Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Meizi sighed. "No matter what, it’s not our place to say anything. Liu’er’s mother probably wouldn’t be happy about Liu’er being sent back by the Tang family, either."

The two fell silent, lost in thought as they watched the peach blossoms dance before them. They stayed that way until Zhao Qing came trotting over with a small basket and shouted, "Sister Juhua, Sister Meizi, are you done resting? It’s time to get back to work."

They looked at each other, smiled, and then got up to continue gathering wild vegetables.

When the sun was high in the sky, Juhua and the other two went their separate ways home. As she reached the gate to her courtyard, she saw Liu Yunlan heading to the river to wash vegetables, with little Hulu strapped to her back in a cloth carrier and a basket in each hand.

She quickly asked, "Sister Yunlan, isn’t Mother back yet? How can you manage to wash vegetables with Hulu on your back? You should wait for Mother to get back. It’s fine if we have lunch a little later."

Liu Yunlan smiled. "Listen to you. How can I always rely on Mother? She’s tired enough from weeding the fields. Isn’t this how all the other wives manage? Meizi often works with her son tied to her back. In the future, when we have more and more children, what other choice will we have? Don’t you worry, I can handle this much. I haven’t done any heavy labor since I married into the family. If I need help even with cooking, I’d be truly useless."

Juhua was speechless and could only watch as she headed for the river. The sight of her back was a familiar one, seen all over the countryside.

’Looks like I’m being too sensitive,’ she thought. ’In the future, I’ll have to do the same. Otherwise, during the busy season, if I wait for my mother-in-law to come home and help with the baby just so I can have free hands to cook, people will surely gossip about me.’

’I should worry about my own future instead. Liu Yunlan is famously capable; this is nothing to her. The thought of herself in the future, working with one baby on her back and another in tow, made Juhua’s scalp tingle with dread—the life of raising a bunch of kids didn’t seem so wonderful after all.’

But she didn’t have to worry about that just yet. As soon as she got back to her own courtyard, He came to greet her eagerly, taking the basket from her hands and saying with a wide smile, "Go wash up and have a couple of flatbreads. I’ve kept them warm in the pot for you. After you’ve eaten, take a rest. I’ll pound the artemisia."

Juhua’s heart warmed. She washed her face, picked up a thin flatbread, and sat under the eaves, eating as she watched He use a wooden club to mash the tender artemisia. Instead of going to the river, she simply drew a bucket of well water to rinse it.

She couldn’t help but ask, "Mother, does our wheat need weeding and fertilizing yet? By staying home to look after me like this, I’m afraid you’re delaying a lot of work in the fields. I’m not throwing up much these days. Why don’t you go out to work with Father? I can cook and do chores. I’ll be careful; I’ll be fine."

He was stunned for a moment, then chuckled. "Where did that come from? We don’t have much land, and we didn’t plant that much wheat. Your father can handle it on his own. Besides, isn’t Huai Zi coming back in a few days? Your father and I have it all figured out. Me staying home to take good care of the chickens, the ducks, the pigs, and you is more important than anything."

Juhua didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Her mother-in-law had actually ranked her after the chickens, ducks, and pigs.

He, completely oblivious, was still rambling on about her grand plans for the farm animals.

That evening, Juhua sat alone in the quiet lamplight, sewing baby clothes and thinking of Huai Zi. ’You don’t really notice it when he’s around,’ she mused, ’but once he leaves, the room and your heart both feel so empty.’

’After a while, her thoughts turned back to raising children. If I had to be like Liu Yunlan and Meizi, working with a baby strapped to my back, I don’t think I could manage it. But how could this problem be solved?’

’What if I tried to get a baby walker made? It shouldn’t be too hard. The most important thing is to have wooden wheels that can rotate 360 degrees on the floor. The carpenters here are very skilled. If I describe it to them with gestures, I’ll bet they could make one.’

The next evening, she told Qingmu about her idea, spending a long time drawing on paper to explain the baby walker’s function so that he could communicate with Li the carpenter. As for whether Li the carpenter could make it, Juhua couldn’t be sure. She couldn’t remember the exact design of the walker, only that a toddler could sit or stand inside it and run all over the place without falling down.

Liu Yunlan’s eyes lit up when she heard about it, and she said that if this walker could be made, she wouldn’t have to strap little Hulu to her back while she worked anymore.

Juhua gave a small smile and thought to herself, ’The whole reason I thought of this was from seeing you work with Hulu on your back.’

A few days later, Zhang Huai, Zhang Yang, and the others returned from Qinghui in high spirits.

They returned at sunset, and as they passed through the willow-lined path, they saw Juhua trimming the mujin bushes outside the courtyard wall. Huai Zi’s heart softened, and he quickened his pace to her side, while Little Shitou called out in a loud voice, "Sister Juhua, we’re back!"