The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 476 - 465: Dark History

Chapter 476: Chapter 465: Dark History

The three siblings and a crowd of nieces and nephews all shook their heads.

In their memories, Dad (Grandpa) had always been diligent. He would get up before dawn and, if they didn’t get up themselves, he would wake up their brothers (their parents) and then assign various chores.

In their memories, except for the few days during the New Year, the adults at home never had a day where they didn’t work.

"Oh," Aunt Lai slapped her thigh in amusement, "Looking at Zhou Jin now, you can’t tell at all what he was like back then. He used to be so good at avoiding work. When your uncle was not yet born and your grandparents only had that one son, they doted on him fiercely. A strapping young lad, he looked even stronger than Liulang but would complain of leg pain as soon as he set foot on the field. He was afraid of leeches when planting rice seedlings and would cry out loud in the fields..."

Uncle Lai couldn’t help but break in, "You should stop digging up these old stories. It’s been so many years; there’s no need to talk about it for so long."

"Why not? Whenever I think of Zhou Jin, this is the first thing that comes to mind."

At that time, Aunt Lai had also just married into Qili Village not long before, and the fields of their two families were close. Kids as young as seven or eight would get tanned working in the fields and move quickly when planting rice seedlings.

But Zhou Jin was thirteen or fourteen years old at that time, and he would cry out in the fields just from bumping into a snail, thinking he had been bitten by a leech.

Aunt Lai found it hard to forget him.

Manbao listened with shining eyes. Seeing the sparkles in her eyes, Aunt Lai got more enthusiastic since storytellers love audiences like Manbao the most.

Manbao asked, "Was my dad lazier than my fourth brother back then?"

Wulang and Liulang were also curious.

Aunt Lai laughed and said, "Not even close! Next to your dad, your fourth brother would seem like the most diligent person around."

"Everyone says your fourth brother is lazy, but I’d say he isn’t. At least he goes to work in the fields at home. Back then, when your grandparents worked the land, your dad would just lie at home, pale as a ghost, whiter than a girl about to be married."

The three siblings imagined that for a moment and shuddered in unison. It was too hard to imagine; their dad is so tanned now.

But even as tanned, he looked better than other tanned people.

Not just the three siblings, but even Datou and the others were stunned, unable to imagine their grandfather being like that.

Datou looked around, pointed at Manbao, and asked, "Great-grandpa, whiter than my aunt?"

Aunt Lai squinted at Manbao and said cheerfully, "Almost, almost."

Manbao was very curious, "So how did my dad end up being good?"

"Oh, that was tough. In the end, it was all thanks to your grandparents’ beatings," said Aunt Lai, "That’s why they say a child won’t succeed without discipline. When they’re disobedient, they deserve a beating, no matter the age, it still works. Look at your dad, he got beaten when he became a husband and a father, and as for your fourth brother, he learned his lesson after one serious beating, didn’t he?"

Older folks often say whatever comes to mind, and Aunt Lai told the gathered youths, teenagers, and children, "That’s why I say Ade should have taken his son to task and given him a good beating by now, pushed him out, and let him go hungry for a couple of months to see if he stays lazy."

Manbao asked, "Who is Ade?"

"That’s Laizi’s father."

Manbao lost interest and continued to inquire about her dad, "Then my dad, what about him? Let’s talk about my dad."

"Your dad? There’s nothing much to say," Aunt Lai began to lose interest, "Your uncle is much better. Oh, now he was a clever child, picking up all your grandparents’ good traits. Those eyes, yes, just like Manbao’s, they’re the most upright of our Zhou Family. And his nose, just like your grandma’s, the cleverness is truly a blessing from your family’s ancestral grave."

Uncle Lai couldn’t help but comment, "It’s all because of Ms. Qian’s good teaching. She raised all her children well."

Aunt Lai thought for a moment, then nodded, "True, what a pity though. There are no suitable girls in the Qian Family’s generation. I actually intended to find a Qian girl for Third, but the ages didn’t match up."

Aunt Lai digressed, rambling for a while before she got back on track, "You may think your family has many rules now, but those were all set by your mother later on. When she first married into the family, she had a tough time. The Zhou Family’s temperament wasn’t great, and neither was your grandmother’s."

As they were peers, Aunt Lai spoke bluntly about that former sister-in-law, "Back then, your grandparents valued your maternal grandmother’s ability to bear sons and thought your mother would surely be the same, so they sought to engage your mother. But what did your family have? Zhou Jin was lazy, and the Qian Family initially looked down on this, rejecting the proposal twice."

Manbao exclaimed, "I almost didn’t exist."

Aunt Lai choked for a moment, looking down disdainfully at the children crouching before her; she thought to herself: even without them, you would have existed.

Manbao cheerfully asked, "So how did my dad end up marrying my mom?"

Pondering over some storybooks she had flipped through from Bai Erlang’s collection, Manbao asked, "Was it because he sent gifts to my mom? My dad doesn’t know any poetry..."

"Didn’t he send gifts?" Aunt Lai slapped her thigh, "Everyone says the Qian Family was greedy for the dowry from the Zhou Family. Your maternal grandparents were also struggling, as they had just married off your second uncle and were about to arrange a marriage for your third uncle, and their finances were drained. Then, once your mother married over, they could seek a marriage for your third uncle."

"However," Aunt Lai smacked her lips, "I think it’s because your mother fancied your dad’s looks."

Aunt Lai said this with some basis.

Ms. Qian had a reputation across ten villages even before she left her family’s home, known for being industrious and capable of handling both indoor and outdoor work.

Even if the Qian Family’s dowry demands were high, the wealthier families could afford it. As Aunt Lai knew, several suitors had approached, but the Qian Family turned them all down.

Yet she married the lazy Zhou Jin.

Until this year, Aunt Lai never said it aloud, but she actually felt quite sorry for Ms. Qian, because she thought her health issues were due to overexertion in her youth.

If she hadn’t married Zhou Jin back then, she could have still had many descendants without necessarily suffering so many health problems, and her life would have been much easier than it is now.

But now that Ms. Qian’s health issues had disappeared, Aunt Lai’s pity also vanished.

Aunt Lai genuinely liked Ms. Qian; their families had gotten along well over the years because she and Ms. Qian got on so well.

Otherwise, Uncle Lai wouldn’t have so readily signed a guarantee for their family.

Of course, throughout their relationship, Ms. Qian had also helped Aunt Lai’s family a lot.

What Aunt Lai appreciated the most was Ms. Qian’s character; she always returned favors generously and made sure the other party never felt burdened.

So observing the two unmarried boys and the currently most accomplished young lady of the Zhou Family, Aunt Lai couldn’t help but talk about the difficult times Ms. Qian went through over the years.

She was also using this as a lesson for Manbao, "Don’t be like your mother when choosing a partner; you can’t judge by looks. You have to look at personality, at a person’s capabilities and character."