"Really? Since you're not feeling well, just eat openly, why hide it? It causes misunderstandings, and that's not good! If my dad knew, he might think badly of you," An Hao said in a soft, gentle voice, but her words were deeply uncomfortable to hear.
When Bai Xue heard this, she was afraid that An Hao would tattle to An Shuchao. If he found out that she was secretly hoarding food at home, he would definitely be angry.
Thinking of this, Bai Xue quickly said, "I was just scared of the mice, that's why I hid it under the bowl! I'll take it out tomorrow, fry it and eat it! Better than letting both people and mice covet it!"
"Isn't that the truth!" An Hao chuckled softly, effectively scolding herself in the process.
Bai Xue was initially full of anger and wanted to teach An Hao a lesson, but she ended up being lectured instead, and her face struggled to maintain her dignity.
Back in her daughter Bai Yanjiao's room, Bai Xue sat on the kang bed and started to curse, "That wretched girl An Hao is getting more and more audacious. I secretly made you a bowl of egg flower soup, and she won't let it go! She even indirectly called me a mouse!"
Bai Yanjiao, hearing her mother's voice so loud, afraid that their step-father might hear, quickly stopped her, "Keep your voice down, if old An hears, he'll turn on you."
"He sleeps like a dead pig. He won't hear a thing."
Reassured by what Bai Xue said, Bai Yanjiao responded, "Mom, I hate her so much. Just looking at her face annoys me. We must find a way to get her married off quickly."
"Right. I'm thinking the same thing!" Bai Xue pondered. "Tomorrow, I'll have to ask around for someone to find a husband for An Hao quickly, to get her out of this house."
"Right." The mother and daughter talked a bit more before finally going to sleep.
While they were talking, An Hao, having finished washing the dishes in the kitchen, saw An Ping coming out of the south room, stuffing something into his mouth.
"Haven't had enough to eat yet?" An Hao asked.
"I'm stuffed, it's uncomfortable. I'm eating some hawthorn to help digestion," An Ping said offhandedly.
Hawthorn?
"Do we have that stuff?"
"Ah, plenty," An Ping gestured to An Hao, "Come take a look."
An Hao followed An Ping to the south room and indeed saw a big jar in the corner, filled with hawthorns—big, bright red, and quite nice to look at.
"Don't you remember? When our mom was alive, she planted two hawthorn trees on the mountain. They bear a lot of fruit, but they're too sour and nobody eats them. Every year we throw out a big jar, and they all go to waste."
Reminded by An Ping, An Hao remembered, and as she looked at the huge jar of hawthorns, an idea suddenly lit up in her mind.
The next day after breakfast, Bai Xue took the ten yuan to find the village chief's wife, while Yanjiao went to meet friends.
An Shuchao leaned against the wall, enjoying the sun after breakfast, smoking his pipe and scratching his scalp in worry. With the new year approaching and the new year goods not yet purchased, he had only thirty yuan on hand. If he paid back five yuan to the village chief's wife, he'd be left with even less money.
As he worried, An Hao, having finished washing dishes in the kitchen, came out and approached him, saying, "Dad, give me some money, I want to buy something."
Annoyed and in a foul mood, An Shuchao became angry as soon as he heard his daughter ask for money, "Money, money, money, that's all you want! Why don't you earn it?"
An Hao was scolded as soon as she spoke and felt frustrated inside, but she also understood her father's struggles and his timidity. Having been reborn, she truly didn't want to stay in this family. But for now, she had nothing and knew she needed to make something happen. Once she had some capital, she would take her brother An Ping and leave, letting her father and Bai Xue live their own lives.
From then on, they would lead separate lives, with no interactions between them!
So, she tried to calm herself down and said with a smile, "Dad, don't be anxious, think of it as a loan from me. I'm borrowing five yuan from you today. I'll pay you back double tomorrow."
"What? You can earn money?" An Shuchao was full of disbelief.
"Just give it a try. It might work."
"And if it doesn't?" It would be another few yuan wasted.
"Dad! Just let me try. If I lose the money, next year I won't spend a penny of the family's money on school, I'll take care of it myself."
Seeing his daughter putting it that way, An Shuchao no longer knew what to say. His daughter was good at her studies and had a sharp mind; she might actually be able to make some money.