Ugly girl only wants to farm

Chapter 286 The Calm Lake (26)

Xu Chaoyan: "It's okay, why don't you let go first? Hurry up and see what's going on. Those gossips next door will probably be watching from the wall, and it'll be all over the place by tomorrow."

Meng Jiuhe remained somewhat unwilling, his face still grim.

Meng Xiuzhi cried out in despair, "Mother! My dear mother, what happened to you?"

Grandmother Meng was in so much pain that she grimaced and groaned, but couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

This ordeal took another hour or two. When Meng Jiu returned to his room, looking exhausted, Xu Chaoyan had already prepared hot water for him to bathe in and handed him his dry clothes.

"You should wash up first. It's been a thrilling day. We can talk about the rest later."

Fifteen minutes later, Meng Jiuhe came over with his hair down. He saw her lying on the bed, engrossed in reading a book. After hearing the noise, he only asked one question.

"You're done washing." He didn't even look up.

Meng Jiuhe had a bad feeling. His wife's tone wasn't warm; could she really be angry because of Zhang Qiao'er's appearance? She usually wrung out her own hair, saying she was prone to headaches. Tonight was acting strangely.

Xu Chaoyan, not hearing his response, asked again, "What's wrong?"

Then she felt the person sit down directly on the bed, still remaining silent. A drop of water fell, but she didn't realize that she was still pondering things.

Meng Jiu wiped her face listlessly with a cloth, deliberately making some noise to try and get her attention, but she didn't react at all.

He spoke with a nervous expression: "My wife, please let me explain about Zhang Qiao'er."

"Okay, go ahead and I'm listening."

Xu Chaoyan still didn't look up at him. Seeing her unmoved expression, Meng Jiuhe became even more uneasy. He was at a loss for words.

Xu Chaoyan looked up after a while, seeing that no one was moving, and saw Meng Jiuhe with a worried look on his face, his hair wet and still dripping water.

She frowned and quickly got up to take the towel and wipe him dry: "Didn't I tell you to dry yourself off as soon as possible after bathing? Didn't you say you were going to explain Zhang Qiao'er's matter to me? Go ahead and tell me, I'm listening."

Meng Jiu felt much more at ease upon smelling her familiar fragrance, and after a moment's thought, he began to explain.

"It was an arranged marriage between the adults when I was young. I rarely saw her and we weren't familiar with each other."

Xu Chaoyan paused in her work: "It's that simple."

Meng Jiuhe said in a deliberately light voice, "Yes, we have no connection whatsoever."

Xu Chaoyan looked at him suspiciously: "Are you sure things are that simple? They keep calling each other 'Brother Meng' this and 'Brother Meng' that, all so affectionately, and you still say you two don't know each other well. I think you two are very close."

Meng Jiuhe grabbed her hand immediately, his face flushed with urgency: "It's true, when have I ever lied to you? Her parents arranged the marriage because they had saved my grandfather's life on the mountain. At that time, the family was relatively well-off, and my grandfather agreed to it."

After hearing this, Xu Chaoyan didn't ask any more questions. She tossed the cloth into his hand and said, "It's getting late, you should rest. We have things to do tomorrow." Then she stuffed it under her pillow.

Meng Jiu was puzzled by her actions. Was she still angry, or had she let it go?

He looked at her suspiciously and tentatively asked, "Wife, are you asleep?"

Xu Chaoyan: "Nonsense, if I don't sleep, am I supposed to steal a cow?"

Meng Jiu was caught off guard and choked.

He reached out and pulled her close, gently sniffing her neck before whispering softly, "My wife, are you still angry? There's really nothing between her and me. How can you believe me?"

Xu Chaoyan's body softened slightly from his heat, and she felt a surge of desire, but remembering the many things she had to do tomorrow, she pushed him away without hesitation. She thought to herself that this scoundrel was getting more and more despicable, knowing exactly where she was most sensitive and targeting her there.

He actually managed to be so seductive. Who says men can't be alluring? How come she never noticed before that Meng Jiuhe actually had the demeanor of a brothel owner?

Meng Jiuhe was rejected again, and an unnatural look flashed across his face. He pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and tried to defend himself again.

“My lady, don’t worry, there’s really nothing between me and her. If we see each other again, we will keep a safe distance. And once Grandmother’s injuries have healed, I will send her back immediately. No, this time I will personally send her back and watch her go back to her aunt’s house.”

Judging from her wife's indifferent attitude towards him just now, and the fact that she refused to let him come to see her, she must still be angry.

He had never been stumped by even the most difficult articles and assignments before. But this woman was someone he didn't know how to appease. Xu Chaoyan rolled over, yawning incessantly.

"Go to sleep, you really have things to do tomorrow."

Little did she know that Meng Jiuhe thought they were still angry and was trying his best to appease them. Unfortunately, he had little experience in this area.

She had just checked the accounts from the past few days. The shop had made quite a bit of money during this period of operation, but after deducting various expenses, they didn't have much left.

Tomorrow I need to pick up Qi Yu from the county jail, and I haven't told Aunt Qi about it yet. I don't know if Qi Yu can accept that he can no longer pursue the path of the imperial examinations.

The mother and son have relied on each other for years. Aunt Qi has been constantly ill and taking medicine. She's so worried she's even considered stealing a dog to sell. She wants to help, but her abilities are limited.

Unfortunately, the Meng mother and daughter, oblivious to the danger, kept showing up. They had originally thought that staying for a few days would allow them to send the people back.

Now look what happened! The person has broken a bone. Grandmother Meng is old and likes to show off, and her bones are brittle to begin with. With that snap, she lost a lot of money, which pained her deeply.

Sigh, forget it, I'll just take it one step at a time.

Then, Xu Chaoyan's even breathing could be heard. Meng Jiuhe stared blankly into the darkness, listening to her steady breathing and falling into deep thought.

The next day, he sported a pair of bruises under his eyes and was teased by Ya Ya several times. Zhang Xuyang couldn't help but look at him several times, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, and finally held back.

Finally, when no one was paying attention, the old woman pulled Meng Jiu aside and whispered to him, "Young Meng, you two are still young, you must take care of your health. You should know how to be more moderate. Or should I ask your uncle to go to the back mountain later? He can pick some herbs and brew them for you to drink."

Before the old woman could finish speaking, Meng Jiu's face flushed red, the blush spreading all the way to her ears. Her lips trembled, and she could barely speak.

"Well, thank you for your concern, Auntie. I'm perfectly fine, I just had a little trouble sleeping last night."

Uncle Zhang came out at this moment and patted him on the shoulder: "Young man, I know that back in the day I used to earn some pocket money by picking these herbs in my spare time. I'll go and pick some for you when I have time."

The old woman then slapped the man across the face: "So you had some hidden money back then? You said you spent it on that vixen? I knew you could make a living selling tofu all day." Then, a series of questioning voices came from the courtyard.

On their way to pick up Qi Yu, Meng Jiu's face was still flushed.

Xu Chaoyan looked at him with a puzzled expression and finally couldn't help but ask, "Are you running a fever?"

"I didn't, don't talk nonsense."

Xu Chaoyan didn't bother with him. It was her day off, so the group went together to pick up Qi Yuyu. When they saw Qi Yuyu, they were all shocked.

He was filthy, his hair was disheveled and covered in weeds. His cheeks were sunken, and he had lost a lot of weight.

Fortunately, Aunt Qi didn't come along today, otherwise she would have been very worried to see him like this.

Everyone remained silent until Xu Chaoyan finally broke the silence.

"Qi Yu, come back to the yard with us and wash up first. Your mother is very worried at home, but we haven't told her. You can rest in our yard for a few days first."

Zhang Yueniang handed over a wet handkerchief and whispered, "Would you like to wipe yourself?"

Qi Yu, her eyes vacant and somewhat wooden, took the handkerchief from his hand and mechanically wiped her hands.

No one asked any questions, since the county school was closed today and there was no need to go so early.