Chapter 26 - 16: The First Discussion of Separation

Chapter 26: Chapter 16: The First Discussion of Separation

Mother Zhang looked at the bag in her son’s hand and said nothing more, took out the pig’s trotter, and placed the bag in the main room. Seeing that it was getting late, she instructed Zhang Guoqing to go to the kitchen to light the fire, while she went to the backyard to pick some vegetables. In the Zhang Family, it was only Zhang Guoqing who would enter the kitchen to help with lighting the fire, as the men believed these chores were women’s work. In the late autumn backyard, there weren’t many other vegetables; in the field, aside from some cabbage, there were some small greens covered with straw, as well as some unharvested white radishes and sweet potatoes. Checking the chicken coop for any unexpected finds, she picked some wilted greens.

Mother Zhang, holding the greens, came in to see him striking matchsticks one by one, clumsily, feeling distressed. Not sure whether she felt bad for him or the matches? Matches cost money; usually, there’s embers buried in the stove, and with a strong blow they can be used again. Only Zhang Guoqing wasted them; she couldn’t bear to scold him. If it were someone else, she’d unleash a torrent of reprimands. She herself wished she could stretch a penny into two, unable to stand any waste.

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