Phi-Fic Chapter 8 Dongfang Jin accepts this favor!
Chapter 8 Dongfang Jin accepts this favor!
When the family divided their property, he was only given four mu of land, which was mountain land at the foot of West Mountain. Moreover, that land could not be used to grow anything except beans and sesame, and there was an old house, which was still where his grandparents lived...
Now that he has learned from Grandpa Xu that his leg will not heal and he can no longer work, he came up with this idea.
He was to be forced to leave with nothing? Sever all ties? Even those in charge of the clan had to obey his mother and have his name removed from the family register.
Expelled from the clan? How ridiculous! She's not a woman who married out of the family; she's a family man, the eldest son, and she's still alive.
Thinking of his solitary name on the family genealogy, he realized that the names of his former wife, son, and daughter were not listed there. How ironic!
Back then, half of the land he reclaimed belonged to the clan.
The Gu family, the Gu clan... Heh... Once he understands everything, we'll settle all our scores, old and new...
The next day
When Dongfang Jin came out of the house, no one was home.
Looking at the dilapidated house, the desolate courtyard, and the low stone wall, I saw...
This dilapidated house stands alone halfway up the mountain, pitifully gazing at the village not far away, like an abandoned child.
Seeing a few low houses in the distance, and further away where wisps of smoke rise from the chimneys, is Lingwu Village.
It really is surrounded by mountains on three sides. However, the air here is quite good, without the smell of industrial pollution that we see in later generations.
The air quality is excellent, filled with a fresh scent, carrying a hint of moisture and coolness, as if one were in a dust-free world, allowing the mind to completely relax.
Turning back to look at the place where she had stayed the previous night, Dongfang Jin felt a spasm, which greatly ruined her good mood.
Damn, it's not even as good as Song Bin's house. It's a pigsty in a farmhouse. Is this a place for people to live?
No, the current situation must be changed.
"Chenglin's wife, get up!" At this moment, a middle-aged woman with a somewhat plump figure walked over carrying a basket.
Dongfang Jin watched her enter the courtyard. Was she from Cheng Lin's family? Was he calling her?
When Gu Liu saw that Cheng Lin's daughter-in-law was staring at her blankly, she knew what was wrong with her. She probably didn't recognize her and was shy.
Indeed, this is their first meeting, so it's understandable. I heard that the Fang family doesn't even let her leave their house.
“Chenglin’s family, my husband’s surname is Gu, and I am the fourth among my older brothers and sisters. Everyone in the village calls me Aunt Gu the Fourth. My father-in-law and Chenglin’s grandfather are the same grandfather.”
Chenglin and my nephew Chunsheng went to Xinghua Village early this morning to pick up his two children. They asked me to bring you some food before they left, and I wanted to let you know too.
Dongfang Jin was listening to something that sounded too complicated when she suddenly remembered that Gu Chenglin had indeed mentioned this yesterday.
He went to pick up the kids. He didn't even say goodbye when he left. That's rude. I guess she'll have to talk to him about it when she gets back.
"Hello, Fourth Aunt, thank you for making this special trip."
When Aunt Gu saw that she didn't act reserved or timid, this composure made Aunt Gu like her even more.
Before Dongfang Jin could ask, Aunt Gu revealed everything about the Gu family.
She was a talkative woman, a typical rural woman, but her concern was genuine.
It seems that Gu Chenglin has a decent number of people in the village; a hero needs three helpers.
That guy also has a few friends, whom he hasn't seen for five years, and they all care about him.
Thinking of Gu Chenglin's friends, after he left, no matter who tried to help his wife, Old Lady Gu would block their doors and yell at them, daring to curse them with anything. In the end, no one dared to openly help them.
Moreover, Gu Chenglin's wife was also impossible to help; no matter who helped her, she would still resent them.
No matter what, it's all your fault. If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have been bullied by her mother-in-law, brother's wife, and sister-in-law.
Because of this, none of them cared about her anymore.
Haha, it's true that every pitiful person has something hateful about them. Helping you even made a mistake? She can't tell right from wrong. She gets angry just hearing that, let alone those people.
This is still ancient times. People in ancient times valued their reputation. That woman, on the other hand, was a complete idiot!
"Xiao Jin, is it okay if I call you that?" Aunt Gu asked tentatively, she genuinely liked the child.
Dongfang Jin smiled and said, "Okay, I like it when you call me that, dear."
Aunt Gu was amused by her: "Hehe, then I'll call you that from now on. If you need anything, just come to my house. There's a big banyan tree in front of my house. In our Lingwu Village, only my house has a big banyan tree in front of it, so it's very easy to find."
Dongfang Jin readily agreed: "Okay."
"Then I'll be going. The autumn harvest is coming soon, and I need to go back and prepare my things."
"Fourth Aunt, please take care, thank you," Dongfang Jin then realized that the autumn harvest was approaching, the weather was getting cooler, and the Mid-Autumn Festival was just a few days away.
Aunt Gu liked the child more and more. He was generous and unpretentious, and seemed to be a good person: "No need to thank me, hurry up and come inside. It's high up here and the wind is strong."
"it is good."
Watching Aunt Gu walk away, Dongfang Jin carried the basket into the house.
Lifting the cloth reveals what's inside. Is it stir-fried cabbage? Or stewed cabbage?
The dish consisted of two slices of white meat with skin on top, and thin strips of lean meat about the width of a toothpick at the ends, also white, along with a small bowl of pickled vegetables and two cornbread pancakes.
This pancake isn't the golden-yellow kind we usually eat; it's brownish and has whole corn kernels inside, which doesn't look appetizing at all.
Honestly, it's not that she's picky, but this dish has no color or aroma, and it doesn't look appetizing at all.
Then there were those two pieces of meat, which she really couldn't eat. She knew that even Aunt Gu's family probably wouldn't be willing to eat such things.
Dongfang Jin accepted this favor!
In terms of diet, she's the kind of person who, well, you could say, a vegetarian, but she needs some meat with every meal. You could also say she's a carnivore, but she prefers vegetarian food.
She glanced at the food again, then decisively covered it with the cloth and put the basket aside. After thinking for a moment, she decided to put it into her spatial storage. With a thought, she indeed put it in. And then she…
She needs to tidy up the house!
Let's also see what her dowry is that makes the Gu family so concerned, yet they refuse to give it to her and even force her to leave with nothing, severing ties with her.
She climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), went to the four trunks, opened the first trunk, and found several pieces of clothing on top. Although they were faded from washing, thankfully there were no patches, because she had just noticed that Aunt Gu's clothes had patches.
Take out the clothes; inside are two bolts of brown coarse cloth and two bolts of dark blue fine cloth. There's also a red bundle; opening it reveals two new outfits: one made of dark blue fine cloth and the other of light gray coarse cloth.
There were two strings of copper coins at the bottom of the box. I counted them and there were a hundred in total. Two strings, two hundred copper coins, which is equivalent to two large copper coins.
Two bowls, two plates, and two pairs of chopsticks stacked together and tied with a red cloth strip looked quite festive.
The second box also contained four bolts of cloth: two coarse, navy blue bolts, and two fine, white bolts, though not pure white, but rather a yellowish, ivory-white.
Two pairs of cloth shoes, a red bundle containing cotton-padded clothes, and at the bottom of the trunk were two strings of copper coins, two plates, two cups, and two spoons.