A Good Country Wife
Chapter 532 - 526_1

Chapter 532: Chapter 526_1

She had waited all evening, and Lun Qin had even skipped dinner. It was only when the mistress’s people didn’t show up that she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Surely the master hadn’t told the mistress, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to stay here so peacefully. Although the master’s words had been harsh, he ultimately had a soft spot for her. She liked to think that he still cared for her, deep down, and a glimmer of hope was kindled in Lun Qin’s heart again.

Due to Lun Qin’s personality, she didn’t get along with the other women in the embroidery room. Even when she missed dinner the night before, no one noticed. It was only when Musheng’s wife took attendance the next day and found Lun Qin absent did they learn she was ill and had not come. They granted her another day of leave, oblivious to the daring act she had committed the night before.

Once the village chief received Erhu’s confirmation, he too felt the heavy burden in his heart lift. However, knowing the character of some of those families, he called the families whose houses had collapsed and spoke seriously, "Your houses have collapsed and are uninhabitable. I’ve already spoken with Erhu, and he’s willing to free up a few empty houses for you all to live in."

The families, initially disheartened and unsure of their next steps, all showed joy upon hearing the chief’s words, "That’s wonderful, we finally have a place to stay and won’t starve in the cold and snow."

There were those amongst them who were more reasonable, who knew all this was a result of the village chief’s efforts, and they quickly expressed their thanks, "Thank you, village chief, for taking care of us."

The village chief raised his hand to quiet them down. "You don’t need to thank me. As the village chief, it’s my duty to look out for our people. What’s rare is that Erhu has a good heart and is willing to take you in. Without him, even my good intentions would be useless."

The village chief had no intention of taking the credit, but there were some who wanted to suck up to him, and intentionally downplayed Erhu’s role while elevating the chief’s status, "Village chief, that’s modest of you. You’re our Zhao Family Village’s chief, and when you speak, who would dare not to accept it? Erhu must have considered your standing. Even now that he’s well-off, he is still part of our village, a junior, who should respect you. Once you’ve issued your order, how could he dare not to listen? He’d be a fool."

Aniu, sent by Erhu to handle the matter, arrived at the village chief’s doorstep and overheard this conversation, which unsettled him. His master was kind-hearted and offered help for the sake of community kinship. These people were not only ungrateful but had the audacity to speak such words; it was infuriating.

The village chief wasn’t the type to be swayed by flattery, nor did he see himself as anything special because of a few compliments. In fact, he found the sycophant to be a troublemaker, especially when he noticed Aniu overhearing the words at the doorstep, making for an uncomfortable situation. He quickly adopted a much more solemn attitude towards the families. They couldn’t let a few ungrateful individuals ruin everything.

"Enough talk, you don’t know anything, young one. Why should Erhu listen to me? To speak frankly, even the Magistrate can’t do much about him, let alone me, a mere village chief. If he kindly chooses to do good, you guys better not be ungrateful. I made it clear to Erhu in advance – moving there is fine, but if anyone starts looking for trouble and gets kicked out, I won’t go easy on them either! Make sure you understand. If you feel you can’t behave, I won’t force you. But let me tell you, don’t move in then, to avoid being thrown out later. It was I who brought this up, and I don’t want to lose face because of it!" the chief said.

"Understand?" The village chief asked again loudly. Aniu’s expression softened upon hearing these words. Thankfully the chief was sensible and clear-headed. And Aniu had taken note of the person who had spoken out of turn earlier – once they moved in, he would keep a special eye on them. If they did anything wrong or offended the master, Aniu would be the first to be unforgiving.

Lin Yue also learned about Erhu’s arrangement for the villagers from him. Since they had already agreed with the village chief, she thought they might as well do things properly – she sent several blankets used by the servants and gave each household twenty pounds of sweet potatoes and sorghum. The families whose houses had collapsed were from poorer homes with old adobe houses so easily fallible. They deserved sympathy facing such hard times in severe cold. This bit of grain wasn’t much for her; it was like a drop in the bucket. She saw it as accumulating blessings for her family; ever since Erhu went to sea, Lin Yue was even more convinced of this, hoping the more good fortune they amassed, the safer Erhu would be.

After the village chief finished his warning and reminder, he followed Aniu with the families to their new accommodations in the servants’ quarters of Erhu’s outer courtyard.

The servants’ quarters, though meant for servants, were built of blue bricks and black tiles – they were spacious and bright, each room equipped with a wooden bunk bed. These were superior to most houses in the village. As the people entered Erhu’s outer courtyard, each of them wore looks of envy; Erhu really had lucked out. Not only did he marry a good wife, but he had also become so prosperous. The estate appeared grander than even the landlord’s, and stepping inside felt like entering a painting – utterly beautiful.

"Stay close, don’t wander off looking around. Once you move in here, just stay quietly in the yard. To avoid disturbing the main house, I’ve discussed with Aniu to lock this entrance. You’ll use the back door for coming and going. The Zhao Family may be wealthy, but that wealth was earned through their own hard work and has nothing to do with you. Don’t be blinded by it. If anyone dares to be dishonest, don’t blame me for being ruthless and banishing them from the village. We don’t keep ungrateful, spiteful people in our village," the village chief instructed as he watched the families, especially the fickle ones who might already be plotting mischief. His repeated warnings were meant to deter any missteps, and his words were harsh – being cast out of the village would leave them rootless, with nowhere to belong. Indeed, the unstable ones were intimidated by the chief’s threat and no longer looked around but followed Aniu obediently. Though what they were thinking inside, no one could know.

It was only when the village chief had taken the newcomers to Aniu’s arranged accommodations that they discovered the generosity of Erhu and Lin Yue, who had prepared bedding for them, provided charcoal and braziers in every room, and even supplied each family with twenty pounds of sweet potatoes and sorghum. This was truly a great kindness.

While these few households were happy enough not to wander homeless, they did not expect such a pleasant surprise. Those who were grateful immediately led their families to kowtow in the direction of Erhu’s main residence. Others, though, remained indifferent, considering the small amount of food insignificant to Erhu’s vast wealth.

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