The long-distance bus had already departed, and in this middle-of-nowhere stretch with no villages in sight, no one would suddenly call for a stop.
The passengers cast puzzled glances, but Yan Xue paid no mind, stubbornly pushing her way to the front. "Driver, please stop the bus. We have urgent business and need to go back."
She didn’t care that she had already bought a ticket, nor did she care where they were. Fortunately, in those days, stopping on the road wasn’t forbidden, and the driver eventually let her off.
Qi Fang followed closely behind, first helping Yan Jigang down before going back to fetch their belongings, not asking a single question. Yan Xue, however, turned to her brother for confirmation. "Are you sure Grandma’s chest was empty?"
Yan Jigang nodded and wrote on her hand: "When Grandma opened the chest to get money for my doctor’s visit, I saw."
Yan Xue remembered that large chest of Second Grandma’s well—it was said to be part of the family’s inheritance when the households divided years ago, always locked with a brass padlock, shrouded in mystery.
Every time the old woman secretly took something out to make clothes or shoes for her and Jigang, or to help them get by, she would gaze at the chest and say, "Grandma’s got plenty tucked away."
Even when they left this time, she had said the same, refusing to take much of the money Yan Xue had left behind. But now, it turned out the chest was empty?
Of course, the Yan family hadn’t been wealthy to begin with—how much could there have been to last the old woman all these years?
Yan Xue quickened her pace. Yan Jigang, still young and weakened from his recent illness, couldn’t keep up. Qi Fang scooped him up and carried him on his back.
The distance to the county town was twenty or thirty li, and the bus had already covered some ground, yet the three of them made it back in less than an hour and a half.
By the time they reached the gate of the Yan family’s courtyard, Yan Xue’s lungs burned, and she steadied herself against the doorframe to keep from stumbling.
As soon as they entered the yard, they heard Bai Xiuzhen’s voice, sweeping chicken droppings while hurling thinly veiled insults. "Even a dog knows how to guard the house. Fed and watered every day, only to turn around and bite when it matters. If you’re so capable, why not fly off to someone else’s home? Even your own eggs have gone rotten, and still you dawdle—"
The phrase "your own eggs have gone rotten" was a direct stab at Second Grandma’s heart. Everyone knew her own two children had died young, and the son she had adopted was also gone.
And what did she mean by "dawdle"? Dawdle for what?
Yan Xue shot her a glare. "Shut your mouth!" Before Bai Xiuzhen could ask why they had returned, she hurried inside.
Despite the sweltering heat, the west room’s doors and windows were tightly shut—perhaps to block out Bai Xiuzhen’s words. When Yan Xue pushed, she found the door barred from the inside.
"Grandma!" She knocked. "Grandma, it’s me—I’m back! I need to talk to you!"
No matter how many times she knocked, there was no response—only an eerie silence.
Panicking, Yan Xue began pounding on the door. "Grandma! Grandma, can you hear me? Answer me!"
"Have you lost your mind? Coming back to smash doors?" Bai Xiuzhen stormed in behind her.
But Yan Xue had no patience for her. She searched frantically for something to force the door open.
"Let me." Qi Fang set Yan Jigang down, pulled Yan Xue aside, and kicked the door.
The sturdy wooden door held firm, but the second kick broke the latch.
Bai Xiuzhen was livid. "What right do you have to wreck our house? Is there no justice left?" But Yan Xue had already rushed inside. "Grandma!"
Yan Jigang followed, and soon the muffled sobs of the young boy echoed from within.
Only then did Bai Xiuzhen realize something was wrong. She stepped forward, peered inside, and her legs nearly gave way. "H-how did this happen?"
Second Grandma lay on the kang, dressed in purple burial clothes—the belt loose, the buttons undone, only draped over her, with a small skullcap on her head—the attire of the dead.
Yan Xue, standing closest, could see the old woman’s purpled lips and the white foam at the corners of her mouth. Nearby stood an empty pesticide bottle.
Her head spun. She steadied herself against the kang and checked for breath. "She’s alive—still breathing."
She didn’t know if she was reassuring the terrified Yan Jigang or herself.
When she reached for the pesticide bottle, Qi Fang was faster.
"It’s dichlorvos—organophosphate," he said after a quick glance. "No time to get her to a hospital. We need to make her vomit."
From Yan Family Village to the county town was too far—even by oxcart, it would take too long.
Before Yan Xue could move, Qi Fang was already out the door. He returned moments later with a large bowl of water. "Hold her jaw."
Understanding, Yan Xue pried open Second Grandma’s mouth, and Qi Fang poured the water in.
As he turned to fetch more, Yan Jigang stumbled in with another bowl. "W-water… Grandma…"
Without a word, Qi Fang took it and continued forcing the water down. Only when he noticed Bai Xiuzhen standing frozen did he snap, "Go get a doctor!"
Bai Xiuzhen jolted awake. "R-right away!"
For all her sharp tongue, the thought of Second Grandma dying like this—especially by her own hand—terrified her.
And if word got out that a healthy woman had suddenly taken poison, the village would never let her family hear the end of it.
After three bowls of water, Second Grandma finally showed signs of retching.
A spittoon sat nearby. Qi Fang grabbed it while Yan Xue held the old woman steady.
Once she had vomited, they repeated the process. By the time the village doctor arrived, Second Grandma had vomited twice.
Used to handling such cases, the doctor acted swiftly. He checked her eyes, then pulled out atropine from his medical kit, injecting 1ml intravenously.
For mild to moderate poisoning, a muscle injection would suffice, but this was severe.
After checking her pupils and pulse, the doctor finally relaxed. "She’ll be fine. I’ll give her another dose later."
Everyone exhaled in relief—even Bai Xiuzhen, who had been hurling insults earlier.
Yan Xue thanked the doctor, who waved it off. "You found her in time and made her vomit. Otherwise, it’d be hard to say."
Noticing the burial clothes, he couldn’t help adding, "She’s old. Try to be kinder."
He’d seen this too often—every year, in villages nearby, there were those who drank poison, hanged themselves, or drowned in wells, usually over disputes with ungrateful children.
Filial piety was called a virtue, but its persistence over centuries came down to one thing: property.
Everything was held by the elders, divided only after their deaths. Who got what depended on their favor—so of course, everyone scrambled to please them.
Now entering the era of small family units, the elderly find themselves without property or labor capacity. Whether their twilight years are comfortable or not depends entirely on the conscience of their children and grandchildren—and how reliable is conscience, really?
Yan Xue didn’t say much. As soon as the doctor finished giving the injection and left, she immediately changed the old woman out of her burial clothes and burned them.
She wasn’t someone without a temper, but she usually kept her emotions in check. Seeing her this visibly upset was rare. Qi Fang glanced at her tense, pretty face and added two handfuls of dried grass to the brazier.
By the time they returned, the elderly woman had woken up. Seeing them, she sighed weakly, "I’m already halfway into the grave. Why bother saving me?"
"Halfway in still means you’re not all the way in, doesn’t it?" For the first time, Yan Xue spoke to her without a smile. "Besides, if you really were gone, I’d only blame myself for it later."
The old woman was genuinely afraid she’d think that way. "What does this have to do with you? I’ve just lived long enough..."
Yan Xue didn’t even listen to the rest of her words, cutting her off directly. "Then live well and come with us. I’ve already burned your burial clothes anyway."
Yan Jigang stood tearfully by the kang, nodding vigorously at her words. He grabbed the old woman’s hand and struggled to speak.
"You… if… you don’t… go… I… won’t… go either… I’ll… stay… with you…"
It was so difficult for him that sweat beaded on his forehead, and tears welled in the old woman’s eyes.
The elderly woman closed her eyes. "I can’t go. My husband, my child, and your parents—they all died because of me. I can’t..."
This was the real reason she refused to leave, why she had kept her distance from the siblings despite caring for them.
She even blamed Yan Jigang’s recent fright on herself. "If it weren’t for me, Jigang wouldn’t have… You should just leave me be..."
"By that logic, should I go drink pesticide too?" Yan Xue interrupted her again.
The old woman froze. Yan Xue pointed at herself. "Me—I ‘killed’ my birth father, my birth mother, and my stepfather. Now I’ve almost lost my only brother too..."
"Don’t talk nonsense!" The old woman hurriedly tried to cover her mouth, but her hand lacked the strength and dropped back down.
"Then you don’t talk nonsense either." Yan Xue held her hand. "Once you’re better, we’ll all go back together. Qi Fang and I both work, so you can help us look after the house."
The old woman wanted to say more, but Yan Xue stood up. "It’s not up to you now. Even if you refuse, I’ll have Qi Fang carry you away."
Qi Fang’s expression remained neutral, but he didn’t object. He even handed Yan Xue a cup of water. "Drink something before you keep going."
The scene almost made it seem like Yan Xue was a parent scolding a misbehaving child, and the old woman was the one who’d provoked her.
The old woman didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Alright, enough lecturing. You’re giving me a headache."
Her tone made it clear she’d given up on refusing to go with them. Yan Xue finally relaxed. "Then I’ll go get your travel permit sorted." She wanted to settle the matter immediately.
Thinking about it—if Yan Songshan’s family had been kinder, the old woman could have raised chickens for some income. She wouldn’t have been driven to such despair. Yan Xue glanced at the two side rooms to the east. "We’ll sell the house too, so no one else can scheme over it."
If the old woman stayed, Yan Xue would have to leave some room, not push things to the extreme in case retaliation fell on her after they left.
But now that the old woman was coming with them, there was no reason to hold back.
True to her word, Yan Xue went the next day to secure the travel permit and spread the word about selling the house.
In the countryside, cash was hard to come by. Pricing it too high would deter buyers, so she set it at a modest hundred yuan.
Back then, she’d owed the production team just over a hundred. Wangjia Village had compensated two hundred, but after fighting tooth and nail, Bai Xiuzhen and Yan Songshan had only given her a hundred for medical treatment.
To repay the debt and leave with her brother as soon as possible, she’d married young—the bride price had also been a hundred.
When Bai Xiuzhen heard about the house, she knew Yan Xue was deliberately provoking her. She rushed over to confront her.
But Yan Xue wasn’t interested in maintaining appearances. Bai Xiuzhen had never gained the upper hand before, and now, with all pretenses dropped, Yan Xue could easily provoke her into a rage.
Bai Xiuzhen went home complaining of liver pain. Yan Songshan’s face was dark, but unlike his wife, he knew how to read the situation. "Then we’ll buy it ourselves."
"We have to buy it from her?" Bai Xiuzhen couldn’t believe her ears. "It’s our family’s house! Why should we pay her?"
"Do you want strangers moving into our courtyard?" Yan Songshan’s question silenced her.
Seeing she was still fuming, he added, "And Jizu’s matter can’t wait any longer."
That shut Bai Xiuzhen up completely. "That wretched girl is here to curse us, isn’t she? Ever since she came back, nothing good has happened. People are still gossiping about me outside."
Unwilling to face Yan Xue’s infuriating expression, she sent Yan Songshan with the money to negotiate.
But the moment Yan Xue saw it was them, she raised the price—two hundred.
Yan Songshan, usually unflappable, darkened. "Putting family aside for a moment, Xue, even in the county, two proper rooms wouldn’t cost two hundred."
Yan Xue just smiled. "Exactly because we’re family, shouldn’t you take care of us orphans and widows? If you can’t afford it, let Jizu pay—consider it compensation."
Yan Songshan left empty-handed. "We could have someone else buy it first and transfer it back to us later."
"Would that work?" Bai Xiuzhen was skeptical. "What if they change their minds after selling?"
"We’ll just pay a little extra for the trouble."
But Yan Xue moved faster. She spread the word that the house was worth two hundred to the main family.
Suddenly, potential buyers came in droves—some genuinely interested, others likely hoping to flip it to Yan Songshan at a higher price.
In the end, Yan Songshan bought it, but only managed to scrape together a hundred and fifty in cash. He tried to bargain. "You know how hard it is to earn money in the village. Jizu doesn’t even have enough left for his wedding."
"That’s simple," Yan Xue said sweetly. "Just write an IOU."
Since the old woman still clung to the idea of dying at home and being buried in the family plot, they might need to bring her back someday. With this IOU, they’d always have the moral high ground.
Yan Songshan’s expression was priceless. Bai Xiuzhen, whether from pain or fury, didn’t even cook that day.
As for the remaining belongings, the old woman picked through them, giving away whatever she could.
She took the opportunity to visit a few places, saying goodbye to old acquaintances—including Yan Xue’s great-aunt.
"You and Great-Aunt knew each other before?" Yan Xue had never heard either of them mention it.
"We knew each other," the second elder lady said. "We met right after she got married. Your father had just started school at the Shan family and couldn’t adjust, always coming home crying. I was worried, so I went to check on him, and that’s how we met."
But Yan Baishan had never mentioned this. Given how distant they had been, it was hard to say whether he even knew about it.
Yan Xue looked at the elder lady. "Then back then, when Great-Aunt played matchmaker for my dad and mom..."
"That was also at my request," the elder lady sighed. "During the recruitment for the War to Resist America and Aid Korea, every family had to send at least one person. Your eldest uncle was in poor health, so he couldn’t go. It had to be your father. His childhood sweetheart immediately broke off the engagement when she heard. By the time he returned from the war, your grandparents weren’t in a hurry to arrange a marriage for him, so it dragged on until he was twenty-eight."
At that time, twenty-eight was considered an old bachelor. Finding a match wasn’t easy, which was why a young man like him ended up marrying a widow with a child.
So the elder lady had always quietly cared for this adopted son, worrying over him. The reason she dared not get too close was because she feared her unlucky fate might bring him misfortune...
People always said feudal society was oppressive, but Yan Xue had never truly felt it until she traveled back to the 1960s and saw the bound feet of the village women.
Their tiny feet restricted their movement, and their lack of education limited their worldview. They were trapped in their small plots of land, shackled not just physically but mentally and spiritually.
Yan Xue nestled into the elder lady’s arms. "Then you should also help find a good match for Jigang, someone as wonderful as my mom."
"Jigang is still so young, and you’re already thinking about finding him a wife?" The elder lady couldn’t help swatting her lightly, though her eyes sparkled with delight.
This time, they were truly leaving. Yan Xue carried their belongings, Qi Fang carried the elder lady on his back, and Yan Jigang followed alongside, clutching a military-green school bag.
When the four of them stepped into the Guo family’s courtyard, Aunt Guo was taken aback. "You’ve brought everyone over?"
"Yes, everyone’s here," Yan Xue said with a smile, introducing them. "This is my younger brother, Jigang, and this is my grandmother."
She then introduced Aunt Guo to the two. "This is our landlady, Aunt Guo. She’s been so kind to us. It’s a shame we’re moving out soon—I’ll miss her."
"Always so sweet with your words," Aunt Guo beamed, ushering them inside and opening the door for them.
Once inside, Yan Xue noticed that the glass jars she had left behind had been moved onto the kang, and transparent mycelium had already begun growing inside.
A lean young man in his early twenties sat by the kang, adjusting the position of jars that weren’t heating evenly with one hand. His right arm was bent unnaturally—it was Guo Chang’an.
As soon as he saw them, he lowered his head. Aunt Guo also looked slightly uncomfortable.
But Yan Xue didn’t glance his way. Instead, she stared at the neatly arranged jars on the kang, delighted. "You’ve already started cultivating the spawn for me?"
Qi Fang acted as if he hadn’t noticed anything either, simply setting the elder lady down on a chair.
Yan Jigang didn’t look either. Though he didn’t show it, he was shy around strangers, his small hand gripping his sister’s sleeve tightly.
This seemed to ease Aunt Guo’s tension. "Chang’an helped with it. I wouldn’t know how."
"Then we owe both you and Chang’an our thanks," Yan Xue said. "I was worried that coming back so late would delay the spawn cultivation."
Pleased by her gratitude, Aunt Guo smiled again. "Chang’an said the same thing—time waits for no one, so we did what we could to help."
With that, she excused herself, helping Guo Chang’an up. "We’ll head back now. Just call if you need anything."
Guo Chang’an’s legs still couldn’t bear much weight, but he clenched his jaw and walked slowly, refusing assistance. Recognizing his stubborn pride, Yan Xue didn’t offer to help.
For those with strong wills, sympathy and pity could be just as hurtful. What they wanted was recognition and respect—to be treated like anyone else.
Once they were gone, Yan Jigang visibly relaxed.
Yan Xue beckoned him over with a smile, pulling a pencil case from the cabinet. "Look what I have for you."
His eyes lit up instantly. He took it, running his fingers over it before carefully opening it.
Inside were brand-new pencils, a ruler, an eraser, and even a small pencil sharpener. He touched each item reverently before reaching for Yan Xue’s hand.
She pinched his cheek. "Now that you have new stationery, you’d better study hard. I’ll have your brother-in-law keep an eye on you."
Yan Jigang immediately remembered that his sister had mentioned Qi Fang was a college graduate. He turned to look at him, eyes shining.
Despite being half-siblings, their eyes were strikingly similar. Qi Fang glanced at Yan Xue, then pinched the same spot on Yan Jigang’s cheek where she had.
Later, when Yan Xue joined him to pack, he took advantage of the moment when neither Yan Jigang nor the elder lady was looking and pinched Yan Xue’s cheek too.
"What are you doing?" she glared at him.
Qi Fang didn’t answer, continuing to pack. After a while, he said matter-of-factly, "Jigang needs to put on some weight."
Meaning Yan Jigang was too thin—not as satisfying to pinch as Yan Xue. She shot him another glare.
But her intimidation didn’t work. That evening, when Yan Xue cooked the marinated bear meat, Qi Fang kept piling meat and eggs onto Yan Jigang’s plate. "Eat more."
Yan Jigang’s bowl was soon stacked like a small mountain. He nodded vigorously, cheeks bulging as he chewed, then dutifully served portions to his sister, brother-in-law, and grandmother.
After dinner, he found a moment to secretly write in Yan Xue’s palm: "This brother-in-law is good."
Yan Xue pinched his cheek. "Just because he gave you extra food?"
Yan Jigang just grinned, quickly spotting a rag and darting off to wipe the table.
Seeing the dishes cleared, the elder lady offered to wash them. "Let me handle this. Don’t you two still need to move things to the new house?"
With the kang covered in spawn jars, they couldn’t sleep there. Over dinner, they’d decided to move their belongings to the new place first, staying there temporarily until they picked an auspicious day for the formal move.
But the elder lady had only just recovered, so Yan Xue insisted on finishing the dishes herself.
As they stepped out, they ran into Aunt Guo again. Seeing them carrying their things, she hurried over to help.
Aunt Guo had also had her feet bound, but the practice was abolished after just two years, so she could walk normally—just not long distances. That was why Jin Baozhi, her sister-in-law, had taken care of Guo Chang’an in the hospital while Aunt Guo stayed home, cooking, washing, and looking after her grandson.
"Oh," Aunt Guo remembered something along the way. "After you left, someone else came looking for Qi Fang. They asked if a young woman had come to your place."
Yan Xue immediately guessed they were probably searching for the young lady from the Yan family. She glanced at Qi Fang.
He seemed to have the same thought. "What did you tell them?"
"Of course I didn’t give them any details," Aunt Guo said firmly. "But they might ask around elsewhere."
It was inevitable, but Qi Fang thanked her anyway.
Yan Xue also said, "We're swamped here, so we might have to trouble you to keep an eye on the fungal cultures. I'll settle the accounts with you for these past few days tomorrow."
"No need to rush. It’s fine even if we don’t settle it," Aunt Guo replied, helping them carry another load before finally heading back when there was nothing left to move.
Yan Xue lowered her voice and said to Qi Fang, "I doubt she went back to Yanjing after leaving us."
If the young mistress of the Yan family had returned, the Yans wouldn’t have had to track them all the way here. After all, the two of them had almost no connection, and it must have taken considerable effort to even think of Qi Fang.
Qi Fang merely gave an absent-minded "Mhm," clearly not very interested in the affairs of the young mistress.
Instead, he seemed more intrigued by the untouched calendar on the wall. Standing beside it, he flipped through the pages. "We’ve been gone for almost half a month."
Noticing Yan Xue wasn’t paying attention, he flipped back to the page from the day they left. "Thirteen days."
"That is quite a while," Yan Xue responded this time.
However, when preparing the bed for sleep that night, she shifted both pillows outward and placed a smaller one in between. "Jigang just got here and might not adjust well. He could have nightmares, so let’s have him sleep with us for a few nights first."
Qi Fang, who had been about to step out to wash up, paused mid-step.
Qi Fang: Weren’t we only supposed to reflect for seven days? What’s the deal with bringing the little brother-in-law into this???
