Chapter 3 Second Aunt_1

Liuliu suddenly felt moved. Even though the family was poor, they were warm-hearted. This was temporary, as long as she was here, she would make sure they ate well, dressed warmly, and lived in brightness, this was what the law of traversing should dictate.

Oh right, where was her cheap husband? Oh! How could she forget? The old lady just mentioned that he had gone hunting. He must be a superior hunter, otherwise, their family wouldn't have been able to afford a tiled house. Although the poor in ancient times usually lived in straw or mud houses, those who could afford tiled houses were considered wealthy! Regrettably, Liuliu didn't come at the right time. If she had arrived earlier, the family wouldn't be in such ruin.

Just at that moment, a young boy hurriedly ran up: "Sister-in-law, are you alright?"

Liuliu was surprised. This was a boy who was a few years older than the little brat she just met. Was he also her brother-in-law? Why was he so enthusiastic towards her? No resentment?

Aside from his bright pair of eyes, there was nothing remarkable about this young man. His pale skin, thin body and even the clothes he wore were shabby. In fact, except for herself dressed in cotton clothes, everyone in the house dressed quite thinly. No wonder their complexions were so poor, with purple lips. Especially this young man who ran back from outside, even his cheeks were frozen purple. It was a bit better for the grandparents as they didn't go out and the house was slightly warmed up by the fire.

"Sister-in-law, if you're okay, let's go to the gambling house after I've eaten and try our luck there again. We're bound to win back the money we lost last time!" The young man hollered carelessly.

Only upon hearing this did Liuliu realize that the person she replaced was a heavy gambler. Damn it, what a despicable person!

"Eat your heart out! You scum! If you die out there, don't come back!" The old man shouted angrily at his son, Yang Xiaoquan.

Yang Xiaoquan ignored his father's fury, grabbed a bran cake to take a bite, then spat it out: "Mom, what is this? Why does it taste so awful?"

"This is the bran cake your second aunt gave us. If it weren't for you being such an unfilial son, would our family have to eat this?" The old grandmother, with tearful eyes, accused her fourth son.

Liuliu felt deeply ashamed as the grandmother and grandfather berated Yang Xiaoquan in front of her. It felt as if they were indirectly criticizing her. They didn't dare to scold their fierce daughter-in-law directly, so their son bore their anger instead.

"If you don't want it, give it to me. Mom hasn't had enough to eat yet. If you think it tastes bad, go and eat at the gambling house then!" Yang Xiaowen was extremely disappointed at his fourth brother's actions. He squandered their house's wealth, rendering him unable to continue his schooling. Upon hearing him mention going to the gambling house again, how could he not be angry? He took the bran cake from his brother while grumbling.

Yang Xiaoquan didn't get angry at his younger brother. He pulled his sister-in-law towards the hall: "Sister-in-law, you haven't searched carefully. You might have stashed away some silver and forgotten about it. Every time you come back home, your parents give you money. Look again, maybe you'll find it and then we can recover our losses and win back everything we lost."

Liuliu felt her eyes rolling back. This unfortunate child, being interested in gambling at such a young age! Gambling was so harmful, it was said that nine out of ten gamblers end up losing, it's a road of no return. Little did Liuliu know that it was this unfortunate child, Yang Xiaoquan, who learned to gamble from the person she was replacing.

Let's not even mention ancient times, even in the 21st century, countless wealthy people have jumped off buildings because of gambling. Who would ever have a good end once they got involved in gambling? It's only through thorough rehabilitation can a family live in peace. However, Liuliu had no plans to help him quit gambling for now. She would wait until she got a clear understanding of the situation. Moreover, there was no money left to gamble now. She would just tag him along for a stroll outside to get a better understanding of the environment.

"You haven't eaten anything. I can't stomach that awful snack either. Why don't we go out and look for something to eat?" Liuliu suggested tentatively.

"Exactly, what my mother made isn't fit for human consumption. Let's go check the mountains!" Yang Xiaoquan's stomach growled, Liuliu heard it clearly. He was evidently very hungry.

"Wait a moment, I need to relieve myself first. Is that the latrine over there?" she asked as she noticed a small grass shed with a pointed top at the corner of the courtyard.

"Sister-in-law, how could you forget about it? Is that the aftermath of my brother's beating? It's over there!" Yang Xiaoquan said without a second thought.

Liuliu laughed awkwardly: "I guess I am a bit confused. Is there any paper in the latrine?" Liuliu decided to play the part completely and asked all her questions along, considering he didn't seem to take any notice of her odd behavior.

"Sister-in-law? My brother must have hit you really hard. Since when have we used paper in the latrine? Look, those tree leaves. Just use those."

Liuliu rolled her eyes again. What a torment it was to use the toilet without paper! Ancient people, surprisingly, used tree leaves instead of paper. Liuliu felt like she could cry herself to death. She wondered if that might take her back to the 21st century.

Liuliu didn't know that in those times, paper was a precious commodity. Nobody used it to wipe their bottoms, that would've been like using meatballs for that purpose which was unthinkable. Otherwise, why would education have been so expensive?

With clenched teeth, Liuliu stepped over, plucked a few brightly yellow tree leaves, and pondered. What would they do when all the leaves had fallen off the tree? Use cloth instead? Wouldn't that be even more outrageous?

Entering the latrine, Liuliu didn't want to relieve herself anymore. After getting used to clean toilets, she was now asked to use one with visible manure. She felt like running away. This latrine was too crudely constructed, with merely a large pit dug out. Luckily there were steps for squatting; otherwise, one could easily fall into the pit in the night. The sight of the manure gave her the urge to turn and leave right away. On second thought, she decided to bear with it since she needed to relieve herself after drinking the rice soup earlier.

With her backside pointing outwards, she chose a spot as far away from the manure heap as possible. Upon leaving, Liuliu thought that the latrine must be improved as soon as possible. It was too nauseating. It was currently winter, there were no mosquitos or flies around. Should it become infested with such insects in summer, she wouldn't want to live anymore. She would wait until she had surveyed the situation thoroughly, and then decide to renovate the latrine as early as possible.

After she came out, she wanted to wash her hands. Looking left and right, there was no place to wash them. Would she have to go into the kitchen, where they ate the bran cakes, to fetch some water to wash? She didn't want to.

"Where can I wash my hands?" With no other options, she had to ask Yang Xiaoquan again.

"Wash your hands? There is a well over there. Let me fetch some water for you." Yang Xiaoquan lead Liuliu to the other side where a well was located. Liuliu only just noticed it now.

Yang Xiaoquan was indeed quite kind towards Liuliu, probably because they were both in the same boat, both the extravagant, pleasure-seeking and gambling type. With his assistance, Liuliu managed to get a grasp of the situation quite quickly. Despite being a keen gambler, Yang Xiaoquan was naive; he didn't suspect Liuliu's strange behavior and assumed it was a result of the beating from his elder brother.