Chapter 19
Liu Family
Li Yu and the others were busy on the mountain until midnight before they each carried a basket of goji berries down the mountain. When they reached home, it was already noon. Li Yu and Li Mei were busy steaming the goji berries.
Zhaodi and Laidi washed the vegetables and cooked. After 15 minutes, Li Qing returned with a book basket. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he shouted, “Sister, I’m back.”
“You’re back! How do you feel in the school? Did you understand what was taught?” Li Yu came out of the kitchen with a bamboo plaque and asked.
Li Qing followed behind Li Yu and walked in. “I can understand it. The teacher taught me so well that I can remember it. Sister, the teacher knows everything.”
Seeing Li Qing say with admiration, Li Yu smiled and said, “Oh! Then help me ask tomorrow what dynasty is before the Great Yong Dynasty?”
Li Qing recalled how serious Sir looked and was a little afraid, but he still agreed. “Okay, I’ll help you ask when I have the chance. Sister, I’ll go do my homework.”
Li Yu wiped his sweat. “Got it. Go and carry the small table out and write in the courtyard. It’s cooler outside.”
“Ah!” Li Qing agreed happily and went to the kitchen. He thought to himself, ‘Sister has become happier after coming home. If I had known earlier, we should have come back earlier.’
Li Yu and Li Mei steamed all the oranges and dried them. Li Mei looked at Li Yu and said, “Yu’er, I think those cooked goji berries will be ready in three to four days. Will there be more in the future? Also, Yu’er, how do you know how to do this?”
Li Yu thought for a moment. “I don’t know how I know either. I think I just know how to do it when I saw those rakes. It’s probably because Father brought them back from the mountains!”
After Li Yu finished speaking, she didn’t know if Li Mei would believe her. She felt a little uneasy. Unexpectedly, Li Mei smiled when she heard that. “Yes! It’s possible that you remembered it because your mother mentioned it.”
Li Mei looked at Li Yu as if she was looking at that weak and beautiful woman. She recalled and said, “Your mother should be the daughter of a rich family. Back then, on the way to escape, she was saved by your father. After seeing that your father was loyal and honest, she married your father. She never mentioned her past, but she could write and draw. We’ve never seen the patterns she drew. The embroidery she embroidered was vivid and lifelike. She also liked to be clean. No matter if it’s winter or summer, she has to bathe every day. Your mother also asked your father to repair the toilet and bathroom in your backyard. In short, your mother is different from us countrywomen at a glance.”
Li Yu heaved a sigh of relief. “Then I must have remembered from what my mother said! Aunt, I remember that Mother also said that after a batch is picked, the second batch can be picked in six or seven days. The goji berries can be picked several times in a season!”
Li Mei said happily, “We can pick whatever we want from that mountain ridge. We’ll be able to pick a lot of lettuce after this season! If the price is good, we can sell it for a lot of money.”
“I can pick quite a few this season, at least until the farmers are busy. Aunt, I want to open up the wasteland behind the house and dig up some loam to plant in it.”
“Can you grow it alive?”
“Just give it a try! Look, those peach trees and pear trees were dug up from elsewhere and planted here!”
“Then we’ll do as you say. If we can grow them, we’ll cultivate all the wastelands behind.”
Li Yu saw that Li Mei was not like the other elders who pointed fingers at the younger generation and were stubborn. She felt that it was very pleasant to interact with her and slowly began to treat her as her family in the other world.
The next day, after Li Yu delivered the wild game to Minister Huang’s house, she went to the grocery store to buy a few bundles of oilcloth. She went home and sewed some oilcloth bags, preparing to use them to store the sun-baked oranges so that they wouldn’t affect their appearance when the tide returned.
Li Yu calculated that after selling the prey three times and adding the money that the Zhang family had given her, she had already saved up more than 100 taels of silver. Li Yu planned to look for the village chief after picking the seedlings. After buying the wasteland behind the house and opening it up, she would plant the crops in the area near the forest.
In the following days, Li Yu still went hunting early in the morning. She only stored most of the prey in her space and left a small portion for themselves to eat. Then, she sent wild animals to Steward Huang’s house every few days.
The aunt and niece worked on the mountain until early July. A few days before the Zhongyuan Festival, they finally plucked all the goji berries and brought them home. The courtyard was filled with goji berries.
Zhaodi saw that her mother and sister were staying at her cousin’s house for the Zhongyuan Festival, her mother didn’t mention anything about going home, and her father didn’t come to pick her up either. Although staying at her cousin’s house was much better than staying at home, this wasn’t her home after all!
Zhaodi found Li Mei and asked, “Mom, are we really not going back in the future?”
Li Mei was also a little worried about Liu Changmin. Although he was honest and foolishly filial, they had been husband and wife for more than ten years and had treated her well. If not for his mother’s interference…
Li Mei sighed and looked at Zhaodi. “Did your father come to pick us up? If we return to the Liu family by ourselves, have you thought about the future?”
Zhaodi thought to herself, That’s right! If Mother goes home like this, I don’t know how Grandma will torture Mother! But this can’t go on!
Zhaodi looked at Li Mei’s worried face. “Mother, what should we do?”
Li Mei glared at her. “What should we do? If your father hasn’t come to pick us up by the Hungry Ghost Festival, I’ll go back and divorce him. I won’t suffer grievances with that coward in that house.”
In the Liu residence, Liu Changmin sat alone in his room and looked at the empty house. He thought about how Li Mei had been busy at home with the children in the past. Then he thought about how Li Mei had been away with the children for almost a month. It was almost the Zhongyuan Festival, but she had not even brought back a message. It seemed that Ah Mei was determined not to spend the day with him.
Liu Changmin recalled Li Mei’s sad and disappointed gaze when she left. He hugged his head in pain and curled up on the bed.
Liu Changmin could not understand why his mother could not get along well with Ah Mei. When Ah Mei was at home, she would get up and do the chores every day before dawn. She was busy all day long, but his mother was still not satisfied. His two siblings worked secretly, but he did not see his mother torturing them every day!
Liu Changmin really wanted to ask his mother why she had to torture Ah Mei like this and make her unable to return home.
At this moment, Liu Changmin’s mother, Madam Yang, walked out of the kitchen. She walked into Liu Changmin’s house and said to him with a livid expression, “Boss, I say, why are you so useless! Liu Zhi is your biological nephew. Her niece has just received a large sum of money. I asked her to lend some money to Zhi’er to study for your sake. When Zhi’er becomes successful in the future, he will also support you in your old age. However, she ran away from me. Isn’t she just a woman?! You look like you’re on the verge of death. I’m telling you, you’re not allowed to pick her up. If you have the ability, stay in your family forever.”
The more Liu Changmin listened, the angrier he became. He got up from the bed and shouted at her, “Mother, that’s the money Li Shan left for Ah Qing. Why should we borrow it? Besides, will you return it? Mother, why are you making things difficult for Ah Mei? Can’t you think for me and the two children?”
Madam Yang was stunned by Liu Changmin’s shout. When she regained her senses, she went over to beat Liu Changmin up and cried, “You unfilial son. To raise you, I took on the role of a father and mother. I didn’t expect that I would raise such a disobedient and unfilial beast like you. How dare you shout at me for an outsider and two useless people?”
An honest person could not be dealt with even if he was stubborn. Liu Changmin straightened his neck and looked at Madam Yang. “The two useless people you speak of are my daughters and your granddaughters. Since Mother thinks that I’m disobedient and unfilial, you can just beat me to death and let Ah Mei find a good family again so that she won’t have to suffer your torture.”