Ugly girl only wants to farm

Meng Jiuhe knew from Xu Chaoyan's indifferent tone that she was unhappy, and he looked completely at a loss.

Seeing Xu Chaoyan leave, Zhang Xuyang quickly nudged the person next to him with his elbow and tentatively said, "Meng Jiuhe, I told you to buy the book, but you wouldn't listen. Now your wife is angry. Hurry up and coax her. I told you you're a blockhead. It's not like you're wasting money on other things. It's just a book, why make such a fuss?"

Meng Jiuhe was also somewhat regretful at this moment, wishing he had done as she said. He quickly chased after her.

Zhang Xuyang shook his head, sighed, and left.

Xu Chaoyan returned to her room and sat there sulking. Meng Jiuhe followed her in and sat down next to her, cautiously asking, "Wife, are you angry?"

Xu Chaoyan responded indifferently, "No, how could you tell I'm angry?"

Meng Jiuhe looked up at her and thought to himself: Your expression is so obvious, do I need to point it out?

"Husband, go and see how I've tidied up the desk. Is there anything I've overlooked? You and Zhang Xuyang can go and buy some more writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones tomorrow."

Meng Jiuhe didn't dare to go against her at this moment, and he nodded in agreement to whatever Xu Chaoyan said.

"My wife, you're right. I'll go and choose some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones tomorrow."

Actually, he still had his writing materials, but he didn't want to disappoint her. He also knew that she was doing it for his own good, since they were in the county town now, which was different from living in a small town.

But he didn't want her to work too hard. It wasn't easy for her to go out and earn money in the winter. Seeing her hands red from the cold, and her working from dawn till dusk, he felt terrible.

Xu Chaoyan was somewhat surprised to see him so obedient; this time, he didn't even argue with her.

Meng Jiuhe moved closer to her, took her hand, and gently rubbed it: "Are you cold? Let me warm your hands."

Xu Chaoyan grasped his hand in return and said softly, "It's alright. Go and check how well we've organized those books, and see if there's anything we missed."

The next day, Meng Jiuhe was still chopping vegetable leaves and mixing them with some bran to feed the chickens when Shen Siheng's voice came from afar.

"Brother Meng, I've come looking for you. Didn't we agree to go to the bookstore together today? By the way, have you had breakfast yet? I brought you some food. Come and try the cooking of my restaurant's chef. My restaurant's pastry chef is terrible, but these snacks are quite good, especially the side dishes, which have a unique flavor. I specially packed some extra for you."

Meng Jiuhe was chopping vegetable leaves with a knife in his hand when he heard the noisy noise. His brows furrowed and his impatience became more and more obvious.

Zhang Xuyang was chopping wood with an axe. They had come here to buy some timber from outside. Uncle Zhang was old and his strength was limited, so this job fell to Zhang Xuyang.

Even for a scholar like him, chopping wood was quite strenuous. He would chop some wood whenever he had a spare moment and leave it there. At this moment, he put down his axe, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and stared at Meng Jiuhe, starting to tease him.

“Meng Jiu and your little henchman are here again. You need to tell him to shut up. He’s making a lot of noise, and soon the neighbors will think we’re having a fight.”

Upon hearing the shout, the old woman went to open the door and greeted him warmly, "Oh! Young Master Shen, you've come so early today? Did you sleep well last night?"

Shen Siheng had a smiling face. He was handsome with delicate features and his lips were as sweet as honey.

"I can't get up as early as you, Auntie. It's already past noon when I arrived. I don't know if I've disturbed you. Oh, by the way, I brought some breakfast with me. I wonder if you've had any?"

After saying that, he looked ashamed. It was already late in the morning, and he had brought some breakfast over. He felt a little embarrassed.

Last night, his mother and sister-in-law had a few words quarrel. His older brother wasn't home. As the saying goes, three women make a drama. When the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law started arguing, his younger sister joined in the fun. He was so annoyed by the noise that he stuffed cotton in his ears and let them argue.

Aunt Zhang looked cheerful: "It's just the right time. It's good that the two boys can have a snack with you. They're reading in the morning, and those boys get hungry quickly."

"Mom, what are you saying about your son? You're making us sound like good-for-nothings. What kind of mother talks about her son like that? Am I even your biological son?" Zhang Xuyang looked at his mother with a wronged expression.

The old woman slapped him, deliberately giving him a stern look: "You little brat, are you looking for a beating all the time?"

Zhang Xuyang quickly jumped back a few steps, looking furious: "Mom, you're being unfair!"

Shen Siheng looked delighted. He was happy to see Zhang Xuyang get the short end of the stick. He even added fuel to the fire, saying, "Auntie is right. He deserves a beating. It's shameful that a grown man still needs his mother to coax him."

Zhang Xuyang's face immediately darkened. He just couldn't stand the way this kid was fawning over his mother; it made him angry.

He threw an axe at the firewood, and several wood chips flew everywhere. The old woman was so frightened that she quickly pulled Shen Siheng away and scolded him with a stern face.

"What are you doing, so clumsy and careless? You're not steady at all. Be careful not to hurt someone. Look at Siheng, how well-behaved and sensible she is, and how sweet her mouth is. Unlike you, you're like a lampshade, only moving when you poke it. No wonder no woman is interested in you. With your mouth, sigh, what a disaster!"

After saying that, she looked at her son with a look of disgust.

Zhang Xuyang was scolded by his mother, and he couldn't help but defend himself: "Mother, what do you mean no woman is interested in me? I'm only focused on studying the classics. How can I waste a young woman's prime years when I'm a nobody?"

Shen Siheng burst into laughter: "Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter. You don't attract girls, yet you're trying to save face here. I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone as thick-skinned as you."

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Meng Jiu quickly put down the basin in his hand and came over: "Didn't you say you were going to the bookstore? What are you dawdling here for? If you go too late, the bookstore will be closed."

Upon seeing him approach, Shen Siheng quickly presented the food box as if it were a treasure: "Meng Jiuhe, how about trying some?"

Zhang Xuyang glanced at him and was almost caught off guard by how quickly the man's expression changed. He pointed to himself and then to the man, saying, "Mom, you saw it too. This is called being well-behaved and sensible. This man is like a bootlicker."

The old woman said to them, "I'll go and cook some rice wine for you to drink."

Zhang Xuyang chopped the firewood with an axe, the force of which was several times greater than before, as if he were venting his anger.

When they were finally leaving, Meng Jiu insisted that Xu Chaoyan come along for a stroll. She couldn't refuse and had to go with her, so she could also see what small businesses were suitable for the county.

Shen Siheng was a competent guide, chattering away the whole way, even taking everyone to a delicious pancake shop at the alley entrance.

Xu Chaoyan was also somewhat surprised that this kid, who had grown up in a wealthy family and had seen all kinds of delicious food, actually liked this kind of commoner's flatbread.

Shen Siheng picked up a sesame seed cake and handed it over: "Meng Jiu, you should try this, it's very delicious. Don't let the old man at the stall's age fool you, this cake is unique in the county."

The old man selling sesame cakes greeted him with a smile: "Xiao Heng, you're here. These are your classmates and friends."

Shen Siheng deliberately kept some distance from Zhang Xuyang before speaking: "This is my friend, as for that other person, I don't know him."

The boss chuckled and told them to come closer to the stove to warm up, lest they catch a cold.

Xu Chaoyan had been observing and looking at this nameless alley. There weren't many people around, but the old man didn't have any extra sesame cakes either, and people came by in twos and threes.

Each of them held a sesame seed cake and walked out onto the bustling street. Shen Siheng pointed to a shop that looked quaint and elegant not far ahead and began to introduce it.

"That's the best bookstore in the county, called Jiyaxuan. It has all kinds of books, including rare editions. As long as you have the money, there's nothing you can't buy."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuyang became interested and forgot about the unpleasantness from before: "Is that really true? They have everything. Our town's bookstores are often out of stock, and many books are unavailable."

Shen Siheng looked at him smugly: "Of course."

Suddenly, a woman's shrill voice came from not far away, and the scream startled several birds nearby, causing them to scatter in all directions.