Ugly girl only wants to farm

Xu Chaoyan was so startled by her slap that she almost lost her soul. Her heart was still pounding as she glared at her: "Don't you know that scaring someone can kill them? Who said I was staring at your older brother? I was staring at the vegetable seedlings outside the yard. I was happy that the vegetables I planted were growing so well."

Meng Jiuxia made a face at her and scoffed, "You're practically glued your eyeballs to my brother's face. Stop hiding it. If you want to look, look openly. He's your husband. Don't do this sneaky thing."

The two were still bickering when it was time for lunch.

These days, Xu Chaoyan's face is no longer covered with pitted sores. When she had Meng Jiuhe's leg checked, the ointment the doctor gave her worked quite well.

Some areas have scabbed over, leaving some marks that haven't faded yet, but the face doesn't look as scary as it used to.

After finishing his bamboo weaving work these days, Meng's father said he was going to go to town to find some work, and he didn't return to the village until after dark.

He came back exhausted and drank several bowls of water. He said he hadn't found any work, but he brought back a message that he was going to Li San Niang Niang's house in a few days to attend a wedding banquet for his brother-in-law's wife. He happened to meet the messenger in town who was delivering the message.

Li San Niang put down her bowl and chopsticks with displeasure: "So insincere, just sending someone to deliver a message without actually going."

Meng's father then added a few more words of advice: "No matter what, he is still your maternal brother. Your parents are still getting married in his family. Our family should at least go there. Even if it's not for anything else, it'll at least save face for you. Although the family has suffered some difficulties these days, we can't let others look down on us!"

Li Sanniang glanced at her husband and sighed softly: "You have no idea how snobbish my sister-in-law is. You know how much they fawned over our family when you and Jiu were together. Every time they went back to their parents' home, they would bring back a lot of things for us to take back. We also gave them plenty of things. But look, since you and your son had that accident, have they even glanced at them? It's truly heartbreaking."

Upon hearing that he was getting married, Meng Jiudong beamed with joy: "Dad, does that mean we can go watch the excitement and eat some wedding candy?"

Meng's father shook his head at him, signaling him to stop talking.

Li San Niang placed another piece of food in his bowl and urged him to eat quickly: "What's so exciting or coincidental about this? Women aren't going."

Meng Jiuhe pondered for a moment before speaking: "Mother, you should go, after all, Grandmother and the others are still here, it's a bit inappropriate. If you really don't want to go, you can bring a gift to Uncle or someone from the village when you meet them in town next time. It's too much for you two to climb mountains and wade through rivers."

Li San Niang glanced at her son and nodded: "What you said makes sense. I wasn't even planning to give a congratulatory gift before, but oh well, it's not easy for parents either."

Xu Chaoyan said with delight, "Mom, are you going? Why don't we all go and join in the fun?"

Meng Jiuxia quickly waved her hand: "Don't take me with you. It will take several hours to go back and forth, and we'll have to go up the mountain and cross the river. I'd rather go up the mountain to gather grass and feed the chickens."

Xu Chaoyan turned her head and glanced at Meng Jiuhe: "Is what my sister-in-law said true?"

Meng Jiuhe nodded.

"Yes, but there's something my little sister didn't mention. Uncle's family eats two meals a day. If you go there early in the morning, you'll have to wait until after dark to eat. The temperature is low on the mountain, and you can often hear wild animals roaring from behind the mountain."

Xu Chaoyan couldn't help but tremble.

She just wanted to join in the fun; she'd never experienced a wedding before and just wanted to be part of the celebration. Last time, her own wedding was over before she even realized it.

Li San Niang wasn't in a good mood to begin with, but when she saw her daughter-in-law's long face, she immediately laughed: "Yan'er, look at your face, it looks like a bitter gourd. It's not as exaggerated as they say. It's just that the journey is long and difficult, but the scenery on the mountain is nice. I'll take you there sometime in the future."

In the end, Meng's father decided that he and his wife would go together. Li San Niang disagreed with giving a congratulatory gift, saying that it would be better to just give money directly. She said that her sister-in-law was rather materialistic and had made her bring back sweet potatoes last time.

When villagers have a happy occasion, each family will give a gift. Some will give a bushel of beans, or make some tofu, etc. Basically, they will give whatever they have at home.

Xu Chaoyan was half asleep when she was awakened by a commotion. She jumped up, lit a candle, and was about to go out.

"Put on a coat before you go out, it'll get chilly at night."

Meng Jiuhe picked up his outer garment and draped it over her shoulders.

She held the candle flame with one hand and instructed, "Watch your step and follow us."

A warm feeling washed over Meng Jiuhe. His leg had mostly recovered in the past few days, and as long as he didn't travel long distances, there shouldn't be any problems.

Meng Jiuhe, standing beside her, spoke gently: "Don't just focus on talking, watch where you're going. It seems like Dad and the others had a little argument. Shall we go back and let them resolve it themselves?"

Xu Chaoyan glanced at the tightly closed door again with some worry. Intermittent arguing could be heard coming from inside, sounding particularly loud in the quiet night.

"Will everything be alright? Why don't you go and say a few words of advice?"

Seeing the candlelight flickering in the wind, Meng Jiuhe quickly reached out to protect it, saying, "It's alright. They haven't argued in over ten years, so this time it won't be a big problem."

"Oh well?"

The two of them walked into the house together, protecting the candlelight, when suddenly the door in front of them was opened.

Li San Niang also came out with a lamp and looked apologetic when she saw the two of them: "I woke you up. Go back and rest. Your father and I just had a little argument. It's nothing serious."

Xu Chaoyan nodded: "Then Mother should also rest early."

As the two lay in bed, Xu Chaoyan tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She reached out and poked the person next to her: "Are you asleep?"

"Sleep."

Xu Chaoyan poked him twice more: "Are you asleep? Am I talking to a ghost?"

Meng Jiu felt a little ticklish from her poking and moved a little further in: "Then just pretend I'm a ghost?"

"You mean even though your parents have such a good relationship, they still argue? Why don't we have a fight too? Don't people say that couples who argue in bed make up before they get out of bed?"

Xu Chaoyan smiled in a lewd manner.

Meng Jiuhe turned her back to her without a word, his voice barely audible: "If you can't sleep, go outside and feed your chickens. They get along better with you."

Xu Chaoyan: "Who are you insulting?"

Then came the sound of Meng Jiuhe's even breathing.

Xu Chaoyan tugged at the blanket a few times: "You're supposed to be a scholar, how dare you call someone a chicken?"

"I'll peck you senseless."

The next day, Xu Chaoyan learned that the two had argued over money. Meng's father insisted on giving one tael of silver, but Li Sanniang disagreed, saying that the family was not what it used to be and that a few hundred coins would suffice.

In the end, Meng Jiu decided that four hundred coins would suffice, which would be just enough to catch a chicken for his maternal grandmother and the others to nourish their bodies. His aunt's cooking was usually not very oily, and the two old people were both very thin.

On April 25th, the couple took Meng Jiudong there a day early, saying that they had traveled for several hours and could rest. They would have a banquet the next day and then head back, leaving the three of them to look after the house.

In the afternoon, Meng Jiuxia took the black dog for a walk around the house, saying that some wild animals kept biting things, and the vegetable seedlings were all eaten bare. She took the black dog and howled around.

Meng Jiuhe set up a table in the yard, where the light was better than inside, so he could copy a few books.

Xu Chaoyan, with a fawning expression, came over and picked up the ink stick: "I'll grind the ink for you."

"Do you know?"

"No, but I can learn."

"Why don't you go feed your chicks? Don't waste my ink stick."

Xu Chaoyan slammed down the ink stick: "Are you picking on chickens? I'm grinding ink today."

Meng Jiuxia was just returning with the black dog, looking annoyed: "Mala Flower, do you think this dog is crazy? It's been barking incessantly since we went outside, and it doesn't want to walk any further. I was exhausted from dragging it, so I brought it back, but it's scratching at the gate and won't come in. What does it want?"

Meng Jiuhe ignored her and said, "Go ahead and grind the ink if you want. I forgot to take my book back with me."

After Xu Chaoyan saw him leave, she quickly followed him.

Meng Jiuhe asked, puzzled, "Why are you following me?"

"Hehe, so what's the first step?"

Meng Jiu and "???"