Old Man Zhang and his family had recently been living in their uncle's house. The situation in their uncle's home was also far from reassuring. Their son had died while the daughter-in-law ran away with their grandson. His two daughters had been married off and his land had also been won over by a squire. The old uncle, now a half-dead man, would lie on the clay-stove all day, only occasionally going over to his brothers' homes to have meals together. His life was spent rather meaninglessly.
The old Zhang family moved in without any problems given the circumstances. However, not only did they have to serve their old uncle this month, but they also had to take care of daily expenses. How could the life-saving amount of two taels of silver be enough to cover their spendings? They also had to spend some ten copper-cash for their uncle's trip to the doctor's and buy his medicine. Their days were getting more and more distressing.