A Good Country Wife
Chapter 189: Famous for Being Lazy_1

Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Famous for Being Lazy_1

"So it’s Erhu’s wife who has come! Please, take a seat. Your elder sister-in-law is out working in the fields. If you’re looking for her because something’s up, feel free to share it with me. If there’s really an issue, I can make arrangements. After all, there’s a lot of work in the fields right now, and we’re a bit too busy to leave," the Wei Family matriarch’s behavior was clearly telling Lin Yue that whatever the Liu Family wished to do must gain approval from her, as the mother-in-law.

Lin Yue was indifferent to it all since helping out at her place meant earning a wage. With money coming in, Lady Wei had no reason to stop them. "That’s right, the Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and as you know, I now sell food in the market. I’ve been too busy to handle things these past few days. I was hoping your son and elder sister-in-law could help me out. Of course, their help won’t go unpaid—I’ll pay them thirty coins each per day. Do you think they could spare the time?"

When Lady Wei first heard that Lin Yue wanted the Zhao Dahuo family to help out, her expression turned sour. But when she learned it was a paid job, offering thirty coins per person per day, her mood improved. Zhao Dahuo earned only twenty coins a day working for the landlord, so why not earn the extra ten? Moreover, Liu Family counted as a worker too. Together, they could earn sixty coins a day – only a fool would refuse. As for the fieldwork, it could wait for Liu Family to return home to do it. She had given up hope on those two lazy daughters-in-law long ago.

"Of course, they can make time. Dahu and Erhu are blood brothers. Even if there’s other business, it should be set aside—helping out a brother comes first. I’ll have them go over first thing tomorrow morning, the kids too. Even though they might be small and can’t help with much, they can still assist with tending the fire and picking vegetables," Lady Wei even threw in a ’buy one get one free’ deal. In truth, she begrudged the little ones eating at home and wasting provisions. Given the chance, she naturally wanted to push them out.

"Then, thank you, Second Mother. However, I still prefer to wait for elder sister-in-law to return and speak with her myself." Lin Yue didn’t trust Lady Wei.

"That works too. I’ll send the third son’s wife to call her back from the fields now. By the way, Erhu’s wife, are you still short on help? If you need more hands, the third and fourth daughters-in-law can come over to help out too. Even if Erhu has moved out, we’re still family, aren’t we? We should help each other."

Lin Yue watched Lady Wei with a smirk bordering on a smile. The old woman’s face was thick enough. Did she think Lin Yue was unaware that she wanted to send the lazy Li Family and Jin Family women over to stir up trouble? Not to mention that Lin Yue would likely have to wait on them hand and foot. She would be foolish to agree. "I’m grateful for your kindness, Second Mother, but it’s not necessary. I’ve already hired enough people, just the elder brother and sister-in-law are missing. As for the third and fourth sisters-in-law, they are treasured ladies who should enjoy their leisure at home. I wouldn’t dare to trouble them."

Her words were tactfully phrased enough that Lady Wei knew better than to insist. Otherwise, if she irritated Lin Yue enough for her to not want the Zhao Dahuo couple either, Lady Wei would end up with nothing. Internally, though, she cursed the Jin Family and Li Xiaomei for their notorious laziness—no wonder nobody was willing to hire them. If she were in their shoes, she wouldn’t want to either.

In fact, to be fair, both the Jin Family and Li Xiaomei were never that lazy. It was just that the money earned from their labor would end up in Lady Wei’s hands. They gained nothing from working, so why bother seeking out more toil? Therefore, seeing the high wages Lin Yue offered, they weren’t enthusiastic—had they been able to keep the money for themselves, it would’ve been a different story.

Especially Li Xiaomei. Lady Wei favored the third and fifth sons, and with her husband stuck awkwardly in the middle, they had long desired to split the household. But the old harridan, Lady Wei, wouldn’t hear of it no matter the fuss. And to make matters worse, her favoritism remained as strong as ever. Both she and Zhao Cheng were extremely frustrated.

Lin Yue pondered analytically and felt that Li Xiaomei was indeed a person who could be utilized. She had heard that when her sister-in-law had come to convey a message to her, it was Li Xiaomei who had secretly informed her sister-in-law.

After observing on several occasions, Lin Yue noticed that although Li Xiaomei was harsh and sharp-tongued, she was not too bad at heart, merely a bit selfish and self-serving at worst, and more importantly, she dared to oppose the Wei Family and sing a different tune, which was evident from her attitude when speaking with them.

Considering the Wei Family was led by such a cunning and powerful figure, the fact that they had not taken action against Li Xiaomei indicated a certain wariness of her. As for Li Xiaomei’s husband, Zhao Cheng, Lin Yue bore no significant animosity towards him; despite his loutish behavior, he was not very scheming. Compared to Zhao Quan’s sinister malevolence and Zhao Xing’s deceitful trickery, of all the Wei Family’s sons, Zhao Cheng appeared to be the most simple and honest, and he also had the worst relationship with the Wei Family. If Lin Yue could make Zhao Cheng and his wife useful to her, she would not mind offering them some benefits.

This thought crossed Lin Yue’s mind as part of a long-term strategy. As the saying goes, "Without long-term planning, there will be immediate worries." Although the old Zhao Family residence was quiet for now and there was little interaction between the two households, the surface calm was only temporary. Her family’s circumstances would only improve with time, and more and more people would become envious. Given the Wei Family’s greed, coupled with Zhao Jingen’s favoritism, it would be difficult for them to contain their greed, and they would undoubtedly cause trouble eventually. Hence, it was necessary to take precautions against future problems.

The sun was blazing outside, and Jin Family, reluctant and grumbling, was dispatched by the Wei Family to call Liu Family back from the fields. The entire way, she complained non-stop about that old witch, who was truly a bully terrified of a tough fight, steering clear of Li Xiaomei, who stood up to her, only to boss around Jin Family instead. Bemoaning the fierce sun, she felt her skin burning.

Jin Family failed to consider that under the same scorching sun, Liu Family was toiling away in the fields without uttering a single word of complaint. Liu Family genuinely didn’t mind the extra work as long as the Wei Family treated her children better and more fairly. However, after Zhao Dahuo’s strong statement, their family’s life and position had changed considerably, with the Wei Family at least appearing more fair on the surface.

"Sister-in-law, you were looking for me." Jin Family was in no mood to engage with Liu Family, and she didn’t explain why she had asked her to come back, so Liu Family, thinking Lin Yue had an urgent matter, hurried back from the fields, dripping with sweat.

Lin Yue first let Liu Family sit down and drink a glass of water to quench her thirst before explaining her purpose. Liu Family was more than willing to agree. "That’s nothing, if sister-in-law is too busy, we should help. It’s a joke to talk about wages among family."

"Sister-in-law, let’s be clear on this matter. It’s one thing to help occasionally, but tomorrow I’ve asked others to assist too, and they’ll all be paid. It will also delay big brother from going to work, so the payment that should be given, must be given," Lin Yue responded.

Hearing Liu Family’s naivety about to push away the money that was nearly in hand, the Wei Family grew anxious and immediately chimed in after Lin Yue’s comment, "Yes, Dahuo’s wife, don’t argue with Xiaomei. Xiaomei is such a reasonable person, how could she exclude just your share of the wages? Besides, Dahuo and Erhu are blood brothers—nobody should be shortchanged, especially one’s own eldest brother. Xiaomei, isn’t that right?"