A Good Country Wife
Chapter 294 - 288: Dazzled by Beauty_1

Chapter 294: Chapter 288: Dazzled by Beauty_1

"Sister-in-law, actually I’ve got something else I want to say to you," said Li Xiaomei hesitantly. "The thing is, Zhao Cheng and I haven’t really done much work before, so we might not be very skilled at the beginning. Please don’t look down on us. We’ll try our best and get better with practice. After all, nobody’s born knowing how to work, right?"

Seeing Li Xiaomei look so uneasy, Lin Yue thought she had done something to offend her. Hearing that this was her concern, Lin Yue laughed and said, "That’s true. So let’s make that clear, if you and your husband don’t do well, I won’t be polite. I’ll say what needs to be said without mincing words. Don’t feel aggrieved."

"Of course not," Xiaomei replied. "Zhao Cheng and I aren’t ungrateful. For you agreeing to let us work at your house, we owe you a great favor. We’ve never really had proper jobs before, and were just muddling through at home. Now that we’ve separated from the family and have something to look forward to, who would want to go back to that? Besides, we’re parents now and we have to think about our children. I’ve heard that next year you’re planning to send Dalang and the others to study at the academy. Zhao Cheng and I want to save up some money, so our children can also attend the academy and learn something useful."

Lin Yue felt a newfound respect for Xiaomei upon hearing this. This must be the glow of motherhood. Xiaomei, with her kind of temperament, had never suffered much, but for her children she was willing to make sacrifices. The desire to separate from the Wei Family, one of her motives might have been for her children, wishing to give them a better life. The old shrew from the Wei Family really did play favorites too openly, not only among her sons but also with her grandchildren. No wonder Xiaomei felt resentful; children are indeed their parents’ weak spot.

"It turns out, our Xiaomei is really quite a good mother! It’s good for the children to study. Studying helps one understand the world and distinguish right from wrong; it broadens their horizons. The reason I want Dalang and the others to study isn’t to seek fame through examinations – that’s too difficult. I just want them to learn more and be better equipped for life, which will benefit them in the long run."

They were both parents, and when it came to this topic, they had plenty to discuss. Although Lin Yue’s children weren’t her biological ones, she had come to love them as her own. She couldn’t help it; the kids were just too well-behaved, and she couldn’t help but feel affection and concern for them.

"Who’s there, skulking around outside? Come out!" Lin Yue suddenly called out sharply. She was chatting and laughing with Xiaomei when she heard some noise outside the window. It sounded like someone standing there, so she called out sternly.

The Chen Family had always been sneaky, and who knew when she had slipped over to the outside of the kitchen. Hearing voices, she tiptoed to peek through the window; such behavior was indeed baffling. It was her own home, and yet she couldn’t enter openly, instead lurking outside to eavesdrop.

The Chen Family had been eavesdropping on Lin Yue and Xiaomei’s conversation the whole time. When Lin Yue agreed to let Xiaomei and her husband work at their household, Chen became envious. She thought that if Xiaomei could work for the Zhao Family, why couldn’t she, since she and Lin Yue were sisters-in-law from the same village? If she pleaded with Lin Yue, maybe she would agree. Erhu was known to make a good living and their house was prosperous; surely they had many fine things.

With these thoughts, Chen became almost entranced, imagining the benefits. Lost in her reverie, she wasn’t careful in hiding her presence and made a noise, alerting Lin Yue who was speaking with Xiaomei inside. This was followed by Lin Yue’s rebuke.

Under normal circumstances, Chen Family would definitely have run off before anyone else came out, but now that she needed something from Lin Family, she refused to leave. Instead, she approached the kitchen slowly. "Erhu’s wife, Dalang’s wife, you’re both here too. I came to the kitchen to see if there’s anything I can help with."

If Li Xiaomei was known for being too lazy to be asked to do anything and therefore had no tasks assigned to her, then it was surely due to Chen Family’s bad reputation that no one wanted to work with such an unclean-handed person. That’s why her tasks were also exempted, letting her stay in her room and not come out. But who would have guessed that Chen Family couldn’t stay put, and had come out, probably because she was itching to lapse into her old habits.

Li Xiaomei felt anger well up at the sight of Chen Family. This shameless woman was always up to no good, sneaking around and stealing. Li Xiaomei immediately ran out of patience.

"Chen Family, how can you be like this! Skulking about all day, engaging in misdeeds behind everyone’s back. What were you hiding outside and eavesdropping for? Are you concocting another dubious scheme?!" Speaking of eavesdropping, it used to be Li Xiaomei’s forte back in the old Zhao Family home. However, Li Xiaomei did it purely to gather information for Lin Yue while undercover, unlike Chen Family, whose goals in eavesdropping were quite different.

"No, I didn’t. Xiaomei, don’t wrong me. I wasn’t eavesdropping; I just wanted to go with you to Erhu’s wife’s place and work. Erhu’s wife, I am very capable. I can do all kinds of work. Xiaomei doesn’t like to work, I do all the housework at home. I don’t ask for much wages, just give me a full meal and I’ll be content." Chen Family put on an innocent look, but the words she said left people speechless. If she hadn’t eavesdropped, how could she know what they were talking about? Only Zhao Xing, who was blinded by her beauty, could be fooled by Chen Family.

Lin Yue sighed to herself, recognizing Chen Family as a sly, scheming little white flower—innocent-looking on the outside, with who knows what thoughts inside, and a peculiar penchant for theft. Lin Yue would have to be out of her mind to bring someone like that into her home.

Li Xiaomei was already upset, and Chen Family’s words only infuriated her more. This shameless woman was trying to compete with her for work and even tried to smear her in front of Erhu’s wife, as if that would be enough to replace her. Wishful thinking!

"Chen Family, I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you. Erhu’s wife is well aware of my circumstances; you don’t need to deliberately besmirch my name. Even though I might not be the most efficient worker, I’m still better than a thieving woman like you. You want to work at my Erhu’s wife’s house? With your bad reputation and unclean hands, my Erhu’s wife wouldn’t dare to hire you. Otherwise, things would start to go missing every few days, and that’s like inviting a thief into the house. Who would be that foolish!" Li Xiaomei’s words were harsh, but they were the harsh reality.

"Younger Sister-in-law, Xiaomei is rather blunt; try not to take it to heart. She means no harm. But indeed, my household does not need more help. You should look elsewhere for work. With your kind of low demands, just requiring a single meal, you can find work anywhere." Lin Yue’s outright rejection made it clear to Chen Family that there was no hope of getting work at Zhao Erhu’s place. Chen Family could only leave dejectedly, harboring yet another grudge against Li Xiaomei—without her interference, things might have turned out differently.