Translator: Flying Lines

  When Ye Xiaoxian finished talking, everyone was staring at her; some scornfully, some approvingly and some with surprise.

  The “some” who approved was in fact only one person— Xiao Baoshan. Living apart was something that he had thought about when he returned home; it was only that he hadn’t had time to put it forward.

  Mrs. Xiao nee Wang sneered. “The only money-maker in your second family is Baoshan, am I right? He is only a handyman in the town and at best he can make one tael of silver each month, so how could he support all of you people?”


  Being a handyman was not like being an attendant. A handyman was like a freelancer who found jobs outside the town hall. One could only make money when there was work, and if there wasn’t any work, he might wait for a whole day in vain. It was a temporary position.

  Being an attendant was a formal position whose primary role was to punish criminals, and they got paid monthly with a fixed wage of two taels of silver.

  Xiao nee Chen also laughed. “Little Ye, you’ve been raised up as a child bride yet you spoke with such grandeur. If you live apart for a couple of days and then you regret it, begging us to take you back, by then wouldn’t you put your ma in an awkward position?

  Ye Xiaoxian didn’t look angry or upset but still remained very relaxed and calm. “As we wish to live apart, we will never regret it. No matter how badly we live in the future, we will never go back and beg you!”


  Old Mr. Xiao looked at Li Hongmei scornfully. “Li, what do you say? Do you agree to live apart?”


  “I……” Li Hongmei glanced at Ye Xiaoxian first, wondering why little Ye had not discussed such an important matter with her beforehand. Then she saw Ye Xiaoxian’s calm looks and she thought that maybe little Ye had discussed it with Baoshan or she wouldn’t be so decisive.

  She then glanced at Xiao Baoshan who was now looking at little Ye and he was obviously agreeing what little Ye had proposed.

  She finally sat upright and patted her chest, answering, “I have made up my mind. We should live apart. Though our second family is poor, we won’t be too broke to support ourselves. We won’t cause you any trouble in the future, living apart!”


  Old Mr. Xiao threw his chopsticks again.

  All the elders in the village didn’t like their sons and daughters-in-law living apart from the big family. They liked seeing their children around them, but in this case old Mr. Xiao’s second son had died and Li Hongmei had been a harlot in the past. She didn’t have much female virtue and her behaviour was quite reckless; moreover, none of her cooked dishes suited old Mr. Xiao’s taste. He did not want her here a long time ago.

  He hadn’t mentioned it before because he was afraid that other villagers would say that he was unkind, and now that Li Hongmei had volunteered it, he was beyond happy to hear it.

  “Fine, since you want to live apart, then so be it. Just hand over 500 copper coins to me every month as a token of your respect, and as for other things, just suit yourselves!”
……

  The matter of living apart had been settled. After the dinner finished, Li hongmei called Ye Xiaoxian and her children to her room right away.

  Candles were expensive in the countryside and they couldn’t afford to light candles at night. Instead, they had to burn a kind of pungent smelling oil lamp. As they were used to the smell, it didn’t seem that bad any more.

  After Li Hongmei lit the lamp, she turned to Ye Xiaoxian with a smile. “Little Ye, you were so impressive tonight and you dared to bring up the matter of living apart to your grandpa. Have you discussed it with Baoshan and already come up with a better way of making money?”


  ‘A way of making money?’


  Ye Xiaoxian shook her head because she had never thought anything about this before. She just felt so annoyed living and eating with too many people in one big family, and she just wanted to live a peaceful life.

  Xiao Baoshan shook his head as well.

  The smile on Li Hongmei’s face immediately disappeared. “You didn’t even discuss it? It has not been discussed that you are so bold as to propose living apart. Alas, Baoshan is the only one in our family able to make money. Baozhu and Baofeng are so small. What can we do if we’re unable to make ends meet?”


  The reason that Li Hongmei could bring her children up was all down to her being so thick-skinned. No matter how the other two families and old Mr. Xiao bullied or tormented her, she could still put up with them and live together. This was for the sake of her children as well.

  “Ma, we’ll come up with a method. We have four limbs and it’s not hard to make a living,” said Ye Xiaoxian. She had always been an optimist with a strong ability to survive and she was not afraid of starvation.

  Xiao Baoshan also spoke for her. “Ma, little Ye is right. I didn’t come back before, so I made you suffer a lot. Now that I’ve returned, you won’t suffer any more. I might as well take more jobs in the town and I will definitely make you eat well!”


  Xiao Baoshan finished talking and glanced at Ye Xiaoxian once more. Ye Xiaoxian was looking at him at the same time. A faint smile in the corner of her eyes flickered, charming and enchanting, which made Xiao Baoshan’s heart somehow throb.