Ugly girl only wants to farm

After Xu Chaoyan and the others returned to the village, when they passed by their second uncle's house, Liu peeked out and saw that they were not carrying anything. She walked into her yard with a dark face, muttering to herself as she went.

"Why do you keep coming back every few days if there's nothing wrong? And you always come back empty-handed. You said you could get some benefits, but you didn't get anything. You're such a tightwad, you don't give me a penny."

Xu Chaoyan almost laughed out of anger. What did their return have to do with Liu Shi? And she still wanted benefits. Last time, after all that trouble, she was still relatively unscathed at home. It seems that Uncle Meng didn't beat her to a pulp. She was lucky.

When Liu returned home, she slammed the courtyard gate shut with a loud bang. After taking a few steps, she thought for a moment and muttered, "Bad luck, I didn't check the almanac before I left home."

They had returned the last time. The courtyard gate was overgrown with weeds, and withered yellow leaves from the trees were scattered everywhere in the winter.

Meng Jiuhe opened the courtyard gate. The courtyard had been uninhabited for a long time, and there was no life in it. It looked rather desolate, with weeds growing everywhere. It seemed that a stray cat had suddenly appeared there, which startled Meng Jiuhe so much that he screamed.

The big black cat glanced at them warily for a few moments, then darted over the wall in a few quick movements.

Xu Chaoyan gently patted her shoulder and said a few words of comfort. Then she checked around the yard to see if there was any draft or leak. They could tidy it up first when they returned today.

I didn't plan to stay long this time, and I didn't prepare anything. I just packed some dry food with me and planned to leave a message for the uncle later.

The reason for leaving a message with the uncle was that he was an honest man who had helped the Meng family a lot before, and he had even picked up a lot of mountain produce and sweet potatoes for them before leaving.

The donkey cart that Xu Chaoyan and the others hired waited for them for about two hours. After they had finished taking care of most of their business, the three of them headed to the town. They were mainly worried about Zhang Yueniang and the others, so it was better to make the round trip today to avoid any unforeseen problems.

Traveling back by donkey cart in winter was much faster, but the wind really hurt their faces. Meng Jiuhe found some dry straw at home and spread it on the cart. He also took out thick coats and wrapped Xu Chaoyan and Meng Jiuxia up tightly. Each of the three of them held a hot water bottle in their arms, which made the journey a little more comfortable.

The donkey cart stopped when it turned a corner near their house. The donkey suddenly became a bit stubborn, so Xu Chaoyan and the others decided to go inside.

Suddenly, a woman in front of her saw her and quickly called out.

"Oh my, Meng family, where have you come from? You're finally back. The Zhang family is making a huge fuss today. I was wondering why I didn't see you. Go and see them. That damned dog is hanging around the gate like a mangy dog."

After saying that, he looked around before speaking again: "That gossipy Zhu family woman has been watching the show for a long time, and she's been shouting everywhere like a loudspeaker."

After saying that, she looked at him with disdain: "I don't know what's wrong with that sour old woman. She always likes to watch other people's misfortunes and expose their shortcomings. Doesn't she ever think about the two daughters she raised? One of them has been married three times already, and the other is eager to become someone else's concubine. Aren't they ashamed?"

Xu Chaoyan became anxious upon hearing this. How long had they been gone? And now they'd come back like this.

She simply started running, urging the brother and sister, "You two hurry over and take a look, don't let them suffer any losses."

When the three of them arrived at the gate of the Zhang family's courtyard, panting, they found that Li Dazhu had been pulled there by his parents on a cart. They were currently building a fire outside the Zhang family's courtyard. Dazhu's mother was sitting on a stool, cursing loudly at the Zhang family's courtyard. After cursing a few times, she would drink some water when she was thirsty and eat something when she was hungry.

Xu Chaoyan was utterly stunned; she never expected such a thing to happen. Meng Jiuxia also stared wide-eyed for a long time.

The old man next to her took a couple of deep puffs of his pipe. When the old woman stopped, he kicked her with his foot and said with a look of disgust, "Keep cursing. You're usually so loud, aren't you? Ruin her family's reputation and make it impossible for her to live here. Let's see how she can still have the face to stay. She'll be begging us to take her granddaughter back."

As Xu Chaoyan walked past, she deliberately bumped into the cart, muttering, "A good dog doesn't block the way."

Li Dazhu lay on the cart and shouted, "Ouch, ouch!"

"Who the hell was that? It hurt like hell!"

Meng Jiuhe grabbed Xu Chaoyan and gently shook his head: "Don't be impulsive, let's go in and see what's going on first."

The Zhang family's courtyard gate was tightly closed at the moment, and smoke was rising from the house. Xu Chaoyan guessed that they hadn't suffered any losses.

She knocked on the door a few times: "Sister, it's me, Auntie. Open the door quickly, we're back."

A moment later, a loud noise came from the yard, and the door was pulled open with a bang.

Before Dazhu's mother could react, the courtyard gate suddenly slammed shut again.

Dazhu's mother originally wanted to sneak in when the courtyard gate was wide open. It was freezing outside, and although they had brought dry food and firewood with them, they couldn't stay here any longer.

Her legs felt like popsicles, and the old man would kick her every now and then. She was also choking on the cold steamed buns. Her son on the cart would throw tantrums, demand food, and then want to urinate, leaving her covered in dirt.

She cursed at the gate a few more times: "These sons of bitches are freezing me to death! They didn't even open the door to let us warm up by the fire. This family is truly heartless. We were in-laws after all."

After Xu Chaoyan went inside, the family gathered around the fire, and their expressions seemed alright.

Xu Chaoyan spoke after a moment: "Auntie, you didn't suffer any loss, did you?"

Zhang Xuyang was roasting sweet potatoes for Ya Ya at the moment. He looked up and replied, "We didn't suffer any losses. The whole family came suddenly and aggressively, wielding sticks and trying to fight us. We weren't going to take it lying down either. Even Ya Ya picked up a broom and wanted to fight them. In the end, we and a few uncles helped to drive them out the door."

Xu Chaoyan frowned repeatedly as she listened to the insults outside.

After a moment of silence, she spoke up: "Auntie, just ignore him. We'll go back and pack our things in a bit. Since they want to wear us down, let's just wait it out. Let's see how long they can last. This weather will wear them out, and they'll be badly injured. You should also pack up all the important things in your house. We'll take advantage of their exhaustion and move to Yue Liang's house. Let him put on a one-man show here. If we can't afford to mess with him, can't we at least avoid him?"

Upon seeing Xu Chaoyan and the others return, the old woman seemed to have suddenly found her pillar of support: "I'll listen to you. By the way, there's a small door behind my tofu shop. When we need to pick up some essential things, we can ask the neighbor to lock the gate for us. We'll go to the county town first. As for the property, let's not rush it. Let them freeze outside if they like. Out of sight, out of mind."

Xu Chaoyan still saw the reluctance in the old woman's eyes. After all, it was a place where she had lived for decades, and it was a little sad to leave all of a sudden.

This was Xu Chaoyan's solution after thinking for a long time after sitting down. There was nothing to say to this scoundrel. After the two families discussed it, they swaggered out of the courtyard gate and went home to prepare all the necessities needed for the house.

Then she looked at Meng Jiuhe and said, "You can go to the county town with your aunt and the others first, so you can look after each other on the way. My sister-in-law and I will take care of things at home and settle the wages of the craftsmen. There are still some finishing touches to be done. I will come to find you in about half a month."

Meng Jiuhe refused without hesitation: "No, I can't leave the two of you here. Why don't you let Xia'er go with them first, and I'll stay here with you to handle these matters? We can go find them together later, but I'm worried about you."

Seeing his determined expression, Xu Chaoyan had no choice but to agree.

So, the two families ignored Li Dazhu and his wife. The old woman's voice became hoarse as she cursed, and in the dead of winter, she rubbed her nose and tears in large clumps. The old man would occasionally complain about her.

They only brought a little bit of dry food, and they couldn't stand eating that dry food in the cold wind. After two more days, Dazhu's mother's voice became hoarse and she could barely speak. She also felt dizzy and unsteady.

Li Dazhu was bundled up tightly on the cart, but even he couldn't withstand the freezing weather outside, and he coughed every now and then.

They held on until noon on the third day, but they couldn't take it anymore. Da Zhu's father rubbed his hands together and pushed his son, saying that they were going to find an inn in town to rest for the night, leaving his wife to continue to endure the hardship alone.