I wrote novels in the Republic of China

Sang Yuanshan remarried when he was in his forties. At that time, his requirement for his second wife was that she must be physically strong.

Sang Qian was a good hand at farm work. She was 1.65 meters tall and very strong, which was why she was chosen.

Because she has lived a life of luxury and has no shortage of food and drink over the years, although she is nearly sixty years old, she is still in good physical condition.

Sang Jingyun imitated the original owner's behavior when she was young, and cried in Sang Qian's arms: "Grandma, I heard that smoking opium will damage the brain and make people crazy. Dad is in this state now. If he is released again, I don't know what he will do!"

After crying, Sang Jingyun told some stories about opium smokers selling their children to brainwash Sang Qianshi.

This era is different from later generations.

In later generations, thanks to the country, drugs were banned, drug trafficking was a capital crime, and ordinary people were not harmed.

But in this era, opium was sold openly in shops, and related advertisements could even be seen on the streets.

The great powers seized countless wealth from their country through opium, and countless people in their country lost their fortunes, their families, and their health were ruined because of opium.

Sang Xuewen actually started smoking opium first and then became addicted to gambling. Sang Jingyun thought that his high level of gambling might be related to opium.

This stuff is really harmful to people. At this time, many famous people gathered together to smoke opium.

At this time in Shanghai, countless people were harmed by the opium.

After Sang Xuewen started smoking opium, the original owner specifically inquired about related matters. At this time, Sang Jingyun could also cite many examples.

For example, some people were so addicted to opium that they hacked their parents to death in order to steal money, some sold their wives to smoke opium, and some knelt down before anyone they saw on the street just to smoke opium...

"Grandma, Grandpa has been pissed off to death by Dad. Before he died, he was still muttering about breaking Dad's legs. We can't let Dad smoke opium again." Sang Jingyun said again.

Sang Qian sighed with red eyes: "Your grandfather used to be too indulgent to your father!"

Sang Jingyun deeply agreed with this.

If Sang Yuanshan had disciplined Sang Xuewen earlier, the situation would not have been so bad. Unfortunately, Sang Yuanshan loved his child so much that he couldn't bear to do it.

In comparison, Sang Qian was more strict, but not much better.

Seeing that he had convinced Sang Qianshi, Sang Jingyun began to tell her how to discipline Sang Xuewen.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the world was somewhat chaotic. The situation in the city was not so bad, but there were many robbers and bandits outside the city.

Therefore, families with some money at this time would build very high walls when building houses and would also pay great attention to anti-theft measures.

That's what their house is like.

As long as Sang Qianshi guarded the door, Sang Xuewen would not be able to go out. If Sang Qianshi was not at home, she could also lock Sang Xuewen in the house.

To prevent theft, the two downstairs rooms in their house have no windows, and the south-facing door is used for lighting.

One of the rooms was divided into two rooms. The one on the south side, with the south-facing gate, was where Sang Qian lived, while Sang Xuewen and Lu Ying lived in the one on the north side.

That room only had one door leading to the main room and didn't even have a window. If we locked Sang Xuewen in there and locked the door, he would definitely not come out.

Sang Jingyun added, "Grandma, you must be more aggressive with Dad in the future and make him do more work. He was too idle in the past, which is why he caused trouble and killed Grandpa."

Sang Qian had a hard life in her early years, and only after she married Sang Yuanshan did she start to live a good life.

Although Sang Yuanshan was twenty years older than Sang Qianshi, he was handsome, capable and kind. Sang Qianshi, who lost her father at a young age, loved her husband very much.

The couple have been together for more than 30 years, and in Sang Qian's heart, the most important person is Sang Yuanshan.

Sang Qianshi was busy with Sang Yuanshan's funeral and had no time to think about other things. But when she heard her granddaughter repeatedly talking about her son making her husband angry to death, she began to feel resentful towards her son.

If her son had not lost all the family fortune, even if the silk shop could not continue, they could still make a living by collecting rent, and her husband would probably still be alive and well.

This man was very capable, but he lived a miserable old age. In the months before his death, he couldn't even eat meat and was humiliated many times. After his death, his funeral was even more simple.

Sang Qian wiped away her tears and couldn't help hating her son.

Seeing this, Sang Jingyun spoke to his grandmother again, saying that some people had quit smoking opium and turned over a new leaf after being strictly disciplined.

Sang Qian was moved and asked Sang Jingyun how to discipline her. Sang Jingyun gave her some advice.

The two chatted for a long time, and only went out when they heard Lu Ying calling them to eat.

As soon as Sang Jingyun went out, he saw his two younger brothers.

The original owner of this body was like Lu Ying, who was not tall. Even though she had not lacked nutrition, she was still not tall. She was less than 1.6 meters tall at the moment, and it was unknown whether she could grow taller in the future.

Sang Jingying was different. This thirteen-year-old boy was five or six centimeters taller than Sang Jingyun. He was also very thin. The arms that showed through the short sleeves of his long gown were thinner than Sang Jingyun's arms, and looked like they would be broken with a slight bend.

Sang Jingyun used to use the age in years when calculating other people's ages, but people at that time liked to use the age in lunar years. Sang Jingying was fifteen years old in lunar years, and in the eyes of many people, he was already able to take on responsibilities. In the past few days after Sang Yuanshan's death, he had become visibly more stable.

"Grandma, today I took my younger brother to help someone paste mooncake boxes and earned five copper coins." Sang Jingying took out five copper coins and handed them to Sang Qianshi.

Sang Qianshi didn't take it, and said gently: "Aying, there is still money at home, you can spend it yourself."

Sang Jingyun glanced at Sang Qianshi, but stepped forward to take the copper coin and smiled at Sang Jingying: "Aying, you have grown up and can make money, that's great. Aying, let me tell you about the situation at home."

Sang Yuanshan and Sang Qianshi both treated their grandchildren as children and were unwilling to explain the situation at home clearly.

But Sang Jingyun disagreed.

Keeping secrets from children is not necessarily a good thing for them. There were early signs of the Sang family's decline, but the original owner knew nothing about it, so she was greatly shocked when her house was taken away.

Now they can hardly afford to eat, so what’s the point in pretending that everything is fine in front of Sang Jingying?
To be honest, it was only because Sang Jingying was a good person that she was willing to go out to work to supplement the family income, but Sang Jingxiong was different.

The third child, Sang Jingxiong, was only ten years old and still ignorant. No one told him about the situation at home. In the past six months, he had been making a fuss about asking for meat and new clothes, which really caused a lot of trouble.

At this moment, he stared at the copper coin in Sang Jingyun's hand.

"Jingyun..." Sang Qian was a little confused.

Sang Jingyun said, "Grandma, life at home is almost unbearable. Jingying must know about this."

"Sister?" Sang Jingying was surprised.

Sang Jingyun did not hide anything and told him about the situation at home. He then said, "Jingying, let's go and ask Uncle Zhang tomorrow to give us some extra time and allow us to pay the rent later. After that, we can eat rice porridge and sweet potatoes, and we should be able to survive for another month. During this month, we must find a job and earn some money."

"Is this all the money left at home?" Sang Jingying gasped.

He knew that his family must be out of money, but he didn't know it had reached this point.

"Yes! We still owe foreign debts. Some people, for grandpa's sake, said that we don't have to pay it back, but we have to change. There are also some people who will probably come to collect the debt in a few days." Sang Jingyun said.

Sang Qian's younger brother and his family lent them 28 yuan. They haven't come to collect the debt yet, but they will come sooner or later.

Sang Jingying's eyes were red, and she looked determined: "Sister, I will definitely find a way to make money, don't worry."

"Jingying, from now on, I will rely on you," said Sang Jingyun.
She would never rely on others for her life and would definitely make money on her own.
But it is a good thing that Sang Jingying has this intention, and she must encourage it.

While Sang Jingyun and Sang Jingying were talking, Lu Ying hugged the young Sang Jingli and began to cry.

Sang Qian seemed to be thinking about something.

Sang Jingyun said: "Okay, let's eat."

Lu Ying used to be a young lady who had never done housework, but she had moved here half a year ago after the Sang family went bankrupt. During this period, she had learned how to do laundry and cook.

Today, she made a pot of porridge and steamed a bowl of rice.

She replaced the bowl of rice on the altar with steamed rice, and then handed the rice on the altar to Sang Qian.

Sang Qian poured the rice that had been on the altar for a day into a large bowl, poured boiling hot porridge on it, and started eating.

Seeing her pick up her chopsticks, the others started drinking porridge together.

The porridge was fairly thick, but the vegetables were just steamed pickles without a drop of oil.

Sang Jingyun had been busy all afternoon and was already hungry, so he started to eat. However, Sang Jingxiong grumbled, "Why are you drinking porridge again? I don't like porridge."

Sang Jingyun glanced at him and said, "The only thing we can afford at home is porridge."

Sang Jingxiong didn't dare to complain anymore and started eating in silence.

When Sang Jingyun saw him like this, he sighed secretly.

Sang Yuanshan dotes on the younger generation in his family too much.

Before he died, Sang Jingxiong complained that the food was not tasty, so Sang Yuanshan would go to nearby farmers and help them write Spring Festival couplets and blessing characters, or give them names, in exchange for eggs for Sang Jingxiong to eat.

It would be fine if the family had money, but given the current situation at home, we can’t indulge Sang Jingxiong anymore.

Sang Xuewen has already been spoiled. If another one is spoiled, how will we live?
After everyone finished eating, there was a bowl of porridge left, which was left for Sang Xuewen.

Lu Ying hesitated: "Mom, it's time to bring food to Xuewen..."

Sang Jingyun took the porridge and looked at Sang Qianshi: "Grandma, let's go and deliver the meal together."

(End of this chapter)