Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Cracked

Tang Yi Xiao and Tang Lu Wu opened the basket.

Inside were two large bowls. Each held half a bowl of white rice, and the other half was piled high with twice-cooked pork, sweet-and-sour ribs, and garlic cabbage.

They sat across from Tang Bao Yu and ate as if they had all the time in the world.

The aroma drifted straight into Tang Bao Yu’s nose. He was already exhausted; hunger gnawed at him like a rat. He stared at their bowls, swallowing hard. When he lifted his head, blood seeped from the wound on his forehead, ran down the bridge of his nose, and streaked his whole face.

Li Er Niu had been sprawled on the ground for hours before she finally stirred. Still half in the dirt, she sniffed weakly and muttered, “Meat… I want meat…”

Tang Bao Yu heard her voice and broke into tears again. But after hours of thirst and hunger and kowtowing until his head rang, even his crying came out thin and cracked. His throat sounded like a broken gong—hoarse and harsh.

Li Er Niu struggled upright. The moment she saw Tang Bao Yu’s face smeared with blood, her pupils shrank and rage surged up as if it had been waiting behind her ribs.

“You—” she rasped, trembling with fury. “I’ll beat you—”

“Auntie Li,” Tang Lu Wu said quickly, voice steady despite the pounding in her chest, “you fainted after 120 kowtows. We went to Uncle Tang and demanded an explanation. He told us to bring Tang Bao Yu here to kowtow. While you were unconscious, Tang Bao Yu already did more than 1,000. There are still 250 left. If you take over, then you’ll have to do 500.”

Tang Yi Xiao turned and looked at his sister.

Tang Lu Wu had always been timid—so timid that even when a four- or five-year-old child shouted at her, she wouldn’t dare answer back. Now, facing Li Er Niu’s vicious glare, she had delivered a long string of words, clear and logical, without stumbling once.

It was as if she had become someone else.

Tang Lu Wu realized, in the beat after she finished speaking, that it wasn’t actually that hard to face a bad person head-on. A moment ago she’d thought of Qin Hui Yin and borrowed her tone—the calm authority, the firmness that didn’t waver. Tang Lu Wu had always felt Yinyin was younger, yet she carried herself like an adult. Tang Lu Wu wanted to be strong like that.

Today, it seemed she had managed it.

Li Er Niu’s face went white.

She remembered Tang Ji Zu’s methods. She remembered how quickly this village could turn its eyes on her. If she made trouble again, Tang Ji Zu would not protect her. He would throw her out in front of everyone and call it discipline.

“I’ll kowtow,” she said, voice hollow. “I’ll keep kowtowing for Bao Yu.”

“That’s what a birth mother is for,” Tang Yi Xiao said without pity. Then he added, almost idly, “Just now we asked Uncle Tang to kowtow in Tang Bao Yu’s place. One kowtow would’ve counted as three wen, and he refused. He’s a man—strong and sturdy. He’d have had 500 fewer to do. If he’d done it, this would’ve been finished long ago.”

Tang Lu Wu blinked, confused by the sudden mention, but she didn’t have time to untangle it. Li Er Niu was already lowering her head again, pressing her forehead to the ground with shaking determination.

—

Back at Tang Da Fu’s house, Li Tao Hua and Qin Hui Yin were tidying.

The house had stood for years, patched and repatched until half of it felt like it was held together by stubbornness alone. With a rare free day and good weather, they decided to fix what they could.

The kitchen needed it most. It had never been big, and it was crammed with useless junk—broken baskets, warped boards, old jars with cracked mouths. They sorted what to keep, what to throw away, what to burn, what needed replacing. Qin Hui Yin started listing supplies they could buy in town when they had time.

“Mom, we’re back,” Tang Lu Wu called, carrying the empty basket. Tang Yi Xiao came in behind her, and the two of them pushed open the gate.

Qin Hui Yin leaned out from the kitchen doorway. “How did it go? Did you finish the 1,500 kowtows?”

“The last 250 were done by Tang Bao Yu’s mother after she woke up,” Tang Lu Wu said. “Either way, not a single one was missing.”

Tang Yi Xiao’s mouth tightened. “Honestly, we should’ve just demanded silver. You can’t eat kowtows. They’re worthless.”

“We fought to seek justice,” Qin Hui Yin said. “If we demanded silver directly, it would be easy for people to gossip, and what was right would turn into what was wrong. Today was a warning. Not just to them—this was for the whole village. Next time anyone thinks about bullying us, they’ll remember what happened and think twice.”

Tang Da Fu came out with a bowl in his hands. He looked at Tang Yi Xiao, eyes lingering on the bruises. “How are you feeling?” he asked. “Your face doesn’t look as swollen, but your complexion is still poor. I’ve boiled the medicine. Drink a bowl.”

Tang Yi Xiao froze.

He stared at Tang Da Fu as if he’d misheard.

Tang Da Fu shifted under that stare, shoulders awkward. “I’m your father,” he said stiffly. “Is it strange for me to boil you medicine? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Tang Yi Xiao lowered his eyes. “Thank you, Dad.”

After so many years, it was the first time he’d tasted what it felt like to have someone protect him and someone care.

People always said that once you had a stepmother, you had a stepfather too.

No one ever said that when a stepmother treated you like her own, even a birth father who had never looked your way might finally grow a conscience.

—

Tang Yi Chen carried a load of broken wood out of the room and dumped it in the yard.

“What’s that?” Qin Hui Yin asked.

“The cabinet from the two sisters’ room,” Tang Yi Chen said. “It was damaged too badly. I’ll burn it. Later I’ll go find Carpenter Zhang and have him make new beds and cabinets.”

“Why not replace all of them?” Qin Hui Yin said, eyes already sweeping the house as if measuring it in her mind. “They’re all too old. And I want a set of kitchen cabinets made too.”

Tang Yi Chen nodded without hesitation. The others, seeing the two most decisive children in agreement, didn’t argue. Their family had money now. They could afford it.

Tang Yi Chen went to find Carpenter Zhang. The rest continued cleaning, hauling out bed sheets, old clothes, and broken things of unknown origin—junk so ruined it was useless.

Once the clutter was gone, the cramped room looked almost spacious.

When Tang Yi Chen returned with the Zhang brothers to measure, Qin Hui Yin added another idea. “Make a few desks too. Once things settle down, our family is going to start learning to read. If we’re going to study, we’ll need desks. Otherwise, how will we practice writing?”

Tang Yi Chen turned to Zhang Da Zhu. “Big Brother Zhang, why do you look so worried? Is something troubling you?”

Zhang Da Zhu forced a smile. “No, Yi Chen, don’t misunderstand. Everything you asked for is reasonable. I wrote it all down. I can finish it in five days.” His voice dropped. “I’m just worried about my brother. This time the dam worksite took some people, and my family sent him. It’s hard labor. I don’t know how he’s doing over there.”

Tang Yi Chen frowned. “Why didn’t your family use silver to buy out the slot? Your business seems good. You should be able to come up with two liang, right?”

“You don’t know our house,” Zhang Da Zhu said bitterly. “We’ve earned some money, but the family hasn’t split. My grandmother holds the purse. She couldn’t bear to take out silver, so she pushed my brother out to fill the quota.”

Li Tao Hua, who had been listening while she worked, snorted. “Your old woman is clever. It’s not that she can’t bear the money. It’s that the young lady your brother is courting caught your uncle’s eye, so she deliberately sent your brother away.” She clicked her tongue. “Your father and you brothers are all fools, led around by the nose by the word ‘filial.’”