Ugly girl only wants to farm

These days, Xu Chaoyan has been busy asking people to bring back firewood, and the yard is piled high with it.

Xu Chaoyan, beaming with joy, specially prepared thirst-quenching tea for them and also prepared some tofu pudding for them to try. After all, the eyes of the masses are discerning, and it is impossible to please everyone.

There wasn't much work to do during this period, but Uncle Zhang helped find a few strong men, and they finished the job ahead of schedule in just three days.

Everyone raved about Xu Chaoyan's tofu pudding. They couldn't help but praise Meng Jiuhe for finding such a wonderful wife—not only was she hardworking, but she also had excellent cooking skills. Xu Chaoyan was quite flattered by the praise.

She went to see the wooden bucket the carpenter had made for her. According to her request, two wooden wheels and a handle were installed at the bottom. However, some details were not done well enough and needed to be carefully polished. She took this time to rest. Once everything was done, she could start selling tofu pudding from street to street and earn as much as she could.

As for the craftsman, she only needs to be back before noon to prepare the meal. Anyway, with her sister-in-law's help, she is quite efficient. She can chop the vegetables the night before, and then take an hour to come back at noon to cook and deliver the meal.

Meng Jiu and his classmates had been attending school in a classroom. A few days ago, they had a day off, and he helped them a lot. Zhang Xuyang and Uncle Zhang also came to help them, so the firewood in the yard was enough for them to get through the whole winter.

After dinner that evening, Xu Chaoyan was busy cleaning up the dishes when Meng Jiuhe stopped her, saying, "Little sister, you clean up first. I have something to say to your sister-in-law."

Meng Jiuxia received her older brother's message and replied with a smile, "Brother, you two go ahead. Do you and your wife have something to say to each other? It's okay, I'll do these chores. You two can talk more. I'll also boil the water for washing your feet."

When the two returned to the house, she looked puzzled: "What's wrong? What's the rush? We can talk about it when we're asleep tonight."

Meng Jiu hesitated for a long time before speaking: "It's about selling tofu pudding that you mentioned before. Won't that be too hard for you? The wooden bucket you carry through the streets is so heavy. Do you want to reconsider? Our family is doing alright now. I can just copy a few more books for you to earn money. You don't need to work so hard."

Xu Chaoyan thought he was going to say something, but it turned out to be this. No wonder he seemed hesitant to speak these past few days. She had been planning to ask him what he was thinking about, and now she realized it was this.

She put down the folded clothes in her hand: "Do you not like me showing my face in public, or do you have other concerns?"

Meng Jiuhe quickly explained with a worried look: "That's not what I meant. I was worried that you were working too hard. Although the weather is a bit cooler now, it's still a bit hot. You have to run your stall and come back to cook lunch for so many people. There are so many things to do for the whole family. I was just worried that you were working too hard. I thought our family is doing alright and we can manage. Why make yourself work so hard? We don't ask for great wealth and status. We just want our family to be together, safe and happy."

Seeing that his face was flushed with anxiety, Xu Chaoyan explained to him. She knew what kind of person Meng Jiuhe was, so she didn't argue with him. She just gently took his hand and whispered, "You don't need to worry about me. I will be careful. I'm doing this for the sake of this family. I want us all to live a good life. Anyway, I don't have much to do at home."

Meng Jiuhe stopped trying to stop her, knowing that she was the kind of person who would do her best to achieve what she set her mind to. He just looked at her with concern and said, "Then you and your little sister can come out with us. You can come back as soon as the sun comes up."

Xu Chaoyan, both amused and exasperated, pinched his hand: "So, am I going out to do business or just for a walk? It's fine when the sun comes out. I'll go out and check out the market first, and then go to your school gate in a few days. Don't think I'm making a fool of myself."

Meng Jiuhe took her hands in his arms with a look of heartache: "You've only been here a few days, and you already have several cuts on your hands. Didn't you hire someone before? Why are you still getting involved? How could I think you're shameful?"

Xu Chaoyan didn't seem to care much and glanced at it casually: "It's just a few small openings. Although it cost money, I still have to do some work. It's too cold in winter, and I've been thinking of building a kang (heated brick bed), but the conditions don't allow it right now. This house is rented, but I'll definitely build one back in my hometown in the future. It's too cold in winter."

Meng Jiuhe took her hand and kissed it gently, his voice soft: "Take your time, there's no rush. I'll definitely make sure you have a good life in the future. I'm sorry you're suffering right now. We'll renovate the house in the village when we have some spare money, according to your preferences. I also think it's very cold in winter, but I've gotten used to it after all these years. I'm sure you had a much better life at home than with me. I feel really bad that you've suffered like this."

Xu Chao was also surprised by Meng Jiuhe's sudden words, and his heart stirred slightly: "It's alright, what's so hard about it? I'm happy to have such a handsome husband who supports your studies and spends money on you. By the way, there's something I want to discuss with you. I'm planning to go out and sell tofu pudding with my sister-in-law. Let her keep the money she earns. She has saved some money before, but it's not much. Young girls like to buy all sorts of pretty things. Let her slowly save up for her dowry. In the future, she'll have a skill and won't be looked down upon by others when she goes to her husband's family."

Meng Jiuhe: "You can make these decisions. I didn't want her money anyway, and I was planning to save it for her."

Meng Jiuhe suddenly took out a few copper coins from his pocket and placed them in her palm. The coins were still slightly warm. Xu Chaoyan looked puzzled and said, "Why are you giving me copper coins? Keep them on you for emergencies. Don't always give them all to me. You need to maintain good relationships with your classmates, like buying them tea occasionally."

Meng Jiuhe looked embarrassed: "Don't think it's too little. I'll earn more for you in the future. You can keep it and save it up slowly. You can buy a couple of flowers for you and your little sister to wear later. Look at you two, you're all without makeup. I see that other girls like to wear flowers and rouge."

Xu Chaoyan laughed and teased him, "You're quite observant. Did that young lady bring flowers or apply rouge? You saw it all clearly."

After saying that, he looked extremely jealous.

Meng Jiuhe pulled her close and lightly tapped her nose: "Why would I go out of my way to see them? It's just that some of my classmates have younger sisters and I heard them mention them."

That night, Meng Jiu clung to her tightly. Just because of a joke she made, he held her face and gazed at her for a long time, even whispering some tender words in her ear. Xu Chaoyan was overjoyed to hear this. She never expected this person to be so eloquent. He used to seem so unapproachable, but at night he became so silver-tongued.

The next day, Meng Jiuhe and Zhang Xuyang went to the school, and Xu Chaoyan went to see her aunt again and chatted with her for a while. Just as she was about to go back to prepare lunch, her sister-in-law called out anxiously from outside: "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, come back quickly! Someone from the village came and said that Uncle's family is causing trouble again."

The old woman glanced at her anxiously: "Meng family daughter-in-law, you should go back and take a look. Or you could ask your Uncle Zhang to go and see if he can help in any way."

Xu Chaoyan quickly thanked her and said that she didn't need it for the time being, and would talk about it later if she needed it. She would go back and find out the situation first.

When Xu Chaoyan rushed back to the courtyard, she saw the coachman and quickly poured him a bowl of water, saying, "Uncle, have some water and catch your breath. Tell me what's going on slowly, there's no rush."

The uncle poured down a bowl of cold tea and, after a moment, spoke: "You should hurry back to the village. Your second uncle somehow got wind of the news that your parents and younger brother have died. He doesn't know what happened to his family either, but these past few days they've been digging around your yard wall with a hoe. I think the corner of the wall is going to collapse if they keep digging."

Meng Jiuxia immediately became anxious upon hearing this: "What exactly is my second uncle's family trying to do? Why are they digging up my courtyard wall for no reason? Where did they get this information from?"