A Good Country Wife
Chapter 295 - 289: A Misunderstanding_1

Chapter 295: Chapter 289: A Misunderstanding_1

In the afternoon, Zhao Yunxiang hurried over, along with the Zhao Family’s distant and close relatives. Everything had just begun, nothing was prepared, and the scene was chaotic. Eating dinner was hardly an easy feat, and after finally having dinner, they returned. However, some relatives lived nearby, and since the old Zhao Family house couldn’t accommodate everyone, they reluctantly stayed at Lin Yue’s place. Erhu arranged for them to stay in the long-term workers’ quarters.

Seeing the living conditions of the long-term workers at Erhu’s house, the relatives exclaimed that Erhu had really made it big. All the while, Yunxiang listened and watched, feeling quite uncomfortable. She had originally wanted to come help at her younger brother’s house with Genfa, but who knew that she would be barred by that vixen from the Lin Family. Now, despite the circumstances, they had moved in, and the thought of it just added to her resentment.

He was her own brother, who used to be so close to her; how could things have gotten to this point? It was all Lin Family’s fault. Could this have happened without her? She had also heard from the Chen Family that Lin Yue wanted to bring Zhao Cheng and his wife into the house for work.

Who was Zhao Cheng? A son of the Wei Family. What a scandal this woman was creating! Ignoring her husband’s own sister and bringing in the son and daughter-in-law of that harridan from the Wei Family instead. Was she tired of living a peaceful life, seeking trouble on purpose? And Li Xiaomei, she knew very little about her. With her sharp-tongued and sour nature, she criticized everyone she saw. Not to mention her work - famously lazy, what good could she do? She was just taking money for nothing.

Yunxiang had thought about how to reconcile with her brother, wondering if she should humble herself and apologize first. Otherwise, Lin Family would surely cling to past grievances. But after encountering this situation, she felt it was all Lin Family’s fault and hence had no more concerns. She would talk to her brother when he arrived. Spoiling his wife to such an extent was not acceptable, and he was on a fast track to ruin. She also intended to look into how well the long-term workers in her brother’s household were treated. Their pay and living conditions were too generous for long-term workers—surely another idea from Lin Family, wasteful indeed.

As for the meals at the old Zhao house, there was no need to mention the quality—it surely wasn’t good. Everyone was hardly full, and considering that her family had always enjoyed good food, she and her children had barely touched their chopsticks. Firstly, the others were quicker, and secondly, the taste of the dishes was really not good—probably skimping on oil and boiling everything in water. The porridge they cooked had more vegetable leaves than rice, unpleasant to eat and hardly filling at all.

When Lin Yue returned home, she lit the stove and made some more food, even frying up a lot of scallion pancakes. She and the children then sat down for a proper meal, making up for what they had missed at noon and in the evening, and finally felt refreshed and much more spirited.

Erhu was still busy at the old Zhao house and had no time to come back. Lin Yue had Dalang and Erhu’s son take the freshly made pancakes over to Erhu, and also sent portions to Dahu and Zhao Cheng’s households—secretly, of course. They needed to eat in secret, lest they be seen. It wouldn’t look good, giving the impression that the masters kept the good food to themselves while serving their guests thin porridge and bland, greasy-less vegetables.

By now, Erhu was really hungry. After spending a whole day busy in the old Zhao house, he had not had a full meal at noon, and certainly not in the evening. He and Lin Yue’s situation were similar; such food just wasn’t appealing, especially since Erhu, being a large man, naturally had a big appetite. After working from dawn until dusk, his energy expenditure was even greater. Barely able to stomach the hunger, and finding nothing to eat at the old Zhao house, he spotted Dalang and Erhu’s son approaching.

"Dalang, Erhu’s son, didn’t you go back already? Why have you come here again? Does your mother know? You’re grown-ups now; don’t run around everywhere and make your mother worry." Seeing Dalang and Erhu’s son, Erhu thought they were there to play and asked with a frown.

"Dad, don’t worry, we know. Mom specifically asked us to come find you," Dalang and Erhu initially wanted to say ’Mom had us bring you some food,’ but seeing there were people watching them, they changed their words. They pulled Zhao Erhu aside to a secluded spot and stuffed a small bundle into his hands.

"Dad, this is what Mom asked us to bring to you. She said you must be hungry after working all day, and the meals at the old house aren’t satisfying. She made some delicious scallion pancakes for you to eat in secret, so nobody sees. She also prepared a share for your elder uncle and Fourth Uncle. Eat up, we’ll go deliver theirs," Dalang and Erhu, through their days of experience, had grown increasingly composed and handled affairs with great earnestness.

Zhao Erhu, holding the small package, felt his heart warm. "Okay, you guys go ahead but remember your mother’s words. Do it quietly, and don’t let anyone know." Zhao Erhu knew it wasn’t right to eat alone like this, but there was nothing he could do to change the situation at the Zhao Family’s old house.

The coffin shop owner was quite prompt, and since it was a ready-made order, he delivered the coffin by evening. He even provided a thoughtful touch with a funeral shroud. That night, the men would need to take care of Zhao Jingen’s encoffinment and finish various other tasks before Zhao Erhu could find time to return home and rest.

When Zhao Erhu arrived home, it was already very late. He thought his wife and children would be asleep, but to his surprise, his young wife had not yet gone to bed and was waiting for him in the room. He felt comforted but at the same time mildly reproached her, "Wife, why haven’t you gone to sleep earlier? You’ve been busy at the old house all day. You finally have some time to rest, so you should go to bed sooner. You’ll need to help out at the old house in the coming days, and you won’t be able to cope if you keep this up."

"Don’t worry, I’m not tired at all. The heavy and tiring tasks were all snatched up by your elder sister-in-law and Fourth Brother’s wife to do. I just did the light and easy jobs, which couldn’t possibly tire me out," Lin Yue said with a smile, knowing that Zhao Erhu was concerned for her.

Hearing Lin Yue’s response, Zhao Erhu instantly felt pleased with the Wei Family and Li Xiaomei. They had acted exactly to his liking, especially Li Xiaomei. After so many years, how could Zhao Erhu not understand her temperament? Her behavior that day had indeed surprised him.

"That’s good, as long as your elder sister-in-law and Fourth Brother’s wife are there to support you, I feel at ease. By the way, you mentioned before about having Zhao Cheng and his wife work at our place, let’s settle on that. I’ve seen that although they haven’t done much work before and aren’t very deft, they are both sincere and willing to make an effort. With some more training, they will undoubtedly perform well."

Although Lin Yue had already decided on this matter before and mentioned it to Zhao Erhu, he didn’t oppose it out of consideration for his young wife’s feelings. Nevertheless, he had maintained a wait-and-see attitude, thinking that if Zhao Cheng and his wife didn’t work hard enough, even if they came, he could still send them back. Now, expressing his stance this way showed that Li Xiaomei’s flattery today was indeed very apt, whether sincere or not. Zhao Erhu appreciated it. However, aside from that, Zhao Cheng’s behavior throughout the day also pleased Zhao Erhu, which is why he spoke so straightforwardly.