Ugly girl only wants to farm

Meng Jiuhe chimed in, "Although the butcher's daughter is a bit strong, she's kind-hearted and a great help to the family. I think she's more than a match for you."

It was rare for Meng Jiuhe to tease him like this, and Shen Siheng's face fell even more, refusing with dissatisfaction: "I don't want to. Although she is kind-hearted, she is burly and strong. I heard that a woman can carry half a mountain of pork and her hands are as big as palm fans. I'm afraid I'll get beaten to death if we argue."

The group burst into laughter.

With the Qingming Festival drawing ever closer, Xu Chaoyan had been hesitating these past few days about whether to discuss it with Meng Jiuhe. But she didn't know how to bring it up.

One day, Meng Jiuhe suddenly asked, "Wife, these past few days I've noticed you seem hesitant to speak. Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Really? I don't."

Xu Chaoyan shook out the bedding and put it aside. The temperature had suddenly dropped again in the past few days, catching everyone off guard. Just two days ago it was hot enough to wear summer clothes, but today the temperature suddenly dropped, so she dug out the thick bedding again.

Meng Jiuhe pulled her over to sit down: "Is there anything we can't say to each other? Just tell me what's on your mind. I've noticed you've been a bit absent-minded these past few days."

Seeing his serious expression, Xu Chaoyan decided to go all out: "I'm telling you, you can't be angry, that's a promise."

Meng Jiuhe: "Yes, yes, just say it directly."

Xu Chaoyan still looked uneasy, and glanced at him again to confirm: "I really said it."

Meng Jiuhe smiled helplessly: "Wife, I'm listening. What is it that's causing you so much trouble?"

Xu Chaoyan took a deep breath. Well, whether she sticks her neck out or not, she'll get hurt anyway, so she might as well say it: "Well, Aunt Qian Qian asked me if we should go back for the Qingming Festival so we could hire a car together."

As soon as she finished speaking, Meng Jiu tightened his grip on her hand a little, but he quickly recovered and returned to normal, though she could still feel it.

Xu Chaoyan glanced at him and explained, "This is what I was thinking. Since Auntie is going back, we can go back too. The two elders are getting old, and it would be good for them to look after each other on the road. We've been away for so long, we should go back to the village to visit our ancestors. We can sweep their graves and ask them to bless us with good fortune. Although we haven't heard from our parents yet, we should go back and inquire. So much time has passed, the mountain road over there should be open by now."

Meng Jiuhe remained silent, and Xu Chaoyan carefully observed his expression before speaking.

“We need to look forward. Our parents also hope that we will have a better life. They don’t want you to get stuck in a rut. Besides, we’re just going back to inquire. We’ve been away from the village for so long. It wouldn’t be nice if people gossiped about us.”

Xu Chaoyan suddenly stood up, hugged him, and gently patted his back: "Don't be too sad. Good people are always protected by heaven. Besides, that mountain is still there, isn't it? It's just cut off from the outside world. We can go back and ask around. Maybe we'll find something. What if our parents are already waiting for us at home? You've been busy with your studies these days. How about I go back with Aunt and the others?"

Meng Jiu remained silent for a long time. Just when Xu Chaoyan thought he was still immersed in grief and unwilling to speak, he finally spoke.

"Business has been good at the shop lately, and you've been working like a spinning top. I should go back. You know what your second aunt's family is like. If you go back alone, they'll definitely kick you when you're down. This way, you'll only waste two or three days."

Xu Chaoyan looked at him in disbelief: "Husband, you've thought it through and stopped being so stubborn, right?"

Meng Jiuhe pulled her into his arms, greedily inhaling her scent, which reassured him greatly. He hugged her tightly, saying, "My wife, thank you for staying by my side all these days. It was indeed my fault for being too stubborn before. It's time to go home to sweep the tombs during the Qingming Festival; I didn't think it through."

After resolving the matter, Xu Chaoyan finally felt relieved.

Business at the shop has been booming these past few days, keeping Zhang Yueniang and her husband extremely busy. Previously, they only needed to be busy for a short time around midday. Lately, however, they've been busy all morning. In fact, Zhang Yueniang has even forgotten about making the Qingming Festival dumplings.

Meng Jiuhe asked her teacher for three days' leave and headed home with her younger sister. Zhang Xuyang originally wanted to go with them, saying he would take care of their parents, but Meng Jiuhe stopped him.

“What will happen to the shop if we both leave? Come help out as soon as you finish school. I see a lot of people are jealous of our business, so keep an eye on them. Also, don’t argue with Shen Siheng. Just lend a hand. The firewood should last a few days. I’ll take care of your parents on the way here, so don’t you worry about them?” Only then did Zhang Xuyang agree to stay.

They hadn't been back to the village for several months, so the brother and sister bought some things in town. They rested at their aunt's house for a day, and then hired a donkey cart to go to the village on Qingming Festival.

Meng Jiuxia was very excited along the way: "Big brother, although the county has good conditions in all aspects, this is the place where I grew up. Although this place left me with a bad impression and there are some people I dislike, I don't know why, but when I see every blade of grass and every tree here, I feel very close to it."

“I remember when I was little, my younger brother and I would run around in these mountains picking wild vegetables to make Qingming dumplings. If it weren’t for the time constraints, I would have liked to go up the mountain to pick some ferns to take back. My sister-in-law and older sister talked about it for a long time last time.”

Meng Jiuhe ruffled his sister's hair with a smile: "It's alright, we'll stay for a couple more hours. After we finish sweeping the tombs, I'll accompany you for a walk on the mountain and bring them some back to try. Our house hasn't been lived in for a long time, and we're too lazy to clean it up right away, so we'll just stay at Auntie's house for the night."

When the brother and sister returned home, they passed by their second uncle's house and found that the door was tightly closed, and they were not home, which was unusual.

Meng Jiuxia breathed a long sigh of relief: "Luckily, my second aunt and the others aren't home. If they saw us come back, they'd probably tease us a lot more. Shall we just go up the mountain to sweep the tombs and leave? Let's not go back to the house."

She was afraid that the sight of familiar scenery would trigger painful memories for her older brother, and besides, the yard was overgrown with weeds. Feeling a bit flustered, she didn't want to see any familiar sights.

Unbeknownst to them, just as they were driving their donkey cart back to the village, Uncle Meng and his wife were also driving their oxcart out of the village. The old woman, for some unknown reason, insisted on returning to her own home and refusing to leave.

Liu originally thought she would rest for a day or two and then leave, so she endured everything silently. Who knew that after two or three days, not only did she not leave, but she also complained that the food was not good, lacking in oil and fat, and consisting of only bland soup every day. She acted like a spoiled brat all day long, arguing with her from time to time, and would berate her for everything that didn't go her way.

Liu was hot-tempered to begin with, and the two started fighting over a disagreement. Grandmother Meng cried and made a scene, which attracted the attention of the villagers.

Uncle Meng was so annoyed he was practically jumping up and down. His mother had been perfectly fine before, saying she was going to live with her daughter to enjoy her old age, so why did she suddenly come back? The family didn't have much food to begin with.

These days, because of his advanced age, he couldn't find any work outside and was at a loss. He had heard that his mother had stolen his nephew's wife's dowry and run away. He had originally wanted to squeeze some money out of her, but who knew that his mother was penniless. He was so angry that after discussing it with Liu, he hired a cart to send her away quickly so that she wouldn't be disliked in the village and suffer countless scornful looks behind her back.