Ugly girl only wants to farm

Only Dazhu's mother remained in front of the Zhang family's courtyard gate, still sitting there shivering. She hadn't been eating or sleeping well for the past two days and really wanted to persuade the old man to just let things go. In this desolate December, they should go home and celebrate the New Year properly first. She refused to believe that this family could grow wings and fly away.

These past few days, she could hear voices and smoke rising from inside. Occasionally, the aroma of meat would tantalize her, and she couldn't squeeze past the craftsmen who were constantly coming and going.

The Zhang family had been waiting for this day. They had almost finished packing their belongings. Both families packed some warm clothes and other necessities, and each family hired a donkey cart.

Just meet them at the back gate. Dazhu's mother was shivering from the cold in front, crying and shouting, but the gate hadn't been opened.

The neighbors were even less willing to pay attention to her. The three of them were freezing and hungry. They had tried to beg for some food, but these days, it was good enough for anyone to have enough to eat. Who would have extra food to share with them?

They were stingy and reluctant to spend money, but in the end they couldn't help but grit their teeth and spend money to buy an old kettle from the Zhu family woman to boil some hot water to warm themselves.

When Xu Chaoyan got up and opened the courtyard gate this morning, she saw that it was frosty again outside, and everything outside was shrouded in mist. A gust of cold wind blew over and she couldn't help but shiver a few times.

She had received news yesterday that they would be leaving today, so she packed up some of Meng Jiuxia's personal belongings, as well as some of her and Meng Jiuhe's clothes, and sent them to her aunt's house. In the afternoon, the group went around from there and moved all the things in the house to the car in front, leaving Dazhu's mother alone there to continue waiting.

Da Zhu's mother was truly patient. Despite her face being red and her throat sore from the cold, and her occasional howls, the father and son rested at an inn for the night and ate some hot food. They recovered considerably, leaving the poor old woman there resignedly cursing in the street.

Xu Chaoyan had just brought Meng Jiuxia and the others back. The two of them were carrying a small bundle of vegetables and freshly cut pork from the other side.

The Zhu family woman came out from the field behind the house, rubbing her hands together. Seeing the two of them being so intimate, she couldn't help but click her tongue a few times: "I say, you young people really love to show off your love. There's a saying that goes, 'Show off your love and you'll die quickly.' And what are you two carrying? You don't know how to manage money at all. You even bought such a big piece of meat. Don't you know how to save some money? I say, Meng Xiucai, your wife is spending money too much. How much money do you, a scholar, have? Look how wasteful she is."

After saying that, his envious, jealous, and greedy eyes lingered on the meat for a long time, reluctant to leave.

Meng Jiuhe felt somewhat disgusted by her and didn't want to pay her any attention.

Xu Chaoyan seemed to deliberately wave the meat in front of her again, and only then did she respond after pulling Meng Jiuhe, who was about to leave.

"Oh, it's Aunt Zhu. You've brought back that landmine-burying stunt again. You really know how to keep the good stuff in the family! Auntie, you're so good at managing money."

The woman rolled her eyes at her and said irritably, "This is called not wasting anything, you know? Learn from this."

Xu Chaoyan continued to shake the meat in her hand: "I think the meat is very fresh today. The butcher said that this pig was raised for a whole year, and it has a good balance of fat and lean meat. He specially saved some premium pork belly for me. I thought my husband has been studying hard, so I bought some to make him some twice-cooked pork or some braised pork belly to reward him. My husband is going to be the top scholar in the imperial examination in the future."

Upon hearing the name "top scholar," the Zhu family woman couldn't hide her envy. She had previously made sarcastic remarks about Xu Chaoyan several times, openly and subtly putting him and Zhang Xuyang down, saying that being a good-looking scholar was useless if you didn't have the ability to make money.

She praised her daughter to the skies, saying that her son-in-law's family was in business and that they had never had to worry about food or clothing for generations. They wore fine silks and satins, and the meat dishes were different every day. She bragged about it from beginning to end during that period.

Xu Chaoyan was tortured by her several times, but then, for some unknown reason, she disappeared without a trace.

Later, Xu Chaoyan learned from the old woman that the so-called wealthy businessman was just a conman. His family was only slightly better off than these people, able to afford a bowl of rice. The money his fake son-in-law used was obtained by his parents through high-interest loans and selling houses and land.

Later, he fooled the Zhu family's daughter into getting pregnant and following him. It was only after several women stepped forward that his scam was exposed. It turned out that he had more than one woman. That man was quite capable of swindling people everywhere, and he used the money he swindled on another woman.

At that time, it was said that the family business was having financial difficulties, and the Zhu family even put in some extra money. Because of this, the Zhu family woman was too ashamed to go out for several days and was ridiculed by everyone for several days, who said that her dream husband had fallen through.

The woman glanced at the handsome Meng Jiuhe again. She had heard that he was doing very well in school and would rise to great heights in the future. Suddenly, she felt a little resentful. Why did her daughter not meet such a good person, but instead meet this ugly freak?

This ugly woman isn't even that good-looking, and her figure isn't as good as her daughter's. She started to mutter to herself again, wondering if she should arrange for her daughter to meet this person another day. Maybe after Meng Jiuhe sees her delicate daughter, he won't want this ugly woman, Xu Chaoyan.

She immediately perked up and chuckled twice: "Oh, she's a wife who loves her husband. It seems you're quite lucky, Scholar Meng. It's just a pity that you, Scholar Meng, have both academic achievements and good looks. This woman's appearance doesn't quite match yours. How about I arrange one for you? What do you say?"

After he finished speaking, he gave Xu Chaoyan another disdainful look.

Meng Jiuhe's face was as cold as frost, and her tone was devoid of any warmth, like ice shards: "Thank you for your kind offer, Auntie. Instead of trying to find me a partner, you should find a few more for your husband. I heard he's spent his whole life praying for a son. If you find him a wife, maybe you can have two children in three years, and at least you'll have someone to carry on your family line after you both pass away, so you won't be left without even the scent of incense."

After saying this, Meng Jiuhe pulled Xu Chaoyan forward and said gently, "Wife, are you cold? I'll start a fire for you when we get back so I can warm you up. Come, let me rub your hands first."

The Zhu family woman was so angry at Meng Jiuhe's words that she couldn't react for a long time. After she calmed down, she spat at the two of them a few times and cursed them with a sharp and mean expression.

"What's so great about a poor scholar? It's your good fortune that I've taken a liking to you. With your pathetic appearance, you think you can match my daughter? My daughter is destined to marry into a wealthy family. You two pheasants can't turn into phoenixes. What are you so smug about?"

Xu Chaoyan, feeling playful, gently scratched his palm twice, her face beaming with smiles: "I never thought you had this side to you. That woman was speechless after you retorted."

Meng Jiuhe wrapped her small hand in his palm, which warmed Xu Chaoyan's hand considerably.

Meng Jiuhe then slowly spoke up: "For this kind of person, you have to give a sharp rebuttal. She thinks too highly of herself. I overheard Zhang Xuyang mention that his mother had arranged a marriage for him with a man from the Zhu family who was related to her. It was she who interfered, and in the end, that woman married another of her nephews. Why bother with someone like that? You should avoid her altogether."

When Xu Chaoyan came to see Meng Jiuxia and her group off today, the donkey cart was packed with things, making the journey much slower than before. Xu Chaoyan gave the drivers some extra money and also gave each of them a pot of wine, saying that they should have a drink to warm themselves up on the road at night. She told them to take it easy and drive carefully, as it was freezing cold and there was no need to rush. She just wanted them to arrive safely.

The construction on her house will be finished in a few days. According to the previous schedule, it was supposed to be completed a few days before the Lunar New Year. These uncles and elders are really great, finishing it so far ahead of schedule.

After finishing this job, she didn't plan to do anything else. The craftsmen seemed quite regretful, saying that they would never find such a good boss again.

Xu Chaoyan comforted them, saying, "Don't worry, I'll let you all know if I have any good jobs in the future. As long as you don't mind, that's fine."

They worked at home for about ten more days, and all the craftsmen basically finished their work. Only the carpenters and lacquerers had some minor issues that needed to be fixed. The craftsmen came and went as usual, and Dazhu Niang did not notice anything unusual.

After staying there for a few days, Da Zhu's mother couldn't bear the illness any longer and reluctantly dragged her ailing body back home.