Yang Family’s eyes reddened. She sniffled and said to Juhua, "Silly girl, you think your mother doesn’t know all this? It all started when your father broke his leg at the beginning of winter. Right now, the fields are more than enough to keep us busy, not to ntion raising pigs. How can we be greedy and take on this business too? If we work ourselves to exhaustion, we’ll just have to spend more money on doctors, won’t we? And it’s not just that we can’t buy pig offal anymore, so we have to stop. We’re also canceling the plan to sell fish, shrimp, and frogs in the spring—isn’t dealing with all that even more trouble? With that kind of ti, we’d be better off staying ho and raising pigs properly. It’s easier to look after the house that way, too. If your father and I were still running that business, we’d be so busy we’d never be ho. You’d be left all alone, exhausted and overwheld, and I couldn’t bear to see that. Besides, carrying produce on a shoulder pole to sell it... to outsiders, it looks like a great way to make money, but it’s incredibly hard work. I don’t like it one bit. I have to put on a fake smile for people all day, and I’ve walked until my feet are covered in blisters. I’d much rather just make a living from the land right outside our door. At least then I can have so peace and comfort."
Juhua was stunned to hear this. ’So it’s true what they say, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’ How was her mother’s personality so much like her own? Wasn’t she the exact sa way? She had always thought Yang Family was an ambitious woman, the kind who was determined to make their family prosperous and stand out in the village just for the sake of appearances!
She smiled, relieved, and said to Yang Family, "Ma, we’ve made it through the worst, haven’t we? From now on, let’s just stay ho, farm the land, and raise our pigs and chickens. We don’t need to raise too many pigs; we won’t be able to manage if we have too many. You can’t get fat off one bite, so we’ll just take it slow. If we save a little money each year, it’ll add up to a good amount after a few years."
Hearing her say this, Yang Family’s spirits lifted as well. "Isn’t that the truth! Things are so much better now than in years past. A life like this is perfect. Once we get the new house built, we’ll have several pigs, a big flock of laying hens, and a good harvest from the fields. Won’t that be a wonderful life?"
Hearing her mother dream about the future, Juhua couldn’t help but smile happily too. "Yes! Ma, let’s eat. After we’re done, we can sit by the foot warr and just talk. You used to co ho every day, but you could never really settle down, always thinking about having to go out again the next day. But now that you’ve stopped the business, it feels different. I feel so much more at ease. It feels like this ti, you’re truly ho for good."
Yang Family nodded with a grin. Just as she was about to speak, she turned her head and saw Qingmu entering the courtyard. "Ti to eat, Qingmu," she called out quickly.
As she spoke, she arranged the dishes on the kitchen counter—in the winter, food got cold if you carried it around—so the three of them, mother and children, sat near the kitchen, eating and chatting. Zheng Changhe had been dragged off by Shorty Zhou for pig-butchering soup again, so he wasn’t ho for dinner.
Qingmu was also delighted to hear his mother say they were stopping the business. For the past few months, the house had felt chaotic, and he had constantly been on edge, never feeling at ease. Now, hearing that it was over, his heart finally settled.
Seeing his reaction, Juhua smiled with complete understanding. ’Looks like as long as our family can make ends et,’ she thought, ’we really don’t need to be in business—none of us enjoys it!’
Qingmu picked up a piece of stead pork with rice flour, popped it in his mouth, and chewed a few tis. Noticing Juhua staring at him, clearly waiting for his verdict, he quickly shot her a smiling, appreciative glance. Then he turned to Yang Family and said, "Ma, you’ve been working yourself to the bone for months. You need to rest. After the New Year, who knows how busy things will get at ho. People think we made a fortune with this business; well, if they aren’t afraid of the hardship, they’re welco to try it themselves."
The mont Yang Family heard this, she knew soone had been running their mouth in front of her son. She curled her lip in disdain. "They’re all just like your Second Aunt, always jealous when they see soone else having an easy ti of it. If making money in business were so easy, why wouldn’t everyone be doing it? In this world, no money is easy to earn, and no work is easy to do. Hell, even if your job was just to eat shit, you’d still have to wake up early—otherwise, the dung collectors would scoop it all up, or the dogs would get to it first!"
Hearing her mother’s coarse yet classic turn of phrase, Juhua was first completely astonished, then she simply dissolved into laughter. She leaned against Qingmu’s shoulder, her whole body shaking, and said in a mock-reproachful tone, "Ma—oh my goodness! The things you say..."
Qingmu found it hilarious too. It took all his effort not to spray the mouthful of rice he was eating all over the table.
Yang Family shoveled down a few more bites of rice, swallowed, and went on, "Running a business is a deadly bore. People who don’t get it just stare with envy when they see you counting money, but they’re blind to all the hard work. Your great-uncle’s shop has been open for months, and they haven’t made much money, but he and Laixi are completely tied down by it. Your great-uncle is exhausted, running back and forth between the shop and his ho. And that’s not even ntioning small families like us. Take those big families, like the Chen Family who bought our recipe. You think their business isn’t a nuisance? I bet it’s even more of a headache than our little venture! Anyway, I’m not the least bit envious of all the money they make."
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