Three Women in the Cage

In a remote mountain village, there is a place called Xinluo Village. There is an ordinary family with three sons and two daughters.

One of the younger sons drowned in an accident. Now the only ones alive and well are the eldest son Yang Yi, the second daughter Yang Yu, the third son Yang Ming, and the fourth daughter Yang Su.

The parents are honest and loyal, and the neighbors usually like to ask them for help, and they are very simple and enthusiastic to help. Most of the household chores are shared by the eldest son Yang Yi and the second daughter Yang Yu. The eldest son Yang Yi is taciturn and always quietly concentrates on doing things and taking care of his younger siblings. The second daughter Yang Yu has a cheerful personality and a simple mind. She keeps the household chores in an orderly manner and is not particular about details. She never complains about her younger siblings. The third son Yang Ming, who is the youngest, has better grades and spends most of his time writing and drawing in the study. He has a dull personality. The youngest daughter Yang Su has been spoiled by her brothers and sisters since she was a child. She has a naughty personality and a sweet appearance, and is very pleasing to everyone.

Long afterward, I kept wondering if the script had been written from the beginning, the seeds of a tragic life planted from childhood. Would the childhood brother-sister relationship one day become shattered? Would it also calculate past gains and losses, overturning everything it had willingly accepted?

But the family affection that once existed was real at that moment, and the mutual resentment many years later was also real. No matter how much you regret it or how helpless you feel, you cannot allow it to change or erase it.

Early that morning, the sky was just beginning to turn pale, the sun had not yet risen, and it was still dark, but my parents had already gotten up and were getting ready to go to work.

The eldest son, Yang Yi, was the eldest brother in the family. Due to his poor family background, he dropped out of school early and returned home to help his parents farm to make a living.

Today, Yang Yi also planned to go to the fields to work with his parents as usual. His parents felt sorry for their eldest son and hoped that he could rest for a while, so they did not wake him up early in the morning.

When Yang Yi woke up, his parents had already gone out to work. Yang Yi opened his sleepy eyes. Although he was very sleepy, he forced himself to be alert. He stretched and moved his joints, then quickly got out of bed and quickly got dressed.

Looking at his third brother who was still sleeping soundly in bed, he patted his cheek gently, told him to get up and do his homework, then turned and left the room.

Arriving at the door of her sister's room, she said, "Yu'er, I'm going to work. Remember to get up and cook. Feed the ducks some food. I also cut some pig grass yesterday and left it in the yard. Remember to cook it and feed it to the pigs."

After giving the instructions, he went out, wearing a tattered cloak and carrying a large basket on his back.

When we got to the work place, we saw Yang's parents bending over, working hard with their backs to the earth and their faces to the sky. Since we got up early, the sun was not too hot at this time, which was the best time of the day to work.

Yang Yi quickly joined the labor. Young and strong, he worked with great enthusiasm. With his help, Yang's parents felt a noticeable sense of relief. Neighbors praised Yang's parents for their good fortune, having a filial son who shared the farm work.

"Brother Yang, your son is in his twenties now, but he hasn't found a wife yet. He seems so capable, would you like me to introduce him to one?" Yang's parents felt a little distressed when they saw their eldest son busying around, because he had missed the best age to get married because of taking care of his younger siblings.

As he was hesitating, the eldest son, Yang Yi, said nonchalantly, "I'm not in a hurry yet. I'll wait until my younger siblings are a little older." Another neighbor advised, "Wouldn't it be better to find a sister-in-law to take care of your younger siblings and share the burden with your parents?"

Yang Yi knew full well that finding someone who could truly help share the burden of his family was no easy task. Given his family's current situation, finding a suitable partner was incredibly difficult. With this in mind, he fell silent, his head lowered, and his attention focused entirely on the work at hand. Seeing their son like this, Yang's father and mother felt a pang of sadness, but they couldn't say anything more and could only join in the hard work.

The neighbor standing nearby saw that the family began to deliberately avoid this topic, and understood what they were thinking, so he shut up and said no more.

At home, Yang Yu had been awake since her eldest brother Yang Yi's instructions. She glanced at her little sister who was sleeping soundly beside her and scratched her nose without waking her.

The chickens and ducks in the yard were already clucking. Yang Yu scooped up some food and fed them until they were full before they quieted down.

After feeding the chickens and ducks, Yang Yu went to the kitchen. She first poured rice into the pot and rinsed it, then poured out the water, added an appropriate amount of clean water, and covered the pot. Then she started to light a fire and cook.

After the fire started, Yang Yu quickly picked up the ladle and scooped up water to wash the vegetables. She placed the vegetables in the basin and carefully washed each leaf, ensuring there was no residual dirt or impurities. Then she neatly stacked the washed vegetables aside, ready for the next step.

After all the dishes were ready, Yang Yu lit another pot. In their area, almost every household has three pots: one for cooking, one for stir-frying, and a slightly larger one specifically for cooking pig food.

Normally, all three pots would be used simultaneously. Yang Yu was currently using the cooking pot, so with both pots running simultaneously, the rice pot only needed to add or subtract firewood as needed.

Meanwhile, the cooking pot was already blazing, and Yang Yu quickly began stir-frying. With deft movements, she skillfully cooked one dish until thoroughly cooked, removed it from the wok and plated it, while simultaneously adding another dish. Thanks to years of experience, Yang Yu had already mastered the process, making her operations effortless and comfortable.

After everything was done, Yang Yu went to the study to see if her third brother was up and doing his homework. As she gently pushed open the door, the familiar scent of ink filled her nostrils. She entered the study and her eyes fell on her third brother, who was buried in his homework. He stared intently at the book, his pen moving across the paper, his expression serious and focused.

A sense of relief and pride welled up in Yang Yu's heart. She knew her third brother had always been a sensible and hardworking child, always reassuring the family. Seeing him so focused on his studies, Yang Yu couldn't help but sigh, "Our family's future depends on him!"

Yang Yu closed the door gently, not wanting to disturb his third brother's study atmosphere.

After leaving the study, I walked to the door of my room and gently pushed it open. I saw that my younger sister had slowly woken up. She rubbed her eyes, yawned, and then said coquettishly, "Sister, what time is it? Why do I feel like I haven't gotten enough sleep?"

Yang Yu walked to the bedside, scratched his little sister's nose lovingly, and said with a smile: "Little lazy cat, the sun is shining on your butt, get up quickly, I will go to the field to call mom and dad to come back for dinner. When you get up, go feed the chickens and ducklings in the yard."

Yang Su smacked her lips and said, "Don't we have third brother at home? Why do you always call me?" She looked at Yang Yu reluctantly.

"Your third brother is going to take the college entrance exam and go out to make a lot of money in the future! Our whole family is counting on him to succeed. Who is like you, who only knows how to play all day!" Yang Yu glared at her and said

After saying that, Yang Yu flicked Yang Su's head hard, causing Yang Su to cover his head and grimace in pain.

Yang Yu returned to the kitchen, adding firewood to the pot of pig food. The aroma of food grew stronger as his younger brother, Yang Ming, sat at his simple desk, absorbed in his homework. He would sometimes gaze out the window, then resume writing furiously.

The sudden aroma of cooking disrupted his thoughts. Putting down his pen, Yang Ming went to the kitchen and saw Yang Yu busy at work, her clothes soaked with sweat. He stood there stunned. In that moment, he felt as if his sister was caring for him and his younger sister like a mother. With their parents away from home for years, it seemed as if the eldest sister had always been the one doing all the housework.