Wen Qing cut another handful of grass and threw it into the bamboo basket. They straightened up her waist and thumped on it. Farm work was really not what an ordinary person could do. Although she had Wang Da Ni's memory and was still proficient in her work, she couldn't ignore the physical pain. She wanted to stop and rest after working for a while.
On the other hand, the little brother, Wang Da Chuan, bent over and kept cutting. His diligent and agile appearance made her, the elder sister, blush with shame.
"Jie, you are tired, right? You rest, it's enough for me alone to cut them!"
What a good little brother, I didn’t spoil you for anything! Of course, Wen Qing was not that fragile either. She gritted her teeth and finished cutting the remaining grass. Then the siblings carried two big baskets of grass and went down the mountain.
They cut the grass in the south mountain and had to pass through the village when they went back. Sometimes they met acquaintances on the way and greeted them. When passing Wang's house, Lady Li just happened to be at the door. Seeing the siblings, she spatted viciously and cursed, "Little bastards!" Then slammed the door shut.
Looks like she had learned well. A few days ago, Lady Li had brought Wang Jingui to their door to ask for the bag of grain, as well as to ask them to compensate for the table, bowls, chopsticks, and the big kitchen knife. Wen Qing used a kitchen knife to chase them all over the village until they were out of their wits. Unless they did not want their life anymore, Wen Qing thought, the Wang family would never come to make trouble anymore.
Da Chuan, after all, was a child born and raised there. There was still a trace of expectation for the relatives in his heart. Seeing Lady Li's attitude made him inevitably a little sad. But, children are forgetful, so Wen Qing talked about dinner to divert his attention. The two siblings walked while discussing what to eat for dinner while speeding up their pace and walked home.
"Xu Jinyan, just accept it ba. I know you have a hard time and don't have enough to eat. Don't be so polite to me..."
Wen Qing just finished moving a pile of firewoods when she heard a girl's voice. She quickly grabbed Da Chuan and pulled him back, the two of them hid behind the wood stack. Wang Da Chuan did not understand, he was about to ask, but Wen Qing told him not to speak, so he obediently stopped moving.
Wen Qing looked at the situation over there from the gap between the firewood stacks, only to see Xu Jinyan pursed his lips with a heavy expression. He looked at Wang Qiumei impatiently and said coldly, "Go away!" He didn't save any face to the other party.
Wen Qing gave him a thumbs up in her heart, but Wang Qiumei looked embarrassed. These days, she had been busy looking for seeds to plant while fighting with her Eldest Uncle and Little Uncle. She’d finally managed to plant a section of sweet potato, and her first thought was these "noble people" in their village. She did not expect that he would not appreciate it!
Wang Qiumei did not retreat and handed the sweet potato to Xu Jinyan, "Don't just think about yourself, think about the elderly too ba. Your grandfather is old and still has to endure hunger. Can you bear it?"
I have to say, Wang Qiumei was a little clever and knew how to play the family card. In the original book, Xu Jinyan was indeed persuaded by her words, because Xu Jian'guo was experiencing repeated high fevers at the time. He thought that his grandfather would have the strength to resist the illness if he was full, and accepted it. With this, he and Wang Qiumei formed a fuzzy relationship.
But now, Xu Jian'guo had taken Wen Qing's medicine and had recovered from his illness. The three generations of soldiers from the Xu family had proud and unyielding characters. Even in dire straits, they would not be tempted by food.
Sure enough, Xu Jinyan pushed the sweet potato that Wang Qiumei handed over away and left without looking back. He did not even utter a word.
Wang Qiumei stood on the spot, her face turned red then white, finally she put the sweet potato back into her space and prepared to leave. At this time, Wen Qing pretended to have just arrived, she pulled Wang Da Chuan and left. She looked at her and nodded kindly.
Wang Qiumei's heart jumped, then relaxed when she saw the other party looked like they did not find anything wrong. Immediately after, she looked like she had seen a ghost, her eyes stared at Wang Da Chuan, "Wang Da Chuan?! Aren't you already dead?!"
These days after Wang Qiumei had been reborn, she would jump straight into her space when she was free and did not pay attention to the outside world at all. Therefore, the memory of Wang Da Chuan's drowning to death in the previous life still stuck in her mind. She was so shocked when she first saw the living person.
Wang Da Chuan's face was all black. "You're the dead one! Nuts!” After speaking, he pulled Wen Qing away angrily. This Wang Zhaodi was simply inexplicable!
Wang Qiumei found something out of her memory and rushed home to inquire about it. After she knew that Wang Da Chuan was indeed drowning but later rescued by Wang Da Ni, Wang Qiumei was relieved again. Although it was strange that he wasn't saved in the last life but was saved in this life, it was only Wang Da Chuan, which had nothing to do with her. Besides, except for the fact that Da Chuan was still alive, nothing else was inconsistent from her memory. Wang Da Ni still broke relationships with the family and took Wang Da Chuan to be neighbors with those noble people.
This was what she had to worry about. There is a saying the pavilion closest to the water enjoys the moonlight first*. Wang Da Ni was closer to the nobles and had more opportunities than her. The people in the village hated them, and only one who treated them well would appear irreplaceable. If there were more... it would not be rare anymore.
*T/N: An idiom which means “a person who has a close relationship with an influential person would get a benefit.”
Wang Da Chuan was extremely angry and pulled Wen Qing home. He was walking while being indignant. "That Wang Zhaodi is really hateful! How dare she say that I was dead!" Probably because he had experienced death once, Wang Da Chuan became more sensitive to this word. Wang Qiumei had directly pointed at him and said, "Aren't you dead?" making Wang Da Chuan directly explode.
Wen Qing echoed him. "Jiejie also hates her! Even the sight of her is annoying! Let's not get involved with her in the future, it's not worthwhile to get angry."
"Right, don't get involved with her!"
When the siblings went to the detention house to deliver the straw, Xu Jinyan happened to come out of the cowshed. He did the same job as Wen Qing and her little brother, but never worked with them. When they met occasionally, he would stay far away from them. It wasn’t that he hated them, but he knew that coming close to them would hurt them.
Xu Jinyan looked like a reticent person, but his sensitivity made people’s hearts hurt.
Wang Dachuan greeted him happily when he saw him. "Jinyan Ge! You come back early today ya." Because they studied together, Da Chuan became familiar with him.
Xu Jinyan gave a low hum, which was considered to be an answer. Wang Da Chuan knew he did not like to speak, and did not mind. He put down the grass and walked with him. "Jinyan Ge, I can write the words taught by uncle Xu yesterday. I'll write it for you to see, you can help me to see if it's right or not."
Xu Jinyan gave another hum, and the two went to review together. Wen Qing saw Da Chuan find a playmate and was happy for him. She packed the things and prepared to cook.
Seeing how Xu Jinyan did not mince his words in front of Wang Qiumei just now made Wen Qing happy, so she was ready to make some delicious treats for him. She cooked chicken stew with mushrooms, a chicken stewed into a half pot of soup, and she put about ten corn pancakes on the pot. Since she made it for Xu Jinyan, she also prepared some for Xu Niansheng's group of three.
When Xu Jianguo came back, they heard Wen Qing invited them to eat together, so they quickly refused. Nobody had enough food these days. Wen Qing and her brother were in such a situation, how could they have the conscience to eat their food?
Wen Qing smiled. "Uncle Xu has taught Da Chuan to read and Jinyan helps him review. If this is in ancient times, we still had to pay for the tutor's remuneration! How can we keep you busy for no reason? Besides, the food has been prepared. If you did not accept it, how can we have the face to bother you again?"
She had said so much, Xu Jian'guo and the others could say no more excuses, so they sat down. Wen Qing was afraid that they would be embarrassed to eat the meat, so she served it herself. One bowl of meat per person, the soup was full, and the pancakes were eaten casually. The two chicken legs were for Da Chuan and Jinyan each to eat.
Xu Jinyan was not willing to eat it and gave it to Xu Jian'guo. Of course, Xu Jian'guo refused to take it. Several people passed it over and over, until it finally landed in Xu Jinyan's bowl. Wang Da Chuan also gave his chicken legs to Wen Qing. Wen Qing took a bite, then gave it back to him. The meal was very lively.
Since they were transferred to work in the countryside, several people had been suffering from scornful eyes, hunger, and cold. Because of a steaming bowl of chicken and mushroom stew, they felt warm even in their hearts.