A Good Country Wife
Chapter 353 - 347_1

Chapter 353: Chapter 347_1

Lin Yue could tell just by looking at Li Xiaomei that she had handled the matter with care and efficiency. Even Zhang Chunhua hadn’t finished her task yet, and here was Li Xiaomei, dusty from the road, obviously having not gone home before coming to report to her, tsk tsk, she had the makings of a workaholic.

"You’ve done a good job with this, I’ll give you a bonus," Lin Yue said with a smile, knowing that good work deserved encouragement.

"Sister-in-law, don’t mention it. It’s not for the bonus. It’s the first time someone has trusted me with such an important task; if I didn’t do it well, I wouldn’t live up to your trust." Li Xiaomei was overjoyed to receive Lin Yue’s affirmation, reminded of the situation with her sister-in-law back home.

"Sister-in-law, my sister-in-law at home wanted me to ask if there’s any suitable work for her?"

"It’s not that there’s no work available, but what kind of temperament does your sister-in-law have, and what kind of work can she do? All the jobs in our household involve physical labor; she may not be up for it." Lin Yue thought that they did indeed need two more cooks in the kitchen, but since she had never met Li Xiaomei’s sister-in-law, she hesitated, unsure of her disposition.

"You can rest assured, my sister-in-law is very capable. My older brother and his peers work outside the home, so most of the household chores are done by my sisters-in-law. My older sister-in-law says she’s not afraid of hard or excessive work; she can do anything. I wouldn’t have promised to ask you if my sister-in-law wasn’t truly capable," Li Xiaomei assured.

"If that’s the case, we’re short of someone to cook and keep the fire in the kitchen. Ask your older sister-in-law if she’s willing to do it. If so, let her come over with you tomorrow."

"Okay, I’ll tell her when I get back. She will definitely be willing, thank you, sister-in-law. I should head back now; it’s getting dark, Zhao Cheng will start worrying if I don’t return soon." Li Xiaomei, having been busy, was now in a hurry to get home.

The following afternoon, Li Xiaomei brought her sister-in-law, Mrs. Li from her maternal home. Having met her, Lin Yue found her to be indeed a good person. Their family was exactly in need of more help, not just in the workshop, but also in the kitchen to prepare meals for the large number of workers at the construction site. Mrs. Li didn’t say much, she just rolled up her sleeves and started working in the kitchen. Observing that she worked efficiently and had a strong sense of responsibility, as if one person was doing the work of two, Lin Yue simply handed over the kitchen’s responsibilities to her.

Regarding Mrs. Li’s accommodation, naturally, a woman could not stay in the open dormitory, and the servant’s quarters were already full. The Lin family didn’t have room to spare either. When Chen Family learned of this, they offered Mrs. Li a room in the old Zhao Family house where they had been living all along, as no one was staying in the old house. It would also be convenient once Li Xiaomei’s older brother arrived; the couple could live together.

Thus, things were busy on both fronts, but by the fourth day, the workshop was ready to start work. Since Li Xiaomei had previously performed well, and more workers could lead to chaos, it was important to have a few truly trustworthy people. Lin Yue decided to hand over some of the less critical tasks to Li Xiaomei. When Li Xiaomei heard that Lin Yue had more responsibilities for her, she was thrilled, working diligently each day from dawn till dusk, virtually living at the workshop. She managed all the tasks Lin Yue delegated very well, and would even help with things that weren’t her responsibility whenever she noticed them.

One day, after finishing her work and thinking about her two boys at home who had been begging her for roasted sweet potatoes, Li Xiaomei, always loving her sons dearly, albeit a bit reluctant, got up the nerve to approach Lin Yue, "Sister-in-law, those two rascals at home have been pestering me for roasted sweet potatoes for days, and I just can’t say no. Could I get a few sweet potatoes from the storage room to take home?"

Actually, with the relationship Li Xiaomei had with Lin Yue’s family now, even if she took a few without saying anything, no one would have said anything. However, Li Xiaomei still insisted on maintaining her principles. Although she liked to take little advantages here and there, stealing was a matter of morality, especially since Zhao Xing had married a thieving wife. Li Xiaomei utterly loathed the idea of theft. Taking without asking was deemed stealing to her; she naturally couldn’t do such a thing.

"What’s the big deal? There are plenty of sweet potatoes in the field. Your nephews like to eat them, so take some more back with you." Lin Yue thought Li Xiaomei had come specifically to talk about something important. It was just a few sweet potatoes. With Li Xiaomei asking, there was no reason for her not to agree. She just told Li Xiaomei to take more. Lin Yue had seen everything Li Xiaomei had been up to these days.

"No need, no need! Those sweet potatoes aren’t cheap, you know. I’ll just take a few back for those two brats to try something new. They’re your family’s source of income. If those two brats hadn’t nagged me so much, I wouldn’t have even asked."

Having said her farewells to Lin Yue, Li Xiaomei went to the storage room in the workshop where the sweet potatoes were kept. She had already picked out a few small ones and set them aside, which she now intended to take with her. However, when she got there, she found that the sweet potatoes she had set aside, as well as a few from the pile on the floor, were gone. The room was still full of sweet potatoes, so it wasn’t obvious at a glance that some were missing. She wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t paid close attention today.

This was serious trouble. Sweet potatoes had disappeared just like that, a clear sign of a thief among them. Ever since Zhao Xing had brought home that wife with sticky fingers, things had been going missing more often, and Li Xiaomei was particularly sensitive to such things. She immediately sensed something was amiss.

But learning from past experiences, Li Xiaomei did not immediately start making a fuss. Without knowing who the thief was, it would only serve to startle the snake in the grass. It was useless unless she caught the thief red-handed. This was a lesson Li Xiaomei had learned from her previous encounters with Zhao Xing’s wife from the Chen Family. She hadn’t expected it to come in handy so soon.

"Wife, what are you doing? Didn’t you say you were just going to take a few sweet potatoes and head home? Why haven’t you come out yet?" Zhao Cheng had been waiting outside for a while and called out when he didn’t see Li Xiaomei emerge. His wife was usually quite efficient unless she was intentionally dragging her feet when they hadn’t split the household.

"What’s all the shouting? I’m coming out now." Li Xiaomei felt it was crucial to act discreetly and not let anyone know she had discovered the stolen sweet potatoes. Hearing Zhao Cheng raising his voice outside, she replied irritably.

Zhao Cheng felt that something was off with his wife. Seeing Li Xiaomei frown as she came out, he asked, "Wife, what’s wrong with you?"

Li Xiaomei glanced around warily, pulled Zhao Cheng along as they walked, and whispered a few words in his ear, instructing him to stay hidden near the workshop. Then she rushed off to the Zhao Erhu’s family courtyard.

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, open the door, quick!" Although Li Xiaomei didn’t cause a commotion and handled things reasonably well, she was still somewhat impatient and couldn’t keep her composure. Upon reaching the entrance of Zhao Erhu’s courtyard, she hurriedly pounded on the door, making it rattle loudly.

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