Ugly girl only wants to farm

The little girl's expression made her want to burst into laughter, instantly erasing all her unpleasantness from the day. She had only teased her a few times.

Xu Chaoyan deliberately put on a stern face, pinched a piece of candy, and stuffed it into her mouth. Hmm, to be honest, the candy from ancient times is really not that good. I miss all kinds of candy from the past.

"You can't say that. While I do want to use you as a tool to make money, but..."

She paused deliberately here, and Meng Jiuxia's tears were about to fall. Xu Chaoyan knew that she had gone a bit too far with her words, but she just wanted to tease her, so she quickly apologized.

"Alright, little sister-in-law, I was just teasing you. How could I possibly use you as a tool to make money? Besides, even if I were willing, your older brother wouldn't be."

Meng Jiuxia stared at her with a look that said, "I don't believe you at all," and said in a resentful tone, "But you just said that."

"I just wanted to tease you a bit. Besides, now that you're working with your sister-in-law, all the money you earn will be saved for your dowry. Don't worry, your sister-in-law won't take a single penny from you."

The little girl then burst into laughter through her tears: "Morning Glory, you're a liar! You're deliberately bullying me, aren't you? Are you getting revenge on me?"

Seeing her smile, Xu Chaoyan put her arm around her and walked forward, saying, "Alright, alright, let's hurry back. Although we didn't get anything today, there's still a lot of things waiting for us at home. Let's try again tomorrow. I refuse to believe this is bad luck."

After finally managing to calm the little girl down, Xu Chaoyan cursed inwardly, "My god, these two siblings are so petty, one of them bursts into tears after just a few words. I guess I'll have to be more careful in the future and not speak so carelessly."

Meng Jiuxia wasn't this prone to crying before. She probably became like this after what happened to her parents.

Although she had comforted her sister-in-law, she was still worried. Since she hadn't had any work done today, her smile was noticeably less pronounced.

Back in the courtyard, there was another period of commotion. Since they moved to the town, she had leveled a piece of land around the courtyard, and there were also several plots of land not far behind the house belonging to Zhang Xuyang's family.

She also planned to grow some things to at least fill her stomach. With the help of her aunt, she planned to set aside some of the old ginger and taro. She dug a small cellar behind the house, as these things needed to be stored in the cellar, but the weather was too hot to put them in there yet.

Finally, I dug a hole behind the house and covered it with some soil. This way, I can preserve some seeds. But when it comes time to plant them, I don't know how many good ones will be left. I can only leave it to fate. If all else fails, I can buy some seeds later.

When Meng Jiu returned in the evening, he saw his younger sister and Xu Chaoyan busy in the yard. Although they didn't seem to be doing anything outwardly, the forlorn expressions on their faces still caught his eye.

He called his younger sister aside and asked her about what happened that day. Meng Jiuxia's stammering manner made him even more suspicious.

"Brother, it's not that I don't want to tell you, but my sister-in-law said not to bother you with these things. Right now, you should focus on your studies, so we shouldn't bother you with these trivial matters at home."

Finally, under Meng Jiuhe's persistent questioning, she reluctantly told him what had happened that day, and then looked worried: "Brother, my sister-in-law seems alright. She even comforted me, bought me candy, and said she'll go out again tomorrow. Please don't tell anyone that I told her."

When they returned in the afternoon, Xu Chaoyan had washed all the young ginger and dried it in a winnowing basket. Since it was hot and she couldn't sleep, she decided to soak all the vegetables.

When I went back this time, I moved a jar out from the corner of the house. These used to be used by my mother-in-law, Li San Niang, to make pickles. She happened to see that the earthenware jar was relatively big, so she moved it over.

Meng Jiuhe had been in the room for quite a while. He was able to keep up with what the teacher was saying today. There was a faint light coming from the kitchen. He frowned, put down the book in his hand, and went to the kitchen.

"What are you doing so late? Why don't you do it tomorrow?"

As Xu Chaoyan poured a basin of cooled water into the earthenware jar, she replied, "No, this won't do. The young ginger has already dried out. I need to soak it properly today. You should go back and rest first. I'll be right back."

Meng Jiuhe ignored her and walked over to help her carry the basket of young ginger: "What are you doing? I'll help you."

"Okay, I'll take care of it now. You've never done this before, so be careful not to ruin this jar of kimchi. Just hold it for me and don't touch my vegetables."

Meng Jiuhe was somewhat unhappy and dissatisfied after hearing her words.

Why can you touch me but I can't?

As Xu Chaoyan added salt, ginger, chili peppers, and garlic, she explained, "There are some tricks to pickling vegetables. Some people just can't handle these things. These vegetables can be quite stingy sometimes. Besides, you have the hands that hold a pen, so you shouldn't touch these things. What if your hands get burning hot from the chili peppers? I'm just thinking of you."

After thinking for a moment, Xu Chaoyan scooped in some more salt. She looked pained, as salt was indeed quite expensive in this era. However, if not enough salt was added to the kimchi, it would be very sour.

Seeing her put all the young ginger and chili peppers in, Meng Jiuhe looked puzzled and asked, "What kind of cooking is this? I've never seen my mother make it before. Is it even edible?"

Xu Chaoyan didn't even look up, continuing to add more food: "You don't understand. This dish is sour and spicy, and it'll be great with rice, whether you make pickled pork liver or eat it plain. Just wait and see."

Xu Chaoyan was busy the whole time, and Meng Jiuhe was very observant, helping her hold the oil lamp and handing her things. The two of them worked together very well, and they put two large jars of pickled food here.

Finally, she scooped up a ladle of water and poured it onto the rim of the jar. Only then did she nod in satisfaction and say, "It will be ready to eat in a little while."

After saying that, he couldn't help but lick his lips and reach out to rub his aching lower back.

Meng Jiuhe originally wanted to ask them if their trip hadn't gone smoothly, and if so, if so, they shouldn't go out anymore and could just stay home.

He had already asked the bookstore if he could get books to copy. Besides, he was a fast copyer, and he could also copy some during his break at the school and copy some more when he got back in the evening. That should be enough to support his family.

When the two returned to the room, Xu Chaoyan saw him packing up his books and casually asked, "Aren't you going to review for a while? You haven't been to school for so long, I don't know if you're keeping up with the pace. Why don't you review for half an hour before you come back each day?"

“I can understand everything the Master said. Besides, lamp oil is so expensive, why waste it? I just brought you a basin of hot water. Wash up first, then lie down in bed and I'll give you a massage.”

Xu Chaoyan thought she had misheard, so she ignored him and washed her face and hands clean. She also prepared the clothes he would wear the next day and walked over while yawning.

Meng Jiuhe, dressed in his undergarments, sat on the bed. He saw her in the room tidying up his clothes and writing materials for tomorrow. His heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly felt a sense of peace and tranquility.

He used to think that she was only after his looks, that she was constantly pestering him and eventually used tricks to marry him, so he was always dissatisfied with her and spoke coldly to her.

Since he broke his leg, he has gradually come to understand her better. She has been good to him and his family, and she only cares about him. He has a heart of flesh and blood, and he slowly found that his feelings were changing little by little.

Seeing him sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze, Xu Chaoyan waved her hand in front of him and asked, "Husband, what's wrong with you?"

Meng Jiuhe snapped out of her thoughts and pulled her to sit down: "Lie down and I'll give you a massage to relieve your fatigue."

Xu Chaoyan was still confused. Had this person changed their personality or something? Not only was their tone gentle, but they also took her hand. This was the first time they'd done this, so she took the opportunity to touch it a few more times, even rubbing it with her thumb for a while, muttering, "The temperature is fine, isn't it?"