Ugly girl only wants to farm

Chapter 134 Recurring Setbacks

Meng Jiuxia nodded gently: "I understand, brother."

She glanced at Xu Chaoyan with some sympathy, noticing her sister-in-law's somewhat unpleasant expression. She quickly composed herself and complained with some dissatisfaction, "Brother, really! My sister-in-law is busy running around, and you won't even let her have a sip of water? How can you be so stingy?"

Meng Jiuhe picked up the teacup, touched the still-warm bowl, and then placed it in front of Xu Chaoyan.

“Meng Jiuxia, I need you to teach me how to do things. Hurry up and go and organize the things you brought back today. You talk the most.”

Seeing that he had placed the tea in front of her, Xu Chaoyan picked up the tea and drank it all in one gulp. Fearing that he might change his mind, she muttered, "It's so hot in the summer. It would be even more refreshing if there was ice water to drink."

She looked like she hadn't said enough, gave an awkward laugh, and explained to Meng Jiuhe, "What I said just now didn't mean anything by it, I just felt sorry for you."

Meng Jiuhe didn't listen to her explanation. He picked up the teapot and poured her another bowl, saying out of the blue, "Don't eat cold tea."

Xu Chaoyan, holding the bowl, felt extremely uncomfortable. She secretly glanced at Meng Jiuhe and saw that his face was still very sour, but it was slightly better than before.

Sitting there, feeling the atmosphere was a bit tense, she made up an excuse to slip away: "I'm going to check on my sister-in-law. Do you need any help? You can rest here for a while."

After saying that, she ran away in a flash. To be honest, she wasn't afraid of Meng Jiuhe, but seeing his stern face made her feel like she had done something wrong.

Meng Jiuxia was washing the taro when she saw her coming over. She patted the small stool next to her and said, "Sister-in-law, come and help me wash these taro. Did my brother make things difficult for you? He was so unreasonable just now."

Xu Chaoyan glanced outside and then pointed at her with a dissatisfied look: "You didn't even offer to help me just now, and you still had the nerve to laugh at me. Don't beg me for help next time."

Meng Jiuxia quickly gave up her seat and said ingratiatingly, "Come on, sister-in-law, you're my dear sister-in-law. Just sit here and watch over me. When the fire in the stove is almost burning, I'll throw some taro in there for you to roast. Don't abandon me."

After saying that, he tugged at her clothes and acted coquettishly towards her.

The three of them ate the meal with different thoughts in mind. Meng Jiuxia winked at her sister-in-law: Why has it been so long and you still haven't coaxed her?

Xu Chaoyan blinked and replied with a worried look: "You're not that easy to coax. Your older brother is too stingy and petty."

The two men were exchanging glances at each other at the dinner table, which Meng Jiu noticed but ignored.

Just then, Zhang Xuyang came to find him, saying that the academy was ready and he could go anytime. He asked when Zhang Xuyang would be free to go, so the two of them could look out for each other.

Xu Chaoyan quickly gestured for him to sit down. She had already forgotten about the unpleasant incident from before and handed him the things she had just prepared.

"Take these home and try them out. Don't be picky about the ones we grew ourselves."

Zhang Xuyang looked embarrassed: "I... I came at the wrong time, it's like I came here specifically to ask for something." He just happened to see them coming back today, so he came over.

Xu Chaoyan then explained, "I was originally planning to send it to your family later, but it just so happens that you came over, which saved me a lot of trouble. My husband will definitely need your help at the school in the future."

Zhang Xuyang took the basket she handed him and smiled in response: "What are you saying? We were classmates before. If anyone is taking care of me, it should be Brother Meng. I owe Brother Meng a lot for explaining the lessons I didn't understand before."

After Zhang Xuyang left, Xu Chaoyan started busying herself in the house again. She had completely forgotten about Meng Jiuhe going to school. She had been busy dealing with these matters in the village these past few days and almost forgot about this important thing.

Seeing her pacing around like a headless fly, Meng Jiuxia grabbed her arm and asked, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing? You're chasing me like a rabbit. What are you trying to do?"

Xu Chaoyan quickly handed her the clothes in her hands: "Take these and wash them, then hang them outside to dry. I've been so busy these past few days that I forgot about your older brother going to school. He only has a few decent clothes at home. With the sun so high now, he can wear them tomorrow. I'll go help him pack some things. You know, he hasn't been to school for so long, he might not be used to it."

While filling the wooden basin with water, Meng Jiuxia thought for a moment with a stick in her hand: "It shouldn't be a problem. Although my brother hasn't been to school these days, he's been reviewing his lessons at home from time to time. He should be able to keep up. You don't need to worry so much. Look, you're sweating a lot on your forehead."

The two of them were busy for several hours straight.

As night fell, Xu Chaoyan took out the clothes she had worn that day, folded them neatly, and placed them aside. "My dear husband, you can wear these to school tomorrow. Oh, and I'll give you some money so you can buy some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones tomorrow. If you need anything else, just let me know."

Seeing her spinning around the room like a top, Meng Jiuhe quickly stopped her, saying, "We still have the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, so we don't need to buy any more. Come and rest for a while. It's just going to school; there's nothing to do."

He hadn't originally planned to go to school, but his younger sister insisted, and he couldn't really argue with her. He also realized that he should do his best to make their lives easier.

He has recovered quite well now, and he can probably get some books from the bookstore to copy. Although the money earned from copying books is not much, it is enough to cover the cost of writing materials. Right now, there are only the three of them left at home, and his younger sister will get married in the future, so he should cheer up.

He glanced at the busy women and felt a warmth in his heart. What they said made a lot of sense. He couldn't let them continue to live such a hard life. Although studying wasn't the only way out, he should learn some useful things. If things really didn't work out, his junior's father could also work as an accountant to support his family.

Xu Chaoyan had no idea that he had thought of so much in such a short time; she just kept reminding him, "Don't forget what you should bring tomorrow."

What she was really worried about was whether the students would ostracize him since he hadn't been to school for so long. Also, she wondered if he would face danger again after the time he was injured, since it was probably the students at school who were deliberately targeting him. This was her only concern at the moment.

Only by properly worshipping and reciting the Buddha's name can she be considered to have achieved perfect merit. Presumably, he will be willing to let her leave with dignity in the future, considering how hard she has worked.

Meng Jiuhe took the things she had prepared, glanced at them casually, and said gently, "That's about it. You must be tired today, so why don't you rest?"

The next day

Meng Jiu and Zhang Xuyang went to the school together. Xu Chaoyan also planned to go out and ask around, because if they continued to live off their savings, they would starve to death.

Meng Jiuhe earned a lot of money from her tuition fees over the year. She originally thought it would be easy to find a job, but she kept running into obstacles.

Those people looked down on her because she was just a woman and wouldn't give her any work. Besides, it was hard to convince people that she was a woman going out alone, which made her very upset.

Originally, I planned to work hard to earn money to support my family, but now I feel like a deflated balloon.

Seeing that he had suffered many setbacks and even been given the cold shoulder, Meng Jiuxia secretly wiped away her tears and said in a muffled voice, "Sister-in-law, why don't we go back to doing manual labor? Don't worry, I can endure hardship. Although we don't earn much, it's still better than this constant setback. Look at how they humiliated you, I can't stand it anymore. If my brother finds out, I don't know what he'll think."

Seeing the little girl's red eyes, Xu Chaoyan felt sorry for her and took out some copper coins to buy a bag of candy from a shop not far away.

"Here, sweet talk for you. Don't say anything about what we're talking about today in front of your older brother, or you'll cause him unnecessary trouble. His priority right now is studying. Even if he can't pass the imperial examinations, he can still work as an accountant or something."

Meng Jiuxia stared at her in astonishment, speechless for a long time: "Sister-in-law, isn't this too wasteful?"

Xu Chaoyan picked up a piece of candy and stuffed it into her mouth: "Money is meant to be spent, there's no such thing as wasting it. Besides, you gave me all the copper coins you earned the other day, so I should reward you appropriately. If you want a horse to run, you have to feed it grass."

Meng Jiuxia was quite moved by the first few sentences, and tears were almost welling up in her eyes. But when she heard the last sentence, her face immediately fell, and her dissatisfaction was clearly visible.

"Sister-in-law, are you using me as a tool to make money?"

Xu Chaoyan was instantly amused by her half-crying look.