Ugly girl only wants to farm

Chapter 280 The Calm Lake (20)

Meng Xiuzhi, supporting the old lady, also cursed and swore, not a single kind word coming out: "You ugly hag, you think you can just get rid of us like this? Go and find Jiuhe and that brat for me. Is this place even fit for a human to live in? Grandmother and Aunt are elders, after all."

Meng Jiuxia's expression changed repeatedly after she heard her say "Third Sister," fearing that her sister-in-law would ask her more questions.

Xu Chaoyan clenched her fists tightly. She knew her sister-in-law was angry but was holding back. She guessed she was only swallowing her anger because of her older brother.

She quickly pulled Xu Chaoyan in front of her and yelled at them, "Aunt, Grandmother, what do you want to do? You did those things before, and now you still have the nerve to make a scene here? We've prepared bedding and food for you, what more do you want? We're new to the county and our living quarters are small, so please make do. Tomorrow I'll have my older brother find someone to clean up for you."

Although she was young, she knew she couldn't upset her grandmother at this moment. What if her grandmother revealed the name "Third Sister"? She didn't know what her sister-in-law would think, and what if she and her eldest brother started arguing again? Sigh, just thinking about these troubling things gave her a headache.

Just as her sister-in-law's anger subsided somewhat and the two were about to leave, Meng Xiuzhi suddenly grabbed her sleeve, causing her to stumble and nearly fall to the ground.

"What are you saying? We've come all this way, and this is how you treat us? This cornbread is cold and hard. It's making my throat hurt. At least give us some meat broth noodles."

Meng Jiuxia just wanted to take her sister-in-law out, so she casually agreed to their request and said somewhat perfunctorily, "Aunt, you take Grandmother to rest for a while, and I'll go make you two bowls of noodles."

Before leaving, Grandma didn't forget to shout at the top of her lungs, "Remember to put two poached eggs in for me, and scoop a big dollop of lard in too. It'll be too hard for me to eat without any oil in my belly. Oh, and add plenty of chopped green onions too."

Xu Chaoyan had just stepped over the threshold and was about to go out when she heard Meng Jiuxia make this shameless request, and almost tripped over the threshold. Fortunately, Meng Jiuxia reacted quickly and steadied her, looking anxious.

"Sister-in-law, are you alright? Don't worry about Grandma and the others, go back and rest first. I'll just cook two bowls of vegetarian noodles to appease them. They're making a lot of noise and it hurts my ears."

Xu Chaoyan's anger flared even more. She had just wanted to go up and punch the two of them a few times. She had never seen such shameless people before. If it weren't for Meng Jiuhe's sake, she would have been very rude to them long ago.

Now that they are doing business here and Meng Jiu is studying here, if they cause any unpleasant incidents, it will also affect him.

Meng Jiuhe, worried that Xu Chaoyan hadn't returned for a long time, carried an oil lamp and walked over. He noticed Xu Chaoyan's pale face and heard her younger sister saying something beside her.

He quickly held up the lamp to light the way for the two of them, his voice tinged with helplessness: "Wife, you go back to the room first. I'll go and tell them not to make a fuss and disturb your rest."

"Brother, you should go back and rest first. My sister-in-law has also had a long day. I'll go cook two bowls of noodles for my aunt and the others so they can have something to eat."

Before she could finish speaking, Meng Xiuzhi's shrill voice came from the other end: "Xia girl, hurry up and get me a new oil lamp. This candle is almost burned out. It's so dark I can't see anything."

The mother and daughter tossed and turned until midnight that night, unable to sleep. Sometimes it was too cold, sometimes there were mice in the house, and there were constant screams.

The old woman came over several times, carrying a lamp and wearing a coat, asking if they needed any help. They said they had more rooms on their side and could make room for the two of them in the woodshed, which was too simple and it wouldn't look good if word got out.

Xu Chaoyan directly persuaded them to go back, saying it wasn't necessary and they should ignore them and rest. They had to get up early tomorrow to grind beans.

As the two lay down on the bed, Meng Jiu gently pulled her into his arms and carefully said, "I'm so sorry, my wife. I didn't know that my grandmother and the others would come and cause this trouble. But don't worry, I will send them back as soon as possible. I will not let anyone get in your way here."

After this commotion, Xu Chaoyan had come to a better understanding. She sighed softly and comforted Meng Jiuhe, saying, "Forget it, let them stay for now. If they go out and spread rumors, it will damage your reputation. It would be a loss if they did. After they stay for a few days, we'll hire a car to send them back to their hometown."

Seeing Meng Jiu's cautious demeanor, she couldn't really blame him. After all, she was someone else's grandmother.

What Xu Chaoyan didn't know was that by being soft-hearted and letting the mother and daughter go, she had sown the seeds of her own downfall.

Meng Jiuhe reached out and gently massaged her shoulders a few times: "Wife, you must be tired after a long day, so get some rest. Let me massage you to help you relax."

Xu Chaoyan vaguely felt the warmth of his palm, which was just right and quite comfortable. Still half asleep, she asked another question.

"How are things going with Qi Yu's situation? Keeping her locked up in jail isn't a solution. Aunt Qi is constantly in tears and has lost a lot of weight."

Meng Jiuhe, looking exhausted, rubbed his temples. "This is indeed a difficult matter. Those people insist that Qi Yu helped them cheat. I reckon he's going to jail, and I don't know how long it will take to get him out. I wonder if it will affect his future path in the imperial examinations. Shen Siheng has already asked around, but the people he knows are just rich young masters who play with cats and dogs, so they can't really say anything. Qin Xiao is the one with the best family background among the people he knows, so now we can only take it one step at a time."

Two or three more days passed in this noisy and chaotic manner. There was still no progress on Qi Yu's matter. Shen Siheng came over dejectedly these past few days, shaking his head helplessly when he saw them.

Xu Chaoyan eventually had someone clean out the woodshed and bought a wooden bed and a table from the secondhand market. Since they were already there, this was the only option; keeping them under his nose was better than letting them live outside and spread rumors. He knew the mother and daughter's character quite well.

Everyone's been in a bad mood these past few days because of Qi Yu's situation. And to make matters worse, Meng Xiuzhi and her group kept walking into the line of fire, with Xu Chaoyan and the others arriving early this morning to keep the business going. The mother and daughter, having eaten nothing that morning, dragged their hungry bodies over, grumbling and cursing all the way.

A few days ago, the two of them were quieter because of something Meng Jiuhe said, but now that he's not around, they've started to act all high and mighty.

"Mrs. Xu, hurry up and get us some food. These days we've been drinking nothing but watery soup, with no oil or fat in our stomachs. My belt is so loose it's about to fall down. You run such a big shop and haven't even ordered any food for us yet? I can smell the meat. Are you secretly eating something good behind our backs?"

Xu Chaoyan ignored them and continued picking vegetables. Just then, the rich aroma of bone broth wafted from the kitchen, making the two women swallow hard. Their eyes involuntarily darted back and forth. If Zhang Yueniang hadn't been standing guard at the door like a guardian deity, the mother and daughter would have already gone in to see what was going on.

Around noon, preparations were almost complete. The group sat down and each had a bowl of bone broth with a flatbread to tide them over. The mother and daughter stared at the rich broth, wishing they could devour the entire bowl. They gulped down the small bowl of soup in just a few mouthfuls. Meng Xiuzhi was still sticking out her tongue, scalded by the heat.

Normally, Xu Chaoyan and the others would grab a bite to eat before noon, because they didn't know when they would be able to eat properly once they got busy.

"When you bring us another bowl of soup, remember to use a big bowl, and it would be best to scoop some meat in as well. I can see how there could be no meat on those big bones!" Meng Xiuzhi couldn't help but swallow as she said this.

Grandmother Meng smacked her lips a few times and chimed in, "Xiuzhi is right. Bring me a couple more of these pancakes. They're as thin as paper, you can barely taste them. Xiuzhi, do you think Xu Shi is a stingy person? Third daughter, it's been so many years since I've seen her prepare filled pancakes for us. They smell absolutely delicious."

Meng Xiuzhi suddenly coughed loudly, which stopped her grandmother from speaking. She looked around awkwardly at the distance.

Meng Jiuxia really wanted to hit her grandmother on the head with a stick, wondering what was inside. She didn't want to think about it at all. She had specifically given her grandmother several instructions beforehand, but she had forgotten them immediately. She glanced at Xu Chaoyan again and saw that her expression was normal, which finally put her mind at ease.

After Xu Chaoyan had taken a few steps, Grandmother Meng muttered with a displeased look, "What did I say? I didn't say anything wrong. That third girl really did prepare food for us that was a hundred times better than this. Can't she learn from her?"

"Grandmother, loose lips sink ships."

Grandmother Meng, somewhat unwilling to be lectured by her granddaughter, raised her head and shouted, "I knew it! The third girl is much more pleasing to the eye and filial, it's just that her life is too hard."

"Who's unlucky?" Shen Siheng overheard this and chimed in. Zhang Xuyang and the other man were a step behind.

"Brother Shen is nobody, you must have misheard me."

Upon seeing Shen Siheng, Meng Xiuzhi's eyes lit up, and she quickly approached him in a few steps. Disliking Meng Jiuxia for being in the way, she pushed her aside with her bottom.