Chapter 19: Departure

Page 1 of 3

Oldest Brother Wen scooped Wen Mei up in his arms and carried her into the house.

Thinking of how their savings had been completely drained, Second Brother Wen gave a cold snort. Without sparing Madam Fang and her daughter another glance, he turned and went back to his room.

With bitterness filling her heart, Madam Fang had no choice but to carry Wen Li Yue herself.

Old Madam Wen wished she could devour Wen Ye alive. She glared at her viciously. “Get out of here. Now.”

“Don’t worry. We’re leaving this instant.”

With that, Wen Ye shut the door and turned to Madam Lin and the others, who were gathering their things. “Let’s hurry.”

They did not have much luggage: two stiff, threadbare quilts, a few articles of clothing, one cabinet, and two chests. Even those had all been part of Madam Lin’s dowry when she had married into the family.

When Old Madam Wen saw them coming out with bundles large and small, she shrieked, “What are you taking? There’s so much!”

Before Wen Ye could answer, Wen Lan spoke in a trembling voice.

“Then tell us, Grandma—what else could there be besides a few worn-out quilts and some clothes? Would you like to search us?”

Even the most timid person had a temper, and this time Wen Lan’s own stubborn streak had been roused.

Old Madam Wen had already been driven half mad by everything that had happened that day. She had no strength left to make another scene. Besides, she knew there was nothing in this dilapidated hut but junk, so she said, “Hmph. You’d better not have stolen anything from the family, or I’ll make sure you regret it!”

Hearing those words, Third Brother Wen felt a wave of sorrow and heartache.

Just then, Wen Hammer pushed a handcart into the courtyard. He had borrowed it from Wen Yu’er’s family.

Working together, they carried the battered cabinet and several chests onto the cart and hoisted their bundles onto their backs.

Third Brother Wen and Wen Hammer pushed the cart, while Madam Lin and the sisters steadied it as they slowly made their way out.

Old Madam Wen stood at the entrance to the main room, hands on her hips. Her malicious gaze followed them as she continued to curse.

“I raised you whole nest of ungrateful wretches, feeding you and cleaning up after you, and never once did I receive a single coin of filial respect. And now you’re just walking away!”

“You faithless, unfilial beasts who’ve forgotten your ancestors! Do you think you’ll prosper once you leave this family? You have neither fields nor land. Let’s see what kind of miserable lives you’ll make for yourselves!”

Hearing the stream of abuse, Third Brother Wen was frightened and miserable.

With a bang, the gate behind them slammed shut without mercy.

Third Brother Wen could not help turning back to look at the home where he had lived for more than thirty years. His heart was full of sorrow and reluctance. At last, he let out a long, mournful sigh.

Page 1 of 3

Madam Lin and the Wen siblings, however, felt an enormous weight lift from their shoulders. They looked up at the sky, which appeared exactly as it always had, yet for some reason it suddenly seemed broader and higher, filling them with a sense of freedom and joy.

“Let’s go. We’re going home,” Wen Ye said with a gentle smile.

“Mm.” Wen Lan pushed beside the cart and asked, “Ye, how did the second branch manage to save so much money? They were able to produce seventy taels all at once!”

Even Third Brother Wen and the others turned to look at her.

“They must have underreported their wages,” Wen Ye said. “Second Brother Wen earns eight hundred copper coins a month, and Madam Fang earns four hundred. But once, I overheard Madam Fang let slip that her monthly wage was actually five hundred. She had concealed one hundred copper coins. After giving seven hundred copper coins to the family each month, they would still have six hundred left.”

“Besides, she worked in the kitchen. In addition to being fed, she could secretly bring home leftover food. That alone was enough to feed the entire family. The cloth shop also had scraps and remnants, which saved them the cost of buying fabric for clothes. They hardly had any expenses at all. Even if she did not dare use the scraps herself, she could secretly sell them and make a little extra money.”

“The second branch has worked in town for sixteen years. If they managed to save four hundred copper coins a month, they should have accumulated quite a sum by now.”

Wen Lan could not help calculating silently.

A thousand copper coins made one tael. If Madam Fang saved four hundred copper coins a month, that came to four taels and eight mace a year. Over sixteen years, accumulating seventy or eighty taels truly was no problem.

Wen Ye had been right.

That was exactly how the second branch had amassed such a huge fortune.

Not counting the food they had saved by helping themselves to supplies from the Liu family’s kitchen each month, they could have earned two or three hundred copper coins monthly simply by secretly selling cloth scraps.

After the third branch had left, Old Madam Wen dragged the couple from the second branch into the main room for interrogation.

In the end, together with the eldest branch, she searched the second branch’s room and bundles from top to bottom—and found another eight taels of silver. Old Madam Wen beat Madam Fang again.

The second branch was left utterly speechless with misery.

They had originally planned to sell the Wen sisters and earn dozens of taels. Instead, they had poured every last bit of their money into the scheme.

They had tried to steal a chicken, only to lose the rice as well.

…

Pushing the handcart, Wen Ye and the others soon arrived at several thatched huts at the edge of the village.

Wen Yu’er was standing at the entrance, looking down the road. “Ye, you’ve finally arrived.”

“Yu’er, thank you. Later, come to our place for a meal…” Madam Lin began, then suddenly stopped. There was nothing in the house. What could they possibly serve?

Wen Ye said, “Let’s get the luggage inside first.”

During this period, Madam Lin and the others had been tidying the house. The roof and broken windows had already been repaired, and the interior had been scrubbed until it was spotless.

Page 2 of 3

There were two thatched huts standing side by side to the north and two more to the east, forming the shape of the number seven. A lean-to had been built on the western side as a kitchen, and bamboo fencing enclosed the whole place in a small courtyard.

There was also some simple furniture inside, all left behind by Wen Yu’er’s family. Though it was already badly worn, it could at least still be used.

The place was small, but at least they finally had a home. More importantly, they no longer had to cram an entire family into a single room.

“Father and Mother will take the northern room. Little Brother can have the small room on the east side. My sister and I will share the large eastern room,” Wen Ye said.

“Mm.”

Although there were two rooms to the north, one of them had to serve as the main room.

The thought of finally having rooms of their own sent a thrill through everyone. They hurried to carry their belongings inside and put them away.

After a flurry of activity, everything had finally been arranged, and darkness had begun to settle.

The family was just worrying over what they would eat for dinner when the family of three led by Wen Shengli came over.

Wen Shengli carried pots, bowls, utensils, oil, and salt. Aunt Guihua had a basket hooked over her arm.

Inside were five pounds of coarse rice, ten eggs, salt, and a small jar of lard.

“Make do with this tonight,” Aunt Guihua said, handing over the basket.

Madam Lin and Third Brother Wen were deeply moved. They were living in someone else’s house and using someone else’s furniture, and now the family had even brought them food. The couple felt too embarrassed to accept it.

But they were truly destitute and had nothing at all, so they could only swallow their pride and take the basket.

Madam Lin’s eyes reddened with shame. “Sister Guihua, thank you. We’ll repay you once we’ve had time to settle in.”

“Oh, don’t rush. Get yourselves settled first. By the way, you should plant the vegetable plot behind the house as soon as you can. You can dig up seedlings from my place. Until you have vegetables of your own, just pick some from my fields. There’s more than we can eat anyway. It would be a shame to let them rot in the ground.”

“Leave the handcart here for now and return it when you’re finished with it. If you need anything, just call out to me. Don’t stand on ceremony.” Aunt Guihua laughed heartily, then called to her daughter, “Come on, let’s head home.”

“All right.”

Wen Yu’er left with her parents. Once outside, she turned back and waved at Wen Ye.

Page 3 of 3