Ugly girl only wants to farm

Hearing the patter of rain outside and the rustling of leaves in the wind, Li San Niang put on a coat, picked up an oil lamp, and went to check if the kitchen was leaking, since the family's food supplies were stored there.

Her husband injured his leg a few days ago, and the roof was leaking, so they didn't have time to fix it. Today, her eyelids have been twitching all day, and she feels uneasy. She keeps getting distracted while doing needlework.

Seeing that she looked preoccupied, Meng's father asked her a few questions. To avoid worrying her husband, she made up a story, saying that she was probably sleepy because she hadn't been sleeping well and had been waking up too early. Her husband comforted her, telling her to rest a little longer in the morning and that his wife and daughter could handle anything.

She nodded perfunctorily. Seeing her husband sleeping soundly, she quietly closed the door and went to check the kitchen. The rain was getting heavier, so she pulled her clothes tighter to protect the oil lamp in her hand.

Today was supposed to be the day her son was supposed to come home from his ten-day holiday. She waited from noon until dark, but her eldest son still hadn't returned. She was a little worried, but then she thought that her son had never been the type to cause trouble since he was little. She figured that something must have happened at school that had kept him from coming back. There had been similar situations before, and he would always be back the next day.

But she was restless and couldn't sleep in bed. She would start overthinking. She went to Meng Jiudong's room. That kid had always liked to kick off his blankets since he was a child. It was raining tonight and it was a bit stuffy. He had kicked the blankets aside, so she quickly pulled them back and tucked them in. Then she went back to her own room, but she still couldn't fall asleep.

She decided to go to the village entrance early tomorrow morning to ask the drivers if they had seen her eldest son in town, so she could feel more at ease.

Meng Jiuhe was knocked unconscious by them, but he still had a little bit of consciousness. He heard a faint voice coming from him, which sounded vaguely familiar. The men were plotting to throw him into the deep mountains.

His head was spinning, and he felt weak all over. In his panic, he couldn't resist the intense dizziness and fainted again.

He was awakened by the rain when he regained consciousness. He struggled to raise his arm and wipe away the icy rain. His whole body ached as if it had fallen apart. He tried to prop himself up, but failed several times and was panting heavily.

One last time, he gritted his teeth and propped himself up, half of his body lying on the ground, panting heavily. Before he could stand up completely, his whole body rolled down again, his head hit the ground hard, and he passed out completely.

After a night of rain, the morning air was exceptionally fresh and misty, and the distant mountains looked lush and green.

Xu Chaoyan got up early for the first time, pushed open the door, stretched and moved her body. The soil gave off a muddy smell, and the chickens in the coop kept chirping. Because it was raining outside, Li Sanniang didn't plan to let them out, so she let them stay inside, otherwise they would poop everywhere.

The puppy ran over and barked incessantly around her feet, looking both cute and fierce, which made me laugh.

Grandmother came out of the house at this moment, glanced at Xu Chaoyan with some surprise and said in an unfriendly tone: "Oh, the sun has risen in the west, you can get up so early. Hurry up and cook for me, I'm starving. Don't stand there like a door god, we don't need you."

Xu Chaoyan ignored her, rubbed her eyes, and went back to her room in front of her, slamming the door shut.

Grandmother was so angry that her eyes widened, and she was about to start cursing when Li San Niang interrupted her: "Mother, you got up so early today. It rained all night yesterday. Why didn't you rest a little longer? It's still a bit chilly in the morning. Be careful that your cough doesn't flare up again. I'll give you some pear juice to soothe your throat in a bit."

Grandmother nodded in satisfaction. She had arranged this marriage for her son because she thought the daughter-in-law was weak and easy to manipulate. More than ten years had passed, and Li San Niang had indeed not disappointed her.

Grandmother gave a soft "hmm".

"Then you go ahead and get busy. I'll go back to my room and rest for a while. By the way, wasn't yesterday the day Jiuhe came back? Did he come back at night? Make him a bowl of ginger soup later so he doesn't catch a cold."

Li Sanniang also looked worried. "I was just about to go ask the oxcart driver after breakfast if he saw Jiuhe in town yesterday. That boy is always very sensible, so don't worry too much. I'll go to the village entrance to ask in a bit."

Grandmother's brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly: "Wake up that brat Jiu Xia. She's such a big girl and she's still sleeping in. What's wrong with her? Have her make breakfast. Go and find out about my grandson so you can have peace of mind."

Li San Niang was speechless and thought that others might not get up this early.

She finally took off her apron and agreed, "Yes, Mother, I'll go and inquire right away."

When it was time to eat, Li Sanniang would come back from outside, panting: "I just asked his uncle, and he said that the school had a normal ten-day holiday yesterday, and no students stayed at the school."

Grandmother began to complain, "Since he saw Jiuhe return yesterday, why didn't he bring him back? We're all neighbors, what's wrong with giving him a ride? He's such a stingy miser."

Li San Niang quickly explained, "When I asked his uncle, he said that his oxcart was full that time, and there were other miscellaneous items, so he would have to wait until the second trip to bring Jiuhe back. But I didn't see him on the road, so I thought he had gone home."

"Mother, why hasn't my eldest brother come home all night? Could something have happened to him?"

Grandmother rolled her eyes at Meng Jiuxia: "Can't you say something nice? Is it possible that your older brother, a perfectly healthy person, just vanished into thin air? There's only one road back to our village; maybe he went to a friend's house?"

Li San Niang was also feeling uneasy. Her son was not usually like this. Her eyelids twitched repeatedly yesterday, and the feeling of unease in her heart grew heavier.

Meng Jiuxia asked hesitantly, "My older brother doesn't seem to have many friends, does he?"

“Mother, this is not the time to argue. Why don’t we split up and look for it? It’s been a whole night, and it rained heavily last night.”

Grandmother slammed the bowl on the table and said in a shrill voice, "If anyone should be looking, it's you guys. Do you expect me, this old body, to do it? And what kind of mother are you? Your own son isn't even back and you still have the mind to come back for dinner? Where were you all this time?"

Li San Niang was baffled by the scolding. She had only come back to deliver a message, and besides, she hadn't even had a chance to eat a bite of food. She had no mind to argue about anything now.