Chapter 44

The weather grew colder and colder, with heavy snow accumulating layer upon layer. With five or six days left until the Lunar New Year, the workshops all closed down.

Song Dingxiang paid the workers their wages, and with their pockets full of copper coins, they were all set for a prosperous and joyous New Year.

Li shi had already planned the New Year gifts well in advance. Kimchi, pickled vegetables, and bean curd were all essential, and this year, each family would also receive two lotus root pieces and two pairs of shoe soles made from scraps of leather.

Don't underestimate these scrap leather shoe soles. For many people, such shoe soles were simply out of their reach.

When the snow melted on their cotton boots, they had to use fire to dry them before they could wear them again. If they weren't dried properly, it was a real test for their toes.

However, with these shoe soles, they only needed to sew a border around their existing cotton boots, and they would no longer have to worry about walking through the snow. Moreover, leather is leather after all, and it provides much better insulation than ordinary cotton cloth.

These shoe soles were definitely considered a decent New Year gift.

What's more, this year, the Third Song Lao San family had also announced that they would be sending them a nice New Year gift. This was because the two young men from the Song family who had followed Xu Qiang had returned, bringing with them a large bundle of goods, which made Gao Shi laugh so hard she couldn't stop.

Just as Fang Shi was figuring out what New Year goods to buy for the last market before the New Year, a half-grown child from the Shanghegouzi Village in the Xu family rushed in and said to Fang Shi, "Auntie, please go see Aunt Xiaoyue quickly. She's been unwell for several days."

Fang Shi's head buzzed, and she almost couldn't stand steady, being quickly supported by Zhang Shi beside her.

"What? My daughter was fine, how did Xiaoyue get sick? When did this happen?" Fang Shi came to her senses, her face pale.

"Don't talk here, come inside. Auntie will give you fruit to eat and you should talk about what happened." Zhang Shi pulled Fang Shi and greeted the child.

Li shi and Dingxiang also heard the commotion and came down from the kang to go outside, "What's going on? Come in quickly!"

The young lad entered the room and shook off the snow from his cotton boots, drank a sip of the hot sugar water made by Song Dingxiang, then said, "It's said that she got into a fight with Da Shan and was pushed. Isn't my family living across from theirs? Today, when Da Bao came over to play, he suddenly cried saying his mother couldn't get up from the kang bed. My mother felt something was wrong, so she secretly sent me to inform Auntie and Grandma."

"My daughter!" Fang Shi burst into tears, turned around to run outside.

"Don't let your mother go out first!" Li shi decisively had Song Dingxiang and Zhang Shi restrain Fang Shi. Fang Shi couldn't even stand and slid down to the ground, tears flowing.

Having a miscarriage in the dead of winter is really a dangerous situation for women. If they catch cold, it could be troublesome. Fang Shi was completely at a loss, trembling all over.

Li shi asked the child, "Why did she feel unwell?"

The lad scratched his head and said, "My mother said a few words to my father, saying how chaotic it has been this winter, and they haven't gone to her family, thinking it might not be good to go. Then she asked me to come secretly without letting the Xu family know. My mother also said not to let anyone see me when I leave, take the back roads back."

Li shi instructed Song Zijin, "Go, call your father and your second uncle back, and get the ox cart... No, the ox cart is too slow. Harness the mule cart, let's go to the Xu family."

After saying that, she grabbed a handful of sugar cubes from the table and stuffed them into the lad's pocket, then asked, "How did this all start out of nowhere?"

The young lad shook his head and said, "I don't know either. It seems that Da Shan wanted to go to a certain county, but Auntie didn't allow it, so they argued fiercely in the courtyard."

"What county?" Song Dingxiang suddenly realized, "Could it be the county where Xu Qiang is the official? Da Shan wants to go? How come he suddenly wants to go now?"

Li shi's face turned very ugly, she said to Song Dingxiang, "Go, go fetch the strip of meat." Then she grabbed a handful of coins and stuffed them into the lad's pocket, "Take the meat and walk the back roads. If anyone asks, say you came out to buy meat, got it?"

The lad nodded, clutching the meat and coins, and ran off without looking back.

"Mother, what do we do now?" Fang Shi was crying inconsolably.

Li shi angrily said, "Why are you crying? Get up from the ground, this is no way to behave! When your eldest son and second son return, bring along a few brothers and have your father go as well."

Song Zhiyuan received the message, quickly cleaned up the butcher shop with his elder brother and rushed back, and then the whole family harnessed the mule cart and headed to Shanghegouzi Village, leaving Song Zijin and two heavily pregnant women to guard the house.

The mule cart ran fast, arriving at the village entrance in less than half an hour, heading straight to Xu Da Shan's house.

The door of Xu Da Shan's house was closed, and the adjacent door was slightly ajar, revealing half of the young lad's face. Zhang Shi got off the cart and knocked on the door, calling out for a while before someone finally came out.

It was Xu Da Shan's aunt, who greeted them with a smile, "Why, on such a non-festive day, how come my in-laws and my mother-in-law have come?"

——— TNote: 嬸子 (shěnzǐ): This translates to "aunt" or "auntie" in English, specifically referring to the wife of one's father's younger brother. ———

Zhang Shi pushed past her with a serious face, taking Fang Shi and heading towards Xu Da Shan's courtyard.

Xu Da Shan's aunt watched Fang Shi's retreating figure, pursed her lips, and then turned to Li shi, "Mother-in-law, it's not easy for you to come, why not sit inside for a while?"

Li shi smiled and said, "Yes, we should go in and sit for a while. I haven't seen your mother-in-law for a long time, so I came to take a look." With that, she took Song Xingyi and headed towards the main house.

Fang Shi cried all the way into Xu Da Shan's house, and Wang shi greeted her at the door, only to be pushed aside by Fang Shi.

"My daughter!" Seeing Song Yulan lying on the bed with a pale face, Fang Shi burst into even louder sobs, "What happened? How could things turn out like this?"

When Song Yulan saw Fang Shi, she struggled to sit up and threw herself into Fang Shi's arms, crying loudly, "Mom, mom... I feel so uncomfortable..."

Wang shi called from outside, "I know you are feeling uncomfortable during your monthly cycle, but please don't cry anymore, too much crying will damage your eyes."

Zhang Shi stopped Wang shi from entering the room, smiling as she asked, "My in-law, how come my family's daughter, who was perfectly fine, suddenly have a monthly cycle while she's supposed to be pregnant? She didn't even tell her maternal family about this miscarriage. Doesn't she consider us family? Oh, on such a cold day, where did Dashan go?"

Wang shi chuckled and said, "I didn't want such a thing to happen during the New Year either. The snow made the road slippery, I told Yulan not to work all the time, but she didn't listen, and she slipped. Young people can take a fall, but who knew she had... Ah, the loss of a child, how could I, as a grandmother, not be heartbroken?"

"Fie on you! If you're so heartbroken, why haven't you lit the kang bed in this room?" Fang Shi scolded in the room.

Wang shi pursed her lips and said, "My family is not as wealthy as yours, we don't burn the kang bed in broad daylight."

Zhang Shi found the words distasteful and said coldly, "Oh, so firewood is more precious than your daughter-in-law, is it? Go and light up that kang bed in the room, let's see how precious Xu's firewood really is!"

Song Dingxiang lifted the door curtain and said, "Brother, go and find my brother-in-law. How can my sister lie here in the cold without even a sip of hot water? Where did my brother-in-law go? You better hurry and find him."

Then she turned to Wang shi and asked, "Auntie, do you have any warm water in your house? My sister's lips are so dry they are peeling."

He hurriedly left without saying a word.

Wang shi pursed her lips and said, "There isn't any hot water here, it's all in the old lady's room. Who burns water in their room during the day?"

Song Dingxiang rolled her eyes and went out to find some hot water. As she passed by Xu's house, the aunt greeted her with a smile, "Oh, Dingxiang? Where are you off to?"

Song Dingxiang replied, "I'm going to pour some hot water for my sister, there's not even a hint of warmth in my brother-in-law's room."

The aunt smiled and said, "Why bother going over there? I have hot water here, let me pour you a pot."

Song Dingxiang brought back the hot water and poured a bowl for Song Yulan, bringing it into the room for her to drink.

"Sister, please stop crying, what exactly happened?" Song Dingxiang sighed as she watched Song Yulan cry incessantly, "Mom, you should stop crying too, quickly find out what's going on."

After drinking the water, Song Yulan finally caught her breath and said tearfully, "Mom, life has become unbearable. If I had known this was going to happen, I should have let him divorce me earlier."

"What exactly happened? I kept having restless nights recently, dreaming that something bad happened to you, and now this." Fang Shi was very worried.

Song Dingxiang stuttered as she explained everything.

It turns out that Xu Qiang found an excuse to send both of Third Old Song San's sons back, claiming they were clumsy and incompetent. He then proposed to bring some people over from Xu's family, as they shared the same surname and it would be more convenient than dealing with outsiders.

Many young people in the Xu family were eager to go, but there were limited spots, so many people sent gifts to Xu Qiang's house.

Xu Dashan lived quietly for two years, but when he heard about this matter, he was moved. However, his family didn't have much money, as most of it was held by his grandmother.

His grandmother was more inclined to send the other two grandsons, thinking that Xu Dashan's wife was from the Song family. As there had been ongoing issues between Xu Qiang and Fourth Old Song Si since Xu Qiang's marriage, she didn't plan on letting him go.

But Xu Dashan wanted to go, as he didn't want to stay in this small place and wanted to ask Song Yulan for money.

Naturally, Song Yulan wouldn't give him a single coin, and the two of them had been arguing for days. Then, a few days ago, for some unknown reason, Xu Dashan suddenly laid hands on Song Yulan, pinned her down, and beat her.

But to everyone's surprise, Song Yulan was pregnant and started bleeding. This made Xu Dashan panic.

Wang shi decided to keep this matter quiet, not allowing anyone to report it. She wanted to take advantage of Song Yulan's illness to coerce her into giving up her money.

Song Yulan hired a doctor to see her, and the doctor prescribed medicine. Wang shi cried, saying she had no money to buy the medicine.

Song Yulan had to use her own money to send Xu Dashan to get the medicine. However, after a couple of doses, Xu Dashan claimed the money had run out.

In total, he took more than ten taels of silver, but the medicine didn't seem to be effective.

Song Dingxiang immediately suspected something fishy and went to seek help from the Song brothers, Song Junli and Song Junshui. She said, "Brother Junli, go and call the doctor to see my sister properly. Brother Junshui, can you go to town and bring the steward from Wang's house?"

The brothers agreed, while Wang shi grumbled, "The doctor already came, why do we need to call him again? Isn't it New Year's Day? Don't people take a break?"

Zhang Shi stopped her, saying, "What are you saying, dear? If your daughter-in-law is unwell, don't we need to call the doctor? Don't worry, this time the doctor's visit won't come out of your pocket."

Wang shi didn't have the courage to argue with Zhang Shi, so she just muttered a few words and hung her head in guilt.

Song Dingxiang said a few words to Fang Shi before heading to the main room. Li shi and Song Xingyi were chatting with the Xu's elderly couple.

Their son, Dabao, was sitting obediently on Song Xingyi's lap, eating dried fruits from his grandfather's pocket and staring innocently at the group.

Li shi didn't mention anything about Song Yulan's situation, only talking about how good the Feng Shui was at the Xu's house and how they raised a high-ranking official. She mentioned how they chose to marry Song Yulan off because of Xu Dashan's honesty and praised Xu's family for the annual gifts exchanged between the two families.

Finally, she brought up the issue of Wang shi controlling her daughter-in-law's money and the silver produced from the land.

"It is said that when marrying a wife, one should marry a virtuous one. How could things not be turbulent when you marry someone who is not peaceful? At that time, I was angry, but after all, my granddaughter came over. What's the point of being angry? I just hope that my granddaughter can live well. We all have daughters, so we should treat them with empathy, right?

Xu's old lady also felt a bit guilty. The fact is, this whole incident was caused by her biased behavior.

She also thought, if Xu Dashan wants to go over there and ask the Song family for money, wouldn't that be nice?

The Song family is thriving now, making a lot of money. Giving a few tens of taels should be a small matter. If you really want to treat your son-in-law well, giving one or two hundred taels is also reasonable.

But who would have thought, because of this matter, Xu Dashan hit Song Yulan, which led to a miscarriage. The in-laws found out and came over directly. Even though Li shi isn't saying anything now, she must be absolutely clear in her heart.

Song Dingxiang greeted at the door and walked in smiling, "I wish Grandpa Xu and Grandma Xu an early New Year greeting. I just went to see my sister and found that there was no hot water, so I wanted to come here to ask for some water to drink. But passing by Auntie's house, she gave me some water. Grandpa, I asked my brother to call the doctor from here to take a good look at my sister. Her body is really weak, and with over ten taels spent on medicine before, I estimate this time will cost several tens of taels. The doctor here is probably different from the ones in our area, medical treatment is really expensive."

Upon hearing this, Xu's old lady couldn’t help but understand that something had happened. But she couldn't say anything and had to hold it in.

Xu Xiujuan, who was warming up in the room, was not happy and said, "Our village has produced high-ranking officials, of course, the doctor's visit is expensive. Besides, it's almost New Year, wouldn't the doctor ask for more money at this time?"

Song Dingxiang smiled and said, "That's right, but after all, sister's health is important. No matter how expensive it is, she needs to see a doctor. I asked my brother to go to the town to see if Wang's family can lend some ginseng to help sister replenish her energy. In the cold winter, this is really important."

Xu's old lady and Xu's old man felt guilty again. They had previously only known that Fourth Old Song Si's family had some connections with Wang's family in town, but they didn't expect that they could borrow some ginseng.

They just hoped that the Wang family wouldn't lend it to them. If the ginseng debt fell on them, it would be troublesome.

Moreover, they were afraid that the Wang family would meddle in their affairs.

Li shi sneered and said, "I also want to see how a doctor can spend over ten taels on medicine for a few days. Could it be that the medicine contains ginseng? Dingxiang, haven't you asked your sister why she fought with your brother-in-law?"

Song Dingxiang said, "My brother-in-law asked for money from my sister. When she refused, he hit her."

Li shi curiously asked, "Why did he ask for money from your sister? Has the Xu family split up?"

Then she turned to Xu's old lady and said, "You should have told us that your family has split up. I should have come over to advise, right? It is indeed difficult for young couples to live without the support of elders. It makes sense that Dingxiang's sister is careful with money. But I have never heard of men from your Xu family hitting women. He hit her because she didn't give him money? What kind of logic is that?"

Xu Xiujuan shouted again, "Since she married into our Xu family, she is one of us. What's the big deal if she was hit a couple of times?"

"You shut up!" Xu's old lady scolded Xu Xiujuan, "Don't speak nonsense."

Song Dingxiang covered her mouth and smiled, "So your granddaughter sees it this way too? If you get beaten when you go out, don't come back crying to your mother."

"You're the one who got hit. You're a jinx, not even knowing whether your husband is alive or dead, yet you still have the audacity to come to the Xu family's door?" Xu Xiujuan didn't dare to argue with Xu's old lady and directed her anger towards Song Dingxiang.

Li shi's face darkened, and she raised her hand to slap Xu Xiujuan, knocking the girl down on the heated brick bed. "Is this how you teach your granddaughter? Cursing other people's men to death? What kind of family tradition is this? We were blind to marry our granddaughter into your family in the first place!" With that, she stopped talking and got up to leave.

"In-law, please don't go!" Xu's old lady hurriedly stopped her, "This young girl doesn't know how to speak properly. Xiujuan, go back to your room!"

Xu Xiujuan snorted and went down to the kang bed, but as soon as she got down, she received another big slap on her face, causing her to be completely stunned.

Song Dingxiang shook her hand and said, "Since you came closer, I have to hit you for the sake of my man, even if I couldn't reach you before."

"You!!" Xu Xiujuan was so angry that she pounced towards Song Dingxiang, intending to scratch her face with her teeth and claws.

Song Dingxiang quickly dodged to the side, grabbed Xu Xiujuan's arm, and kicked her in the leg, causing Xu Xiujuan to stumble a few steps before falling heavily to the ground.

"This is the Xu family!" Xu's old man exploded in anger.

Song Xingyi had Song Dingxiang carry the child to the side, then turned to Xu's old man and said, "What's wrong with the Xu family? Is it alright for the Xu family to steal their daughter-in-law's money, curse other people's men to death, and neglect their daughter-in-law? Your Xu family is really something."

Xu's old man's face turned red and his neck thickened, repeatedly saying, "This is unreasonable, truly unreasonable! Have we, the Xu family, lost all sense of decency?"

Song Xingyi asked, "Does the old brother think that our Song family has no one left?"

Xu's old man opened his mouth. Although most of the village was surnamed Xu, they had five generations of ancestry, and in terms of population, there weren't that many people in the Song family.

If all the members of the Xu family came out to support them, considering the reputation of the Song family in Beihugou Village, they could also gather a whole village's worth of people, involving two villages.

Not to mention the conflict between the two villages, merely this small family matter spreading out would tarnish the reputation of the Xu family, making it difficult for them to marry off their daughters and sons in the future.

"What nonsense are you talking about, old man?" Xu's old lady became anxious and quickly said to Li shi and Song Xingyi, "Don't get angry, he's just confused and doesn't know what he's saying, oh..."

While they were arguing, Song Junli brought the doctor over.

The doctor entered the room and noticed that the atmosphere was not right, but he didn't dare say anything. When he saw Song Yulan, he couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows and said, "What's going on? Why does your complexion look worse and worse?"

Fang shi coldly said, "Who knows? Spending over ten taels of silver on medicine has made my daughter look like this. I want to see what precious medicine you prescribed!"

The doctor was stunned and said, "Over ten taels of silver? It was just a cheap medicine to tonify the blood and qi, they said they had no money, I didn't even dare to prescribe ginseng. The prescription is still here, how did it turn into over ten taels of silver?"

Song Yulan replied hoarsely, "I gave my man over ten taels of silver, and only got around ten doses of medicine. The dregs are still on the path outside."

The doctor chuckled and said, "Then go ask your man for the silver, I prescribed that medicine, how could I ask your man for over ten taels of silver? Am I crazy?"

Fang shi loudly said outside the room, "How do I know if you're crazy or not? They said you're expensive to see a doctor, and even spending over ten taels of silver didn't help. Isn't that right, in-law?"

The doctor was furious and stormed out to Wang shi, saying, "You, you're talking nonsense! I originally said your daughter-in-law fell lightly and just needed some cheap ginseng to tonify her qi, as you had no money. How did it turn into accusing me of taking your silver?"

Wang shi argued back, "How did you hear that I accused you of taking my silver? Do you believe their nonsense too?"

Fang shi said, "Doctor, you better treat my daughter first, forget about the over ten taels of silver. As long as you can cure my daughter, I am willing to spend several dozens of silver!"

The doctor, angry, came in and checked the pulse while cursing, "I'm telling you, surnamed Wang, this matter is not over! Accusing me of taking your silver? Just wait, if something happens in your family again, don't come running to me!"

Wang shi became even more guilty, just hanging her head and not speaking.

At this moment, they saw Song Junshan dragging Xu Dashan's arm into the room, with Xu Dashan's father following behind. Xu Dashan looked dejected, with a bruise on his face.

Upon seeing this, Wang shi jumped up and angrily shouted, "Who dared to beat my son? Son, are you hurt?"

"Mom, mom..." Xu Dashan stammered, but couldn't break free from Song Junshan's grip, feeling aggrieved and helpless.

Zhang Shi asked, "Dashan, where did you find him?"

Song Junshan replied, "Definitely not in this courtyard, there were some rascals in their village gambling, I found him there."

"What, gambling too??" Fang shi, listening inside the room, was shocked.

"Mom, I just wanted to make some money back, I... I went to find Xu Qiang." Xu Dashan also knew gambling was wrong, but once he started, he didn't care about anything.

His father saw him while taking a walk and tried to drag him back, but he refused. If it wasn't for Song Junshan going, he probably would have lost all his money before coming back.

Fang shi was furious listening inside the room, angrily saying, "What kind of family is this? Yulan, I'll take you home!"