A Good Country Wife
Chapter 368 - 362_1

Chapter 368: Chapter 362_1

Lin Yue thought back to the situation at that time. If it weren’t for her quick-wittedness and agility, and the fact that she was being troubled by several men, she would have never made it out favorably. Liang Wei was a reckless man, and at the time, he was egged on by Jiang Wenshu. Who knew what he could have done! She had no one by her side to rely on and had to toughen up to confront Liang Wei and his group alone. If Zhao Erhu really had been unable to help or was too busy, she wouldn’t have blamed him, but the issue was that he was with another woman at the time, a woman who was up to no good and constantly provoking her.

As Lin Yue thought about it, a lump formed in her chest. Even though she believed Zhao Erhu wouldn’t have anything to do with that woman, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of injustice, especially considering Zhao Erhu’s attitude towards her, which was causing even more discomfort in her heart.

Since that day, Lin Yue and Zhao Erhu had been giving each other the cold shoulder for several days. However, as the New Year approached and things became busier, the two reconciled. Zhao Erhu learned that appeasing his wife when she was jealous wasn’t so easy, so he kept some distance from Li Xiaotao, even though he had no such intentions. His wife being upset gave him a headache but also pained his heart. Occasionally making his wife jealous did remind him of his place and importance in her heart, but if it affected the relationship between them, it wouldn’t be good. He had just slowly started to make her accept him, and by helping Li Xiaotao this time, he had also repaid a debt of gratitude.

A few days after the Laba Festival, first, a light snow fell, and then a heavy snow began to swirl down. After several days, the whole village was enveloped in silver, a vast expanse of white. The households had also posted their Spring Festival couplets one by one, adding a touch of festivity to the cold season.

Lin Yue was particularly sensitive to the cold, and ever since it began to snow, she refused to leave the house, staying indoors with a lively charcoal fire. She would warm herself by the fire while doing some embroidery, or teach arithmetic to Dalang and the others, in which she had absolute confidence in surpassing these ancient people. Or occasionally, when Zhang Chunhua and the others came for a visit, she would take out some fruit and chat with them. Her days were quite pleasant, but it was also because she had bought all the necessary New Year goods before the snow, and had prepared everything needed. Now, she could afford such leisure.

"Wife, the village chief is slaughtering a pig tomorrow, and he invited us to enjoy the pork feast," Zhao Erhu said to Lin Yue as he entered, braving the howling wind and snow, while brushing off the snowflakes that had landed on him.

Speaking of the pork feast, it was a common custom in the rural areas of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Before the New Year, families who had raised pigs and were relatively affluent would slaughter a pig at this time and invite relatives and friends, with whom they had a good relationship, to their home for the feast. Over the past year, because of Lin Yue’s special efforts, the relationship between Zhao Erhu’s family and the village chief’s was very good. So when the village chief saw Zhao Erhu, he personally invited him, asking his whole family to come over.

Zhao Erhu’s face hinted at his delight while speaking. It was worth noting that in the past, no one had ever invited their family to such a feast. His reputation had been one reason, and another was his character, shaped by his upbringing; he was rather cold and indifferent, and not very close to the villagers, so no one had ever invited them to a pork feast. Now that the village chief had extended an invitation, of course he was happy. After all, the village chief’s status in the village was quite high, and not just anyone had the honor of a personal invitation.

"Pork feast? Alright, I got it," Lin Yue replied. She had grown up in the countryside where this custom was also present. Her grandfather had a good relationship with the villagers, and each year before the New Year, there would always be invitations for her grandfather to join the feast, and she would go along. Everyone would gather together, laugh, and enjoy delicious food in a festive and lively atmosphere. However, ever since her grandfather passed away, she hadn’t returned to the village for many years. Upon hearing Zhao Erhu mention it, she felt a wave of nostalgia and a cheerful smile appeared on her face.

"You look quite pleased," Zhao Erhu said. His little wife had been giving him the cold shoulder these past few days because of the Li Xiaotao incident, but now she seemed genuinely happy, which warmed his heart as well.

Lin Yue was in a good mood, so she put aside her discontent for the time being and was much nicer to Zhao Erhu, "Indeed, I’ve watched other families carry out pig slaughters before; it’s quite amusing. The village head must have invited quite a few people. Tomorrow is sure to be bustling with activity. It’s just too bad we didn’t raise any pigs this year, or we could also be having a pig slaughter for the New Year."

At this, Lin Yue felt a pang of regret. She had been too busy at the beginning, not giving it a thought, and it was only upon hearing that the village head was inviting them for the pig slaughter meal that she remembered. She pondered whether they should also raise a few pigs next year—then, by the New Year, they would be able to enjoy their own pork and wouldn’t need to buy from others. After all, the main point was to join in on the excitement and the festive spirit.

Hearing Lin Yue talk this way, Zhao Erhu felt an urge to make something happen. It was not often that his little wife had something to be happy about, and these days he’d been worried about how to please her. But they hadn’t raised any pigs either, so he thought he should come up with a plan.

"Slaughtering a pig must be a very busy affair; I’ll go over early tomorrow to help out," Lin Yue said. She also went to the kitchen to prepare some ingredients to bring over the next morning. The village head had wide connections, so there would be many people coming to enjoy the pig slaughter meal. And even though there would be pork, other dishes were also needed—it wasn’t feasible to eat just pork. Besides, who has that much pork for consumption? Even the village head’s wealthy household couldn’t afford such an expense.

Moreover, during this season, there were only so many vegetables available, all harvested in the fall and stored in cellars to be consumed until gone. However, thanks to Lin Yue, Zhao Erhu’s household had stored quite a variety of vegetables that were suitable for long-term storage, as well as all kinds of pickled vegetables—they had a lot of them.

Lin Yue had planted so many vegetables, and while the wealthy families with their own farms would have fresh vegetables and fruits, and although they did purchase supplies mainly consisting of tofu products or other processed foods from them, only a small portion of Lin Yue’s vegetables were sold, with most preserved by Lin Yue as various pickles, sauces, and dried vegetables. Actually, Lin Yue started preparing for winter foods very early because, when she first arrived, she had eaten so much pickled vegetable and had no other options.

With the pig slaughter on her mind, Lin Yue woke up early, rising before dawn and thinking about getting over to the village head’s house to help—but, in truth, she was also eager to join in on the bustle early on.

Seeing Lin Yue climb out of the warm bed and start to dress, the cold air hit and she shivered uncontrollably. Zhao Erhu quickly pulled Lin Yue back into the bed and enveloped her in the blankets, "Wife, it’s snowing outside, and it’s so cold. Why are you getting up so early? Sleep in a little longer."