Farm Tough Girl-Chapter 151 - 152 Where is the good stuff hidden_1
Chapter 151: Chapter 152 Where is the good stuff hidden_1
Chapter 151 -152 Where is the good stuff hidden_1
“Auntie, why won’t you give uncle a chance? Ever since you moved out last month, I’ve seen a change in him,” Muniang said convincingly, “Just the other day, I saw uncle watching you and the children laughing and talking in the yard. I asked him why he didn’t join in with the children, and he awkwardly said that the children didn’t like him and he was afraid of making them unhappy, so he didn’t dare to approach.”
Madam Liu was taken aback, as if she had never noticed this. The children were not close to their father but preferred their mother. Although she sometimes hit them, deep down they knew she was the most reliable, so they clung to her. As for Qiao Yuanming, he indeed “suffered ostracism” at home.
“Uncle did do a lot of wrong things in the past, but I think he has seen things clearly now. Since you’ve already moved out, you shouldn’t let the past continue to affect your feelings,” Muniang advised.
After all, Madam Liu could not possibly divorce for the sake of her children. If the couple couldn’t smooth things over, it wouldn’t do to remain at an impasse.
Madam Liu pursed her lips and said nothing, but Muniang knew she had taken the words to heart.
The next day, Madam Liu threw a big warming party, and many people from the village attended. Muniang and Mrs. Du, along with a few other familiar faces, got to the kitchen early to help with the cooking. It was noisy outside, all thanks to Madam Liu welcoming the guests.
The entire Qiao family came, except Qiao Yuanzhen who naturally “disliked such vulgar gatherings,” thus did not attend. Li Qinghe, on the other hand, did come.
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Madam Liu gave the old Qiao family due regard, reserving a separate table for them early on. The old Qiao family had been unkind to them, but she could not openly disrespect them. After all, filial duty was considered more important than anything, and she could not bear the stigma of being “unfilial,” especially since her children still needed to attend private school in the future and their reputation could not be tarnished.
Once Mrs. Ji arrived, she said, “Sister-in-law, this house is nice, and it’s tiled! I must say, it must have cost a pretty penny.”
Madam Liu was prepared for such comments, “Indeed, thinking of a place to spend our lives, I wanted the children to live comfortably, so we built a nice tile house. Unfortunately, with this house, our family’s savings are gone, and we borrowed quite a bit from others. My elder sister-in-law’s house is also tiled and doesn’t seem any worse than mine, so I assume you must have borrowed money to build it.”
Mrs. Ji’s face changed. How did the topic shift to her? She tried to remain composed and said, “Right, right, borrowed.” But was it borrowed money? When she first moved out, she had kept quite a sum of hideaway money. But could Mrs. Ji admit that she had hidden away money? That was tantamount to shooting herself in the foot.
Madam Liu scoffed lightly, “I see, it seems that we are all struggling. Nowadays, it’s hard to build a house. Enjoy your meal here, parents, I need to see to the other guests.”
As soon as Madam Liu left, Madam Zhao and Mrs. Ji stood up and headed straight into the house. Their dining area was a tent set up in the yard, and they had yet to see inside the house.
Qiao Dalang and Qiao Lianhua came solely to enjoy a good meal. As villagers, meat was a luxury they could only enjoy when others hosted a feast. Qiao Dazhi had not wanted to come initially, but he was also very curious to know what kind of house the third brother’s family could build. Put simply, he was probing the financial depths of the third brother’s family.
Now seeing their fine house, one of the best in Tupo Village, he estimated it couldn’t have been built for less than twenty silver pieces. Qiao Dazhi had thought the third family was genuinely wealthy and had hidden it from him, but after hearing Madam Liu’s explanation, it didn’t seem fake. If they had built the house on borrowed money, they were merely putting on a facade.
Madam Zhao and Mrs. Ji went inside to look around, partly to see if there were any valuables they could take for themselves. But after a complete tour, they found nothing to take. The house looked good from the outside, but inside, apart from a few broken chairs and cabinets, there was nothing!
Madam Zhao was furious, “Is this wretched state what their new house is really like?”
Mrs. Ji furrowed her brows and then said, “Mother, sister-in-law is quite a clever person. Perhaps she knew we were coming today, and the missus might have hidden everything.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao thought it made sense and fell into deep thought.
Just then, Qiao Yuanming saw Madam Zhao and hurried over to greet, “Mother, sister-in-law, what are you doing here? I just took out some sunflower seeds and peanuts. You can snack on them while you play.”
Mrs. Ji, upon hearing about the snacks, was so tempted she drooled but managed to hold back.
Madam Zhao pulled Qiao Yuanming aside to a nondescript corner of the room and started to inquire, “Third son, has your wife hidden all the good things in the house? I’ve looked around and found nothing. How can such a nice house be in this ghastly state inside?”
Qiao Yuanming was stunned, originally thinking his mother had pulled him aside to ask about how his move went. But to his surprise, this was the first thing she asked!
Seeing Qiao Yuanming not speaking, Madam Zhao furrowed her brow, “Tell your mother the truth, did your wife hide things? Third son, you mustn’t deceive me. It wasn’t easy for me to raise you from a child, and you mustn’t grow distant from me because of your wife. I’m getting on in years, and you can’t let me down. Quickly tell me, where did your wife hide all the good things?”
However, her words deeply chilled Qiao Yuanming. Madam Zhao had used this tactic no less than a hundred times. Each time Qiao Yuanming heard it, he felt he couldn’t disobey his mother’s words or let his elderly mother be disappointed. But did she truly care about what he did?
If it had been in the past, Madam Zhao’s tactic might actually have worked, but now Qiao Yuanming had really seen his mother for who she was. She didn’t treat him as her most beloved son, but as an easily controlled fool.
Sorrow filled Qiao Yuanming’s eyes. For so many years, he had allowed his wife and children to suffer so much indignity all for this so-called filial piety. Thinking back, he only wanted to slap himself to death.
Seeing that Qiao Yuanming remained silent, Madam Zhao’s patience ran out and she reproached in a low voice, “Well? Speak up. Where are the things hidden?”
Mrs. Du also glared at Qiao Yuanming, obviously not taking him seriously at all.
Qiao Yuanming looked down, “Our family spent all our savings to fix up this house. How could we afford to decorate it? For now, we just want a place that shelters us from the wind and the rain. As for furniture and such, we’ll think about it after we’ve earned some money.”
Of course, this was a lie. A few days ago, Madam Liu had brought home a bunch of nice things which were placed around the house, but just last night, they were all packed up and locked in the cabinet in their room.
