The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure-Chapter 35 - Dad, Mom, I’m Back!
35: Chapter 35 Dad, Mom, I’m Back! novelbuddy.cσ๓
35 -35 Dad, Mom, I’m Back!
The husband is naive, and the mother-in-law is sharp-witted, making it hard to save any private money.
Having been married for so many years, with children about to take wives, after all calculations, she had saved less than two strings of money, what good was that for?
The younger sister-in-law had been raised in comfort at home for years and wasn’t yet married; it was only right that the money she made should be contributed to the family.
But even if Lady Lin felt aggrieved and lacked foresight, she knew now wasn’t the time to bring this up, otherwise she might anger Old Granny Zhang.
Not to mention anything else, missing out on even a bite of meat would be too much of a loss.
After some thought, Lady Lin pursed her lips and fell silent.
Old Granny Zhang handed the meat to Lady Jiang, instructing, “Braise the leaner half, render fat from the fattier half to stew with pickled vegetables, and simmer the bones on low heat for broth, saving it for noodles tomorrow morning.”
Joy showed on Lady Jiang’s face as she happily took the meat to the kitchen to prepare it.
Little Bean, salivating at the thought of the rendered fat, eagerly followed.
Everyone wanted to take the chance to get a piece of the freshly cooked fat to satisfy their craving.
The remaining adults stayed in the main room.
Only then did Wang Laozhu tap his smoking pipe, “How much did the yellow pine mushrooms sell for?”
Old Granny Zhang finally pulled out the money pouch hidden in her bosom and spread it open, revealing a few gleaming silver pieces and a heap of copper coins to everyone’s eyes.
“So much?” This was the astonished exclamation from both Lady Lin and Wang Yongfu.
Wang Laozhu even forgot to puff on his pipe, staring transfixed at the silver pieces on the table.
Everyone knew yellow pine mushrooms were valuable, but having never sold them before, they really didn’t know that such a small amount could be exchanged for bright, shiny silver.
With bated breath, Lady Lin reached out to touch the shiny silver, having never handled silver before in her life.
But just as her hand was halfway there, Old Granny Zhang gave it a sharp slap, “What are you doing?
What are you doing?
You shallow-eyed thing, the moment you see silver you can’t help but reach out your claws; what are you trying to do?”
Lady Lin’s voice was full of grievance as she explained, “Mother, I just wanted to feel it.”
“Don’t you look at yourself.
Do you think you’re worthy of touching this silver?
You used to look down on your sister-in-law, as if she was nothing, as if you’d sweep her out if you could.
Now that she’s earned some silver, you have the nerve to come and try to touch it?
Disgusting!
I have finally seen through you.
Giving birth to you was a waste, each one of you controlled by your wives, spineless.
How can I count on you to look after me in the future?
Luckily, I birthed a good daughter.
From now on, I’ll rely on my precious Zhuzhu!
I’ll say it now, you used to despise my Zhuzhu, don’t expect to benefit from her in the future!” Old Granny Zhang finally had her moment of triumph.
She could always dominate Lady Lin and her son, but she never had the confidence she felt this time.
Lady Lin felt uneasy and awkwardly withdrew her hand.
It was Wang Yongfu, upon hearing Old Granny Zhang’s words, who quickly stood up, stammering his entreaty, “Mother, we’ve never looked down on our little sister!
If our sister can make money, of course, it’s hers.
We, as her brother and sister-in-law, have no skill; we can’t give her a good life, how could we have the face to bask in her glow?
Raising a son to provide for old age, how could we rely on our little sister?
If we did, how could we have the face to step outside?”
Upon hearing this, Lady Lin immediately became anxious.
Her man really didn’t know how to read between the lines.
Wasn’t the mother-in-law talking about providing for old age?
She was warning her and her husband not to get any ideas about the money her sister-in-law earned.
Knowing her mother-in-law’s favoritism, could she expect her sister-in-law to provide for her in her old age?
It would be good if they didn’t have to contribute to her sister-in-law’s expenses!
Worried that Old Granny Zhang might cry a few tears, Lady Lin feared her husband might say something she couldn’t bear to hear.
Without considering anything else, she stood to make her point.
Wang Yongzhu saw the expression on Lady Lin’s face and knew what she was about to say.
He also knew that if Lady Lin spoke up, with Old Granny Zhang’s temperament, she wouldn’t let the matter rest easily, and the family might end up in an uproar.
Quickly standing, he stepped in front of Lady Lin and spoke, “Mother, walking all day in the mountains was tiring.
I just want to eat the braised meat you make tonight.
Third sister-in-law can’t recreate the taste of your cooking.
Mother, please indulge me, make it for me just one more time!”
Upon hearing her old daughter praise her own skills, Old Granny Zhang’s heart felt sweeter than if she had drunk honey.
Feeding her daughter meat was a big deal, and putting her son and daughter-in-law in their place, there would be plenty of chances in the future.
She gave Lady Lin a scornful look, put away the silver pieces and copper coins into the chest and locked it, then merrily went off to work in the kitchen.
Wang Yongzhu also found an excuse to go back to her room to tidy up, and then she began to establish a connection with the System.
In her mind, the interface now displayed:
Clothing: Level 1, 0 Points
Food: Level 1, 0 Points
Housing: Level 0, 0 Points
Travel: Level 0, 0 Points
Remaining Points: 1 Point.
This 1 point was the reward for completing the task of selling the Yellow Pine Mushrooms at a good price.
Looking at the pitiful points, Wang Yongzhu couldn’t help but sigh.
Since she had already decided to live on in this time and space as Wang Yongzhu, she wanted to live well.
But these points were hard to earn, and the tasks were not so easy to complete.
Plus, to outsiders, the Wang Family seemed to be living well, and with Old Granny Zhang’s strong personality and final say in the family’s affairs, her life here was decent, as long as she didn’t “screw up” again.
In the few days since becoming Wang Yongzhu, she had already felt the undercurrents beneath the calm days of the Wang Family.
With Jindou and Jinhu about to get married, Lady Lin, as a mother, had to plan for her son and naturally came into conflict with Old Granny Zhang.
Wang Yongfu, the eldest brother, had not played any good role in this, only oppressing his wife and children and being filial to his mother.
It seemed fine for now, but in time, the deeper conflicts might become uncontainable.
Wang Laozhu, as the family head, had not taken any responsibility, letting his biased wife take charge, always smoothing things over.
Lady Jiang seemed weak, but she also had her own plans.
Then there was the second brother who hadn’t returned from the county town, the third brother who wasn’t in a hurry to come back after getting married and wandering around, and the fourth brother who had been apprenticing outside and hadn’t come home for a few days.
Thinking about it, it was just a big mess.
It was truly distressing!
When all is said and done, it was because the family was poor, which caused all the trouble.
Thinking this, Wang Yongzhu couldn’t sit still anymore.
She got up and headed for the firewood room to check on the Yellow Pine Mushrooms she was cultivating.
Now that the mushrooms could be sold for a good price, this was all she had to rely on for the moment.
Looking at the mushroom cultivation bed, which showed no signs of activity, Wang Yongzhu lifted the leaves and carefully observed them for a long time before seeing what seemed to be two more white mycelium strands.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
Now, she was counting on harvesting a batch of Yellow Pine Mushrooms before the date mentioned by Shopkeeper Wu.
When she overheard Song Chongjin and Shopkeeper Wu’s conversation, she speculated that Shopkeeper Wu might be collecting various rare ingredients for a VIP’s birthday celebration.
An opportunity like this was hard to come by, and if possible, she hoped to make her first fortune through this chance.
No matter when, having money in hand eases the mind.
While Wang Yongzhu was still making plans in the firewood room, an unfamiliar voice suddenly came from outside: “Dad, Mom, I’m back!”
