stingy landlady

Chapter 145 My Fifth Uncle Passes the Imperial Examination (2)

Li served chicken soup with a few pieces of meat in it, along with rice, before taking it to Sun.

Mrs. Sun pulled her aside and asked:

"Sister-in-law! Why did you come here alone? Second and third sisters-in-law were just talking about you! Why didn't you bring a maid with you?"

You'd better be careful! Don't fall into their trap!

Li felt a little flustered upon hearing this, but she still forced herself to remain calm and said:

"Fourth sister-in-law! Thank you! But I can't leave now. I'll stay with your eldest brother and the others. From now on, Guixiang and the others will accompany me wherever we go!"

Sun said softly:

"Yes! Sister-in-law! Fourth Brother always says that you are an honest and kind-hearted person! I was afraid you would be taken advantage of, so I told you this in secret. Please don't tell anyone!"

During the meal, the children hadn't eaten meat and vegetables so heartily in a long time. Today they were in a good mood, so we let them eat bowl after bowl of rice, meat, and vegetables!

The old man began to speak:

"I was originally happy today to celebrate our fifth son passing the imperial examination and becoming a scholar! It's a good thing, but some people are being too arrogant!"

The fifth brother repeatedly emphasized the need to be careful with words and actions! Ask yourselves honestly, have you done so? The fifth brother will continue his scientific expeditions; no one can hold him back! I've been thinking about this for a long time—how about we split up?

Erzhu was the first to object:

"Father! We can't separate the family! I, as the elder brother, have never complained about how much money I spent on my fifth brother's education! Now that he has passed the imperial examination and may even become an official in the future, he can't be ungrateful and abandon me, his elder brother!"

The third brother also said:

"Father! We can't separate the family! Harmony in the family brings prosperity! Fifth Brother will continue to take the imperial examinations, and we, as his elder brothers, will continue to support him! We share the glory, right, Fifth Brother?"

The fourth brother also expressed his opinion:

"Dad! I'll listen to you! We can separate, or we can stay together!"

The main pillars had already been divided up, so naturally they didn't care about anything that didn't concern them!

The old lady also said:

"Old man! Life was going so well, why did you suddenly decide to divide the family property? Is someone trying to get you to do this?"

After speaking, she glanced at Li Shi and Da Zhu! Da Zhu ignored her and continued eating and drinking as usual! Li Shi thought to herself:

"I don't know anything! Why is that old lady staring at me like that? What kind of look is that?"

Zhao also jumped out and said:

"Father! Mother! This family can't be divided! We've been looking forward to our fifth brother passing the imperial examination and becoming a scholar! We haven't even gotten any benefits yet, and now we're going to divide the family property! The villagers will laugh at us to death!"

Mr. Qian also said slowly and deliberately:

“Father and Mother! We daughters-in-law shouldn’t get involved in important family matters! But my fifth brother has been studying at the academy all these years, and my third brother has put in a lot of effort!”

We understand the principle of mutual harm, and we would never dare to act recklessly in my brother-in-law's name! It's best not to divide this family!

The old man looked at everyone and then continued:

"Since the third brother's family says that if one suffers, all suffer, then you all better keep your tails between your legs! No more trouble is allowed! If I hear any more rumors in the village, I will not let you off easily!"

Also, stop all marriage arrangements for the fifth son for now! No one is allowed to play matchmaker! We'll talk about it again after the fifth son takes the imperial examination in a few years!

The crowd quieted down and ate their food in peace! Zhao and Qian, who had originally planned to sabotage Li and embarrass her in public, dared not cause any trouble now, fearing that their family would be separated again!

Guizhi later told the old man!

"Grandpa is the pillar of our family! Nobody dares to cause trouble under your nose! Grandpa is awesome! Haha!"

Guizhi went to Huanghua Village to check on the newly purchased piglets. Since the farmhand who fed the pigs was experienced, Zhou Niangzi didn't need to come and instruct them again. However, with so many pigs, there probably wouldn't be enough swill!

The farmhand who often went to the county town to collect swill said:

"Boss! Several restaurants near Xiangmanlou have also asked me if I can collect their swill for free! They have to pay copper coins to have their swill taken away!"

"We just don't need it, so I didn't agree! How about I go and collect it every day? We won't take their wages; we'll just help them get rid of the swill, saving their kitchen time and money!"

Guizhidao:

"Wow, this is amazing! Okay! I'll reward you when our pig is fattened up!"

The farmhand who fed the pigs was also very happy to hear that there would be a reward!

Only forty young bulls have been brought back so far. The farmhands who went out with Xu Hong said that Xu Hong will bring back another sixty!

Guizhi turned around. In Huanghua Village, the farmhands were orderly going up the mountain to collect firewood. There were many people, so they needed a lot of firewood! The married men all looked very energetic! At least they had women taking care of them, and their clothes and hats made a difference in their appearance!

The women stayed home managing the household chores, and Wang Shiba's sister even took control of her husband's wages. She had him build a pigsty in the garden, catch two piglets, and raise chickens and geese! She took her daughter to feed the chickens, geese, and pigs—she was surprisingly shrewd, managing to make a living for her own family first!

Guizhi also went to see the other women, and they all treated her with great respect! However, they spoke in a gibberish that Guizhi couldn't understand at all!

They could only learn gradually. Guizhi looked at the women; perhaps they had finally had enough to eat and wear, and their living conditions had improved! They were no longer the pale and thin women they had been when they first arrived. Now, their faces had rosy cheeks, and they were all fair-skinned! Fair skin hides a hundred flaws; they were in the prime of their lives, and Guizhi thought they were all beauties in the making!

Guizhi was very pleased that they were willing to marry into the village of bachelors! Perhaps because they had no money and dared not make decisions on their own, they all looked obedient and docile.

Wanrou had also studied music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. The exquisite landscape painting on the zither in the room was painted by herself!

Of course, Ju Shuang would also need Wanrou's calligraphy!

Wanrou even had a carpenter build her a bookcase to hold her writing implements. She also bought a few books and placed them on it at some point.

Xu Hong wasn't home, so she and Ju Shuang often did embroidery together! They supposedly wanted to embroider a screen to earn some extra money for household expenses! Wanrou drew the designs herself, and no one pressured her; she just treated it as a way to pass the time and wouldn't lose her old skills. In fact, she produced an exceptionally good piece, which she herself loved! She couldn't bear to sell it!

Guizhi noticed that she frequently touched her lower abdomen and seemed lost in thought. Perhaps she was missing Xu Hong?

"Wanrou! Uncle Xu Hong has been gone for over a month, hasn't he? It's snowing now, he should be back by now!"

Wanrou softly echoed:

"Hmm! Lin Quan, who came back from herding the cattle, said that the cattle are not easy to herd! It takes several people to take turns! He is in charge, so he will definitely have to postpone it!"

It wasn't this cold when I left, so I don't know if I'll be able to buy more clothes along the way, or if I'll get sick. It's all just unnecessary worry!