Chapter 73: Chapter 72: The Heart of Rebellion
“Elder brother, in your eyes, there’s only your children, not your sister. Humph, I’m ignoring you!”
Ye Shuzhen had been carving from afternoon till night and still hadn’t managed to produce a finished item. Her hand holding the carving knife felt fiery, and she was somewhat tempted to give up on this decision.
Ye Shuzhi’s lips moved slightly; she really wanted to put away those toys. Perhaps they could be sold for money later, but she only dared to think about it and didn’t dare to compete with her elder brother.
“You have the nerve to say that? Look at what you’ve learned. Even my youngest child is better than you. My youngest child can carve a human figure out of wood.”
Hongji felt gratified when he spoke about this. He didn’t have a son yet, and he thought this youngest daughter was very talented. Her wooden figures, though not exquisite, had form and style. Even without polishing or painting, they already felt very special.
“Humph, comparing me to your little children, you really have a nerve to say that out loud, elder brother. Some of your other children can’t carve anything either. Isn’t my Second Sister the same as me, unable to carve anything? Yet you only criticize me.”
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Ye Shuzhen glared at her brother with angry eyes, her eyes brimming with unspoken grievances.
“Second Sister can’t carve anything either, but she doesn’t say anything or take things. My other children didn’t take things either, so I don’t talk about them. It’s only you who can’t learn anything well and keeps nagging so much.”
Hongji’s usually good temper had changed today. Perhaps he felt a sense of responsibility from being a master and didn’t show his usual weakness. His expressions and words were stern.
“Humph, you’re the worst, elder brother. I don’t want to deal with you anymore.” Ye Shuzhen said while crying, then threw down her carving knife and ran back to her room.
Daya took her sisters to wash up, not wanting to become cannon fodder in the quarrel between their aunt and father.
Seeing her younger daughter crying, Mrs. Lai’s heart softened a bit and she said to Hongji:
“Hongji, if your little sister wants toys, just give them to her. Being an elder brother, how could you upset her to tears?”
But Hongji was firm in his tone as he replied, “Mom, you indulge her in everything. She’s already grown up and yet she’s so unreasonable. Who will indulge her when she gets married? Who can stand her temper? You’re not spoiling her, you’re harming her.”
“Why do you bring me into this? Do you think it’s easy being me?” Mrs. Lai said, gradually getting angry as she glared.
“Enough already, there’s never a moment of peace. Hongji, say less. She’s your sister. Everyone’s tired. Let’s wash up and go to sleep!”
Hongji’s father had finished his work and was puffing on a large bamboo pipe amidst their argument.
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Hongji, however, did not stop there and said to Mrs. Lai:
“Mom, let’s make things clear, otherwise it will be the same drama every day, harming the affection among siblings. Except for the wooden Bodhisattva statues for which they’ve paid a deposit and I need to deliver, I keep the other shapes of wooden figures for a reason. They aren’t just for the children to play with. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Initially, Mrs. Lai didn’t quite understand what her son was saying and stared blankly for a while. Then her eyes shifted as she said:
“Son, do you have other ideas in mind? Are you planning to sell these wooden figures elsewhere? Promise me! If you sell these wooden figures, you have to give the money to your mother.”
“Mom, that’s not up to you. I’m your son, but I’m not your tool. I need some personal space. In every other household, apart from the money given to the public fund, each family keeps some money aside. Only our family is so honest. What more do you want? Do you really see me just as a money-making tool?”
As Hongji spoke, his eyes filled with grievances. He worked hard all day, and while fulfilling his duties to his parents and taking on the responsibilities of a man, he also wanted to protect his wife and daughter. At the same time,
money was very important. Without money during critical times, it was like condemning a living person to death — he felt this most acutely when his wife was in labor.
“No, other families are other families. We only have you as a son. Could it be that you value your wife and daughter more than us?”
When Mrs. Lai spoke, she did so with a jump, and it was shocking for her ordinarily submittent son to talk back like this, giving her a sense of losing control.
Only by tightly holding the money in her hands could she control her son, making him remain filial.
“Mother, you can’t be too harsh; if you are too harsh, I can only give up carving! I won’t accept such a heartless mother.”
After Hongji said this, he didn’t wait for his mother’s approval and took the wooden animal statues into his room.
Mrs. Lai wanted to say something else but Hongji’s father stopped her.
“Enough! Why are you arguing in the middle of the night? Let him do whatever he wants, as long as we keep the money from the wooden Bodhisattva.”
While Mrs. Lai was speaking those words earlier, Hongji’s father had not stopped her. His wife had indeed been persistently pestering both Hongji and his wife.
At this moment, hearing his son speak so decisively, he feared that if Mrs. Lai kept acting as before, they might lose their son.
They had to rely on their son for their old age and ancestral duty. How could they allow their son to drift away from them? Wasn’t that pushing their son away?
As a man, he greatly understood his son’s actions. A man without a penny truly was like a soft persimmon, unable to accomplish anything he wished.
“Old man…” Mrs. Lai was unwilling to compromise so easily, knowing that letting their son have a money-earning project would make him harder to control from then on.
“Enough, if you press him too much and he stops carving, what will you do about the deposits you received earlier?” Hongji’s father glared at his wife again.
Mrs. Lai opened her mouth but couldn’t say the words she had intended. It felt like someone was choking her, and it wasn’t at all a pleasant feeling.
Hongji placed the two animal statues on the table in his room, went to the kitchen to fetch some hot water to wash his face and feet, and wiped the dust from his body. To save firewood and the effort of carrying water, the family kept washing routines simple.
Daya had already helped her younger sisters wash up and go to bed. After a busy day, the children felt very tired in their hands and lay in bed unwilling to move.
Shiqi fell asleep shortly after lying in bed; carving with her young hands today had taken a lot of effort.
Before going to sleep, Hongji glanced at his children’s evenly breathing forms in bed, blew out the oil lamp. He felt very tired but did not fall asleep immediately. He was excited by the thought that if he could sell toys and earn some income, he might be more like a man in the future.
Shiqi woke up, opened her eyes and saw it was pitch black outside. In the winter, unaware of the time and having no sense of it, she guessed it was the middle of the night.
Feeling her father and sisters sleeping soundly beside her, she quietly entered the “space.”
As Shiqi picked up the charcoal to draw on wood, her hands hurt. She set down the charcoal, took a sip of spiritual water to recover, and scraped some honey to eat. Feeling her hands no longer hurt and her strength was restored, she then picked up the charcoal to continue drawing on the wooden statue.
Shiqi was so engrossed in drawing in the space that she lost track of time. Suddenly, she heard the crowing of a chicken outside the room, which startled her. She quickly materialized the wooden statue she had finished drawing out of the space and lay back in bed.
She also took the wooden animals her father had carved the day before from the table and stored them in the space.