A Good Country Wife
Chapter 190 The Timid and Honest One_1

Chapter 190: Chapter 190 The Timid and Honest One_1

Lin Yue rolled her eyes inwardly, how capable Wei Family’s matriarch was at speaking! Since she had agreed to pay for the labor, she would not renege on her word. Yet, considering the latter’s urgency, Lin Yue had the urge to throw a barbed comment, but she refrained. She didn’t want to put Zhao Dahuo and his wife in a difficult position, after all, they were still living under the Wei matriarch’s control. Although Zhao Dahuo had toughened up quite a bit, with a formidable woman like the matriarch of the Wei Family, making life difficult for others behind the scenes was something that couldn’t be guarded against.

"Sister Chunhua is right; that’s exactly it. Eldest Sister-in-law, that settles the matter then. You, Big Brother, and the kids should all come over tomorrow. I’ll be waiting for you guys."

"Then, okay, I’ll come over with your Big Brother early tomorrow morning." Sister Chunhua initially wanted to decline a few times, but catching the warning look in the Wei matriarch’s eyes, she reluctantly agreed. If she really refused the money, the matriarch probably would not allow them to come over, and there would be a big fuss. It’s no big deal, tomorrow she and Dahu would just have to work a bit harder and do more work. They certainly couldn’t let Erhu and his wife suffer a loss.

Once Lin Yue had made arrangements with Sister Chunhua, she left the Zhao family’s old residence. She still had to make a trip to the back mountain; she hadn’t anticipated that the amount of bamboo leaves needed for the zongzi would be so great. Fearing that the leaves they had picked earlier wouldn’t be enough, she invited Chunxi and Zhang Chunhua to go with her to the back mountain and pick more leaves to bring back.

Zhao Erhu returned in the evening and took the opportunity to set up two stoves with Wu Qiang in the yard, so they could be used directly the next day. As for the steaming baskets, there were enough available. Not too long ago, because it was convenient for Lin Yue to make food, Erhu had made her two more, and now they came in handy.

With too many things on her mind, Lin Yue got up early in the morning before dawn the next day. She made a big pot of porridge and fried a few dishes. Although she didn’t specifically invite everyone over for breakfast, she knew very well the situation of each household. Except for Wu Qiang’s family, who were better off, Zhao Dahuo’s family and Chunxi and her mother-in-law certainly hadn’t had enough to eat in the morning. Thus, she simply made a big pot of porridge, complete with meat and eggs. It was steaming and fragrant, ready for when they arrived to eat.

Lin Yue hadn’t yet served the porridge when there was a knock on the door. Soon, everyone had arrived. It had not been long since it got light outside. Lin Yue had gotten up so early to prepare for making zongzi, not expecting that the others would get up just as early. The families that had come to help were all industrious and had been personally asked by Lin Yue, so of course, they put their heart into it, hurrying over early in the morning. If they hadn’t worried that Lin Yue might not be up yet, they probably would have come even earlier.

Particularly, Zhao Dahuo and his wife came with the intent to really work hard. It was their duty to help as Erhu’s elder brother and sister-in-law. But due to the Wei matriarch, they could only accept Erhu’s payment. If they didn’t do more work than that, they would be even worse than strangers.

"You’ve arrived just in time, or could it be you smelled the fragrance? It’s so early, you all mustn’t have had breakfast. I made a big pot of porridge especially for you. Let’s eat breakfast before we start work," Lin Yue called out with a smile, welcoming them inside.

"No need, we’ve had breakfast before coming. Why don’t you eat, and we’ll start working on whatever needs to be done." Zhao Dahuo spoke. They approached the day’s work intending to do more so as not to let Zhao Erhu suffer a loss. Thirty coins a day per person - one could ask around the whole village and find that not even the more generous landlord families paid such high wages. There wasn’t any reason to prepare meals on top of that. Zhao Dahuo and his wife even brought along several cold and hard corn buns, planning to make do with them for lunch. In the past, when they went out to work, if the Dongjia didn’t provide meals, that was how Erhu managed.

If Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue knew Zhao Dahuo and his wife’s intentions, they would probably not know whether to cry or to laugh. This couple is just too honest; no wonder they were so oppressed by the Wei Family that they couldn’t lift their heads before. Thankfully, Zhao Dahuo now knows to stand up for his wife and children.

"Big brother, sister-in-law, we’re not strangers. Why are you acting so formal? As your brother, would I really let you go hungry? Don’t I know what kind of person Wei Shi is after all these years? She’s always so strict. It would be odd if she made breakfast for you this early. Come and eat," Zhao Erhu felt somewhat helpless. Could it be that their contact had lessened over the years because of Wei Shi’s interference to the extent that he and his big brother were now distant? They were his own brother and sister-in-law; he couldn’t possibly treat them as mere hired help.

Lin Yue hadn’t had much contact with Zhao Dahuo and his wife in the past and only thought of them as overly weak and compliant. Now that they had spent more time together, she felt the terms weak and compliant were an understatement. Have you ever seen anyone so naturally take to their roles? Lin Yue’s heart rose with a wave of helplessness similar to that of Zhao Erhu.

"Big brother, sister-in-law, hurry and bring the kids to the table for the meal. Even if you think it’s okay for you to go hungry, the kids are growing and need to eat. You should think more about them Qiuqiu, quickly bring your two younger brothers over for some food," Lin Yue waved Qiuqiu over.

Upon hearing Lin Yue’s words, Qiuqiu didn’t rush to the table. The siblings’ first reaction was to look to their parents. You could say the children were sensible. Although they were clearly drooling over the food on the table, they all held back, not forgetting the instructions their parents gave them before leaving the house. From another perspective, although Zhao Dahuo and his wife themselves might have been failures in some respects, they had raised their children very well.

"Then, let the children eat a little. Their dad and I aren’t hungry," said Liu Shi and Zhao Dahuo, after Lin Yue brought up the children, they started to relent, especially when they saw the longing looks the kids gave the food on the table, swallowing their saliva. It made their hearts ache. Although they each had half a steamed bun for breakfast before leaving, it clearly wasn’t enough; it was just something to tide them over.

"Big brother, sister-in-law, if you really regard me and Erhu as your kin, then stop talking like that. Hurry and come have breakfast, or I’ll really get mad!" Lin Yue said plainly, not wanting to squander more words with Zhao Dahuo and his wife. Of course, she also didn’t forget to invite Chunxi and the in-laws and Wu Qiang and his wife, "Mother, Chunxi, and Brother Wu and Sister Chunhua, come and have some breakfast too. You all don’t need a second invitation, do you?"

"Mother and I have already eaten," Chunxi and her mother-in-law had only nibbled on some porridge that morning and came over. Seeing that Zhao Erhu’s own big brother wasn’t eating, they didn’t feel it was their place to eat and said they had had their meal. Zhang Chunhua, on the other hand, was more forthright and plopped down on the stool to start eating with a bowl and chopsticks.

"I think you all should stop being so polite with each other. Finish eating and get to work; that’s the important thing. Don’t waste time here with all the pushing and shoving. Yueyue cooked so much exactly because she was expecting everyone to eat together. Eat up without worry; the goal is to finish it all. I’m not wrong, am I, Yueyue?"

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