Chapter 44

The protagonist of a rumor was often the last to hear of said rumor.

Madam Ma-Liu was so busy every day that she didn’t even have time to drink water, let alone catch wind of that rumor. Hence, she was simply happy that Mu Yangling had come to visit her.

She knew that Shu Wanniang came from a wealthy family and didn’t know how to grow vegetables, so she went to the vegetable garden to pick some vegetables. She also took a lot of pickled vegetables for Mu Yangling to bring back and said, “Your mother will be giving birth in three months, right? By then, the weather will be cold and there won’t be much to do in the fields. I can go take care of her during her confinement period. Go back and ask your mother if she’d like that. If she doesn’t mind that I’m clumsy, I’ll start preparing the red cloth.”

“What are you talking about, Great-aunt? My mother often tells me that you were the one who helped take care of her for the first three days after she gave birth to me. If it weren’t for you, my parents would have struggled on their own. They were young then and didn’t even know how to hold a baby.”

Madam Ma-Liu laughed. “Child, your parents weren’t young back then. Your father was 21, and your mother, 17.”

Mu Yangling lowered her head. Her mother was pregnant with her at the age of 16. Wasn’t 16 considered young enough? Back then, when she was born, she was shocked when she found out about her mother’s age.

“Alright, go back quickly. When you run out of these, come here and get some more.”

Mu Yangling went back, threw down her things, then immediately went to look for her second great-uncle. Shu Wanniang turned to ask Mu Shi, “Ah Ling has been hanging out with Second Uncle often these past few days. I wonder why.”

Mu Shi replied nonchalantly, “Don’t worry. Before Second Uncle does anything, he needs to ask Eldest Uncle first. Even if Second Uncle isn’t reliable, don’t we still have Eldest Uncle?”

Mu Shi’s guess was right. Upon hearing that the witch had cooked up such a fantastic reason, Liu Erqian chuckled and clapped his hands. “I’ll go to your eldest great-uncle and gather some men to go to West Mountain Village to get back your great-aunt’s farmland. Hmph, let’s see what other reason Ma Dagui’s family has to refuse.”

“Second Great-uncle, isn’t this witch going too far? Is there some grudge between her and Ma Dagui?”

“How would I know? If you want to know, go ask her yourself. Alright, don’t get involved in what’s to come. You should let your third great-uncle and the others handle the quarreling. With his eloquence, he can talk the dead back to life.”

Mu Yangling hesitated. “Third great-uncle isn’t part of our family. Would he help?”

After a moment of silence, Liu Erqian said, “Why don’t I bring two pots of wine over? But considering I’m older than him, that’s too degrading.”

“If you’re unwilling, let Uncle and the others go. Then, take the money to town to buy two catties of meat and a big rooster. Plus, I’ll bring his grandson to the cave and let him bring Third Great-uncle two wild rabbits. This way, he’ll definitely be willing.” Even if he was unwilling, he had to be willing.

Liu Erqian’s heart ached for the money. “How much would this cost?”

“It’s fine, I’ll hunt for you later. You can sell the prey in town to make up for that. These days, my father goes to the county every other day and hasn’t been conducting business in the town market.”

Since they were already halfway through, Liu Erqian naturally could not give up. In spite of his heartache, he could only fork out money for his son to go to town to buy meat and a rooster. He also had to go over and tell his eldest brother what he had done recently. Naturally, it was more appropriate for the eldest brother to step in when it came to such matters.

That night, Mu Shi was invited to the Liu family’s courtyard at the last minute. More than 20 people gathered for a discussion.

Since the situation was so favorable, it was obviously impossible for Liu Daqian to give up on seeking justice for his elder sister this time. Of course, he would not reveal to them what his younger brother and Mu Yangling had done. He would only tell them about the rumors that Mu Yangling had heard in West Mountain Village when she went to visit her great-aunt today.

Liu Daqian said, “I’ll get someone to secretly sound out the situation first. If it’s really as Ah Ling said, we have to seek justice from the Ma family no matter what. In the past few years, because of this reputation, not only has Great-aunt not been living well in West Mountain Village, but the daughters of our Liu family have also had to restrain their tempers and live cautiously in their in-laws’ families. It’s not that my heart doesn’t ache, nor is it that I don’t feel resentful. Now that there’s an opportunity, there’s no reason for our Liu family’s daughters to suffer anymore.”

Which of the people present did not have a daughter?

Because of Madam Ma-Liu’s reputation, there were also some rumors saying that the daughters of the Liu family were born tough. Although it was not to the extent that their daughters could not be married off, it resulted in them having fewer choices and needing to live cautiously.

Those with more daughters were the first to express their opinion. “We’ll do as Uncle says. Now that we know Eldest Aunt was framed by the Ma family, we naturally can’t sit back and do nothing.”

With someone taking the lead, everyone quickly responded one after another.

Liu Daqian chose two smart young men from the clan to scout for information with his son before making plans.

Liu Daqian said, “We’re nearing the end of the autumn harvest. Those remaining can stay at home to dry the grains. If you want to sell grains, you have to hurry up. Over the past few days, Minister Liu’s steward has often been at the entrance of our village. I don’t know when the price of grains will change. When everyone’s new grains are in the barn and everyone is free, we’ll make a trip to West Mountain Village.”

When they heard that there was time for them to work on their fields, everyone was even more satisfied.

Liu Daqian left his third brother Liu Dazhu behind.

Liu Dazhu and Liu Daqian were cousins sharing the same grandfather. As Liu Dazhu had been sent to town as an apprentice when he was young, he was smart and his eloquence surpassed most in the village.

Liu Daqian and Liu Erqian had the same thoughts. If they could get Liu Dazhu to go along with them, their success rate would increase by at least 20%.

Last time, Liu Dazhu had also gone to West Mountain Village, but he had not put in any effort. From his performance, one could tell that he was a smart person and did not offend anyone easily. If they wanted him to help, they had to offer him some benefits.

Although Liu Daqian didn’t like his character, he still had to persuade him to help for his sister’s sake. In any case, it could probably be settled with a few gifts.

Liu Daqian pushed the gift that Liu Erqian had bought to him and said with a smile, “Dazhu, you have to help out your eldest cousin. You also know that your second brother and I are inarticulate. Therefore, later when we go to West Mountain Village, we’ll have to rely on you to take the lead.”

Liu Dazhu smoked his pipe without saying a word. Knowing that he despised the gift, Liu Erqian was secretly angry. After pondering for a moment, Liu Daqian said, “If you can really help your cousin get back her farmland, I’ll give your child, Liu Xiao, the big red packet for the new year.”

The big red packet was the first Chinese New Year’s gift for the eldest grandson of the direct line of descent. It contained 600 copper coins, and had an auspicious meaning.

This was certainly not a small gift.

A beam immediately spread across Liu Dazhu’s face. He chuckled and said, “Eldest Cousin and Second Cousin, why are you being so polite to me? Eldest Cousin is also my cousin, so I will naturally help her. Don’t worry, when we go to West Mountain Village later, I will help Eldest Cousin get back Eldest Nephew’s farmland even if I have to risk my life.”

Liu Daqian nodded with a smile. “Thank you, Dazhu. Alright, you can go back first.” As he spoke, he carried the gift and sent him out.

Liu Dazhu took the things from him and waved his hand. “Brother, you don’t have to send me further. I’ll go back myself. It’s not far.”

It was indeed not far. The two families were only three houses away.

Seeing his figure disappear into the darkness, Liu Daqian sighed and turned to his second brother. “Alright, let’s go back.”

Liu Erqian gritted her teeth in anger. “In the future, if anything happens to his daughter, he’d better not look for me. Otherwise…”

Liu Daqian slapped him and shouted, “What nonsense is that? How can you say that about your niece? Tomorrow, tell Ah Ling not to give his grandson any rabbits. If not, he’ll be spoiled. She should just eat the rabbits herself.”

Liu Erqian quickly followed and whispered, “Brother, Ah Ling said that there’s an overpopulation of wild rabbits in the forest. She said that there’s no need to use bows and arrows to hunt for rabbits in the mountains now. We just need to remove the traps and we can pick enough to sell in town.”

Liu Daqian frowned. “What are you trying to say?”

Liu Erqian hesitated for a moment before saying, “That child told me two days ago that she wanted to bring her uncles into the mountains when she’s free. They’d be able to catch at least a few rabbits. If there’s more, we can make them into jerky so we don’t have to eat a vegetarian diet the entire winter.”

Liu Daqian glared at him. “I think you’re the one who’s greedy, right? Those boys have been following Rocky¹ into the mountains to learn how to set up traps since they were 18 years old, but when have they successfully caught prey by themselves? Even when they did catch a prey, it was because Rocky pre-selected the location and corrected them over and over again. I won’t allow you to take advantage of them.”

Liu Erqian stomped his feet. “Brother, things aren’t the same anymore. Now that everyone’s lives have improved a lot, what’s wrong with helping each other?”

“No means no.”

“I think you’re just stubborn.” Liu Erqian was also fuming. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Alright, even if we don’t take advantage of Rocky, Ah Ling already treats the children to meat so often. Not only does it consume energy, time, it also uses a lot of oil and salt. Isn’t it better to let her instruct her uncles to go into the mountains to work for her? At least the children don’t have to follow behind her eagerly. Neither does she have to be the leader of the children every time she comes back from town, taking the children to the cave and serving them.”

Liu Daqian immediately fell silent.