Witty Wife, Better Life
Chapter 192 - 185: The Enemy Enters the Village

Chapter 192: Chapter 185: The Enemy Enters the Village

The first conflict passed just like that, with Shen Yunfang being domineering, Qiu Shuping pacifying, and Li Xianghe getting suppressed.

Shen Yunfang didn’t want to stay with this mother and daughter duo any longer, so she went out to ask for leave from the team.

As for Qiu Shuping, as soon as her daughter-in-law left, she began to scold her own daughter. In essence, her advice was not to offend Shen Yunfang at this stage, they should wait until their own goal was achieved before settling the score with her.

Li Xianghe, though reluctant, accepted her mother’s reasoning, thinking ’revenge of a gentleman can wait ten years, Shen Yunfang, you just wait.’

After reaching an agreement, the two of them started to rummage through the house as soon as Shen Yunfang was gone.

Having already roughly gone through the eastern room, the mother and daughter headed out separately, one to check the western room and the other to check the cellar to see how much grain was left.

Qiu Shuping pushed open the door of the western room and felt a wave of damp and hot air rush toward her, making her step back involuntarily, "My goodness, what the heck is this, making the room so damp and hot, do we still want to keep the house?"

She didn’t want to enter the room and get sweaty, so she just peeked inside from the doorway. The room was filled with wooden racks, one on the ground and another on the kàng, and the racks were filled with wooden boxes. She wasn’t accustomed to the light inside the room, but after blinking a few times to see what was inside the boxes, she let out a scream.

Just as Li Xianghe was getting down into the cellar and had yet to see what was there, she heard her mother’s shout from above, startling her as well. She hurriedly climbed back up, "What happened, mother, what are you screaming about?"

"Oh my goodness, you scared me to death, your sister-in-law, that despicable woman, actually raised so many earthworms at home." Qiu Shuping leaned against the door of the western room and patted her chest.

It wasn’t that she was afraid of earthworms; it was just the sheer number and density of them that had scared her.

Li Xianghe, upon hearing that it was just earthworms that scared her mother, curled her lip. Who hasn’t seen those before? They’re common when plowing the land. How could her mother be frightened by them? "What’s there to be afraid of with those things?"

"No, it’s not that, your sister-in-law raised so many in boxes," Qiu Shuping said, feeling creeped out thinking about the clusters of wriggling earthworms.

"So many? What can scare you like that? Move, let me have a look," Li Xianghe didn’t believe it and insisted on seeing for herself.

After a few glances into the western room, her scream was even louder than her mother’s.

In the end, neither of them dared to stay inside the rooms and ran outside to bask in the sun.

After a while, when they had recovered a little, they started thinking about looking elsewhere. For the time being, they dared not go inside the rooms and decided to check out the backyard.

And what they found in the backyard was indeed a pleasant surprise.

The backyard of Shen Yunfang’s home was already large, and now in August, whether it was corn or vegetables, the plants were still bearing fruit, presenting a scene of bumper harvest.

They found chicken coops along the side of the house. Although there were no chickens to be seen, from the size of the coops they deduced that there definitely wasn’t a scarcity of chickens and ducks in the house. And above the chicken coops, there were several wooden cages, each housing a lot of little birds.

Qiu Shuping and her daughter didn’t think much of these birds; not enough meat after being slaughtered, nowhere near as suitable as raising chickens or ducks.

Going further back, they saw the pigsty and sheep pen, and their delight was even greater.

They hadn’t expected that Shen Yunfang, all on her own, would have raised five sheep and two pigs, one of which was a breeding sow. These livestock, if priced, could be worth a fair amount of money.

The mother and daughter looked at the pigs and sheep with stars in their eyes; all of this was money.

"Mother, it seems what people say is true, my sister-in-law really hasn’t raised few pigs and sheep. Looking at that chicken coop, I bet there are quite a few chickens too," Li Xianghe said with a trace of envy.

Qiu Shuping pursed her lips silently, of course she knew with her own eyes that what others said was true, and even more than she initially thought, prompting her to raise her original goal in her mind right away. Since her second daughter-in-law was so capable, it was only right for her to lend a hand to her husband’s family.

At that moment, she hadn’t considered that, during the division of the property, she hadn’t given any thought to the second daughter-in-law being a member of the Li Family.

When Shen Yunfang returned, she didn’t see the two of them inside the house but found them standing in front of the pigsty in the backyard, apparently discussing something.

However, letting her mother-in-law know how many animals were kept at home was bound to lead to future trouble.

"Mom, why did you and Xianghe come to the backyard? With pigs and sheep here, the smell is quite strong. It’s better to sit inside the house," Shen Yunfang said with a frown.

Previously, she had hardly let villagers into her home, precisely to prevent envy over the numerous farm animals they raised. She hadn’t expected her mother-in-law to drop by suddenly, leaving her no time to hide the animals first.

"Don’t even mention it, what are you raising so many earthworms at home for? It’s terrifying during the daylight," Qiu Shuping said, feeling uncomfortable at the thought of the piles of earthworms she had seen.

And now, they had also seen the west room. It was like letting the enemy into the village; there was no hope of keeping any valuables in the house a secret.

"I’m raising those earthworms to feed the pigs and chickens. Just don’t go into that room if it’s not necessary," Shen Yunfang’s frown deepened.

"That’s settled then. We’ll stand outside for a while longer, you go and cook," Qiu Shuping said, shooing her away with a wave of her hand. She really didn’t stand on ceremony, even just for a moment.

Shen Yunfang looked at the mother and daughter, and thinking that it was already too late to send them away since they had seen everything, she decided to let it be. If they wished to stay and smell the odors, so be it.

So while Qiu Shuping and Xianghe were still in the backyard watching the pigs, Shen Yunfang went back to the main room. She started by locking up the wardrobes in the east room and the west room with two padlocks from her storage space, and only then did she start cooking.

Actually, her experience was still lacking; she should have locked up the cellar as well.

Since her mother-in-law and sister-in-law were visiting for the first time, Shen Yunfang didn’t want to present a poor meal, so she took down a large piece of cured meat that was hanging from the beam. She made three dishes, green beans stewed with potatoes, celery fried with meat, and tomato and egg. She also went to the backyard to pick a few cucumbers, some dipping vegetables, and made some egg sauce.

The rice was much simpler. She took the congee that was cooked earlier, poured some cold water over it, scooped it into bowls, and it was ready to eat.

Qiu Shuping and her daughter finally mustered the courage to return to the east room when the food was ready. They nodded in satisfaction at the sight of the dishes on the dining table—that was more like it.

At the dining table, Shen Yunfang, in an effort to fulfill her duty as a good daughter-in-law, asked casually about her father-in-law’s recent situation. At the same time, she also finally learned that her mother-in-law and sister-in-law hadn’t come just for a quick visit but planned to stay and help with the autumn harvest.

"Your dad said, with Hongjun back in the military, you’re the only one left at home. We wouldn’t worry during normal times, but now that you’re pregnant, your dad is anxious about you handling the harvest alone. So he sent me and your sister over to help you out," Qiu Shuping said.

Shen Yunfang was both surprised and found the situation somewhat amusing and ironic.

When did she earn such status in the Li Family? Almost leaving with nothing during the division, now the old man suddenly remembered his second son and daughter-in-law. Wasn’t it a bit late?

Besides, having her mother-in-law and sister-in-law help? Was she sure they were here to help her and not to hold her back?

"Mom, you’re not young anymore, you don’t even work the fields at home, how can I let you work here? Besides, if you’re here, what about Sandan at my eldest brother’s place? Who would look after him? I think after we eat, you and Xianghe should head back," Shen Yunfang suggested.

"Don’t be ungrateful. We came here to help you, not to beg you for anything," Li Xianghe said unhappily.

Qiu Shuping inwardly agreed with her daughter’s words, so she didn’t stop her from speaking out.

"I honestly don’t need your help. I might be pregnant, but this is Gaijiatun, where Shen’s are a dime a dozen. My grandpa, second grandpa, and second aunt are all here; I won’t even need to lift a finger for the bit of land we have—someone will harvest it for me. Don’t you believe it?" Shen Yunfang’s assertion was truly far-fetched.

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