A Good Country Wife

"You father and son are really driving me mad, always taking that loss-making girl’s side; she’ll have to get married off eventually anyway." After Zhao Yunxiang finished scolding her husband and son, she turned to her daughter, "You’re useless, can’t even protect your little brother, what else can you do!" With that, she left, dragging her precious younger son, Zhao Jingen, with her, those two.

Zhao Dahuo and his wife told the Wei Family about Zhao Erhu’s request for them to help with labor, and upon hearing that Zhao Dahuo and his wife would each be paid twenty coins per day, and that the younger ones combined would also get ten coins per day, that meant Zhao Dahuo’s family could earn fifty coins in a day. There was no reason not to agree; Wei Family was overjoyed, it was all thanks to Zhao Erhu still having some brotherly affection for Zhao Dahuo that he gave them this opportunity. Otherwise, where could they find such a good deal? Wei Family was eager to send Zhao Dahuo’s entire family to Zhao Erhu’s home.

"This is a great opportunity; Brother Erhu and his wife are asking for your help because of the family connection, otherwise such a good chance wouldn’t fall in your lap. You better work hard at Erhu’s home and not let people think the money was wasted on you. You’ll be leaving early and coming back late, so don’t worry about the household chores; your brother and sister-in-law will take care of them." At this time, Wei Family clearly understood their situation—if Dahuo and his wife didn’t work hard and Erhu and his wife didn’t want them anymore, the money as good as in her pocket would be gone.

But as a result, it was impossible for Mrs. Liu to stay home and work. Wei Family mother and daughter-in-law had been counting on Mrs. Liu’s help with the farm work. Now that Zhao Dahuo’s family was all helping out at Zhao Erhu’s, leaving early and coming back late, even the kids had joined them; not to mention the fieldwork, even the minor chores like cutting pigweed and collecting firewood at home were neglected. It’s a case of the top leading by example—if the adults are lazy, how could the children be diligent? These minor tasks had always been done by Zhao Dahuo’s children, and now with them all at Zhao Erhu’s, chaos ensued at the old Zhao Family home for several days, all due to disputes over who would do the work.

Early the next morning, Zhao Erhu took Lin Yue into the city, first to deliver the food supplies to the Government Office. Zhao Erhu, with Lin Yue in tow, went to see the registrar, slipped him two taels of silver as a bribe, and then allowed Lin Yue to see their family registry. Indeed, it was just as Zhao Erhu had described, with no discrepancies. Lin Yue had no reason to doubt anymore—such matters were pointless to lie about—but seeing Zhao Erhu go to such lengths for her pleased her greatly.

Feeling happy, Lin Yue impulsively took Zhao Erhu on a long stroll through the streets, buying many things along the way. Having money was indeed wonderful—being able to buy whatever caught their fancy, unlike before when they could only look on longingly. However, Lin Yue was still careful with prices; after all, their family was not very rich, at best they could be considered moderately well-off.

After Lin Yue and Zhao Erhu had gone into the city, Zhao Dahuo’s family showed up. By the time Lin Yue got back, Zhao Erhu and his wife had already done all the work around the house that could be done. Seeing there was nothing left to do, they asked after Dalang and a few others, then picked up their hoes and headed back to the fields to weed and water. Lin Yue sighed internally; this couple was perhaps too eager to work.

With Zhao Dahuo and his wife around, Lin Yue left the non-secret recipes to others, focusing only on embroidery. She concentrated on completing Jiang Ziqi’s embroidery as soon as possible. Only then would her mind be at ease. But before that, Lin Yue first completed clothes for both her family and Zhao Dahuo’s family, making three sets per person, enough for regular changes.