Chapter 129: Mooching
“Big Sister, Yaoguang…” Zhang Yingdi ran in from outside. “Parents and Zhang Jizong have come.”
Zhang Jizong, just from the name one could tell he was the only younger brother of the Zhang family’s three sisters. The Zhang family parents had three daughters, and finally awaited this single sapling with great difficulty; one could imagine how high his status was at home.
The Zhang family married off Zhang Zhaodi and received five taels of silver as betrothal gift. This betrothal gift was used to pay Zhang Jizong’s tuition fees, buy a set of new clothes and the Four Treasures of the Study and such items, but as a result not two years later, he skipped classes and fought, and was advised to leave by the teacher. The Zhang family married off the second daughter Zhang Pandi precisely because Zhang Pandi’s scummy husband was a tiler who promised to build them a new house in place of the betrothal gift, and thus sold Zhang Pandi like that. As for marrying off the third daughter, that was because Wang Huanzhi was gravely ill, and the Wang family gave twenty taels of silver as betrothal gift for good luck; that money was used to marry a daughter-in-law for Zhang Jizong and also to purchase three mu of good land.
People in the village all said the Zhang family got rich by selling daughters; the originally dilapidated small thatched hut had turned into the current several large tiled houses, all thanks to the merit of the several daughters. Upon hearing such words, Zhang family parents Wei Shi and Zhang Laosan vented their anger on the three daughters, saying they were going to marry off sooner or later anyway, marrying whom was not marrying, and even deliberately said those ugly words outside to ruin the family’s reputation.
Over these years, the Zhang family sisters rarely returned to the maternal family; only when Wei Shi and Zhang Laosan sent people to pass word that someone was unwell here or there would they go back. Of course, ever since Zhang Zhaodi was widowed and taking care of her daughter, after every time she brought her daughter back and wasn’t even qualified to sit at the table, she almost never went back. No need to mention Zhang Pandi; some years ago she lived a life worse than pigs and dogs, couldn’t rely on the maternal family, and thus couldn’t leave even more. As for Zhang Yingdi, she had to stay home to care for her husband whose health wasn’t good, and thus couldn’t leave.
Last time Zhang Zhaodi returned to the maternal family, not only did she not receive a single word of concern, she even brought back a bellyful of anger; speaking of it, it had been nearly a year since they had seen them. They wouldn’t think of the three daughters on ordinary days, yet today they actually came to the city, and accurately found Peach Blossom Workshop without mistake; it seemed they had heard about their matters from somewhere.
Several people went out from the backyard and saw four adults and one child crying nonstop sitting in the nearby tea area, full of resentment, like they were debt collectors come to the door.
“Dad, Mom, Jizong, sister-in-law, why have you come?” Zhang Zhaodi asked with a face full of worry and anxiety.
“What’s this, you’re living good days in the city, while Dad and Mom and your own younger brother are starving to death in the countryside, and now that we’ve come to the door asking you for relief, you put on this attitude?” Wei Shi shrieked.
“Shh shh…” Zhang Zhaodi anxiously made a silencing gesture. “There are officials all nearby; you mustn’t shout, or if it draws people from the government office it won’t be good.”
Wei Shi’s face stiffened as she looked around, and sure enough saw an officer craning his head at the doorway.
“Madam Zhang, is someone causing trouble?”
“No, no.” Zhang Zhaodi said, “My mom speaks a bit loudly; Official, please don’t take offense.”
The officer shrank back.
Zhang Laosan restrained the fierce look on his face, furtively looked outside, and lowering his voice said: “What trouble have you gotten into? Why are officers guarding you outside?”
“The city has been chaotic lately, patients everywhere; the officials had our shop take care of those patients. Look, that long line over there are all infected ones. Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle, you must stay far away from them.” Su Yaoguang said in a lowered voice.
“My heavens, why make you take care of those patients? Those infected people are terribly frightening. Our village has patients too, one passes to another, coughing blood every day, so scary!” Wei Shi fearfully looked at those patients.
The commotion here drew the attention of the people in line; they turned their heads to look. At this moment they weren’t those elegantly dressed madams and misses, but a group of people afflicted by the epidemic; one could see how terrifying those faces were. They just looked at Wei Shi, Zhang Laosan and the others like that, saying nothing, scaring the several people who had been so arrogant just now quite badly.
“Dad, Mom, we absolutely cannot stay here. These people are infected; they deal with patients all day—who knows if they’ve been infected too. Our Xiaobao absolutely cannot take this risk.”
“Big girl, we’re not troubling you to take us in anymore; give us one thousand taels of silver, and we’ll go back to stay in the countryside.” Zhang Laosan changed his original plan to stay here and enjoy blessings.
“One thousand taels?” Su Yaoguang was astonished. “Grandpa, we don’t even have ten taels of silver; where would we find one thousand taels?”
“Such a big shop, and you tell us you have no silver?” Wei Shi shrieked. “That Zhong Lanhua opposite said your business is very good, earning several hundred taels of silver every day.”
“Not to mention now, even before we didn’t have such good business. To tell the truth, just buying grain over this time has spent all our money. Our shop’s business wasn’t good to begin with; that Zhong Lanhua opposite opposes us everywhere, snatching away all our business. She deliberately deceived you to come see the joke of our mother and daughter. That Zhong Lanhua opposite has harmed Mom before; you still believe her words?”
Zhang Jizong’s wife Hua Shi sized up the shop’s furnishings.
“I see so too. If their shop’s business were good, how could it be so empty? Look, there’s dust on this table, and it’s messy everywhere.”
Hua Shi couldn’t stand to see the three elder sisters-in-law doing well. The worse Zhang Zhaodi’s days, the happier she was in her heart. After all, the Zhang family three sisters were the most lowly existences; she was the great contributor who passed on the family line for the Zhang family.
“Since Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle, and Aunt have come, Yaoguang as the junior is thick-faced wanting to borrow one hundred taels from you.” Su Yaoguang twisted her fingers, constrainedly saying, “The rent is almost due, need to pay one hundred taels of silver soon; really can’t come up with it. I’ve heard Uncle and Aunt have earned quite a bit of money these years; could you lend it to us first, and we’ll pay you back later when we earn money?”
Wei Shi, Zhang Laosan, Zhang Jizong, Hua Shi: “…”
They had come to the door to get money, not to give it away; this girl surely didn’t have a problem with her brain, did she, gone silly?
Zhang Zhaodi and her two sisters held back laughter nearby.
“We have no money; if we did, would we be coming to you?” Hua Shi said. “You just said buying grain spent all the silver, meaning you have grain?”
“Rice is selling for one hundred copper coins per jin now. Who knows how long this rain will last; we grabbed some to stock at home. But we don’t have much left either.”
“Then give us some rice and flour.” Zhang Laosan said. “One hundred jin.”
“We ourselves don’t have one hundred jin.” Zhang Zhaodi frowned. “We do have some cornmeal left; cornmeal we can give you twenty jin, rice only five jin.”
“Are you sending off beggars?” Wei Shi said. “We are your parents; you being filial to us is only right. Do you want to let these old bones of ours starve to death in this year of natural disaster?”
