Chapter 574: Peasant Woman 2
Now that the pillar of the family had collapsed, the entire household was finished. Afterward, the body’s original owner had scraped by with her three daughters and An Wen, but then the chaotic times came...
No matter the era, it was always the common people who suffered the most. With a sigh, Tan You shuffled into a pair of worn straw sandals by the bed and walked out of the dim inner room.
The moment she emerged, three little girls rushed over. Some grabbed her hands, others hugged her legs. Only one thin, small figure remained kneeling on the ground, motionless.
Tan You looked at him, then at the three little girls, before her gaze finally landed on the four cylindrical objects wrapped in straw mats in the main hall. Even for someone who had walked out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, this was still too much to take in.
She took a deep breath. "I must thank the village chief and our neighbors for all your hard work on the funeral arrangements. I’m afraid the shock was too much for me to handle."
The village chief sighed as well. "An Wu’s mother... Mrs. Wang, it’s good that you’re awake. The time is right. Let’s lay them to rest."
An Wu was, of course, the eldest son of the body’s original owner, who had died unexpectedly. Looking at the slightly smaller bundle of straw, Tan You felt a pang of pity. ’If only I’d arrived a little sooner,’ she thought, ’maybe things would have turned out differently.’
Tan You said, "Thank you all for everything. Let them pass on in peace."
It was mid-afternoon by the time all the funeral arrangements were finally complete.
Tan You returned from the mountain with the three little girls and the boy, An Wen. All four children looked grief-stricken, especially the three girls, who were all sniffling.
Tan You was in no mood to comfort anyone. She was so hungry her vision was starting to blur and her legs felt weak. All she wanted was to find something to eat, and quickly. Unfortunately, even after turning the kitchen upside down, all she found was a handful of millet and a small bunch of wild greens.
"Damn it," she muttered. Gritting her teeth, Tan You called out, "Daya, come help me with the fire."
The words were barely out of her mouth when all four children crowded into the kitchen. Tan You glanced at them. "Erya and Sanya, clean the greens. Daya, you wash the millet and tend the fire. An Wen, go gather firewood nearby. Don’t go far."
She thought for a moment, then added quietly, "I’m going to check the fields and see if I can find any more greens."
Daya whispered, "There are no greens in the fields right now."
Tan You waved a hand dismissively. "I’m just going to look. You stay here and make the porridge. We can’t just let our circumstances suffocate us."
An Wen silently followed Tan You out the door. Tan You didn’t say much to the boy, only speaking up as he was about to head into the hills. "Don’t go far. I’ll be by the small river here. Once you’ve gathered a bundle of wood, come find me."
"I understand, Aunt." An Wen glanced up at Tan You, his expressionless face betraying nothing, and entered the small grove of trees nearby.
Tan You, meanwhile, made her way to the banks of the main river. The location wasn’t half bad, really. Though a bit remote, its proximity to the river meant decent harvests year-round—enough to at least keep starvation at bay.
But that was all it was—subsistence. Having any extra silver was out of the question. Take the Chen family, for instance. They were so poor they didn’t even have the silver for their elders’ funerals. It just went to show how destitute everyone was in this era.
Mulling this over, Tan You found a stick with one sharp end. She took off her shoes and slowly waded into the water.
When An Wen returned to the riverbank after gathering firewood, he saw Tan You’s stick skewering three fish, each weighing around three pounds. His eyes went wide. "Aunt..."
"Mhm," Tan You grunted in acknowledgment. "Let’s head back."
"Once we’re home, take one of the fish to the village chief’s house. Thank him for managing the funerals for your grandfather, grandmother, uncle, and cousin," Tan You said offhandedly. ’She really had nothing much to say to this kid. After all, in the body’s original memories, its owner had rarely spoken to him either.’
"I will, Aunt," An Wen replied quietly.
Tan You glanced at him and finally sighed. ’Forget it,’ she thought. ’I’ll deal with this later.’
Because of An Wen, a child born of scandal, the Chen family had gradually moved to the outskirts of the village, right up against the mountains. ’This is good, too,’ she mused. ’At least it’s peaceful.’
By the time they got home, the millet porridge was ready. The three little girls’ faces lit up with joyful smiles when they saw the fish Tan You had brought back. Seeing their sallow little faces and thinning hair, Tan You felt a pang of sorrow.
According to the original owner’s memories, once the chaotic times began, neither she nor the three girls had met a good end. As for An Wen, the boy had run off with a group of passing soldiers and was never heard from again.
Tan You’s gaze flickered back to An Wen. ’Ultimately, I still need to investigate his background,’ she thought. ’I’m not about to raise someone else’s kid for nothing.’
Daya, being the eldest, spoke up. "Ma, fish tastes bad. It’s gamey and bitter."
Tan You replied, "That’s because you don’t know how to cook it. Why else would restaurants charge so much for fish?"
At that thought, Tan You frowned. ’Before the chaotic times truly begin, I need to stock up on silver and grain, and fast.’
Erya asked, "Ma, have you been to a restaurant?"
Tan You said without missing a beat, "I heard it from your father."
"Daya, I’ll teach you how to prepare it in a minute." Though she’d inherited the task of raising these children, Tan You was no selfless martyr. ’If you want to eat, you have to work.’
Under Tan You’s instruction, Daya scraped the scales, gutted the fish, and removed the bitter gallbladder inside. The two younger girls squatted nearby, watching.
Just then, An Wen returned from delivering the fish to the village chief. Tan You looked at him. "From now on, chores like killing fish and chickens are your job. In this family, if you want to eat, you work."
An Wen breathed a sigh of relief. ’If his aunt was making him work, it meant he wasn’t just a freeloader.’ "Okay. Daya, let me do the next fish."
Daya wiped the sweat from her brow. "Alright, you can do it. Ma, what’s next?"
And so Tan You simply stood by and gave directions, guiding Daya in stewing a pot of fish soup. ’She’d wanted braised fish, but the Chen family had no seasonings besides coarse salt, so fish soup would have to do.’
Dinner, naturally, consisted of millet porridge, fish soup, and steamed wild greens. Tan You held a large bowl with two chips in its rim, thinking, ’I really have to be careful eating from this thing, or I might cut my mouth.’
The little ones had no such concerns. They held their big bowls and ate with gusto, SLURPING noisily.
Tan You served herself the belly portion of one fish. "You all can split the rest."
Daya glanced at Tan You, then gave the less bony belly portions to Erya and Sanya. She and An Wen took the back and tail sections. An Wen shifted uncomfortably. "Aunt, I can’t eat this much..."
Tan You shot him a look. "You’re living here and you’re contributing your labor, so of course I’ll feed you. I won’t mistreat you, but I won’t give you special treatment, either. You’ll be treated the same as Daya and her sisters."
A warmth spread through An Wen’s chest. "I understand, Aunt. I’ll work hard from now on."