She was fine with the two people living in the house to help with the work but at the same time, she does not like the presence of outsiders in her house. As for the chores like cooking, the two can still do it together and talk about it.
Zhou Chengkang, who was sitting beside her took the lead, "We don't like to have outsiders in our home."
The couple looked at each other, a little disappointed, and sighed, "We also have no choice but to ask for this favor. Our parents are biased and the land they gave us was in a very remote and deserted location. It is not as good as your family's field and is less than one acre. The two of us usually stay at home and we earn money by working for others for a short term. Not only this, our parents even want us to be filial… I thought that madam has a kind heart so maybe we can ask for work. But it seems we can't work."
The couple turned around and planned to pack up and leave.
Zhou Chengkang thought for a while, "If you are willing, I will build a house on the other side of the pond. You will live there, help me with my work during the day, and help me look at the pond at night."
Hearing this, the couple was overjoyed and hurriedly thanked them.
"The salary will not be much. I will only give you three silver taels per month." Zhou Chengkang said in a solemn tone, "But you have to work hard, and I can dismiss you at any time."
Hearing this, the couple agreed with seriousness.
The work in their field was completed. The other families of the village also completed their field work. Zhou Chengkang took Mr. Yu to Mrs. Zhou's field to work for two days.
"I heard that my mother-in-law gave birth to him when she was grinding grains." While Mrs. Chen was busy sweeping the yard, her mouth was also not idle and she was talking to Li Qinghe who was sitting under the eaves in the sun, "My father-in-law was married to a rice miller and my husband was the second child. He has an elder sibling, who knows how to behave and a younger sibling, who knows how to be careful. In many families, the middle child is at the most disadvantage. I'm also a middle child. I have an elder sister and a younger brother. Usually, my parents also ignored me a lot. As long as they gave me food to eat, they didn't give me any attention. I had to take care of myself, even when I was sick. I remember once I was very sick and groggy due to fever. I was ten years old at that time and no one was at home to take care of me. I woke up and ran to the roadside and plucked some grass and boiled it in the water and drank it. I didn't know if those were the right herbs, but it did save my life."
She propped her chin on the broom, "Anyway, at that time I made up my mind that if I have children in the future, no matter how many I have, I will never be partial! We have suffered enough from partiality."
Mrs. Chen said that while shaking her head. This was the first time she heard this, and Li Qinghe couldn't help but laugh. Her heart was also a little sour. She felt that Mrs. Zhou was quite good and wasn't biased toward anyone. Anyway, as long as she doesn't take advantage of her son, they can always have a good relationship.
After the autumn harvest was completed, one day early in the morning, Zhou Chengkang set up a carriage and took the Zhou family, including the pregnant fifth sister Zhou to town. They all went to the old lady Liu's courtyard.
Fifth sister Zhou and her husband mainly came to the town to visit the doctor. For the past few days, everyone was busy with the autumn harvest. Although the fifth sister Zhou didn't have to work in the field, it was impossible for her to not do the housework. While everyone was working, she felt embarrassed to lie down to rest, so yesterday she went to the kitchen to cook and fell.
She didn't feel any pain when she fell, but at night she started to feel pain in her stomach. She couldn't help but tell Zhao Liyuan. Zhao Liyuan was so worried that he didn't sleep all night and early in the morning he went to Zhou Chengkang to ask him to take them to the doctor.
Then he heard that they were going to talk to eldest brother Zhou in the town, so they all went together.
When they reached the town, the fifth sister Zhou and Zhao Liyuan went to the doctor's clinic first. Zhou Chengkang then took the carriage straight to the back street of the restaurants and stopped in front of old lady Liu's courtyard.
After they knocked on the door, it was Mei Hua who opened the door. Seeing that all the Zhou family members were there, she was a little surprised. She said with a smile, "Mother, why are you here today? The fare will be held tomorrow. Did you remember the wrong date?"
It was evident that this was a joke. No one in the Zhou family laughed though. Mei Hua noticed something was wrong. The family would not go in such a neat manner to the market even during the New Year's festival.
She invited everyone in and served them tea. Then she asked tentatively, "Mother, is something wrong?"
"Where's the eldest child?" Mrs. Zhou looked at the yard, and there was a plate of tofu. The setup looked like a small stall. It looked like half of the batch was sold. It could be clearly seen that it was placed there deliberately, waiting for someone to look at it and come to the house to buy it.
Mei Hua smiled reluctantly, "He went to the street to sell tofu. He should be back soon. The business has been good recently. Many people are coming to the house to buy tofu, and I can't leave the house."
It seemed that she vaguely guessed the intention behind the Zhou family's trip to her house.
At that moment, the courtyard door was pushed open, and the eldest brother Zhou entered the door and was pushing a stall. He was a little surprised to see a lot of people sitting in the courtyard, "Mother, second brother, third brother, fourth brother, why are you all here? Is there something wrong?"
"You're quite busy here?" Mrs. Zhou asked with a cold face.
"I'm really busy. Now we only have to make half as much tofu as we did before and it all can be sold out." Elder brother Zhou said with a smile. Then seeing his mother's cold face, he said, "Later you also take some back to eat, it's not easy for you to come to town."
"Yes, it's not easy." Mrs. Zhou nodded her head in agreement, "It's not easy for you to make a trip home either, right. Eldest child, think carefully, how long has it been since you've been home?"
"I'm quite busy here." He was still putting tofu on the stall while he was talking, and based on his stance, he was about to leave.
Mrs. Zhou asked again, "No matter how busy you are, how can you still be as busy as the family during the autumn harvest?"
This time her words were straightforward enough. Eldest brother Zhou finally reacted and said with a smile, "Mother, there are still two younger brothers at home, one of them can help you out, and the land will be cleaned up after a while. Besides, how much harvest can you get? If you can't do it, you can just give it to the third brother and fourth brother."
The words were both disrespectful from inside and out.
When the whole family arrived at his house, he didn't even stop to talk to them properly. And when he spoke about the family land in such a contemptuous way, it made Mrs. Zhou really sad. A trace of disappointment flashed in her eyes. She sighed and glanced at the rest of her sons and said, "Let's go back. Since he's busy, we can't disturb him."
Eldest brother Zhou finally realized that something was wrong, "Mother, what happened? Why did you have to leave just after you arrived?"
"Mei Hua, you go and cook. I'll leave you here to serve mother, and my brothers a meal."
"I'm so angry that I have lost all the appetite." It was Zhang Haiyao who said this, "Brother, even though you are the eldest, you are, not even in fact, as filial as the third child. At least he helped his mother with the work in the field for two days. I helped her with cooking for the past few days. The fourth brother hired workers to help with the fieldwork. Everyone has been helping her for the fear that mother might tire herself unnecessarily. Who's not busy?"
Her tone sounded mean, and her eyes were full of disdain. Eldest brother Zhou finally reacted, "Mother, I was thinking of going back to see you after these two days, aren't the younger brothers there to help you?"
Zhang Haiyao sneered, "You have not come back for a few months. Although it's blunt to say this, what happens if mother dies…"
Surprised that she had lost her tongue, third brother Zhou glared at her.
"There's nothing that can't be said. Sooner or later there will be a day. You go on with your business." She looked at Zhou Chengkang and said, "Fourth child, take us back. From now on, I will never come back here."
Hearing this, eldest brother Zhou, who was busy walking to the door said, "Mother, since you are here already, eat the meal first. I'm really busy during this period. When I'm free, I'll go home and accompany you.
From the time the eldest couple moved to town, it had been nearly six months since they returned home. It was no wonder that Mrs. Zhou was disappointed. She wanted to talk to them properly, but he was so busy that he didn't even have time to talk.
After getting on the carriage, Zhang Haiyao said angrily, "Now that they are rich and noble, they are looking down on us. Sister-in-law's hands are covered with gold bracelets and gold rings."
Li Qinghe didn't pay attention to this. They were living in such a small town and that too just the two of them. Their courtyard wall was also not very high. Were they even afraid of attracting thieves by showing off the gold?
The fifth sister Zhou, who was waiting for them at the entrance of the town, was a little surprised, "You all returned this soon already?"
Li Qinghe pulled her up, "What did the doctor say?"
"The baby is fine. I just have to be careful not to fall again." The fifth sister Zhou had a relieved face, and Zhao Liyuan carefully supported her.
When Mrs. Zhou heard the words, her expression eased a little, "Be careful in the future, and work less. Do you want to go home and stay with me for a while?"
She must be feeling lonely, right? Otherwise, why would she bring all her sons to eldest brother Zhou's house to talk? But in the end, she was left heartbroken.
Mrs. Zhou's temperament was not one to hold back when she was angry. She would say what she wanted to say directly to the other party. For example, when she used to quarrel with old lady Liu, when did she ever hold back?
"Mother, why don't you come and stay at my house for a while." Zhou Chengkang laughed, "The new maid Yu likes to talk a lot. You guys can certainly talk to each other."
Li Qinghe said, "Yeah, sometimes it feels like my ears are getting calloused."
"Okay." Mrs. Zhou responded after a sigh, and she especially took a careful look at Li Qinghe's expression.
She wasn't afraid of her, living along with them; besides how much can a person eat more? Zhou Xiyu was getting bigger and bigger and recently if she had to take him for a walk, she would have to bend to hold him. Due to this, her back was getting sore in less than a quarter of an hour. Mrs. Zhou liked him very much and could help her take care of him a little. This arrangement made everyone happy.
So, when they reached Zhou's family house, She went inside to pack some things and then got into the carriage to go to the new house. As soon as she entered the house, she began to pay with Xiyu, seemingly forgetting about the unpleasant incident in town.
Mrs. Chen really talked a lot, especially after Zhou Chengkang gave her instructions. She picked up some things that happened in their village and chattered with Zhou's mother.
Mrs. Zhou was actually reluctant to live with them for a long time at first. But after two days of living there, she would hold the child and talk with Mrs. Chen Shi who was working every day. After Li Qinghe had taken care of her child for more than half a year, these days she can finally relax and go hunting with Zhou Chengkang in the mountains. Because Mrs. Zhou was at home, even if it was dark, it will be fine.
When the two of them came back today, the moon was already shining in the sky. Mrs. Zhou held the child in her lap and sorted the mushrooms they brought from the mountain. There were many dead leaves in them. She picked them up and said softly, "This afternoon, Mrs. Qian and her daughter came back."
They've returned?
"Did anyone trouble her?" Li Qinghe was curious.
"Before anyone else had the turn, Mrs. You pounced on her to fight for her life and the two fought at the entrance of the village."
"And it's no one else's responsibility to look for her. You sprinted towards her and tried desperately to find her. The two started fighting at the entrance of the village." Mrs. Zhou shook her head, "She could not beat Mrs. You. Her clothes were torn, her hair was in a mess, and still Mrs. You didn't let her go."
"So ruthless." Li Qinghe was speechless, "Did anyone help her?"
She was a little afraid that Li Fu would run to help, after all, he had protected Mrs. Qian for many years. What if he had become accustomed to protecting her?
"No one came to help her." Mrs. Zhou shook her head, "Many people were watching the show and nobody separated them. She caused the Qian family to lose the scholar title. And Mrs. You looked so ruthless, as if she would fight her to death. But later, everyone again started to pity her."
"Mrs. Qian couldn't fight and started crying, saying she also lost her brother, and when her brother died, many people said he deserved it. This was what people talked about during that Chinese New Year."
Indeed, she remembered that on Chinese New Year's Eve, Mrs. Zhou had also said that she hoped that no future children would kill their parents just to get the funeral ceremony money.