Old Man Wei was a skilled craftsman, and he knew a thing or two about handling worldly affairs. Although Mrs. Wei appeared to be the loud and boisterous one in the household, Old Man Wei was the one who truly called the shots.
When he had nothing else to do, Old Man Wei would secretly observe Chun Mian's actions and mull them over.
"I don't think it's like that. Didn't you smell the alcohol?" It was already mid-September. After the first round of distillation, the aroma of liquor had already emerged.
However, after this first distillation, the heavy scent of sorghum lingered, making the actual liquor aroma relatively faint. Furthermore, Chun Mian said the alcohol content hadn't reached her required level, and the taste was poor, which meant it needed a second distillation.
Of course, even the knowledgeable Old Man Wei couldn't understand Chun Mian's explanation. But while he didn't understand, he could smell it. Since he could smell the alcohol, he figured there wouldn't be any issues.
"I smelled it, but it just feels unreliable. Alas..." Mrs. Wei was full of worry. Thinking about all the grain that had been used, her heart started to ache again.
It hadn't been many years since their lives improved. The household responsibility system had only been implemented for a little over three years, and they finally had some surplus grain in their hands, though it wasn't much. If it was really wasted, Mrs. Wei felt she would be so heartbroken she wouldn't be able to sleep. Yet, she didn't dare say anything, afraid of hurting Chun Mian's feelings.
"I was blind back then. I didn't see that not a single person in the Gao family was any good." Unable to blame her own daughter, Mrs. Wei could only shift the blame to Old Mrs. Gao.
At this, Old Man Wei let out a long sigh. "We only agreed because Jianmin seemed like an honest and simpleminded boy. But it turns out he's too simpleminded. There's nothing wrong with honoring his old mother, but he needs to draw a line somewhere. He can't blindly favor one side. Over time, that's bound to cause conflicts."
When old farmers looked for spouses for their children, they weren't particular about good looks or a wealthy family background. Their ancestors had all made a living toiling in the fields for generations—what did family background even mean to them? Good looks were pleasing to the eye, but they couldn't feed a family. Therefore, what everyone valued most was character. In the end, the old couple of the Wei Family had severely misjudged the situation.
"That old woman... The next time I go to Beigang Village, I must go to their house and give them a good scolding. Otherwise, my heart will just keep hurting." Mrs. Wei cursed as she rolled over in bed, then added resentfully, "My grain... alas..."
At the end of the day, her heart still ached for the grain. How could Old Man Wei not know his old wife? Unfortunately, there was nothing he could say now. He just let her vent her frustrations verbally; if he stopped her, the old lady would definitely drive herself crazy holding it in. So, he just let her talk.
In the rural courtyard, even though the Wei Family lived in a house made of blue bricks and tiles, the soundproofing was only so-so. The house had a total of five rooms: the main hall in the middle, and two rooms on each side. The old couple lived in the first eastern room, while the two boys stayed in the inner eastern room. Chun Mian and Wei Shuxiang shared the first western room, and the second western room was reserved for Wei Qifeng and his wife. However, the couple's new house had already been built, and they had moved into their own home at the beginning of the month.
Because of the poor soundproofing, even with the main hall separating them, Chun Mian could hear the old couple's late-night conversation. Of course, Wei Shuxiang, who was right next to her, heard nothing. After all, she had a normal person's body, unlike Chun Mian, who possessed superior physical fitness and spiritual power.
However, thinking about how awful their mother's complexion had been these past few days, Wei Shuxiang was worried that Chun Mian might feel discouraged. She thought for a moment before whispering, "Chun Mian, I support you. Don't be afraid. The worst that can happen is we waste some grain. If it comes to that, I'll just work extra hard in the fields."
"Xiao Xiang, have you ever thought about going back to school to study?" Chun Mian asked softly after some thought.
Wei Shuxiang was momentarily stunned by the question. In the dark of the night, she pulled her thin quilt up a bit and pondered before replying, "What's the use of thinking about it? Our parents are already great for paying for my education up to middle school. Few girls in our village are as blessed as I am." She avoided answering directly. Clearly, she still wanted to go to school but didn't want to admit it and make them both sad.
"Things will get better," Chun Mian said. She actually didn't know how to comfort people. In the past, she had only ever roasted people with her words, though she resorted to physical violence even more often. But who could blame her? The people from the Chun family were always asking for a beating with their cheap hands and mouths. If she didn't hit them, they would always assume she was an easy target just because she had been exiled. Now, suddenly tasked with coaxing someone, this beginner truly couldn't think of the right words. She could only offer a generic, catch-all platitude.
Wei Shuxiang didn't feel brushed off. She wasn't particularly insistent on returning to school anyway. However, she was very receptive to Chun Mian's attempt to comfort her. She reached out in the dark and hooked her fingers with Chun Mian's. "HEE HEE HEE, I believe you, Chun Mian. If you say things will get better, they definitely will."
The next day.
Chun Mian got up early, planning to take a look at the mountain. But just after she ate breakfast and picked up her tools to head out, Uncle Wei and Aunt Wei arrived. Behind them trailed their third son, Wei Qihai.
Wei Qihai was seventeen this year, one year older than Wei Shuxiang. He had barely managed to finish middle school. As old farmers, his parents had no connections to rely on. Wei Qihai himself was clumsy with his words and slow-witted, and he was completely scrawny. Even when he signed up and took the exams for factory jobs in the city, he failed to pass. As for farm work in the fields, he couldn't do much before he became so exhausted he couldn't even stand up straight. Uncle Wei had already worried himself half-gray over him.
They had intended to let Wei Qihai learn carpentry from Old Man Wei, but the boy simply lacked the talent. After wasting quite a few of Old Man Wei's wooden planks, he finally managed to build a stool, only for it to end up with uneven legs. Uncle Wei fretted day and night. If the boy had been lazy, he would have broken his legs long ago. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case—he was simply scrawny, weak, and completely lacking in skills!
Now, seeing that Chun Mian seemed to be up to something important and was even teaching herself medicine, Uncle Wei thought he could try letting Wei Qihai walk this path. Of course, doing it the proper, formal way was definitely out of the question. After all, when the family patriarch was still alive, he had made the grandchildren memorize traditional medicine chants. Wei Qihai would memorize the second line and immediately forget the first. He clearly had no talent for it either. Therefore, Uncle Wei's intention was to have Wei Qihai act as an errand boy for Chun Mian.
"I know this might be putting you in a difficult position, but I really have no other options. I can't just let Qihai go without a livelihood and starve to death in the future because he can't support himself. Alas..." Uncle Wei actually felt rather embarrassed to show up at their door like this, but as parents, they couldn't just stand by coldly and watch their child's livelihood remain unsettled until he starved.
"Shumei," Aunt Wei chimed in, echoing Uncle Wei's sentiments as she cast aside her pride. "I know you're just starting out right now, but I have the thick skin to ask this favor. I was hoping you could take Qihai under your wing while you're getting things off the ground."
Chun Mian was indeed just starting out, still in the phase of ruining grain. Mrs. Wei was worried sick about it every single day. Who knew why Uncle Wei and his wife had such blind faith in Chun Mian? No one in Chun Mian's family could figure it out. In reality, it was Grandma Wei who had brainwashed Uncle Wei's family. She kept telling them that studying medicine was a promising future, and that Chun Mian would definitely achieve great things later on. After nearly two months of this, Uncle Wei's entire family had been thoroughly and clearly brainwashed.