Chapter 164: There’s More to It

Seeing that Old Lady Liu did not respond, Liu Cuicui let out a couple of dry wails before continuing, “Mother, Liu Dahu is your own grandson, the root of our Liu family! That son of Second Sister’s is a Zhang—barely more than a toddler—and he gets meat at every meal, with dumplings every few days. Look at Liu Dahu; he’s skin and bones! If Father were still alive, his heart would break.”

Old Lady Liu hung her head like a child who had done something wrong, rubbing her withered hands together with a faint rasping sound.

“Mother, say something!”

Old Lady Liu replied softly, “I’m old now, and I don’t run the household anymore. Everything here is up to Third Sister. Why don’t you… take back the rice and flour you brought? Save it for Liu Dahu.”

Liu Cuicui had never expected her ever-indulgent mother to turn her down like this. She raised her voice. “Third Sister runs the house? Mother’s still here—when did it become her turn?”

Old Lady Liu’s lips twitched, but she repeated the same words: “I’m old now, and I don’t run the household anymore.”

Liu Cuicui let out a few cold laughs. “Fine! Back then, they schemed every way they could to take you away and split dozens of taels of silver, only to treat you like this—stuck in a drafty shack like this one, and not even letting Mother run the house? She’s just an unmarried girl; what right does she have? I’m going to confront them right now!”

As the situation spiraled out of control, Li Tieniu hurriedly grabbed Liu Cuicui, who had already lunged forward, and shot frantic glances at her from an angle Old Lady Liu couldn’t see.

Old Lady Liu stood up too, her lips moving as her hands rose and fell several times. Only when Liu Cuicui sat back down did Old Lady Liu relax with a sigh and settle back into her seat.

“Mother, why don’t you come back home with us? Our family of four had such good times before.”

Another long silence followed before Old Lady Liu spoke. “After the fifteenth, once you’ve had the reunion dinner, go home. Take all the grain you brought too, and go back to tending your fields properly.”

Liu Cuicui could scarcely believe her ears. Even Li Tieniu couldn’t help giving Old Lady Liu a few extra glances. Her words upended everything they had thought they knew. Was this still the same meek woman who could barely string two sentences together?

Liu Cuicui said heatedly, “Mother, what do you mean? Are you disowning us? Disowning Liu Dahu, your only grandson?”

Before Old Lady Liu could answer, Liu Cuicui began wailing again. “How much have I sacrificed for this family? We’re all from the same womb! Second Sister and Third Sister were born to be young madams, living without a care, and now they’ve opened a shop— who knows how much silver they rake in every day. But because I’m the eldest, I deserve to die! I started working for the family young, slaving away day and night, putting up with the village bullies, and I didn’t even get to choose my own marriage—I took in a husband from the door, and gave the Liu family a grandson. Now my life is the hardest of all. My fate is so bitter! Tomorrow, I’ll take Liu Dahu and jump in the river. I won’t live anymore—I won’t!”

Liu Cuicui wailed with such commitment that even she seemed to feel a twinge of real grievance amid the act. But she had forgotten one thing: her two sisters’ good lives had nothing to do with her—they had earned them on their own.

Raising her voice once more, Liu Cuicui shouted, “Don’t play deaf and dumb, shoving Mother out here to deal with me! If you’ve got the guts, come out and face me! It’s not like you’re dead.”

No sooner had the words left Liu Cuicui’s mouth than the door to Old Lady Liu’s room flew open with a bang from the outside. Everyone turned to look, but the newcomers were not Wu Wei and Liu Cuiwei as they had expected. Instead, it was Zhang Shuisheng and his wife.

Zhang Shuisheng stood in the doorway, frowning with clear displeasure in his eyes. His gaze swept from Liu Cuicui to Li Tieniu.

Second Lady Liu wasted no time. She marched forward, yanked Liu Cuicui up from the floor by the collar, and hauled her out. These days, Second Lady Liu’s strength had grown considerably; when the oil pressing workshop got too busy, she would help out there too. Those oil pans full of rapeseed weighed dozens of pounds each—she had to hoist them high and swing them down hard, pounding them over and over to extract the oil.

Pulling one Liu Cuicui along? That was child’s play.

With a yelp of surprise, Liu Cuicui was dragged out the door. She struggled a few times, but it was no use.

Liu Dahu shouted, “Let go of my mother!” He bolted after them. Seeing this, Li Tieniu had no choice but to stand and follow. Amid a clamor of thudding footsteps, the group headed downstairs first.

Zhang Shuisheng said to Old Lady Liu, “Mother, you rest here in the room. Don’t worry about this.” Then he turned and went downstairs too.

Once everyone had left, Old Lady Liu seemed to have all the strength drained from her. She slumped onto the stool and silently wiped away her tears.

Caught in the middle as an elder, she was truly in a difficult spot. Her eldest daughter’s family had come to pay New Year’s respects; as their mother, she couldn’t very well chase them away. But her youngest… held some resentment toward her.

Now her second daughter and son-in-law were clashing with the eldest’s family too. How had their New Year turned into such a mess?

…

Second Lady Liu dragged Liu Cuicui to the back courtyard before letting go. Before Liu Cuicui could open her mouth, Second Lady Liu spat at her and cursed, “Big Sis, you’re too shameless! Wailing like a mourner in someone’s shop during the New Year—what are you thinking? No business opens its doors hoping for bad luck; we won’t tolerate a Broom Star like you stirring things up!”

The words “Broom Star” stabbed deep into Liu Cuicui’s nerves. Not long ago, that had been her special curse for Third Sister. How had it come back around to her?

“Broom Star” was clearly Third Sister—she had brought bad luck to her fiancé before marriage and killed their father too!

Liu Cuicui flew into a rage. “You spat at me? You dare spit at me? Who’s the Broom Star? Third Sister is! She jinxed her fiancé to death before they even wed, then jinxed Father too. Have you forgotten? How could a wretch like that run a business? Don’t the people buying her rice fear the bad luck?”

Second Lady Liu jabbed a finger at Liu Cuicui’s nose and scolded, “So what if I spat at you? If you’re shameless, I’ll spit! Your family’s Liu Dahu can spit on his own aunt, but you can’t take two spits? You dare dredge up that ancient history? Let me tell you, the rice shop is booming! Birth, aging, sickness, and death are fated by heaven—what’s that got to do with Third Sister? Back when Third Sister was still at home, the livestock thrived—we raised whatever we wanted, and it lived. After she split off, we still raised them the same way, and they lived. Now look at your family—how many fat chickens have you let die? Every time I visit the old home, there are a few less! You’re the real Broom Star! Without Third Sister’s good fortune, you two can’t make ends meet anymore, can you?”

Stung by Second Lady Liu’s words, Liu Cuicui’s eyes turned red. With a shriek, she grabbed Second Lady Liu’s hair. Second Lady Liu flew into a fury too, and the sisters fell to tussling.

Second Lady Liu had struck right at Liu Cuicui’s sore spot. For years, labeling Third Sister a “Broom Star” had been Liu Cuicui’s way of keeping things balanced. They shared the same parents, but she wasn’t as pretty as Third Sister, nor as skilled with needlework, nor as well married.

But no matter—Third Sister was the Broom Star. She had wrecked such a fine match. Every time Liu Cuicui thought of it, her heart filled with glee.

Yet as Second Lady Liu said, ever since Third Sister had split off, the livestock at home truly hadn’t thrived like before. One would die inexplicably now and then. Add Liu Dahu’s greedy mouth, killing one every few days for him to eat, and with Third Sister’s embroidery income gone, they could no longer afford to buy chickens or meat at market. They had been eating through their own stock, and now the Liu home didn’t even have a single chicken left.

Second Lady Liu’s accusation of “Broom Star” terrified Liu Cuicui. She feared it might be true.

What Liu Cuicui didn’t know was that those mysteriously dead chickens had all been secretly strangled by Liu Dahu. He had always liked doing that, because whenever livestock died at home, the meat was sure to end up in his belly.

Before, Liu Cuiwei had kept a sharp eye out; she’d rather take a few blows from Liu Dahu than let him near the chickens. But as the household dwindled and Liu Cuicui and her husband worked the fields, only Liu Dahu was left at home. He could run wild.

The sisters fought fiercely, years of buried grudges exploding in that moment. Second Lady Liu was also fueled by rage over her own son nearly falling victim to Liu Dahu’s schemes, so she hit extra hard.

Liu Dahu jumped in first, kicking and stomping at Second Lady Liu.

Then Li Tieniu and Zhang Shuisheng rushed forward. Zhang Shuisheng lunged in one swift motion, grabbed Liu Dahu by the back of his collar with one hand, and flung him into the snow pile in the yard. Li Tieniu itched to join in, but eyeing Zhang Shuisheng’s increasingly burly frame—and recalling their draw last year—he held back and went only to pull Liu Cuicui away.

Seeing this, Zhang Shuisheng scooped up Second Lady Liu in his arms.

Li Tieniu held Liu Cuicui around the waist and dragged her back, while Zhang Shuisheng carried Second Lady Liu horizontally away.

Even separated, the sisters flailed their limbs at each other, eyes blazing with battle fury.

“Eldest Brother-in-Law, please comfort Eldest Sister. I’m taking Second Lady Liu back first,” Zhang Shuisheng said. With that, he paid no more attention to the family of three, scooped Second Lady Liu into his arms, and left.

Once Zhang Shuisheng and Second Lady Liu had departed, Li Tieniu leaned close to Liu Cuicui’s ear and whispered a few words. Liu Cuicui froze as if her acupoint had been struck, her movements halting abruptly before she went limp.

Li Tieniu grumbled in complaint, “If you mess this up, just wait till we get home and see how I deal with you! I married into your family—even our son took your family’s surname. I’ve slaved away like an ox and a horse for all these years, and you can’t even handle a simple matter like this? Why go offending their family? Bickering over a word or two—is that gonna put extra meat on the table? Our Liu Dahu is already nine years old!”

Liu Cuicui’s body trembled. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over as she melted into Li Tieniu’s arms. “What are we going to do? How can Mom not be in charge? If Second Lady Liu won’t speak up for us either, then Liu Dahu……”