Ugly girl only wants to farm

Her voice softened slightly as she spoke with some uncertainty, "Why are you asking this? Did my mother send you here to gather information?"

Xu Chaoyan shook her head, looking puzzled: "What did the old lady send me to ask? I was just asking casually."

Zhang Yueniang finally breathed a sigh of relief. She then spoke to herself, "It's good that my aunt didn't send you to inquire about this."

Xu Chaoyan sensed a sense of relief in her tone and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why did you ask about these things, Auntie?"

Yue Niang looked around and, seeing that her mother wasn't there, spoke softly.

"I really don't know what my mother was thinking. In the days leading up to the wedding, she kept nagging me to get pregnant soon."

After she finished speaking, she looked distressed and said, "You know I had a hard time getting pregnant before I had Yaya. I finally had a daughter. I was very upset during that time, which hurt my health and I haven't fully recovered. This time I fell into the water again, right? I thought we were still young and there was no rush, we could take it slow. But she was so anxious that she gave me several folk remedies. I just couldn't refuse."

Xu Chaoyan nodded, thinking that what she said made some sense. Last time her sister fell into the water, she was sick for several days. She should take good care of her health before anything else.

Sighing, Yue Niang said helplessly, "I don't know what my mother is worried about. She whispered to me in private that Qi Yu is studying in the prefectural city. What if he becomes successful and looks down on us, mother and daughter? She said that I'm a second-time bride. Since someone is willing to marry me, I should cherish this relationship. I should have a child as soon as possible to keep the man in check. She said it would be best if it was a boy. She also said she would go to the mountains to gather herbs for me, but she's only missing one ingredient. She made it sound so magical that she could turn a female fetus into a male."

With each word she spoke, her brow furrowed more deeply, and Xu Chaoyan was somewhat incredulous. The old woman usually seemed quite easy to talk to. She knew why this topic had been brought up, yet she still believed it.

She quickly asked again, "Auntie, you haven't been scammed, have you? There's no such thing as medicine that can turn you into a boy. Try to get some information out of her so she doesn't actually get fooled."

Then she thought about it again and realized that her aunt also wanted her older sister to have someone to rely on, so that she wouldn't be all alone in the future.

She seemed to understand the old woman's good intentions. Although her methods weren't quite right and her way of speaking was too direct, she genuinely cared about her daughter and granddaughter. This is probably what it means to have parents who love their children so much.

"Sister, don't be angry. Listen to me carefully. It's common for aunties to have these kinds of thoughts. At their age, they should be enjoying the happiness of family life, but instead, they see their daughters living unhappily and worry about them every day. In the minds of the older generation, once a child is born, they won't be easily abandoned. Try to understand her. As for you and Qi Yu raising the child, just let nature take its course."

Zhang Yueniang nodded: "That's what I said to her too, but she just wouldn't listen. Sigh," she said, and then let out a long sigh.

Seeing her looking so worried, Xu Chaoyan quickly pulled her up: "Sister, don't think about things here. Come with me for a walk. I want to get some wine. Can you come with me?"

"You want to drink? How about I brew some rice wine for you to try? Hmm, I'll chill it with well water, it'll be thirst-quenching and satisfy your craving. The wines outside are too strong and not suitable for you."

As Xu Chaoyan helped her tidy up the needles and threads in the basket, she explained, "I suddenly discovered a small business opportunity. We haven't found a suitable small business since we came to the prefectural city. I want to make something and give it a try."

Zhang Yueniang had also been considering this matter, now that she was married. Her future earnings would primarily come from her husband's family. However, Zhang Xuyang was still studying, and his parents were getting old, making it difficult for them to support him.

These past few days, she'd overheard her parents discussing whether they should stick to their old trade of making tofu, since they didn't know how to do anything else. Grinding tofu required getting up early and was quite time-consuming and laborious.

She had mentioned it to her mother before, suggesting she try selling tofu pudding like before. She could also make and sell dried tofu in her spare time. At least that would be enough to support the family. If Xuyang could copy a few books in his free time, they should be able to make ends meet.

She used to run a snack shop with Xu Chaoyan and made some money. When she got married, her parents gave her some money as dowry, but she refused it.

She refused to accept the dowry, and the mother and daughter argued about it for a long time. The older woman insisted that she should prepare a dowry for her marriage, as that was all their family could afford. She didn't want to be looked down upon by her husband's family.

Although Qi Yu's family didn't care about these things, the old lady's deeply ingrained traditional values ​​couldn't be changed.

Zhang Yueniang had no choice but to accept it for the time being. Qi Yu later found out about this as well. He told her not to worry about these things and to just use the money for his writing materials. Only then did Yueniang feel at ease.

Suddenly, Yue Niang spoke with an embarrassed expression: "Sister Xu, I know that what I said was a bit abrupt, but I will still shamelessly say a few words to you."

Xu Chaoyan was a little uncomfortable when her older sister suddenly spoke to her in such a serious manner. She smiled and asked, "What do you want to say to me? What's our relationship? Just say what you want to say, there's no need to be so polite."

Zhang Yueniang hesitated for a long time before finally speaking: "Now that I'm married and my mother-in-law isn't in good health, I'm thinking of starting a small business. Do you have any good suggestions? Or if you're doing something, I can lend you a hand."

Xu Chaoyan felt a little relieved when she saw that it took her a while to bring up the matter, and that she looked embarrassed. She had been nervous, thinking that her older sister was going to give her some folk remedies. Her aunt had mentioned it a few times before, and she had just brought up the matter of being stuffed with medicine.

"Sister, so that's what it is. I thought you were going to say something else, but it's simple. In a few days, let's go to the streets and see if it's suitable to set up a stall around the academy. I heard that renting a shop here is very expensive, so let's start with a stall. Food is the most important thing for people, and these students need to come out and eat something. Let's focus on them. Besides, the weather has been hot lately, and everyone has a poor appetite. Let's make some delicious side dishes, like ice jelly and rice cakes. You make rice wine quite well, so we can make more of that later. But don't rush it now. Come with me to buy some strong liquor; I have another use for it."

When Zhang Yueniang saw that she was planning to buy two jars of strong liquor, she was surprised again.

"What are you making that requires so much liquor? Don't keep me in suspense. This much spirits must cost a lot of money. When I was younger, I knew how to brew liquor. I'll have her brew some for you."

Xu Chaoyan noticed that she was talking to her while scratching the small red spots on her arm, looking distressed.

"It's so itchy. The mosquitoes here in the city are bigger than those in the countryside, and their bites are really painful. Every time I scratch, I get a big bump, and look, it's almost broken open."

Xu Chaoyan glanced at the red bumps on her arm and quickly stopped her from scratching: "When we get back, there are extra mosquito nets in my room. You can make do with them for now."