A Good Country Wife

"So it’s Erhu’s wife who has come! Please, take a seat. Your elder sister-in-law is out working in the fields. If you’re looking for her because something’s up, feel free to share it with me. If there’s really an issue, I can make arrangements. After all, there’s a lot of work in the fields right now, and we’re a bit too busy to leave," the Wei Family matriarch’s behavior was clearly telling Lin Yue that whatever the Liu Family wished to do must gain approval from her, as the mother-in-law.

Lin Yue was indifferent to it all since helping out at her place meant earning a wage. With money coming in, Lady Wei had no reason to stop them. "That’s right, the Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and as you know, I now sell food in the market. I’ve been too busy to handle things these past few days. I was hoping your son and elder sister-in-law could help me out. Of course, their help won’t go unpaid—I’ll pay them thirty coins each per day. Do you think they could spare the time?"

When Lady Wei first heard that Lin Yue wanted the Zhao Dahuo family to help out, her expression turned sour. But when she learned it was a paid job, offering thirty coins per person per day, her mood improved. Zhao Dahuo earned only twenty coins a day working for the landlord, so why not earn the extra ten? Moreover, Liu Family counted as a worker too. Together, they could earn sixty coins a day – only a fool would refuse. As for the fieldwork, it could wait for Liu Family to return home to do it. She had given up hope on those two lazy daughters-in-law long ago.

"Of course, they can make time. Dahu and Erhu are blood brothers. Even if there’s other business, it should be set aside—helping out a brother comes first. I’ll have them go over first thing tomorrow morning, the kids too. Even though they might be small and can’t help with much, they can still assist with tending the fire and picking vegetables," Lady Wei even threw in a ’buy one get one free’ deal. In truth, she begrudged the little ones eating at home and wasting provisions. Given the chance, she naturally wanted to push them out.

"Then, thank you, Second Mother. However, I still prefer to wait for elder sister-in-law to return and speak with her myself." Lin Yue didn’t trust Lady Wei.

"That works too. I’ll send the third son’s wife to call her back from the fields now. By the way, Erhu’s wife, are you still short on help? If you need more hands, the third and fourth daughters-in-law can come over to help out too. Even if Erhu has moved out, we’re still family, aren’t we? We should help each other."

Lin Yue watched Lady Wei with a smirk bordering on a smile. The old woman’s face was thick enough. Did she think Lin Yue was unaware that she wanted to send the lazy Li Family and Jin Family women over to stir up trouble? Not to mention that Lin Yue would likely have to wait on them hand and foot. She would be foolish to agree. "I’m grateful for your kindness, Second Mother, but it’s not necessary. I’ve already hired enough people, just the elder brother and sister-in-law are missing. As for the third and fourth sisters-in-law, they are treasured ladies who should enjoy their leisure at home. I wouldn’t dare to trouble them."

Her words were tactfully phrased enough that Lady Wei knew better than to insist. Otherwise, if she irritated Lin Yue enough for her to not want the Zhao Dahuo couple either, Lady Wei would end up with nothing. Internally, though, she cursed the Jin Family and Li Xiaomei for their notorious laziness—no wonder nobody was willing to hire them. If she were in their shoes, she wouldn’t want to either.

In fact, to be fair, both the Jin Family and Li Xiaomei were never that lazy. It was just that the money earned from their labor would end up in Lady Wei’s hands. They gained nothing from working, so why bother seeking out more toil? Therefore, seeing the high wages Lin Yue offered, they weren’t enthusiastic—had they been able to keep the money for themselves, it would’ve been a different story.