1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

He was furious. He thought, "If I'm useless on the bed, I'll go back and find my wife to test me. Let's see who's really useless!"

Seeing that the man didn't turn around, Xinghua's mother hurriedly chased after him.

"Dad, wait for me! I'm just worried! Erzhuzi doesn't have a wife yet, how can I not be worried?"

When Xinghua's father heard her speak softly, he slowed down, muttering to himself.

"What can we do if we're anxious? Am I going to conjure up a wife for Erzhuzi? If Xinghua's approach doesn't work, there's not much else we can do. Just hang in there, life goes on."

Braving the wind, the two walked for about an hour and a half before finally returning to their own yard.

Upon entering the room, one could see Erzhuzi lying sprawled out on the kang (heated brick bed), snoring loudly.

Xinghua's father sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and seeing his son's lazy appearance, he was immediately annoyed.

This young man, all he does is sleep all day, he's nothing like a son of the Wang family.

He grabbed the broom handle that was leaning against the wall and swung it at Erzhuzi.

"Slap! Slap!"

"Ouch! Dad! Why are you hitting me?!"

Erzhuzi was jolted awake by the slap and sat up on the kang (a heated brick bed). His eyes were still blurry as he rubbed his back and shrank back a little.

"What did I do? I was just taking a nap! Why are you hitting me as soon as I get back!"

Xinghua's father threw the broom at him.

He caught the broom and put it aside, immediately perking up.

"Father, Mother, how did things go?"

Erzhuzi rubbed his hands together and came closer, his eyes darting furtively behind them.

"Oh dear, why didn't my older sister come back with you?"

Xinghua's father didn't reply. He plopped down heavily on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and banged his pipe on the edge.

His face was long and he completely ignored his youngest son's matter.

"Mom, what happened? No, Mom, what happened to your face?" Erzhuzi asked, turning his attention to his mother when no one paid attention to him.

After Xinghua's mother entered the house, she picked up the water ladle next to the water vat, scooped up half a ladle of cold water, and poured it down her throat.

She wiped her mouth.

"What else could it be? Your mother had a fight with your sister's mother-in-law, the Chen family won't let her go, and your sister doesn't want to come back. Your eldest brother-in-law is gone, and your second brother-in-law is managing two households by himself. What else could it be? As for your marriage proposal, let's put it on hold for now and talk about it again after the harvest next year."

Wait until next year?

Erzhuzi's heart skipped a beat, and his face instantly fell.

What about Chunni, his lover?

"No, Mother, Father,"

He was so anxious he was stamping his feet. "Why was everyone so attentive and helpful when my older brother got married? But when it comes to me, there's nothing at all? Why is that?!"

"Erzhuzi, keep your voice down!"

Annoyed by his yelling, Xinghua's mother reached out and slapped his arm.

"This is all the money we have at home! Your father and I have done everything we could. What more do you want? Do you want to kill us?"

Old Wang was puffing on his cigarette, staring at his youngest son with wide, bulging eyes, looking ready to fight.

"What? Are you trying to rebel?! How did your eldest brother get married? He got married with your second sister's dowry! Who told your mother to be so useless and not give you more sisters? Where did the money come from if no one paid the dowry?"

"You just have to hold on! Or you can marry someone who doesn't cost money! Do you think I don't know what kind of person Chunni from the Liu family is? Neither of them are any good! Old Liu is asking for two bags of cornmeal and five silver dollars right off the bat, he's really kidding me!"

(Nangou Village is located in a mountain valley in the forest area. In the early years, they used Fengtian paper money, then Manchukuo currency, and later, Russian military notes. It was all a mess. So in this village, the hard currency was never paper money, but Yuan Shikai silver dollars.)

What ordinary people valued was real silver. Therefore, transactions here primarily relied on hard currency like silver dollars, as well as barter. As for the details, don't worry about them; unification would naturally follow after 1949.

After Old Wang finished speaking, he adopted a "you're so capable, figure it out yourself" attitude, then put on some tobacco and prepared to light it.

Erzhuzi felt a chill in his heart when he saw his father's indifferent expression.

"Dad, Chunni is pregnant, what should we do?"

Even Dad couldn't figure it out; how could he possibly weigh those two bags of cornmeal and five silver dollars?

This is going to kill him.

He listlessly approached, reaching for the tinderbox on the table to light his father's pipe, but his hand was blocked by another hand as soon as he stretched it out.

"I knew you wouldn't show off!"

Old Wang slapped his hand away.

"What? Just because she says the child is yours doesn't mean it's yours! You didn't know Liu Chunni was having an affair? You think your 'tool' is so useful? Everyone else's are just troublemakers! You're so stupid, believing her nonsense! You'd be better off trusting your dad and me, and having your mom give you another little brother!"

Erzhuzi was already extremely anxious, and when he heard his father scolding Chunni, he immediately lost his temper, his face turned red, and the veins on his neck bulged.

Chunni clearly said that he was her first man, so it's impossible for her to be like what her father said!

He slammed the tinderbox hard onto the kang table.

"Dad! Don't talk nonsense! When did Chunni ever keep a man? If you can't give me a straight answer, I'll go all out and become an adopted son-in-law at Old Liu's house, and never come back to this house again!"

Old Wang was so angry when he saw his youngest son being so infatuated with that young woman that he couldn't even smoke his pipe anymore, so he put the pipe down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

She reached out her hand, wanting to argue with him and get to the bottom of things.

"You little brat, you dare to talk back to me? I'll teach you a lesson today."

Old Wang started muttering, listing names one by one.

"Third Fatty from Nangou Village, Fu Lai from the east end of the village, and Fatty the barber from town—these guys all have shady dealings with her. Do I need to tell you a few more? Most of the men in the village know about her dirty secrets, but you're the only one kept in the dark!"

Xinghua's mother, who was standing nearby, quickly nodded in agreement and chimed in to add to the sentiment.

"And that spotted dog in our front yard! Your dad and I saw them with our own eyes when we came out of the cellar the other day. They were hiding behind the woodpile, acting all sneaky, like they were gossiping. I can't be wrong, wasn't it his dad?"

Old Wang nodded in agreement as soon as he heard what his wife said, leaning against the second pillar.

"Look, your mother saw it with her own eyes, how could it be fake? You silly boy, you were completely fooled, thinking it was genuine kindness!"

Hearing his parents' back-and-forth banter, Erzhuzi got carried away and, forgetting all his words, pointed his finger straight at Old Wang.

"What? So, according to you, all the men in our village have slept with her? What about you, Dad? Did you sleep with her?"