In a Poor Household, Every Hardship Brings Sorrow

May the Kitchen God bless your family with peace and safety.

After bowing to the gods, Yang Chi straightened up and turned to walk into the inner room.

The house was small, with only a main hall and an inner room, where several beds were placed crookedly.

A woman was leaning against a bed. Her face was old, her hair was mostly white, her clothes were patched, and her hands, covered in calluses, were tucked into her sleeves. It was early spring, and the weather was still cold. The woman was dressed in thin clothes, and even in her sleep, she was still instinctively trying to keep warm.

Lifting the curtain and stepping into the inner room, Yang Chi saw the woman's appearance, his heartstrings trembled slightly, and his nose felt a little sore.

Although his footsteps were light, the woman still heard them. She opened her eyes, her gaze unfocused, and it took her a while to focus. Once she saw Yang Chi's appearance, she immediately tried to get up.

"Chi'er is back. I wasn't feeling well this afternoon and lay in bed for a while, but I don't know when I fell asleep," the woman slowly got up, her face full of fatigue. "My son, sit down and rest for a bit. Someone brought Qingwa two pieces of taro at noon. He ate half of it, and I've saved the other half for you. I'll go heat it up for you. The remaining whole piece is for you to cook yourself."

"Taro?" Yang Chi was taken aback, then nodded. "Yes, I've been learning the craft from Master Wang and praying to the Kitchen God every day. I think my cooking skills have improved. I'll treat my third brother to some tomorrow."

Although taro is common, Yang Chi's family didn't even own a piece of land after his father was convicted, let alone grow taro. In those days, there was no working class, and even folk handicrafts were just beginning to flourish. If you didn't own land, you had no roots. You couldn't even stand up straight, and you couldn't find a wife.

Seeing his mother hurriedly getting up, Yang Chi quickly stepped forward to help her. He then handed her the money bag, saying, "Mother, don't worry, I'm not hungry. Today, the employer saw how hard I've worked and paid me my wages. Please count it so we can supplement our household expenses."

"Paid wages?" The woman was delighted upon hearing this and took the money pouch. "This employer is much better than the old one." She took out a few copper coins and placed them by her pillow, handing the rest back. "Bury the rest. In a while, we can buy some land and cultivate it ourselves, cough cough..."

As she was speaking, the woman suddenly started coughing. Her chest heaved rapidly, and she appeared to be struggling to catch her breath.

Yang Chi was startled and helped his mother by patting her chest and back. It took a while for her to calm down. Then, ignoring Yang Chi's advice, the woman insisted on getting up to heat up his food.

Watching his mother's faltering figure, Yang Chi clenched his fists.

"I absolutely have to find work tomorrow, otherwise..."

Thump!

Just as Yang Chi was making up his mind, a dull thud suddenly rang out in the courtyard, followed by a woman's scream.

"What's going on?" Yang Chi was startled and rushed out, only to see a woman helping a boy to his feet.

"Third brother?"

Upon closer inspection, Yang Chi recognized the boy as his own brother, Yang Qing. However, the boy's tattered clothes and the scars on his face gave him a sense of foreboding.

"Elder brother..."

Yang Qing looked up, struggled to his feet, and Human Path beside him, "Mother, don't worry, I fell down while climbing a tree with Guawa and the others at the edge of the village!"

"How could you be so careless? How long will it take to recover?" The woman looked distressed, tears welling in her eyes. Her family was too poor to afford a clinic or doctor in Jiannan City. At most, they could find some barefoot doctors and buy some ointments, but where could they find such care now?

"Alright, Mother, look, I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?" Yang Qing endured the pain and jumped up and down a couple of times. Although it aggravated her wound, she held back because she didn't want her mother to worry.

The woman was filled with anxiety, but there was nothing she could do. She could only instruct Yang Chi to watch over the fire, and then she went to the corner of the courtyard, squatted down on the ground. The stove of this house was located here. When the woman arrived at the stove, she did not start cooking immediately. She first recited a couple of prayers before lighting the fire.

On the other side, Yang Chi originally intended to go over and start a fire so that his mother could rest, but seeing his younger brother's appearance, he changed his mind. With a gloomy face, he pulled Yang Qing into the house, then closed the door and sat down on a chair next to the table.

"Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Yang Qing, who was grimacing from his wounds, immediately calmed down upon hearing this and muttered to himself.

People say that the eldest brother is like a father. The father of the Yang brothers served as a garrison officer in this city. He died of illness due to poor health, so Yang Chi became the head of the Yang Family.

It is important to know that the Great Rui system of exile and banishment had a strict set of rules. The first rule was the famous saying, "Accomplices should be exiled far and wide." Specifically, this meant that accomplices who committed crimes could not be exiled to the same place, could not be exiled to the same prefecture, could not travel together, could not be in the same place if there were more than five people, and could not be in the same prefecture if there were more than ten people.

Yang Qing's father was originally a minor official with some power, but he was implicated in his superior's misfortune and exiled to the army. None of his convicted colleagues accompanied him; only their families went with them. After Yang's father died, the Yang Family naturally had no one to help them and faced great difficulties.

Moreover, this family could not return to their original place of residence because Great Rui had detailed records and registers for managing the assigned people. Not only were their names recorded, but their ages, crimes, and past offenses were also recorded. Even if Yang's father died, his son could not leave.

In fact, the criminal law of Great Rui has always advocated filial piety. For offenders whose elderly parents die or whose families have no adult male members, the punishment will be reduced. That is why the Yang Family was able to settle in the capital of Jiannan Circuit. However, the death of Yang's father has plunged the entire Yang Family into a predicament.

Logically, those assigned to official posts should be provided with food and clothing by the government. After Yang's father died, he should have received a pension, but it was intercepted, leaving the orphan and widow without food or clothing.

Later, when the new emperor ascended the throne, he granted a general amnesty. However, the Yang Family was unable to return to their ancestral home because their third son, Yang Qing, had offended a villain and was haunted by someone. Even their second son was killed. Of course, even if they had returned, their family's land would have been completely divided up by the clan, but their situation might have improved somewhat.

The family's hardship forced Yang Family's two children to shoulder the burden of the family. However, compared to the steady and reliable Yang Chi, Yang Qing acted unconventionally and recklessly, which caused several incidents that took a lot of effort to resolve. The aftereffects of these incidents still have an impact to this day.

Seeing Yang Qing's appearance, Yang Chi instinctively felt that something was about to happen.

"Elder brother..."

Yang Qing cautiously looked around, then took two steps forward, took a bag out of his pocket, and his hands trembled slightly as he held the bag.

He went to the table, turned the bag upside down, and two small silver cakes fell out.

Thump! Thump!

With two consecutive clicks, the silver ingot spun on the table before settling down quietly.

Silence!

The room fell silent. After a while, heavy breathing became more and more obvious; it was Yang Chi panting heavily.

After a long while, he managed to calm himself down and asked in a deep voice, "Where did this come from?"

Yang Qing lowered his head and said, "Brother, don't ask anymore. With these two silver ingots, our family can afford to buy land! If we follow your method, when will we ever save enough money?"

Whoosh!

Just as Yang Qing finished speaking, a chaotic sound suddenly came from outside the door. Judging from the sound, it seemed to be the sound of the Yang Family's fence being pushed down and broken.

Then, Yang's mother screamed. The Yang brothers' faces changed, and they rushed outside. As soon as they opened the door, they saw several tall and strong figures!

Yang's mother, however, was curled up on the ground.

"Mother!" Yang Chi and Yang Qing cried out and ran over. One helped his mother up, while the other glared angrily at the person who had come.

Which one is Yang Qing?

A voice came from behind, and then a young man in a straight-hemmed robe stepped out.

As soon as he finished speaking, a gaunt old man followed him, bowing and scraping, with a fawning smile on his face, and pointed out Yang Qing.

"Uncle Li, how could you...!" Yang Chi was immediately enraged upon seeing the old man!

He was familiar with this old man; he lived at the edge of the village and was considered an elder in the village.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Li's humility vanished completely. "How dare you speak to an old man like that? You don't even know what your brother is up to, stealing chickens and dogs all day long, and today he even came to this old man's land and took a few pieces of taro."

"You stole something again?" Yang Chi understood what was going on when he heard this, and looking at his younger brother, he showed an expression of anger and disappointment.

"I..." Yang Qing's eyes darted around, "I intended to visit you today, but I witnessed your argument with the boss..."

"You know!" Yang Chi's heart skipped a beat, realizing that Yang Qing had seen him being fired. "That's still unacceptable..."

Clap clap clap!

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a round of applause. The young man clapped his hands and said with a smile, "What a melodramatic scene, what a display of brotherly affection! However, I don't care about your affairs at all."

"This is Officer Liu from the Jiannan garrison, here to collect his debts," Uncle Li said cautiously from the side, his manner ingratiating.

"To be a military officer at such a young age, he must have an impressive background." Yang Chi was startled at first, then remembered the two silver ingots in the room and realized something was wrong. But before he could figure it out, two burly men came up and grabbed Yang Qing!

Then, someone else pushed open the door and entered the room, and amidst a commotion, took out two silver ingots.

"These two silver ingots are nothing," Officer Liu shook his head, "But not just anyone can take my things. Those two people were doing things for me, but you stole their money. We can't let this go so easily; we must give an explanation."

As soon as he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and two more men stepped out from behind him to take Yang's mother. The woman was already terrified and tried to struggle, but a big man slapped her across the face, causing her to spit out two teeth and bleed from her mouth!

"Stop!"

The Yang Family brothers' eyes widened in fury, each filled with an intense urge to tear the people in front of them to shreds!

Shock!

Inside the house, the statue of the Kitchen God trembled slightly. (To be continued...)