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

Ji Yongbai stared in the direction Zhao Yunxia had left, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, but he felt mostly powerless. He knew in his heart that his mother had truly made a terrible mistake this time. Now that she was going back to her parents' home, it probably wouldn't be so easy for her to return.

Although her father rarely lost his temper, he was stubborn. His mother's unwavering devotion to her family over the years had exhausted him. If his mother didn't humble herself and apologize properly this time, and completely sever ties with his maternal grandmother's family, his father probably wouldn't back down.

He just didn't expect that his mother would never come back after leaving this time.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yunxia returned to her parents' home in a fit of anger, where she received a warm welcome. In particular, her newlywed sister-in-law comforted her, addressing her as "elder sister" and even providing her with a cave dwelling to settle in, which made Zhao Yunxia feel very comforted.

After hearing Zhao Yunxia's tearful complaint, Old Lady Zhao cursed Ji Mantun, saying he was inhuman and that the Ji family was unethical.

She felt that her daughter had given birth to children and done all the housework for the Ji family, yet in the end, she couldn't even make decisions about her own daughter's marriage, and was even publicly criticized by Ji Mantun without any mercy. She couldn't swallow this insult. She told Zhao Yunxia that she had to make Ji Mantun come begging and pleading with her three times before he would go back.

Zhao Yunxia also felt wronged this time. Ji Yongfei was her own daughter. As her mother, couldn't she even decide her daughter's marriage? She was a woman, someone who had been through it all. Didn't she know that marrying a rich man or a wealthy man was better than marrying a poor man?

But in the end, she became the villain, accused and blamed! Anyway, no matter what, she won't go back easily this time. It's not enough for Ji Mantun to come and invite her; Old Master Ji must come and invite her repeatedly before she'll even consider going back.

The days spent at her parents' home made Zhao Yunxia feel as if she had returned to the time when she was a young woman before she left home. Every day, she worked from dawn till dusk, washing clothes, cooking, cutting grass, and feeding pigs. There was always work to be done, and to be honest, it was much more tiring than in Niujiazhuang.

However, she was happy to do it. She felt that if she came back to her parents' home and could do more work, her parents would have to do less and their lives would be easier. Isn't that what filial piety is all about?

Zhao Yunxia stayed for half a month.

However, Ji Mantun never came during this period, nor did he send Ji Yongbai and Ji Yonghua to pick up Zhao Yunxia.

Zhao Yunxia wasn't in a hurry. She was quite happy right now. As long as her parents could rest more, what did it matter if she was a little tired? She knew that given the Ji family's temperament, it was only a matter of time before Ji Mantun came to pick her up.

But while she wasn't in a hurry, some people were.

When Zhao Yunxia returned to her parents' home this time, she secretly brought some money with her. It was all the money she had saved from her embroidery work and the expenses given to her by Ji Mantun. However, no matter how much money she had, it couldn't last. When she returned to her parents' home this time, she found that the family was lacking this and that, so she added this and that, and the little money she had was quickly spent.

Without money, Zhao Yunxia's sister-in-law started to have some complaints.

It's not good for a poor sister-in-law to just live at home eating and drinking all the time! Moreover, this sister-in-law always likes to lecture her, always wanting her to be like her, to do more work, preferably to take on all the housework so that her parents and younger brother can rest.

This just adds another mother-in-law to her list! Zhao Yunxia's sister-in-law was very dissatisfied, but no one from the Ji family came, so she couldn't just kick them out.

However, she suddenly remembered that someone from Fengxiang Prefecture had come to see Zhao Xiaojiu, saying that they wanted to get the secret formula for papermaking from Ji Mantun through Zhao Xiaojiu. The person said that he would give fifty taels of silver as a deposit, and if he could get the specific formula for papermaking medicine and caustic soda from Ji Mantun, he would give another fifty taels later.

Ningping Paper Mill is a well-known large-scale paper-making enterprise. Not only is the paper they produce of high quality, but it is also quick to produce and has a large output. This is enough to make many paper mill owners suspect that they have some secret recipe. So they inquired about Ji Mantun and then about the Zhao family.

At the time, Uncle Zhao directly refused the proposal. Although Uncle Zhao was a man without much of his own opinion, always listening to his mother before marriage and still listening to her now that he was married, he had at least some education and knew that such a thing was wrong, so he refused no matter what.

She was quite tempted by the fifty taels of silver at that time. However, she knew that regardless of whether her uncle Zhao refused or not, given the current awkward relationship between the Zhao family and the Ji family, she definitely wouldn't be able to earn that money.

But things are different now, because Zhao Yunxia is here!

A month passed in the blink of an eye for Zhao Yunxia at her parents' home. Although she rushed to do all sorts of chores as soon as she opened her eyes every day, she could see that her sister-in-law's complexion was gradually becoming less pleasant. But Ji Mantun still hadn't come to pick her up after so long, and there was nothing she could do.

Anyway, she was determined that she would not go back by herself this time, no matter what. She would make Ji Mantun and his family bow down to her.

After Zhao Yunxia's sister-in-law made her own plans, she subtly inquired with Zhao Yunxia and learned that Ji Mantun never hid his involvement in making paper medicine and caustic soda from her. She then began to contact people and put her plans into action.

She started by casually complaining every day about the debts that her uncle Zhao had incurred when he married her, how hard the debtors were pressing her for repayment, how her father Zhao often talked about wanting to build a brick house while he was still alive, and how her father Zhao wanted her to send her child to school in the county town...

As Zhao Yunxia listened, she grew increasingly anxious. Her family's life had improved, but her maternal family's life was still difficult! Her father had been ill for years; couldn't even this last wish be fulfilled?

Seeing Zhao Yunxia's growing anxiety and worry, her sister-in-law, seeing the opportune moment, told her about the high price someone had offered to buy the paper-making agent and the caustic soda formula. Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunxia immediately shook her head and refused. This was the secret to her husband becoming the master craftsman of the paper mill; how could she possibly let anyone know!

However, Zhao Yunxia eventually couldn't withstand the daily complaints from her sister-in-law and her mother-in-law, and her resolve gradually wavered. Furthermore, Ji Mantun hadn't even considered coming to see her these past few days, and neither had Ji Yonghua or Ji Yongbai thought of calling her back. Her anger grew, even turning into hatred, and she wanted to punish the Ji family in a small way.

So Zhao Yunxia gritted her teeth and told the man her sister-in-law had called about how Ji Mantun was making paper medicine and caustic soda in the courtyard. The man readily gave the Zhao family one hundred taels of silver, but before leaving, he made Zhao Yunxia sign a contract. The gist of it was that if the formula couldn't produce white paper like the one from Ningping County, the Zhao family would have to return half the money.