother, don’t even think about it. He has to support two children on his own, and Ziqing needs to go to school. It’s already very difficult for him."
He Yun stomped her foot in anger and looked at her father. "Dad—are you really not going to help ?"
Mr. He looked at her with a complicated expression. "Child, the Liu Family hasn’t split their household yet. No matter how much you take back from us, it’ll just be pooled for everyone’s use. There’s no reason for us to be supporting the entire Liu Family."
Seeing that neither of her parents would lend her money, He Yun thought about what her mother-in-law had told her to do before she left. It seed hopeless now.
’Forget it. At least I still have fifteen yuan,’ she thought. He Yun had no choice but to take the 15 yuan and leave dejectedly, not even staying for a al.
Just as she reached the gate to her ho, she heard her mother-in-law in the courtyard, scolding Daya again. "You useless girl, slacking off again! Have you washed your uncle and aunt’s clothes yet?"
"I washed them."
"If you washed them, then go cook. Use less rice—let the n eat. We’ll just have the rice water."
He Yun walked in and saw Daya walking toward the kitchen, her back bent and her head bowed low.
Daya was an eleven or twelve-year-old girl now. She always kept her head down when talking to anyone, looking completely listless. Sotis, when He Yun saw her like that, she also felt that the girl was an ill on.
When Mrs. Liu saw He Yun return, she was thrilled and hurried over. "How did it go? How much money did your family give you?"
Daya heard the voice but didn’t even raise her head, walking straight into the kitchen.
He Yun glanced around the courtyard. "Mom, where’s Jinbao?"
"He’s out playing. Now tell , how much did they give you?"
He Yun took the 15 yuan out of her pocket, but before she could say a word, Mrs. Liu snatched it from her.
He Yun only felt a flicker of movent in her palm, and when she looked again, it was empty.
Mrs. Liu spat on her fingertips and began to count the money. She counted it twice. "Why is it only 15 yuan? Aren’t both of your brothers factory workers? They must make over thirty yuan a month, right? And why didn’t you bring any grain back? Our own supply is almost gone."
He Yun replied bitterly, "Mom, I haven’t been back in years, and things at ho have changed. They don’t have any extra money to give . Besides, the family has split up, so my parents don’t have much grain either."
Mrs. Liu shot her a disdainful look. "They just didn’t want to give it to you. And you claid to be the only daughter, that your parents doted on you. So what? You’re about to starve to death and they won’t even help you. Hmph. A married daughter really is like spilled water."
He Yun didn’t argue. She just went inside the house.
Mr. Liu and Liu Jian Country had been out for half the day looking for work, only to co back empty-handed again.
"There aren’t any jobs just waiting for us out there. If I’d known it would be like this, we shouldn’t have been so greedy for that small profit back then," Liu Jian Country complained.
Mr. Liu’s face was also etched with worry, and he kept scratching his head.
"By the way, didn’t Xiao Yun go back to her parents’ place? How did it go?" Liu Jian Country asked, looking around.
Mrs. Liu scoffed. "She’s back. Brought a grand total of 15 yuan. Useless. I was against you marrying her from the start. A country girl! If I hadn’t thought that after you two got married, our family would never have to buy grain again, do you think I would have let you marry her? And the result? It was fine right after the wedding, but then nothing. Tell , if you had found a partner from your factory, would we be in this situation now?"
Liu Jian Country didn’t say anything, just hung his head in silence.
Mr. Liu asked Mrs. Liu, "Where are Jianwei and his wife?"
Mrs. Liu sighed. "Jianwei went with his wife to her parents’ for dinner. I wonder if Jianwei’s father-in-law has any connections to find you two another job."
"We’ll ask when he gets back. If worse cos to worst, Jian Country and I will go carry sacks at the grain station."
Mrs. Liu exclaid in alarm, "Absolutely not! All the neighbors will laugh at us. Besides, you’re too old. How could you handle such heavy labor?"
Liu Jian Country said, "I’ll go. Our family can’t keep going with no inco. There are so many mouths to feed."
Mr. Liu nodded. "Alright. Go tomorrow and see if you can handle the work. We’ll figure it out from there."
The Liu Family was a ss of troubles. But whether they had money or not, the New Year still had to be passed.
After the New Year, Xue Yue began to study in earnest. But her aptitude was truly limited; the junior high material was manageable, but she couldn’t understand her high school textbooks at all. So, Xue Xingzhou simply moved in to help.
During the day, Xue Yue would compile a list of everything she didn’t know or couldn’t understand, then wait for her brother to co ho from work to explain it to her.
"Big Brother, you didn’t go to high school either. How do you know how to do this problem?"
Xue Xingzhou patted her on the head. "This problem is so simple, I understood it at a glance. You think everyone is as slow as you? I’ve already explained this type of problem to you three tis, and now you’re asking again."
Xue Yue didn’t think anything more of it, simply lanting how different people’s minds were. ’How can I be so stupid?’ she wondered.
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