Rebirth Counterattack with Space

"Dad, didn’t we still get over a dozen eggs? And we have two chickens that are laying eggs, right? Dabao and Xiaobao won’t have to worry about not having eggs to eat every day."

Lu Aimei said nonchalantly, her views differed from those of her mother-in-law and most families in the village who were reluctant to eat eggs.

"Besides, you all do physical labor every day and don’t eat much fatty food. If this goes on for too long, even an iron man would fall. How much can we really save by hoarding these eggs to sell or trade? It’s better to eat them. We can be frugal in other ways, can’t we? As long as we’re healthy, it’s like meat rotting in the pot – it’s a worthwhile deal," she continued.

Xie Lao Si nodded, eating his noodles intently, yet his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. He had lived a lifetime, yet in this respect, he was less insightful than his daughter-in-law.

"Wife, let me feed the child. The noodles are getting overcooked, and you should hurry and eat too," Xie Changgen said thoughtfully, lowering his head and then eating his bowl of noodles with increased speed. He reached out to take the bowl from Lu Aimei’s hands, smiling at her with a look of appeasement.

Lu Aimei didn’t speak and passed the bowl to him expressionlessly; she bowed her head and started eating her portion of noodles.

"... Second daughter-in-law, don’t worry about the money for building the house. I’ll find a way. Even without the money from the family division, we can still build a new house next year," Xie Lao Si said after a moment of silence to Lu Aimei, "From now on, handle the household affairs however you see fit. Changgen and I won’t interfere. And don’t fret about money either. Once we’re past these couple of days of moving, I’ll have Changgen follow me to the mountain. The medicinal herbs I planted last year should be ready for harvest by now."

"Dad, when did you start growing medicinal herbs? Why haven’t you ever mentioned this before?" Xie Changgen was stunned, and Lu Aimei also looked at her father-in-law with puzzlement.

"I have many skills you don’t know about. Before the liberation, your grandfather owned several medicine shops and was considered a minor landlord with property. I grew up in those medicine shops, recognizing and processing medicinal herbs is as familiar to me as eating and sleeping..." he explained. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"But Dad, hasn’t our family been farmers for eight generations, stem to stern red-blooded poor peasants? How could there have been a medicine shop?" Xie Changgen was dumbfounded.

"Let Dad finish talking," Lu Aimei tugged at Xie Changgen’s clothes, and he uttered a confused "oh," still puzzled, looking towards Xie Lao Si, what exactly was this about?

"It’s a long story, and it’s all in the past; better left unmentioned. This Xie family village, in a sense, is and isn’t our real ancestral home. It’s not important where our real home was. What’s important is that you know we are indeed surnamed Xie, and that your grandparents and my adoptive father are all buried here."

Xie Lao Si reminisced the past with a sigh, but evidently, he had no intention of elaborating.

"Over the years, I have used my skills in recognizing herbs to gather a lot of medicinal herbs from the mountains and secretly sell them. Later, as I aged and my energy declined, I started trying to grow some medicinal herbs scattered around the mountains," he said slowly.

"That money... it wasn’t a small amount. I didn’t keep a single penny for myself; originally, I was thinking that when we divided the family property, even if we didn’t take the house, the cash we would get would be enough to build a new one," he continued.

Both Xie Changgen and Lu Aimei gasped.

Lu Aimei was silent, no wonder her father-in-law had been so enraged during the family division; she had imagined her mother-in-law might have hidden away some savings, but she never expected it to be so much...

Xie Changgen’s eyes reddened with the urge to bolt outside, "I’m going to find my mom."

"Come back."

Xie Laosi stopped him, "Do you think she’ll admit to it if you find her? If this matter could be discussed openly, would I initially have feared you boys being too young and accidentally leaking it out, and therefore kept it a secret from you brothers?"

"But..." Xie Changgen felt truly disillusioned with his own mother. How heartless must one be? To nearly completely cut her own family and her husband off like that? To utterly disregard the welfare of these people. Couldn’t she spare a thought for herself, for her two grandchildren, the grandson and granddaughter who needed feeding and were struggling to survive?

"There’s no ’but.’ As long as you have a skill, you won’t starve anywhere in this world. Later on, whenever you’re free, follow me up the mountain and learn this trade. You don’t even have to go too deep, it’s not dangerous."

This last sentence was also meant for Lu Aimei, "Memorize every place where I plant the herbs. When there’s a chance, I will take you to sell the herbs, but there’s one thing, all the money we earn in the future, you’re not allowed to keep a single cent on you, you must hand it all over to your wife, and ask her for money when you need to spend."

"I can guarantee that all the money will be in Aimei’s hands. But, Dad, is selling herbs reliable? What if we get caught... does that count as speculation and profiteering?"

Xie Changgen first looked at Lu Aimei ingratiatingly, patting his chest loudly. In his mind, it was only natural for the family money to be managed by the wife—hadn’t his own father and mother done the same?

However, when it came to selling the herbs, he became somewhat hesitant and looked at Xie Laosi uncertainly.

"I’ve been doing it for over a decade without getting caught, do you think you’ll be caught the moment you start? If you’re scared, forget it." Xie Laosi looked somewhat disappointed at his second son.

"Dad, I’m not scared. I’m not scared, I’m just asking, just asking..." Xie Changgen dared not meet his father’s eyes anymore and hurriedly shook his head, stammering out his words.

"Things aren’t the same as they were in the early years, and these herbs are used to cure diseases and save people. One, there is no worry about not having buyers, and two, it’s also considered a good deed." Xie Laosi sighed again, "They say we have three days to move, but the sooner the better. Tomorrow you’ll follow me to tidy up that house, and have your wife stay home with the kids. If we can move, it’s best to do so tomorrow, and if not, we must move the day after at the latest."

"Alright."

"If you can’t tell right from wrong again, and listen to your mother’s nonsense, not just your wife, even I won’t bother with you anymore. You really need to think things through clearly and use your brain; don’t reach this age and still act like a fool."

After this event, Xie Laosi felt quite disheartened and warned his second son, "No matter how your mother complains to you, whatever she says, whatever she asks, no matter how big or small the issue, you have to come back and tell us, don’t hide it. Don’t just give in, even if you really want to help, you must come back and discuss it with your wife, and don’t go around doing things sneakily. You have to believe that your wife is not that heartless, she wouldn’t just watch your mother starve to death without doing anything."

"If we’re talking about being heartless, your mother is the truly heartless one. If it happens one more time, I’ll stop caring about you even if you end up wifeless and childless. At worst, I’ll just live with my grandson and rely on him in the future."

Xie Laosi grew fierce for a moment, planning to go retrieve those things when he had the time, keeping two or three portions for himself and giving the rest to his second daughter-in-law as compensation. Anyway, with that money, his wife wouldn’t have to worry about her old age.

In the future, he didn’t need to worry too much about the eldest’s household. If they could just live well without causing too much trouble, then that’s something to consider in the future. After all, the two or three portions should also include a share for them.