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

Ji Manchuan clenched his fist and said, "Is this how the Tian family treats you? Just give you some food so you don't starve? Is this how they treat a daughter-in-law or livestock?"

Ji Manqing also jumped up, gritting his teeth and saying, "I really want to punch that old woman Tian to death."

“Manqing—” Ji Manchuan tugged at Ji Manqing.

Ji Shuihua raised her eyelids and sneered, "Do you think I, Ji Shuihua, can't beat her to death? I've also learned our family's staff techniques!"

Ji Manqing looked at Ji Shuihua with a pitiful expression, then sat back down.

Ji Shuihua stood up and urged them to leave, saying, "Alright, you guys hurry up and get to my sister's house as soon as possible, otherwise you'll have to travel home in the dark."

Ji Manchuan and his companion knew the arrangements for the day, so they could only leave behind the food and bundles, saying, "Second Sister, I'll come back in a couple of days to pick up the medicine pouch. Also, my second son was born on the day of the solar eclipse. When he turns one month old, you must come back for some long noodles." After saying that, they drove off.

Ji Shuihua stood at the gate, watching the two leave expressionlessly, unable to come back to her senses for a long time.

"Mother, let's go back." A young woman with a protruding belly walked up to Ji Shuihua and said.

Ji Shuihua nodded and closed the courtyard gate.

Just as Ji Shuihua closed her courtyard gate, the east gate opened, and a strong old woman poked her head out, glanced at Ji Shuihua, and then closed the gate and went back inside.

Ji Shuihua entered the courtyard but did not go into the house. Instead, she stood under the eaves and quietly looked at the sky.

"Mother, why are you doing this? Your two uncles have always been thinking of you."

Ji Shuihua twitched the corners of her mouth, gave a bitter smile, and said, "Chunxiang, I've never resented my brothers; I resent this world."

Chunxiang lowered her head, rubbing the hem of her clothes, her eyes welling up with tears, and said, "Mother, you still have brothers, but I..."

Ji Shuihua turned her head and helped Chunxiang tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, sighed and said, "You still have me."

Chunxiang silently wiped away her tears.

Ji Shuihua looked at the woman in front of her, her vision blurring. She couldn't tell if the woman in front of her was Chunxiang or her former self.

When Ji Shuihua was young, everyone said that she had the personality of a boy. She was competitive, liked to fight, disliked needlework, and preferred to farm and herd cattle like a boy.

When she was fourteen, the age for marriage, she hadn't figured out why she wanted to get married or what it entailed, but her father arranged for her to marry the second son of the Tian family.

The Tian family was much better off than the Ji family. Old Master Tian had worked in the county government before, and although he died young, the family had acquired a lot of land.

Old Master Tian was literate and good at math. When the old man of the Tian family was alive, he got him a job in the county government, so he never had to worry about food or drink.

However, Tian Lao Er was neither good at literature nor martial arts, and was spoiled rotten by Tian Lao Tai. He spent his days walking chickens and fighting dogs. When Tian Lao Gong was alive, he could keep some order, but after Tian Lao Gong died, he became lawless and even developed a gambling addiction.

Grandma Tian used to think her youngest son was cute. She figured that since the eldest son had inherited his father's connections and got a job in the county, the second son could just be a carefree playboy.

When Tian Lao Er first became addicted to gambling, he just played casually, making small bets with little winning or losing. Old Mrs. Tian didn't care about the small amount of money, so she let him play as he pleased, thinking that he would naturally stop when he got older.

Unexpectedly, Tian Lao Er's behavior escalated, and he began to secretly sell off family belongings. Tian Lao Da tried to discipline him several times, but to no avail, so he simply separated the family and stopped interfering.

Grandma Tian panicked and thought it would be best to marry a wife with a strong temper who could keep her youngest son in check. Moreover, Tian the Second had said that he liked feisty women. So, after searching around, Grandma Tian found Ji Shuihua.

That year, there was a drought for two consecutive years, and every family in Niujiazhuang was struggling to make ends meet. The Ji family even ate tree bark. When they heard that Old Mrs. Tian had asked someone to come and propose marriage, and after inquiring about the man's family, they found that they were well-off and could eat a dry meal every day. Moreover, Old Mr. Tian was not a womanizer, so Old Mr. Ji agreed.

At that time, the old man really didn't find out that Tian Lao Er was a gambler. Because family scandals shouldn't be aired in public, Tian Lao Madam kept it a secret. Besides, he was just a peasant, so he could only ask around in the surrounding villages. He never thought of going to the county town to inquire about the news.

And so, Old Mrs. Tian used a load of wheat and an ounce of silver to marry Ji Shuihua.

Everyone in the village said Ji Shuihua was lucky, especially those who had returned from the wedding that day. They told everyone how grand and impressive Ji Shuihua's in-laws' courtyard was with its blue bricks and tiles, and how delicious the pork lard noodles at the banquet were. All the unmarried girls in the village envied Ji Shuihua for finding such a good match.

Thinking of this, Ji Shuihua felt an unbearable bitterness in her heart.

She thought that when the red veil was put on her head, she probably felt joy, but it seemed that she felt more confused than anything else.

I've heard that arranged marriages are common in other places, but in Ningping County, if they are all farming families, they will still bring their children to have a simple meeting to see what the other person looks like and what their family's conditions are like.

She thought at the time that perhaps the Tian family was a wealthy family with strict rules, which was why they didn't arrange a marriage.

To her surprise, on her wedding night, while others were enjoying their wedding night, she was facing her nemesis and a direct confrontation.

Although her mother briefly explained what to do on their wedding night, she felt it was too dirty and disgusting, so she was extremely resistant. That night, when Tian Lao Er got close, she unconsciously resisted.

Relying on her experience with stick fighting, she grabbed a chair, threw it to the ground, and the chair shattered into pieces. She picked up a chair leg and lashed it at Tian Lao Er.

Tian Lao Er was no pushover either. He picked up a stool and sparred with her. Their moves were evenly matched, but Tian Lao Er had the advantage of being a man in terms of size and strength, so he slightly beat Ji Shuihua. That night, Ji Shuihua slept on the floor, while Tian Lao Er slept on the kang (a heated brick bed).

The next day, when Old Mrs. Tian, ​​who lived in the next courtyard, saw that her son and Ji Shuihua both had black eyes and bruises all over their hands and arms, she ordered two old women to grab Ji Shuihua and make her kneel as punishment. At that time, Ji Shuihua tried to resist.

Grandma Tian said, "If you dare to resist, I'll have my son divorce you, and all your brothers and sisters with daughters will resent you!"

Ji Shuihua knelt down in silence. She watched as Tian Lao Er swaggered into the main house, eating and drinking, while she knelt in the courtyard under the scorching sun, humiliation and anger intertwined in her heart.

Ji Shuihua couldn't understand why her brothers and sisters would resent a woman who had been divorced, since no one in their village had ever been divorced before.

She had only overheard a few gossipy old women talking about it, mentioning which village had a woman who had been divorced. Their tone was full of disdain, and they were implying that the divorced woman must have been poorly raised and of bad character.