Ugly girl only wants to farm

Qi Yu picked up the bundle in his hand and swayed it over his shoulder. He looked rather thin, and the large bundle of clothes seemed quite heavy. He staggered a bit. His mother, who was standing nearby, hurriedly went to support her son. Although she scolded him, she couldn't hide her concern.

“Yu’er, I told you not to come pick me up, but you insisted on coming. You caught a cold a few days ago and haven’t fully recovered yet. What are you doing here? I can take this bag of clothes back soon.”

Xu Chaoyan glanced at Qi's mother and saw her thin, small body carrying a large bundle of clothes. She couldn't help but admire the greatness of maternal love. It was truly admirable that she would wash clothes for others in the dead of winter.

Qi Yu said to Meng Jiuhe as if she didn't care, "I'll pick up that book when I have time. I have something to do right now, so I'll have to go ahead. Please excuse me."

Mother Qi smiled kindly at everyone and invited them, "From now on, we're all neighbors. Come visit us when you have time. Yu'er doesn't have many friends, so you can spend more time with him."

Qi Yu blushed slightly upon hearing her mother's words: "Mother, why are you saying this? Who said I don't have any friends? I'm just too lazy to make friends. I'm so busy every day, where would I find the time to make friends?"

Meng Jiuhe and Zhang Xuyang exchanged a glance and quickly went over to unload the heavy bundle from his body, lightening his load.

Zhang Xuyang quickly explained, "Brother Qi, since we've met, it must be fate. Let us take you there. Since you haven't fully recovered from your cold, you shouldn't stay outside for too long. It just so happens that Brother Meng and I are going to take the exam at the county school, and we have some questions we'd like to ask you."

Since they had already put it that way, Qi Yu couldn't refuse, so she could only let the two of them carry the large bundles and walk towards her own yard.

What were Qi's mother saying to Zhang Yueniang and the others behind them? She even invited them to come over and visit sometime.

Today happens to be the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Shen Siheng shamelessly climbed over their wall and fell into the chicken coop. Xu Chaoyan was so frightened by the noise that she thought a chicken thief had broken in during the day and chased him out with a stick.

As a result, Shen Siheng was seen lying in the chicken coop, staring intently at the rooster.

She didn't know whether to laugh or be angry. Meng Jiuxia covered her mouth and kept laughing. After a moment, she quickly handed him a handkerchief and said with a mischievous look.

"Hey, what are you doing climbing over my yard wall? You didn't leave through the gate, did you? Don't scare my chickens. My sister-in-law cherishes them. Their lives are much more precious than yours."

Shen Siheng got up from the ground, shook off the dust, and cursed the rooster viciously again, looking aggrieved.

"Little sister, you really care about your big brother. You even know to get me a handkerchief to wipe my face so I won't lose face. I'll buy you a beaded flower next time."

A sly smile appeared in Meng Jiuxia's eyes, then she suppressed a laugh and said, "I'm just afraid you'll smash up my chicken coop. Those chickens are my sister-in-law's most treasured possessions. Otherwise, I'm afraid you won't live to see tomorrow."

The sly smile on her lips was impossible to hide. The handkerchief she had just grabbed seemed to be the one her whole family used to wipe their feet. In her haste, she had only wanted him to wipe the dust off his body, but who knew he would just pick it up and wipe it on his face.

She managed to suppress her laughter, but when she turned around, she met her sister-in-law's gaze. Xu Chaoyan had also been holding back for a long time. Seeing Shen Siheng wiping with the handkerchief with a serious expression, she had also been holding back for a long time.

Seeing that his sister-in-law and aunt looked like they were trying hard to hold back their laughter, Shen Siheng shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Laugh if you want, it's no big deal. I'll just let you laugh once. By the way, I came here today to tell you that tomorrow, on the Lantern Festival, I will not only have a lantern festival, but also all sorts of street parades. I would like to invite you to come along."

Xu Chaoyan pointed to the courtyard gate: "The gate is perfectly fine. Why did you climb over the wall to get in? You looked like a thief and almost got a beating from me."

Shen Siheng looked like he had no words to say, pointing at Meng Jiuhe's study with a resentful expression: "It's all because of your husband. He insists that I'm disturbing them while they're studying. Every time I come over, he has the door locked tight. I have no choice but to climb over the wall to get in. By the way, sister-in-law, do you have any food? My brother and sister-in-law are arguing again. The house is in complete chaos, and the stove isn't even lit."

Xu Chaoyan looked at him with a puzzled expression: "Your older brother and sister-in-law are arguing again, so why isn't your mother joining in? Did your mother get involved this time?"

Shen Siheng gave a helpless smile: "Sigh, it's all my brother's fault. During the two days of the New Year, someone encouraged him to gamble. Not only did he lose all his money, but he also went drinking with others at night and came back drunk. My sister-in-law asked him to bring her some pastries, but he forgot. So the two of them started fighting again. Normally, this could have been resolved with an apology and a few words of reconciliation, but my brother had to be so stubborn. He went to his mother-in-law's house to complain, and my sister-in-law was definitely going to make a scene. She packed her bags and went back to her parents' home. Now my mother is arguing with my brother about this, saying that arguing during the New Year is unlucky, and she won't give us any food. My father, on the other hand, stays in the restaurant every day, as if he pities me. It's like I was adopted."

Xu Chaoyan looked at him and finally couldn't help but ask, "Shen Siheng, don't blame me for being nosy, but didn't your family already have a fight during the New Year? Your mother even said that arguing during the New Year is unlucky. What is she up to now?"

Shen Siheng pouted: "I also want to know what they're up to. They always argue and then refuse to feed me. What do I care about their arguments? Why don't I just mooch a meal at your house today? I won't just freeload. Isn't Qin Zhenzhen's brother someone I know? I talked to him about it before, asking him to help Meng and the others get into school. He said he would keep an eye out for it."

Meng Jiuhe's relationship with Xu Chaoyan has remained lukewarm these past few days. No matter what she says, Meng Jiuhe barely pays any attention to her. Even when they argue, he would help her by covering her feet and hands and tucking her in at night.

Meng Jiuhe had already heard the commotion outside. Hearing Shen Siheng's loud voice, he didn't come out at all. He just replied through the window, "You brat, stop running to my house all the time. I've already told you that you need to study these days. Don't come here and cause trouble. You should also go and prepare for your academy, isn't it going to be soon?"

Shen Siheng walked over without saying a word and opened the window for Meng Jiuhe, saying, "Alas, Brother Meng, I feel that it would be too lonely for me to go to Mingyue Academy alone. Since spending time with you all these days, I have made a major decision."

He waited for a long time but no one asked him anything, so he smiled awkwardly and had to talk to himself: "I've decided to go to the county school with you all. That would be more interesting. What's the point of going to that damned Mingyue Academy? It's far from the city. If I want to see you every day, it will take about a month. What's the difference between that and being in prison? I'm not going. I don't want to live that miserable life."