A Good Country Wife
Chapter 577 - 571_1

Chapter 577: Chapter 571_1

Dr. Zheng, upon seeing Lady Zhou’s behavior, deeply felt that Lin Yue had it hard indeed. With such top-grade relatives, only someone as capable as Madam Lin could handle them. Any other family would’ve been overwhelmed by now, unable to maintain such prosperity in their daily lives.

Although Lin Yue didn’t mind spending a bit of money to appease Lady Zhou, she really couldn’t stand Zhou’s attitude. After Dr. Zheng had seen Lin Qing, she followed him out, leaving behind some ingredients and tonics from her own home for Lin Qing to nourish his health. Lin Youfu and Lady Zhou cherished this son the most, so anything left behind would surely be used for Lin Qing’s benefit.

"Lin Yue, leaving so soon? Why don’t you stay for lunch? I’ll make you something delicious at noon," Lady Zhou said ingratiatingly, eyeing Lin Yue. She thought about how in just a few days, she had gained ten taels of silver from Lin Yue, along with so much food and tonics—it truly was a multitude of benefits. She planned to get closer to Lin Yue and thus invited her to stay for lunch; of course, it was just a courtesy, not a real wish for her to stay. Lady Zhou had noticed Lin Yue’s disdain and expected she wouldn’t accept the offer.

To her surprise, Lin Yue found that her normally stingy stepmother had actually invited her to stay for lunch. It seemed Lady Zhou wasn’t so foolish after all, knowing it was time to cozy up to the money source. As Lady Zhou expected, Lin Yue would not stay for the meal. Not to mention the uncleanliness of the food Lady Zhou’s lazy nature would produce, just seeing Lin Youfu and Lady Zhou’s behavior was enough to disturb Lin Yue’s peace of mind. She preferred to go hungry rather than dine in discomfort.

"No need, I’m planning to visit Grandma’s grave soon, and then I intend to visit my aunt. I won’t have time to come over," Lin Yue replied, a rare occurrence but done partly in consideration of Lin Qing, who was caught in the middle, and because Lady Zhou had shown some tact.

Lin Yue didn’t know where Grandma’s grave was and had inquired with Lin Qing in advance. Carrying the offerings, incense, and paper, she easily found Grandma’s grave. After paying her respects and saying what she wished to say, she headed to her aunt’s home.

Both from the same village, her aunt’s house was only about a quarter of an hour’s walk from Lin Genfa’s home. Lin Yue easily found the house, which appeared empty when she arrived. The door was open, but calling out elicited no response. Perhaps no one was home. As the door wasn’t closed, Lin Yue reasoned they couldn’t have gone far and decided to wait in the carriage.

The Li Family, with their young grandson in tow, were visiting neighbors. As they chatted away, they heard the neighbor’s child shouting, "Grandma, Grandma! There’s a big, beautiful carriage parked at the Li family’s house, and I saw a very pretty sister with maids and servants!"

Realizing someone had come to her house, and from the children’s description, the Li Family matriarch immediately thought of the now wealthy Lin Yue. Among their relatives, only Lin Yue’s family could afford to have a carriage. Having mentioned coming over in a few days just yesterday, the Li Family matriarch took it as a polite gesture, not expecting such an immediate visit. She promptly stood up to head home.

"Old Sister, I have guests at my house today, so I won’t stay any longer; I’m heading back," said the Li matriarch as she left without wanting to waste any time. She wanted to bring the two boys home with her, but hearing that there was a visitor and a big, beautiful carriage, the boys ran ahead, not waiting for their grandmother.

"These two rascals." Mrs. Li scolded with a smile and hastened her steps. As she turned the corner of the courtyard gate, she saw the carriage that had stopped at the Lin Genfa’s doorstep the other day parked right outside her own house. Surely, it was Er Ya who had come, and a hint of joy appeared on Mrs. Li’s face.

"Er Ya is here, come in quickly. I was just chatting with the older sisters at the neighbor’s house. If it weren’t for the kids outside who saw you, I wouldn’t have known you had arrived."

"Are uncle and auntie not here?" Lin Yue observed the empty and deserted courtyard and rooms and asked.

Mrs. Li had two sons. Her eldest son, Lin Hai, had married a woman from the Wang family of Xiaoshui Village and now had two sons and a daughter. Her younger son, Lin Quan, had taken a girl from the Chen family of the same village as his wife and had three sons. The two little boys Mrs. Li was currently taking care of were Lin Quan’s—a nine-year-old and a six-year-old. There was also an older one, twelve years old, who had been sent to the city as an apprentice and came home once a week. The three children from Lin Hai’s family were taken by their mother to visit her family.

"Your uncle and others have gone to work at the landlord’s place, your elder aunt has gone back to her parents’ home, and your second aunt and cousins have gone to the city to buy things. They should be back later." Mrs. Li led Lin Yue into the house and, concerned that Lin Yue might find it unclean, wiped a stool with a cloth before inviting her to sit. Then she brought out snacks and fruit from the house. Having no tea to offer, she poured Lin Yue a cup of warm boiled water.

"This is all we have at home, Er Ya. Please, help yourself and don’t be shy about it." It had been a long time since Lin Yue visited, and Mrs. Li was afraid she might not be hosting properly. She had thought to ask her daughter-in-law to bring back some tasty treats from the city, so they’d have something to offer Lin Yue should she visit, but her second daughter-in-law hadn’t returned yet. If she had gone to visit relatives in the city, she might not be back until after lunch.

"Auntie Grandma, please don’t fuss. There’s more than enough to eat here. I’m not an outsider; you don’t have to be so formal. It’s making me feel bad," Lin Yue said quickly, pulling Auntie Grandma to sit down and stopping her from turning out more of the household’s things.

Lin Yue first entered with Auntie Grandma, and Xixi followed, bringing in the items from the carriage that Lin Yue had brought. Things like fabrics were placed on the table, while vegetables and sweet potatoes, which could not fit on the table, were set on the spotless floor that Mrs. Li kept clean.

"Er Ya, what’s all this? Why did you bring so many things?" Mrs. Li gasped in surprise when she saw Xixi carrying so much stuff in from the carriage. These must be gifts from Er Ya for the family; otherwise, why would she have them all brought into the house? But this was too much. Mrs. Li felt a sense of unreality, not yet accustomed to the fact that Lin Yue’s family had become wealthy. After all, Mrs. Li had never been to the Zhao family village, and even with the knowledge that Lin Yue had grown rich, she thought of her niece’s marital home as just a well-off household, not expecting Lin Yue to bring out so many fine things at once.

"Auntie Grandma, this is my first time coming home since getting married, and I couldn’t come empty-handed. These fabrics are for everyone to make two sets of clothes each. I’ve also brought fragrant soap, wine, and food items, all made by our household. The vegetables are from our own greenhouse. They’re not worth much, so I specifically brought some for Auntie Grandma."

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