A Good Country Wife
Chapter 352 - 346_1

Chapter 352: Chapter 346_1

The workers who were recruited this time were mostly from other villages. Now, with the weather being so cold and the days growing dark early, it was inconvenient to travel back and forth. It also wasted time. Zhao Erhu took the lead in building several large communal rooms, which could accommodate dozens of people in a single room. A large kitchen was also set up outside, with six big pots installed, so accommodation and food were both taken care of. This allowed everyone to concentrate on their work.

"Dongjia, Geng Liu from the neighboring village has brought over the stone mill that was made. He’s asking if it should be delivered to the workshop," said Zhao Erhu as he directed the workers in building the houses. Liu Aniu came over to inquire.

"Yes, that’s right, it goes there. Take him to the workshop, and once you’re done, go to my wife to settle the accounts. I’ve already spoken to her about it, she knows," Zhao Erhu was tied up at the moment and couldn’t leave, so he had Liu Aniu see to it. Looking at the progress of the construction, it would be finished in another day or two at most.

After the autumn harvest, there was little else to be done, and the villagers could only rely on odd jobs to earn some Silver Coin. However, such jobs were not easy to come by—with so many people in the village, not everyone could find work. Those without jobs could only stay at home, frittering away their food. This time, hearing that the Zhao Family needed more workers, people from several villages were very pleased.

Zhang Chunhua and Li Xiaomei were at this time also at their parents’ home, assisting Lin Yue in recruiting workers. Zhang Chunhua had spent a few months in the Zhao household and was already adept at such tasks, but it was Li Xiaomei’s first time handling such a responsibility. Worried about betraying Lin Yue’s trust, Xiaomei had specifically sought Zhang Chunhua’s advice before returning home and was now busily directing her parents around the house.

"Dad, Mom, have you talked to the village chief and got it all sorted out? We need to get this done quickly. It’s rare for my sister-in-law to trust me with such an important task, and I can’t afford to mess it up."

"Don’t worry, girl. Do you not know what your father is capable of? I’ve already talked to the village chief, and everyone in the village knows by now. They will come to our house to sign up this afternoon. I’ll make sure the job is done well, so you can make a good impression in front of Zhao Erhu and his wife," said Li Datong, Xiaomei’s father, with a gleeful tone. As parents who doted on their daughter, how could they not put their hearts into a task she asked of them, especially when it was a matter that could earn them respect?

"When recruiting, make sure to keep your eyes peeled. We can’t take anyone who is dishonest or sneaky."

"My girl, you’ve reminded us plenty of times already. Your dad will remember, and your mom here will, too. We’ve lived in this village for decades; we know everything about it and won’t let anyone take advantage."

"I know you find me nagging, but this is my first time doing a job for my sister-in-law, and I just want to do it really well. Only then will she entrust me with other tasks in the future. Otherwise, no matter how much she values me, it’s useless if I don’t prove myself. Now that our family has branched out, we can’t just scrape by as we did before. I need to show my brother and sister-in-law that I am capable," said Xiaomei.

On the topic of splitting the household, Mrs. Li, Xiaomei’s mother, thought of the Wei Family, her face filled with resentment and anger. "It’s better that we’ve split. Your mother-in-law from the Wei Family is no good, I’ve never seen anyone so biased. Besides, you’re her niece by marriage. Initially, we expected her to look after you a bit more because of that relationship when we agreed to let you marry Zhao Cheng. But now that we see Zhao Cheng’s own mother and siblings can’t be relied upon, it turns out to be Zhao Erhu and his wife who are so supportive. It’s only right for you to consider their interests."

"Indeed, daughter, Zhao Erhu and his wife have been so supportive of you; you need to be grateful and avoid throwing tantrums or getting upset, causing them to lose face," echoed Li Datong, reinforcing his wife’s words. In his mind, his daughter had always been somewhat thoughtless, so he gave her a few extra reminders.

"Dad, Mom, I understand. I’m already the mother of two children; how could I not know these things? Just help me handle this affair properly, so I can report back to my brother and sister-in-law," Xiaomei, growing closer to Lin Yue, affectionately referred to Lin Yue and Zhao Erhu as ’brother’ and ’sister-in-law,’ almost as if they were her own blood relatives.

"Of course," said Mrs. Li with a warm smile, observing her daughter-in-law gesturing to her from outside the door. It seemed she needed to speak with her about something, so Mrs. Li went out for a bit. When she came back, there was a hint of difficulty on her face.

Li Xiaomei frowned as she looked at her mother. "Mom, what did my sister-in-law tell you? Is there some kind of difficulty?"

"This?" Lady Li hesitated about whether to disclose it or not. She didn’t want to trouble her daughter, but her elder daughter-in-law had come to her for help, and it was for the family’s sake. If she didn’t help, she wouldn’t be able to justify it.

When her daughter spoke this way, Lady Li decided not to keep it a secret. "Mom, just speak up about whatever it is. There’s no need to hem and haw like this! Are we mother and daughter so estranged that we can’t speak openly? Did your sister-in-law do something to upset you?" As she spoke, Li Xiaomei became somewhat dissatisfied.

"No, your sister-in-law is a virtuous woman. She wouldn’t do anything to anger me. It’s just that your sister-in-law also wants to go and work at Zhao Erhu’s place with your elder brother to earn some silver coins and help out the family. She was hoping you could help inquire if there is any suitable work for her."

Before Li Xiaomei had the chance to express her opinion, Li Datong immediately disapproved. "Nonsense. Zhao Erhu and his wife trust our daughter to handle their affairs because they believe in her. The terms for hiring people were clear, and now you’re putting our daughter in a difficult position. I don’t agree with this."

"But the elder daughter-in-law is also considering the family’s well-being. I..."

Upon hearing the situation, Li Xiaomei said, "Dad, Mom, this isn’t anything to worry about. I’ll ask my second sister-in-law about it later. If there’s suitable work, we can let my sister-in-law take it, and if not, then we’ll just forget about it. It’s nothing more than asking a question, after all."

"In that case, daughter, we’ll leave this matter to you."

"Mom, I’m your daughter. Why speak such formal words? Just wait for my news."

Having settled the affairs by afternoon, and as the sky was beginning to darken, Li Xiaomei was eager to report back to Lin Yue and refused to stay another night at her parents’ house. She insisted on returning to Zhao Family Village immediately. Seeing their daughter so insistent and concerned for her safety traveling alone so late, Li Xiaomei’s parents had no choice but to let her elder brother hitch the ox cart to take her back.

Li Xiaomei got off the ox cart at the entrance to the village. "Brother, it’s late, so I won’t keep you. You head back now. As for my sister-in-law’s matter, I remember it. I’ll give her a message tomorrow morning when I go over."

"Alright, then I’ll head back. Be careful."

As soon as Li Xiaomei returned to Zhao Family Village, she didn’t even hurry home but went straight to Zhao Erhu’s house to report the hiring situation to Lin Yue, "Second sister-in-law, how do you think I handled this? The people on this list were carefully selected by my parents. There’s not a single dishonest or sly one among them."

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