Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

Upon hearing this, Old Master Ji's face turned even uglier, but before he could lash out, Ji Mantun became enraged first.

Ji Mantun clenched his fists, looking ready to strike at any moment, and glared angrily at Zhao Yunxia, ​​saying, "Foolish! Are you selling your daughter or marrying her off? Are we starving you or freezing you? Why are you in such a hurry to find a family for your daughter!"

How old is Yongfei? What's wrong with letting the child play at her parents' house for a couple more years? Are we so poor that we can't afford to raise her? Yongfei is a perfectly good girl, what kind of boy can't she find, why does she have to find a pockmarked man! Don't say that his family is rich, even the county magistrate's family, oh, the boy is pockmarked, I just don't agree!

Does having money necessarily mean everything is good? Other people's money is theirs, not something you gave to your daughter! On New Year's Eve, didn't Mother just tell my eldest brother and sister-in-law and us that when arranging marriages for our children, we shouldn't be eyeing other people's money? Even if they have money, they should be willing to spend it on our children! Look at the kind of life my second sister lived in recent years.

"I'm telling you this time! Not only Yongfei, but you're not allowed to interfere in Yongbai and Yonghua's marriages either. Just mind your own business!"

When Zhao Yunxia saw Ji Mantun reprimanding her in front of everyone in the courtyard, and implying that she was after the man's money, her anger flared up instantly.

She craned her neck and retorted, "What? Yongfei is your woman, but not mine? You can decide this marriage, but I can't? Did you and I come from your womb, or from mine?"

Ji Mantun gritted his teeth and said, "Don't bother with this useless nonsense! Anyway, don't try to interfere in the marriages of the three children!"

"You, Ji Mantun, is there no place for me to stand in this house? Do you want me to get out and make room for you?" Zhao Yunxia was so angry that her hands were shaking.

"Mom, that's not what Dad meant!" Ji Yongfei quickly spoke up when she saw her mother threatening her father with leaving home again.

Ji Yongfei's words only fueled Zhao Yunxia's anger: "Fine, you and your father are in cahoots, and I'm an outsider! Look at other people's daughters, they obey their parents in everything. And look at you, all you do is stir up trouble, making this family restless over the smallest things!"

Ji Yongfei never expected that in previous years she had been the one arguing with Zhao Yunxia and her grandmother, and with Ji Yongling, but now she was the one arguing with her mother.

"Mother, can't you be reasonable! The reason I called my father back today is because you listened to my aunt and wanted to secretly betroth me to Ma Zi! Anyway, if you listen to my aunt and arrange this marriage for me, I'll make you carry a coffin to my wedding!"

Enraged, Zhao Yunxia slapped Ji Yongfei across the face and yelled, "How dare you! What kind of girl talks to her mother like that! You have no manners at all! If people knew this, they would think I didn't raise you properly!"

Ji Yongling's face immediately turned red from the slap, but she didn't back down or dodge. She stubbornly glared at Zhao Yunxia and said, "All you do is show off in front of my father and my sisters!"

"You! I think I've spoiled you too much, you've become such a spoiled brat!" Zhao Yunxia raised her hand again, glaring at Ji Yongfei and scolding, "You still complain about him being pockmarked? With your looks, it's already a good thing if he's willing to take you! I bet when you get to your husband's family, his mother will be poking me in the back with a fire poker every day!"

Ji Mantun grabbed Zhao Yunxia's raised arm and shouted sternly, "Fine, fine, stop yelling! Yongfei didn't say anything wrong! Let me tell you, remember this: Yongfei is a woman of the Ji family, and has nothing to do with your Zhao family. Your Zhao family has no right to interfere in Yongfei's marriage! If I find out again that anyone from the Zhao family has entered my courtyard, you can get out of this house!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunxia completely lost her temper, slapping her thigh and howling, "Oh dear, I can't live like this! You, Ji Mantun, have found someone else after working in the city for just a few days? Don't you want your wife who's been through thick and thin with you? Fine, fine, since you think I'm superfluous, I'll make room for you. I'll leave, okay?"

After saying that, Zhao Yunxia turned around and rushed into the house, grabbed a bundle and spread it on the kang (a heated brick bed), and quickly gathered her clothes.

Ji Yonghua and Ji Yongbai also couldn't stand it.

Ji Yonghua stomped his foot in anger and shouted into the house, "Mom, just shut up! Don't cause any more trouble! Let's live our own lives. Can you listen to my dad about things in our house, and stop listening to my grandma and aunt's bad ideas!"

Inside the room, Zhao Yunxia grew angrier the more she thought about it. Old Master Ji had criticized her, Ji Mantun had scolded her, Ji Yongfei had argued with her, and even her son wasn't on her side. She suddenly felt extremely wronged and helpless.

What's the point of staying at home?

Zhao Yunxia stormed out of the house with her bundle on her back, glaring at Ji Yonghua, and said, "Fine, very fine! Your father doesn't treat me like a human being, and he looks down on the Zhao family. The children I gave birth to will be the same!"

Since you and your son can't stand people with the surname Zhao, I, Zhao Yunxia, ​​am going back to my Zhao family today! From now on, I will never set foot in your Ji family's gate again! I can't afford to, I'm not worthy of your Ji family!" After saying that, Zhao Yunxia angrily slammed the door and left.

"Mother—" Ji Yongbai frowned and called out to Zhao Yunxia's back, trying to persuade her to stay, but Zhao Yunxia's steps showed no sign of stopping.

"Go, let your mother go back! Let her go back to the Zhao family and see if the Zhao family is better or our Ji family is better! If she has the guts, she should never come back in this lifetime!" Ji Mantun was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged.

Grandpa Ji sighed, shook his head, and said, "They're all just idle. They can live a perfectly good life, but they have to make a mess of things! I think they'll end up ruining this family! It's good to let the child's mother go back to the Zhao family for a few days to calm down. Once she's come to her senses, it won't be too late for you to pick her up."

"I'm making this clear today: as long as I'm alive, the marriages of the Ji family's daughters will not be arranged casually! The adults must be satisfied, and the children themselves must also be happy! Anyone who dares to easily sell a daughter of the Ji family can get out of the Ji family!"

The courtyard was silent, with only Old Master Ji's deep voice echoing in the air.

Grandpa Ji's words calmed Ji Mantun down a bit. He took a deep breath, slowly sat down, his brows still furrowed. He knew that his second sister Ji Shuihua's marriage was a knot in his father's heart that he couldn't untie; his father didn't want any of the younger girls to suffer the same fate as his second sister.

He was truly disappointed in Zhao Yunxia this time. In front of the old man and the child, he couldn't utter a single word in her defense. Since she wanted to leave, let her go. Let her return to the Zhao family she longed for, and see if they would treat her like a loyal subject.