"Sister Azhao." Song Yaozu appeared behind the courtyard gate, his eyes twinkling like little light bulbs.
He seemed to completely ignore his parents, walking straight past them without a backward glance as he ran towards Song Jinzhao.
The bowl and chopsticks in his hands clattered together with each running step, making a clanging sound.
Once he reached her, he thrust the bowl and chopsticks towards Song Jinzhao, saying pitifully, "Sister Azhao, can I have a little bit? The other day I went back and asked my mom to buy meat, but she said we had no money and even scolded me."
Second Aunt Song looked at her son in disbelief. When had she ever scolded him?
Song Jinzhao stared into Song Yaozu's wide, blinking eyes, clever and with a touch of cuteness.
Thinking he was a beneficiary of the preference for sons over daughters, she felt some resentment towards him.
But then she thought, Song Yaozu was only seven, still young and unaware. None of this was really his fault.
He probably didn't even know what 'preferring sons over daughters' meant.
With his parents still present, if she gave them nothing, they certainly wouldn't leave willingly. Better to give the meat to Song Yaozu than to them.
She cut off a piece of lamb leg meat about half the size of a fist and placed it in the bowl Song Yaozu held out. "This is all I can spare for you. Take it home. Any more and we won't have enough to eat."
These words were meant for both Song Yaozu and his parents.
Song Yaozu plopped down on the spot, picked up the meat with his chopsticks, and started eating, not giving his parents a single glance, as if he had completely forgotten them.
"I'll finish it here before going back."
Seeing this, Second Song took his wife's hand and said with an awkward smile, "Since it was a misunderstanding, your Second Aunt and I will head back. If you ever need help with anything, come find me anytime. Your Second Uncle will come right away."
After Song Yaozu finished the meat in his bowl, he licked his lips and cast a reluctant look at the remaining lamb on the rack.
With great effort, he tore his gaze away and said to Song Jinzhao, "Thank you, Sister Azhao. Your roast lamb is really delicious. I'll go home now."
Watching Song Yaozu's small retreating figure, Song Jinzhao narrowed her eyes, feeling a sense of shame for having misjudged him with her own petty suspicions.
Thinking about how he had been unwilling to take the meat home to eat, was he afraid someone would take it from him?
It definitely wouldn't be Song Laidi or Song Pandi. That only left... his father and mother.
As soon as Song Yaozu returned home, Second Aunt Song grabbed him by the ear. "You didn't even think to let me have a bite of such a big piece of meat? You're my son, you should be filial to me."
Song Yaozu winced in pain. "Mom, I originally wanted to ask for another piece to bring back for you. Who knew Sister Azhao wouldn't give it."
Hearing this, Second Aunt Song immediately let go.
"Who would have thought Song Jinzhao was so capable? It seems we'll have to get on better terms with them from now on."
We can't let all the benefits go to the eldest branch of the family while our own gets nothing.
Second Song sat to the side, complaining, "Oldest Song went to fetch water and didn't even tell me, making me suffer Song Jinzhao's sarcasm. I never knew that girl was so sharp-tongued before."
Second Aunt Song thought for a moment and had a sudden realization. "Oldest Song must have done it on purpose. Knowing Jinzhao is capable, he rushed to help her, just to get some meat."
"You go fetch water tomorrow too. Next time she hunts something, seize the chance to ask for some."
Second Song was reluctant, but for the sake of meat, he had to compromise.
"The next few days we need to water the fields. I'll be exhausted and can barely move. I'll go fetch water for her after we finish with the fields and have some free time."
After the meal, Song Jinzhao and Song Qiming went to the fields. They saw many villagers carrying buckets of water from the river to pour into their paddies.
Finding their family's plot, she noticed the soil was somewhat dry. But the rice would be ready for harvest in less than a month. Did it still need watering now?
She wasn't sure, so she found Old Man Song to ask.
Old Man Song: "The weather has been getting hotter lately, and the heavens won't send rain. If we don't water, it will affect the harvest."
Song Jinzhao was silent for a moment, then turned and took Song Qiming home to get buckets and a carrying pole.
She was responsible for carrying the water over, and Song Qiming was responsible for pouring it into the field.
The sun overhead beat down, making them sweat profusely. The straw hats could block the sunlight from their faces, but not the heat.
Old Man Song watched the siblings working tirelessly and said with concern to Oldest Song, "Work faster. Finish watering ours quickly and go help Jinzhao."
The fields of the three Song family branches were all connected, so any activity by one was immediately noticed by the other two.
On the other side, Second Aunt Song poked Second Song's arm. "When your father and Oldest Song go to help the third branch, you go too. Don't fall behind."
Second Song grimaced, his back aching terribly. "No need to remind me. Father will definitely call me when the time comes."
Song Jinzhao was strong and carrying water wasn't difficult for her, but seven acres of land was simply too much. Two buckets poured in would immediately seep into the soil.
That afternoon, she made over three hundred trips and only managed to water one acre. By the time she got home, her shoulders were swollen.
This was much more exhausting than gathering mushrooms or hunting.
Song Qiming bit his lip, his heart aching with a mix of bitterness and self-reproach.
It was all his fault for being too weak to lift the buckets. Otherwise, his sister wouldn't have been so tired.
When Song Jinzhao got up the next day, her whole body felt sore and stiff, like the muscle ache from overexertion.
"Come gather mushrooms on the mountain with me after breakfast."
Song Qiming looked up. "Aren't we watering the fields?"
Song Jinzhao shook her head. "No more. Spending time on the fields is worse than going up the mountain to gather mushrooms. If the harvest is less, so be it. I'm not doing it anymore."
Song Qiming nodded. Compared to the grain in the fields, he cared more about his sister getting hurt.
In the morning, when Old Man Song went to water the fields and found the two absent, his heart sank with a thud.
Could it be they found it too tiring and gave up?
When he still didn't see them for a long time, Old Man Song wanted to ask what was going on. At noon, upon entering their house, he found only Song Shixue at home.
"Where's your sister?"
Song Shixue, who was coaxing Song Anhao, replied, "Sister and brother went up the mountain to gather mushrooms."
Old Man Song looked at the mushrooms drying on the bamboo sieves in the courtyard, his brows furrowing into a small hill. "Isn't this much enough to eat?"
Villagers usually ate mushrooms only when they happened upon them, for a bit of freshness. He had never seen so many being dried.
Song Shixue tilted her head slightly, her voice soft. "These mushrooms are to be sold in the city. Sister says the money from selling mushrooms is more than what we'd get from watering the fields, so we're not watering anymore."
Old Man Song raised his eyebrows in surprise. "There's not much here. How much could they sell for?"
Two sieves, at most ten catties.
Song Shixue led him into a room and pointed at four gunny sacks piled in the corner. "Those are all full of mushrooms."
Old Man Song walked over, untied the ropes on one of the sacks, and opened it. Each sack contained a different type of mushroom. There had to be at least a hundred catties in total.
Where did she gather so many from?
Thinking that Song Jinzhao wasn't home, he decided to come back again in the evening.
That afternoon, Song Jinzhao and Song Qiming returned home with a full load. On their way down the mountain, they even found a gray-furred wild rabbit in a trap, weighing a full four catties.
When Old Man Song came over, she was cooking. The courtyard was filled with the fragrant aroma of spicy diced rabbit, and he couldn't help but sigh to himself about how well they were eating.
Eating meat for several days in a row—their family had never lived such a life before.
Song Jinzhao put down the spatula. She already knew from Song Shixue that Old Man Song had come at noon and guessed he would return in the evening.
"There aren't that many mushrooms in the outer parts of the mountain. Did you go deep into the mountains to gather these?"
Song Jinzhao pressed her lips together, knowing he was worried.
"Don't worry, Grandpa. With me here, there won't be any danger."
Having seen her take risks time and again, Old Man Song knew he couldn't dissuade her, yet his heart remained uneasy.
"Not watering the fields means losing seven or eight catties of grain per mu. Over seven mu, that's over fifty catties—worth half a tael of silver. How much can these mushrooms sell for?"
Farming was hard work, but it was safe. They could skip the watering, but they mustn't operate at a loss.
Song Jinzhao replied, "Fresh ones sell for ten to twenty wen per catty. Dried ones are even more expensive. I've already made a deal with the restaurant manager; he'll buy however much I forage."
Old Man Song stared in shock, his face frozen in astonishment.
Ten to twenty wen per catty? That expensive?
