?Chapter 126: Chapter 126: n Chapter 126: Chapter 126: n “But… but you agreed to it too,” Hao Fang said with little confidence.
Bai Jianguo grabbed her by the cor of her clothes and questioned her fiercely, “I agreed? When did I ever agree to any of this? Huh, did I consent to you hitting my mom, or did I say it was okay for you to not feed her? All I agreed to was for the olddy to move into the small room at the back, what else did I consent to? Go on, tell me, you im you have evidence or witnesses—just empty words from your mouth as if I, Bai Jianguo, said those things. Go out and ask around; see who would believe you.
“I am the olddy’s own son; who would believe you over me! Do you believe that if I divorced you, making you leave the house with nothing, everyone would still apud me, saying I did well? They’d call me a good son, a filial son, who kicked out a disrespectful daughter-inw for his own mother. Guess if that would add anotheryer to Bai Jianguo’s reputation.
Do you need me to say what your fate would be if you went back? Your three brothers wouldn’t get out of bed early if there’s nothing in it for them; you’d be freeloading, and it’d be a wonder if your sisters-inw gave you a warm wee. Think carefully about it, as I, Bai Jianguo, won’t be at a loss at all.” Bai Jianguo had it all figured out; Hao Fang was brainless. She had some clever schemes, but ultimately, she feared power and bullied the weak. If he didn’t keep a tight grip on her now, he would suffer in the future.
True to his words, Hao Fang copsed onto the floor, her legs giving way under her.
She clung to Bai Jianguo’s leg, “Dad, you can’t do this; we’ve been married for a day which is as sacred as a hundred days of grace, our three children are all grown now; how can you say such heartless things? I have been devoted to this family, I will listen to you from now on, isn’t that enough? I was wrong.” She couldn’t get divorced; what else could she look forward to if she did?
“Not divorcing is fine too, but you should move into the small room at the back,” Bai Jianguo took the opportunity to suggest. In any normal circumstance, Hao Fang would have made an endless fuss over such a suggestion.
As expected, Hao Fang was stunned, “Dad, Dad, how could you?”
“It’s what the olddy demands, and as you know, she has grievances that need to be aired out. Just stay there for a few days, and once I’ve sweet-talked the olddy, you can move back. Didn’t you see her today, looking fierce enough to chase us all out? Think about the house, thend, and all the family property; if we’re thrown out, we won’t even have a ce to live. Can Bai Zhuang’s marriage still go on? It will surely be ruined. At least you should serve the olddy properly and humble yourself. We can’t afford to offend the olddy right now, I’ll find a way to appease her, and things will probably get easier afterward,” Bai Jianguo knew what Hao Fang was worried about, everyone frets over their own children.
Especially with Bai Zhuang’s imminent marriage, if they moved out, the greedy mother-inw of the Wu Family would certainly object to the marriage.
Hao Fang swallowed her pride, bearing the burden for the sake of her children—her debts.
……
……
Inside the house, Bai Xiao brought out the tub cakes from behind the house for the olddy, then sat with Bai Yue for a while. Bai Yue talked about her own divorce. Li Chunhua, despite not showing a disapproving face to Bai Xiao or Bai Yue nowadays! However, she hadn’t even considered the fact that Bai Yue, who hade back from her divorce, needed to eat—primarily because she had ignored her for so long that it had be a habit and was hard to change.
The two sat for a while before taking their leave. It wasn’t like they were going to scrounge for a meal, although the olddy certainly wished they would stay longer.
Bai Yue excused herself, saying the children at home still needed to be fed, and the two managed to get away.
After leaving the main entrance, the two returned home.
Bai Yue rolled up her sleeves and started cooking with a look of bewilderment on her face. What should she do? They had nond left, and if they had to rely solely on raising pigs and chickens to survive, she feared they would genuinely starve to death.
Bai Xiao rolled up her sleeves to help, picking and washing vegetables. They had steamed a pot of cornmeal and wheat flour buns in the morning, and for lunch, all that was left was to stir-fry some vegetables and make a porridge, and their meal would be ready.
Seeing Bai Yue burdened with heavy thoughts and not speaking, Bai Xiao knew what she was thinking.
“Big sister,e with me to the provincial city,” Bai Xiao said, “Let’s take the kids. There’s no difference between starving here in the vige withoutnd and being in the city. As long as you are willing to work hard, you can survive. Stop worrying about food. Although we don’t have a residence permit, there are many people in the city willing to pay high prices for grain. As long as you have money, it’s not a problem. Besides, I’m there with you.” Bai Xiao tried to persuade her sister to move to the city. For many, the step from a remote mountain vige to a provincial city was unimaginable, and Bai Yue was one of those who dared not even entertain the thought.
How could she not be afraid? She had only ever carried rocks and farmed thend. Now, suddenly without a home ornd, her secure life waspletely shattered. Anyone would be scared, and this fear could leave a person feeling hopeless about their future. Bai Yue and her children were unskilled in other areas—how could she dare to imagine a life in the provincial city?
Bai Yue shook her head, “Xiao, I know you mean well and are thinking of how you can take care of us. But how can living in the city be so easy? We’re barely getting by in the vige. In the city, as strangers, without knowing anything, it might be even harder. I feel it would be better to raise pigs and chickens here in the vige, and we would still survive. If not, I could ask around the vige to see if anyone would rent us somend to farm, just to have enough to eat.”
Bai Xiao knew that changing Bai Yue’s mind wasn’t going to happen with just a few words. Everyone has their own desires, and sometimes it’s wrong to force change upon others against their will.
She knew the future, but that didn’t mean others did. Hence, respecting others was necessary. Perhaps when the time was right, everything would fall into ce.
The meal was eaten with relish.
Bai Xiao felt at peace, her own ns had seeded, and now all that was left was to arrange for Bai Yue. Since Bai Yue was unwilling to leave the vige, how to live day-to-day still needed consideration. They couldn’t really resort to buying food.
After the meal, Liu Baoguo and Li Chunmei came to visit.
It turned out that the couple was already aware of Bai Yue’s difficulties and had specificallye to offer their help.
Liu Baoguo informed Bai Yue that the residence permits for their family of four had been processed. He brought them their household register booklets. Besides that, there was arge expanse of wastnd on the outskirts of the vige, at the base of the mountain, which nobody wanted to cultivate. Thend was barren and sandy, virtually impossible to grow crops on, and even if it was given away for free, no one wanted to farm it due to the inconvenience of irrigation.
Liu Baoguo implied that even though thend wasn’t good, it was unimed and now theirs by default. It was stillnd! Even if nothing much grew on the sandy soil, nting sweet potatoes or peanuts could be adequate. Later, they could even trade the extracted oil for grain with other vigers—a source of sustenance. Besides, sweet potatoes could serve as food as well.
The small patch near the mountain might only be a few acres, but it could still be used to grow vegetables. As long as one wasn’tzy, survival was possible.
They would consider finding one or two more acres of better farnd for Bai Yue when a good opportunity arose.
Bai Xiao and Bai Yue were both grateful. Although thend wasn’t ideal, at least they had a starting point.