Ugly girl only wants to farm

Xu Chaoyan picked up a piece of candy and ate it: "Second Uncle, don't listen to my sister-in-law's nonsense. There's no such thing. I just came out to try my luck and got a few dirty looks."

After the second uncle brought the two of them home, his sons and wives all went out to work, leaving only his youngest daughter-in-law and several grandsons at home. The two of them seemed a little restrained at home.

They hadn't originally planned to come along, but somehow they ended up in this area. When Second Uncle saw Xu Chaoyan's reserved demeanor, he chuckled.

"Fire Boy, it's only been a few years, and you've already become distant from your second uncle, haven't you? When you were little, you loved coming to your uncle's house to play."

Xu Chaoyan laughed awkwardly twice, sat there and played with a few children for a while, and then gave them all the candy in her hand.

Second Uncle puffed on his cigarette for a moment before speaking: "Since you want to find some work but no one is willing, how about your uncle's crooked courtyard wall? The courtyard needs repair anyway, but I've been too busy to get around to it. Why don't you lend me a hand?"

Xu Chaoyan was having a great time playing with the little girl when she heard him say "Ah".

Meng Jiuxia quickly tugged at her sleeve: "Sister-in-law, Uncle said he wants you to help him repair the courtyard wall and wants you to find some craftsmen to come over."

Xu Chaoyan finally found her voice, looking somewhat uneasy: "Second Uncle, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

When her second uncle saw that she disagreed, he suddenly put on a stern face and slammed his pipe on the table with a loud "thud," the sound of the pipe hitting the table being particularly jarring in the room.

"What do you mean 'not good'? You'd rather go out and take on other people's work than help your second uncle, right? Do you also look down on us because we're poor relatives trying to freeload?"

Seeing that her second uncle looked unwell, Xu Chaoyan quickly replied, "Second Uncle, what are you saying? How could I possibly look down on you? I am deeply grateful for your timely help in my time of need. Don't worry, I will definitely build this courtyard wall for you to be sturdy, beautiful and aesthetically pleasing."

She figured she had to find work anyway, so she figured she could just practice her skills over her second uncle's courtyard wall. Only then did her second uncle show a kind smile.

The two then chatted about their childhood. Around noon, his younger daughter-in-law busied herself cooking. Xu Chaoyan and her sister-in-law felt a little embarrassed and wanted to offer to help. However, the younger daughter-in-law treated them like children and even gave them snacks, which made Xu Chaoyan both laugh and cry.

As the woman tended the fire, she chatted with her: "My father told me that my husband used to be sick a lot and his health wasn't very good. Back then, we were poor and couldn't afford any extra money. It was your mother who generously helped us get medical treatment and medicine for our husband. We will always remember her kindness."

They agreed to come and break ground in three days. Generally, breaking ground requires choosing an auspicious date. Uncle Er took out a crumpled book and flipped through it several times before deciding on the date three days later.

With exactly three days to spare, Xu Chaoyan planned to go back to the village to inform the craftsmen, as the journey back to the village was quite long. She also wanted to arrange their accommodations, so that their food and lodging would be taken care of. This way, they would be able to work more diligently without having to travel back and forth and would be able to get proper rest.

Before leaving, her second uncle insisted on giving her a bundle. Xu Chaoyan didn't know what was inside, but it felt heavy. She said somewhat embarrassedly, "Second Uncle, you don't need to take this. It's like I'm being too stingy by taking things from here while you're eating."

Second Uncle patted her forehead lightly: "Huowa, you're being too polite. If you don't take anything, it'll seem like you're not close to Second Uncle. There's nothing much, just some rice, flour, and a couple of slices of salted meat. Take it back and have a taste. My wife isn't here today; if she were, she would complain that I didn't take enough."

Meng Jiuxia patted her round belly and smacked her lips: "Sister-in-law hasn't had such delicious food in a long time."

Today, I noticed that my second uncle's family was clearly doing quite well. At noon, they were served a meat dish made with cabbage stalks. Although it was mostly fatty, at least it had some meat. They also steamed white flour buns and cooked a pot of fish.

Her second uncle said that he had raised some fish in his own fishpond behind the house, and he had just caught some. Before leaving, he even forced one on her, telling her to take it back to nourish her husband, saying that a scholar should eat something good to nourish his brain.

At this moment, Meng Jiuxia was holding the fish with a straw rope, watching it jump around, and she looked very excited.

“Sister-in-law, how about we go back and make this fish soup, and then cook a bowl of noodles for my brother? He hasn’t had any meat in a long time. I heard from my mother that eating fish makes you smarter. When we get back, I’ll make him a bowl of fish soup noodles so he can be smarter and get praise from his teacher. I’ll make fish balls for you.”

Although Meng Jiuxia had just finished eating and her stomach was full, she remained quite reserved.

Xu Chaoyan looked at his thin body and felt a pang of heartache: "Well, I'll make you fish soup noodles tonight, and I'll give each of you a full bowl, okay? You should eat more, look how thin you are."

Meng Jiuxia looked disapproving: "Sister-in-law, what do you mean I'm too skinny? Didn't you just tell Second Uncle that being slim is all the rage now? Do you think I'm too thin to do any work, or do you think I eat too much? Are you trying to get me married off quickly to get a dowry?"

Xu Chaoyan was taken aback by what she said, and her face became serious: "What are you talking about? Who's been gossiping about you?"

Given her sister-in-law's personality, she would never say such a thing. Meng Jiuxia stammered for a long time before finally speaking apologetically: "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry, I misspoke. That day when I returned to the village, I happened to run into that Aunt He from before. She said to me in a sarcastic tone that now that my elder brother has become disabled, you plan to marry me off in exchange for a dowry. After hearing that, I cursed at her a few times."

Xu Chaoyan ruffled her hair twice: "Don't listen to their nonsense. How could your sister-in-law use you to exchange for betrothal gifts? When you find a husband in the future, you must find someone you like who will treat you well. Even if you don't marry, your brother and I can support you for the rest of your life."

Meng Jiuxia's eyes were slightly red, and her voice choked up a little: "Sister-in-law, I knew you weren't that kind of person. I misunderstood you before. Now I'm happy to see you and my brother living in harmony. I'm still young and not in a hurry to get married. I can help you take care of your children for a few more years. We can talk about these things after we've raised our nephew and niece. Besides, they will need to go to school and learn to read and write. There will always be someone to take care of the family. You can't even start a fire properly. If you really marry me off, you will lose a great help."

Xu Chaoyan pretended to be angry: "You little brat, you dare to talk back, huh?"

When Meng Jiuhe returned from school today, he saw that Xu Chaoyan and the others had happy faces. He guessed that there must be some good news today. He saw her scraping fish scales in a wooden basin, and the little dog was around her, wagging its tail vigorously.

She would turn around and scold the dog every now and then, but the dog continued to wag its tail at her feet and even tugged at her trouser leg.

He walked over and asked gently, "What good thing happened to you today?"

Xu Chaoyan tore off half of the fish's gills and threw it over. The dog pounced on it immediately, biting it and running away.

"Today, my sister-in-law and I ran into my second uncle in town. He gave you a fish, saying it would help you recover."

Meng Jiu pointed at himself with a suspicious look: "Shouldn't the one who nourishes me be the one nourishing you?"

Xu Chaoyan continued with her work: "My second uncle said that scholars need to nourish themselves properly, and that eating fish makes them smarter."

Meng Jiuhe chuckled softly: "I don't need to replenish my brain. Let's nourish you and my little sister instead. You've both been working so hard these days, you look quite thin. By the way, Brother Zhang just brought over some tofu."

Xu Chaoyan's eyes lit up: "Perfect! I'll make a fish head tofu soup later, and we can braise the rest of the fish."

The fish wasn't very big, only a little over a pound. Once the head was cut off, there wasn't much of the body left.

Xu Chaoyan raised her sleeve and rubbed her face twice; her bloody face was still itchy.

"Hey, could you scoop up a ladle of water for me to rinse off this bloody water? My face is a little itchy."

Meng Jiuhe picked up the gourd ladle, scooped up a ladle of water, and gently rinsed it down her hand. He then reached out and took the ladle, saying, "Let me hold it. Don't scratch your face."

Their hands touched, and Meng Jiuhe's ears suddenly turned red.