Ugly girl only wants to farm

Xu Chaoyan raised her face, looking completely satisfied. Her blatant stare made Meng Jiuhe feel somewhat uncomfortable.

He quickly wiped his hands and pulled them back. Xu Chaoyan looked regretful, her eyes showing a hint of pity. It was so rare for this person to be willing to get a little closer to her, couldn't he stay a little longer?

"Cough, cough, cough." Meng Jiuhe coughed lightly a few times, pressing his fist to his mouth.

"I've finished cleaning that. Did any of you get hurt on the mountain?"

Xu Chaoyan picked up a fire poker from the side and pulled out a roasted sweet potato. As soon as her hand touched it, the heat burned her hand, and she began to shake the sweet potato.

Meng Jiuhe almost burst out laughing when he saw her comical expression: "Wait until it cools down a bit before picking it up."

Xu Chaoyan patted the sweet potato a few times, broke off half of it, peeled it, and handed it to him: "Try some too. This sweet potato is soft, sweet, and warm."

Meng Jiuhe didn't take it: "Why don't you eat first?"

Xu Chaoyan walked over and stuffed it into his hand: "It's no fun eating this alone, let's share it."

Xu Chaoyan had her mouth all black from eating, and Meng Jiuxia, who had just finished cleaning up, walked over and burst out laughing when she saw her like that: "Nobody's going to take it from you, and you're eating it all black, aren't you ashamed?"

Xu Chaoyan wiped her fingers a couple of times, looking completely unconcerned: "This stuff is only truly satisfying when eaten like this. Why don't you give it a try?"

After saying that, Xu Chaoyan picked up a few sweet potatoes from the ground, patted them a few times, and cleaned up the charred parts: "Here, you and your brother should try some. I didn't expect your older brother to be so good at studying. His roasted sweet potatoes are not bad either. Why don't you switch to roasting sweet potatoes in the future? Our family can have an extra source of income."

She had only meant it casually, but then she noticed that Meng Jiu's eyes had dimmed. She quickly slapped her mouth twice lightly: "I'm sorry, I misspoke."

Meng Jiuxia was also a little annoyed by her bluntness, muttering, "Why bring up something you shouldn't have said?"

Meng Jiuhe said softly, "What's wrong with saying this? As the saying goes, 'A scholar is useless.' I've studied for so many years, but I'm really not good enough to help my family. I'm truly ashamed."

Both of them immediately fell silent, unsure of how to respond.

Just then, Liu's shrewish voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate: "Meng Jiuhe, call your ugly wife out here! You set fire to a mountain and you think you can just let it go like this? And Xia girl, get out here right now and come with me to discuss compensation. Don't think that hiding in the house like a coward will make this all go away."

Xu Chaoyan frowned and muttered, "Bad luck."

She put down the sweet potato in her hand, picked up the fire poker, and ran out.

Before Meng Jiuhe could finish speaking, he said, "Little sister, hurry over and take a look. Second Aunt is known for her fierce temper; be careful she doesn't get hurt."

Meng Jiuxia quickly put down the sweet potato in her hand and ran outside.

Liu pounded on the courtyard gate, making a loud "bang, bang, bang." When she saw Xu Chaoyan arrive, she looked fierce and said, "You little brats, you think you can run away after causing trouble? I'm not leaving here today. If you don't give me some money as compensation, I'll stay at your house during the New Year and make sure your family has no peace all year round."

At this moment, Li San Niang and Meng's father also rushed over. They were also quite angry. It was the New Year, and they actually came over to argue. No one would be happy about that: "Second brother's wife, this is your own family matter. Why are you blaming my children? Second brother doesn't know his own limits and wants to drag us down with him. What are you up to? Do you think my family is so easy to bully?"

Seeing the entire Meng family standing together, Liu felt a little guilty and lacked confidence. She had just seen the three little brats run away, so she hurried down the mountain. How could she let her family pay for this? She would definitely drag them down with her, and that would be no small sum.

She was trying to bolster her courage. When things came to this, she had no choice but to go all out, otherwise she would have to pay out of her own pocket, which was unacceptable. She puffed out her chest and stepped forward, saying fiercely, "You little brats set that mountain on fire and you still want to blame it on my man? If my man hadn't reacted quickly, this whole area would have been burned to the ground. And now you're still here making sarcastic remarks? I'm telling you, no way."

Xu Chaoyan laughed in anger. She had seen shameless people before, but she had never seen anyone as shameless as this.

"Liu, don't even think about pinning this blame on us. Let me tell you, we're not the kind of family you can bully. Meng Lao Er set the mountain on fire himself, and someone saw it. We came down the mountain half an hour earlier. If you stay here any longer, I'll set my dogs on you and kill you."

Undeterred by her threats, Liu sat down on the ground and began wailing and shouting. Enraged, Xu Chaoyan brought out the dog and threatened her, "It's the New Year, and you're bringing bad luck to my house. Since you don't want my family to have a good time, I won't let you have one either. You want to have a crying contest? If you say it's the same, I'll go to your room and cry. I'll make sure you have bad luck all year round."

After saying that, Xu Chaoyan released the dog and ran towards Liu's house.

Liu was completely dumbfounded. She was already considered a shrew and scoundrel in the village, but this new bride was even more shameless than her and didn't fall for her act.

If someone were to enter her yard and cry, wouldn't her family have even more bad luck next year? They'd have to worry about their daughter's marriage and their son's schooling. They really don't want to bring on that bad luck.

She quickly scrambled to her feet and chased after him, shouting in a hoarse voice like a black crow: "You ugly freak, you shameless woman, get back here right now and don't come to my house to cause trouble. You two, one ugly freak and the other a cripple, don't come to my house and cause big bad luck. My Peach Blossom is going to marry into a good family."

Li San Niang and the others were completely stunned by Xu Chao Yan's actions, but Meng Jiu Xia was the one who came to her senses.

She picked up the fire poker and ran off, saying, "Mom, you stay here. I'm going to check on what will happen if Morning Glory gets hurt. She's no match for Second Aunt."

This farce only ended after Uncle Meng returned. He pulled his wife aside and slapped her twice. Then he spoke somewhat awkwardly to his elder brother.

"Now I've given you an explanation. It was indeed my fault. I'm also grateful to these children today. I can't bring myself to say anything nice. Let's keep our family away from each other in the future, so as not to become disgusted by each other."

After saying that, he pulled Liu back into the house.

It would be a lie to say that Meng's father wasn't sad at this moment. He had always doted on his younger brother since he was a child. Even when his brother had been indifferent to his family before, he had never been this angry. Hearing him say it from his own mouth today made him feel choked up.

Since the second brother got married, the relationship between the two families has become increasingly distant. Due to Liu's instigation, the two families separated and she always opposed his family.

Li San Niang gently patted his hand a few times and said softly, "Don't be too sad. This kind of person isn't worth it."

Their lunch was a little late today. Meng's father hung up a string of firecrackers, and Meng Jiudong covered his ears and went over to light them. The family sat around the stove and ate a simple hot pot, feeling warm and cozy inside.

Xu Chaoyan kept putting food on Meng Jiuhe's plate and even ladled a bowl of bone broth over him: "This broth has been simmering for several hours. Drink more of it and you'll replenish what you're eating."

Meng Jiudong also handed over the bowl: "Sister-in-law, my legs are sore from going up and down the mountain today, you should give me some nourishment too."

Upon hearing the word "sister-in-law," Meng Jiuhe's ears turned bright red, and she picked up her soup bowl to hide her embarrassment.

In the afternoon, the family sat around the fire. Meng's father thought he had nothing to do and planned to do some chores, but Xu Chaoyan stopped him, saying that they were busy all year round and there was no rush for this day. He should rest when he should.

As night fell, the family sat together to stay up all night to welcome the New Year. Firecrackers and children's laughter could be heard from time to time throughout the village.

Xu Chaoyan had bought some firecrackers at the market for them to play with. Tonight, they would stay up until midnight to set off the firecrackers before going to sleep, and then set them off again at dawn the next day to welcome the New Year.

Note: The custom of setting off firecrackers comes from my hometown.