A Good Country Wife

Because she had been here once before, it wasn’t too difficult for Lin Yue to find her way. She walked and stopped along the way, taking about an hour and a half, before finally finding the river she saw last time. By now, Lin Yue was covered in sweat. She used the river water to wash her face and then scooped up a handful to drink. The water was clear, cool, and sweet—far better than the bottled water from modern times. If she could channel it back home and dig a pond, it would serve as drinking water. Besides, with the abundant supply, she could create a large pond to cultivate lotus roots and breed fish. It was just that whenever Lin Yue stumbled upon something good, she thought too much.

Lin Yue followed the river upstream to a large lake, where the water flowed down from. Walking downstream along the river, she realized it was flowing in the direction of their village. It would at least pass near their village, but they had another large river with a different source, and the rest were just small streams, which were not visible nearby. Lin Yue felt curious and wanted to find out where exactly this river led to.

Zhao Erhu was working in the fields, but his mind was on his little wife at home. He wondered whether she had woken up, had something to eat, and was taking care of herself. Unable to concentrate on his work, he decided to go home and check on her. When he heard laughter and cheerful voices from the kitchen, clearly including his wife’s, his heart settled a lot. He approached the kitchen quietly, afraid she might notice him, and peeked inside to see his wife preparing pancakes for the children.

"These little rascals, at least they’re clever enough to keep your mom happy. It means I didn’t teach you in vain," Zhao Erhu muttered under his breath, feeling relieved at first. Seeing how cozy and joyful his wife and the boys were together made him feel a bit sour. He was still getting the cold shoulder from her.

"These little brats, your mother makes food for you, and you don’t even think to bring any to your father, who is out in the scorching sun, working himself to death. No filial piety at all," Zhao Erhu thought, feeling more and more resentful. He grumbled to himself about his sons’ lack of concern.

"Mom, we’re having pancakes now, but what about the food and soup that Dad made for you? Are we really going to do as you said and pour it out for the pigs? But we don’t even raise pigs." Dalang spotted Zhao Erhu hiding outside and was about to call out but was stopped by a warning glare from his father. Instead, he mischievously decided to provoke his own father on purpose.

Unaware of the situation, the third son, wanting to please Lin Yue, harshly criticized his own father. "Second brother, why ask so many things? If mom says pour it out, we pour it out. Dad’s cooking isn’t tasty, not even the pigs would eat it, so it’s no loss to pour it away. No wonder Mom doesn’t like it. It’s the chicken eggs I cooked for mom that are tasty. Mom likes me the best, right, Mom?"

Lin Yue couldn’t help but chuckle. The third son was really amusing. At first, he seemed only somewhat clever, but now he was becoming more and more like a jester. "Right, you’re correct. It’s the eggs our Xiaosi cooked that taste the best," she agreed.

"You little scoundrel!" Zhao Erhu listened from outside, his face darkening, grinding his teeth in frustration. What kind of sons were these, not only failing to defend their father in front of their stepmother but also tripping him up? Each was worse than the last! Burning with anger, he thought: Just wait, you little devils; I’ll deal with you later!