Chapter 30: The Child Without a Mother

Nanny Jin tried to evade the question twice but could not stop Lady Han's persistent inquiries.

Ye Xinyan saw how things were going and felt as if she would not get past this without giving a solid answer, so she took over the conversation, "Second Aunt, this rice tofu is just a cheap snack. It was made by chance, and we use it to earn a living. In the future, it will be the livelihood that supports the three of us, providing for our basic sustenance."

Though Ye Xinyan did not directly refuse, she made it clear that her family would not share the rice tofu recipe with others.

Upon hearing this, Lady Han's face fell, showing a hint of dissatisfaction, "Niece, I am not one to pry into others' business. I just thought that this dish tasted good, and if we could have something different for our daily meals, it would make the hardworking men at home more content. I had no intention of competing with your business."

Although Sanshun was the youngest child of the Qi family's main branch, at eight years old, he was nearly grown and, sensing his mother's discontent in her tone, he tugged at Lady Han's clothes, hoping to head home early.

But Lady Han had no intention of leaving just yet, her smile not quite reaching her eyes as she looked at Ye Xinyan, curious to see what the outsider and the abandoned wife would say next. This was, after all, Qi family territory.

Qi Younian, sensing the edge in Lady Han's words, hurriedly intervened, "Dagen's wife, Ye Zi is just a child, and might not speak as appropriately as we do. Please don't take it to heart. This rice tofu is made from white rice and is quite troublesome to prepare. If it's just for a single meal at home, the time it takes might not be worth it. When we start our stall in the future, if our own family wants to eat it, wouldn't that be easy? We'll just make extra."

Her words sounded nice, but wasn't it the same as not telling? They considered her husband's second brother like their own flesh and blood, yet the Second Uncle did not regard the members of the Qi family's main branch as closely.

Standing up, Lady Han brushed off her already-clean clothes and smiled faintly, "Second Uncle is too polite. We couldn't possibly ask for food from the business that supports your family. My father deeply cares about and wants to help Second Uncle. How could we ignore the old man's wishes and freeload off your family?"

Without further ado or even polite parting words, she turned and left for home.

Ye Xinyan escorted Lady Han out and then returned with an apologetic tone to Qi Younian, "Grandfather, I spoke too rashly and thought too simply. I didn't expect Second Aunt to be so displeased."

Qi Younian waved his hand, unconcerned, "Don't worry about it. In this lifetime, not everything goes our way, and it's impossible to please everyone. We're counting on this dish to provide for us, so naturally, we can't just tell anyone how it's made."

"The thing is, Second Aunt isn't an outsider," Ye Xinyan said, somewhat disheartened. She had not anticipated that two families, not living together, could have such an unpleasant interaction. After all, that was Great Uncle's very own family.

Qi Younian smiled, "Lady Han may not be an outsider, but she's not from our Second Branch family, and she isn't just a family member of the Qi family, either. If Lady Han knows something, you can't guarantee that Great Uncle's entire family won't find out. Then, your two aunts' families, your cousin's wife's family, even Great Aunt's family might all come to know of it too. They all have fields to support themselves while currently, we are the only ones without fields. Rice tofu is our means of survival; we can't let someone take away our livelihood. Don't worry about such matters; as long as we do our duty, we don't need to concern ourselves with their thoughts."

"Mm." Ye Xinyan nodded.

She considered herself lucky; when she had nowhere else to turn, she met the elderly Qi Younian, who not only gave her an identity that allowed her to survive but was also such a broad-minded and clear-sighted old man.

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In the following days, Ye Xinyan accompanied Qi Younian to the distant mountains, helping him to chop down trees. They exchanged the felled tree trunks for dried lumber from others.

Not only could chopping trees be traded for lumber to make tables and chairs, it also provided plenty of firewood for burning, and Ye Xinyan took to this daily task with unwavering enthusiasm.

During this time, she made rice tofu twice more, and only stopped once she felt it was close to the taste she remembered. The main branch of the Qi family and Third Branch also benefitted, getting to enjoy the deliciousness of the rice tofu twice.

These days, as Ye Xinyan spent more time walking around the village, she saw Qi Yourong's young grandson, who had started working at such a tender age, a few times. The boy was indeed motherless; his name was Qi Congming.

Qi Yourong's youngest son, Qi Liang's first wife, Lady Zhang, had harmed her health giving birth to Qi Congming. Barely a year after Qi Congming was born, Lady Zhang passed away.

Qi Yourong's two sons were not easy to come by, being born to him in his old age, especially the youngest, Qi Liang, who was particularly spoiled by his elderly parents. While Lady Zhang was bedridden, Qi Liang got involved with a woman from a neighboring village.

Not long after Lady Zhang died, the Third Branch of the Qi family found Qi Liang a new wife, Madam Pang, the very woman he had been involved with.

Madam Pang proved to be competitive. Within three months of marriage, she was pregnant and after a full-term pregnancy, she gave birth to a son. Madam Pang always saw Qi Congming as a burden, and now that she had her own child, she became even more disdainful towards the boy, who was not quite three years old.

At such a young age, Qi Congming had already started doing chores both inside and outside the house. In the eyes of everyone in Clear Water Village, Madam Pang seemed not to abuse her stepson overtly, but if he didn't do his tasks well, he would be beaten and scolded. Whether the chores were appropriate for a child his age was something Madam Pang did not concern herself with.

Qi Liang naturally sided with his wife, and Qi Yourong's elderly couple didn't bother with anything either. As long as there was no trouble for them, it was fine. Thus, Qi Congming became a child who grew up in the Third Branch's courtyard, yet was utterly alone.

Perhaps because Qi Congming had never been treated with love and guidance from a young age and had always faced coldness and disdain, he'd learned not to speak much. Now, although he was over four years old, he still remained silent, his days filled with mute endurance.

To avoid causing trouble for the child, Ye Xinyan did not make a special effort to care for him warmly. If she showed kindness to the child, who knew if it would provoke the jealousy of Madam Pang. She only knew that if she couldn't offer the child any fundamental benefits, then she shouldn't add to his troubles.

However, whenever she visited the Third Branch, she would give Qi Congming a few extra glances and ask the adults a few questions. It was to let the people of the Third Branch know that there were others who paid attention to this child, and they should not go too far in their actions.

Every time she left the Third Branch, Ye Xinyan felt a deep sense of helplessness. She watched the child struggle with tasks beyond his strength day after day, sadly realizing that it was another family's affair, and there was not much more she could do.

After being busy for seven or eight days, Carpenter Wang finished making a bowl cabinet and a wardrobe, and there was no rush for the rest. At Qi Younian's place, not only were the doors and windows of the rooms repaired, but he also made two small heated-bed tables, two chairs, and several stools.

Qi Younian thought that if he were to set up a stall to sell rice tofu, he would naturally need tables and stools, so he planned to make them as well.

As they had no place to stay when setting up their stall in the town, and their donkey cart had limited space, to facilitate easy transportation, Ye Xinyan suggested to Qi Younian that he make foldable tables and stools.

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