Ugly girl only wants to farm

The old woman was so anxious she was almost crying. She propped herself up and said, "My son, it's all my fault. Our family was already struggling, and these days you've been getting up in the middle of the night to help us save money for your tuition. Now you're not studying and you're at home. What are we going to do? You're not young anymore, you haven't started a family, and you have no future. It's all my fault for dragging you down."

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face. Zhang's father, standing beside her, comforted her, saying, "Yang'er, don't argue. Your father is here to take care of things. Just do what you need to do and don't ruin your future. Our family is poor, and it's not easy for us to produce a scholar like you. You have to make the Zhang family proud and show those who look down on us that we're not bad off." After saying this, he also began to wipe away his tears.

Xu Chaoyan and Meng Jiuhe felt a pang of emotion watching the family of three weeping. Meng Jiuhe, in particular, often thought of his parents and younger brother in the quiet of the night since his parents' disappearance.

He always believed that his parents were still alive somewhere. Until he saw their bodies, he always held onto the hope that they were still alive and well somewhere, even if he never saw them again.

Seeing that his expression was a little off, Xu Chaoyan guessed that he was thinking about his parents, so she whispered a few words of comfort: "Husband, don't think about it so much, it's all in the past."

She also knew about the Zhang family's current situation. Although the Zhang family started out by making tofu, the old couple were frail and sickly, and they also had to support their son's education, so the family's conditions were just passable. Fortunately, their ancestors left behind these houses, otherwise the Zhang family would have had a hard time.

Now that Meng Jiuhe has finally regained his confidence and stepped into school, with Zhang Xuyang as his companion, the two discuss their studies on weekdays and get along well. In recent days, he has been smiling much more often.

She knew that the disappearance of their parents had been a huge blow to him, and she had been there for the two siblings during this time, although they hadn't shown it to her.

However, she could still tell from their eyes that they hadn't shown their true feelings so as not to make her worry too much.

She pondered whether she could do something for the Zhang family. Her aunt had mentioned before that she was quite good at making tofu pudding and even offered to teach her. At the time, she had only casually overheard it, thinking that she could learn from her when she had some free time so that her family could make some tofu during festivals.

The Zhang family would send them some tofu every few days, and Xu Chaoyan felt really bad about it. She gently tugged at Meng Jiuhe's sleeve and whispered in his ear, "Husband, don't worry. I don't have much to do anyway, so I'll help the Zhang family. You and him should focus on your studies. You probably won't be able to go to the county school for a while, so you'll have to make do for a while."

Her original plan was to send Meng Jiuhe to the county school once she had saved enough money, so that he could have Zhang Xuyang's company. She would feel more at ease if the two of them were together. Given their current income, it was definitely not realistic for the whole family to move to the county.

She also planned to save money slowly, and it would be a good choice to settle down in the county town in the future. There would be more opportunities to make money in the county town. After all, the town is a small place with limited economic strength. She wanted to earn more money so that the Meng family could live a good life.

Meng Jiuhe leaned closer to her and whispered, "The Zhang family has helped us a lot. Even if you hadn't said anything, I was planning to help them out whenever I had the chance."

He glanced at the determined Zhang Xuyang: "Xuyang, you should still go to school together. No wonder the teacher said you kept yawning the other day. I was wondering if you were too tired lately and hadn't rested well. Turns out you were helping out at home in the middle of the night. If you ever need anything at home, remember to call me. We're not only classmates but also good friends. Your family's business is my family's business. Don't be too formal."

Xu Chaoyan then chimed in, "Auntie, please focus on recovering from your leg injury. My sister-in-law and I have nothing to do these days, so we'll come and keep you company. Besides, there's not much work to do at home. Oh, right, didn't you say you'd teach me how to make tofu pudding? It's been so hot lately, and I haven't been sleeping well anyway, so getting up an hour or two earlier won't hurt. Uncle Zhang, you'll have to work a little harder. I'm a bit slow-witted, so please don't mind."

The elderly Zhang couple looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Although they were happy that Meng Jia could help them, they felt bad for taking up his time for no reason.

“That Meng family daughter-in-law, my leg injury will take a long time to heal, so it doesn’t seem right to ask you to lend a hand. I know you mean well, but…”

Xu Chaoyan guessed he would say that and immediately stopped her: "Auntie, what are you saying? Our family has just arrived in this town, and we are very grateful for your help. Otherwise, how could we have settled down here smoothly and hired people to do work and earn money? We are so grateful that we only helped you with a small matter. Why do you have to worry about it?"

While the elderly couple hesitated, Xu Chaoyan pulled Meng Jiuhe to her feet, preparing to leave: "Auntie and Uncle Zhang, let me first share my thoughts. You three can consider it. There's nothing else here, so we'll head back now. You can tell us your decision later."

Xu Chaoyan pulled Meng Jiuhe towards her own yard. Once they were out of the yard, she said, "We hadn't finished talking yet. Why didn't we stay a little longer? I saw that they were hesitant. I guess if we persuaded them a few more times, they would agree. Didn't you say that morning is when memory is at its best? I'll get up an hour or two earlier and help Uncle grind the beans."

Meng Jiuhe's hand and Xu Chaoyan's hand were tightly clasped together. He didn't even notice the slight smile on Xu Chaoyan's lips. The two walked home slowly and naturally, like an old married couple.

"Husband, you don't need to worry about these things. If you study hard during the day and don't get enough sleep, it will affect your brain and make you stupid. Leave these things to me and my sister-in-law. Children don't need much sleep anyway. I'll go and learn how to make tofu pudding from the Zhang family. I'll make some for you to try then."

Meng Jiuxia sneezed inexplicably in the room, looking puzzled: Could it be that I caught a cold in the middle of summer?

That night, while the two were lying in bed, they discussed it again. They decided that they would definitely not be able to go to the county school next year, so they planned to use the remaining money to see what kind of small business they could start.

Because building houses is definitely not a long-term solution. After the last earthquake, many families were building houses.

But by next year, everyone will probably have finished building. As a woman, she can only find work nearby. Going to other places would probably be difficult. She has been thinking about this problem. It just so happens that she has been helping the Zhang family lately and learning how to make tofu might give her some ideas.

The two were very close, close enough to hear each other's breathing. Xu Chaoyan was deep in thought, and since she was already dressed lightly, there was no need to hide her clothes after last night. Sleeping in them openly was much more comfortable.

Her mosquito net was newly replaced, but there are always a lot of mosquitoes in the summer, and their buzzing outside is really annoying. As she turned over, she heard a soft groan.

"You're not asleep yet."

She assumed Meng Jiuhe was already asleep, as she couldn't see his expression clearly in the dim moonlight, but judging from the sound he made just now, it must have been quite painful.

Xu Chaoyan was a little annoyed with herself. She just couldn't break this habit. She had just skillfully rolled over and put her legs up again.

After listening for a while without any response, she cautiously asked, "Are you... are you alright? Did I accidentally crush you?"

Meng Jiu took a deep breath and exhaled, then flipped over and pinned the other person down. His voice was low and husky with a hint of helplessness: "You did pin me down, but you have to take responsibility for making me feel better."

After saying that, his face turned red all the way to his earlobes, but it was just that he couldn't see it in the dark.

Xu Chaoyan was also surprised that he would say such things. She couldn't help but reach out and poke his cheek: "How do you want to coax me?"