mtl008 Chapter 184 Aunt Hu came to the village to inquire about the news
Chapter 184 Aunt Hu came to the village to inquire about the news
Yushu Village was busy starting the autumn harvest. Shimo Village, just across the mountain, was also harvesting, but their harvest was very small.
That is, some grains such as corn, sorghum, soybeans, etc., and one acre of land can produce more than 200 kilograms, which is a normal harvest.
Only sorghum was harvested more, as it is drought-resistant and the harvest is naturally good. However, sorghum is a coarse grain after all and not very tasty, and livestock are not happy to eat it.
But there is no other way. Our ancestors have lived this way for generations. It is better than starving.
Due to the drought, the harvest of corn and other grains was not very good, but it could be harvested in half a month.
While working in the fields, they heard cheers and laughter from the neighboring village. The people in Shimo Village were anxious and started discussing, "How can they be so happy when the production is reduced this year?"
"That's right. I'm so worried. Will I be able to eat until next summer? I also want to sell some money to find a wife for my child and buy some clothes for the family. Now it seems that there is no hope."
Farmers work hard. They have to dig out all their expenses from the soil, pay various taxes, and perform labor service. It takes all their energy just to stay alive.
"Mother Shuiyun, didn't your aunt marry in Yushu Village? Why don't you go and ask around when you have time?"
Shui Yunniang was Aunt Hu. She had been to the city with Wen Zhuqing before, so they could talk. She was also curious and said, "Wait until noon. I'll take some time to go and take a look."
Aunt Hu instinctively felt that it was related to Shen Nanzhi. She had seen her from afar when she went up the mountain to collect firewood. Shen Nanzhi was surrounded by villagers, who seemed to respect her very much, and she was even more impressive than her own village chief.
Since leaving the Jiang family, Shen Nanzhi has become like a god. She has become thinner and whiter, and has made a lot of money. I heard that she even bought a big house and has servants. It's amazing.
I wonder if the people in Lao Jiang’s family will regret it to death.
At this time, the Jiang family had no energy to regret. They were also busy with the autumn harvest. Because of Shen Nanzhi's sterilization medicine, the men felt that they were not as strong as before and were very weak. This year's autumn harvest felt particularly difficult.
Lin Xueqing had never worked in the fields in her mother's family. She was spoiled by her parents and brothers, but after marrying into the Jiang family, she had to work in the fields.
Of course she was not happy. Her three sisters-in-law never went to the fields. They just cooked and fed chickens at home. Why should she have to go to the fields?
They are all sisters-in-law. No one is more noble than the other. If someone wants to go to the fields, they have to go. Otherwise, she won’t go either.
Sister Jiang sneered, "What right do you have to compare with us? We are the wife of the principal wife, married formally, with a marriage certificate, and recognized by the government. You are just a concubine, or in other words, a maid in my family. If you don't work in the fields, do you still want to be the ancestor?"
Lin Xueqing was dissatisfied: "That's not the case. Brother Jiang said that he would make me the principal wife, not a concubine."
"Then help him up first, don't you think this makes sense? Mother-in-law, please tell me something fair."
Jiang's mother was becoming more and more displeased with Lin Xueqing. People are judged by comparison. When Shen Nanzhi was at home, although she was ugly, she was strong and willing to work. She could do all the work in the fields by herself. Why would the family members have to work as hard as dogs to farm?
During the slack season, the family would go to the town to slaughter pigs and sell meat. The family didn't have to worry about the expenses of the fourth child's studies, and they could get a lot of money from her. She could earn at least dozens of taels of silver a year, and the family could also continue to have some bones, minced meat, etc., which was at least some money.
Shen Nanzhi really takes care of everything at home and outside, and he is equivalent to ten people.
This Lin, she is pretty, but useless, she can't do the work, has a bad temper, and is always trying to be superior, as if she is so great. I really don't understand where her arrogance comes from?
Jiang's mother decided to give her a warning, "Lin, the fourth brother asked your family to pay some money and then made you his principal wife, but your family didn't take a penny, so how could he help you?
Don't you forget how you got into the family in the first place? You are so unruly, you don't behave yourself, you argue with your sisters-in-law everywhere, and you are not filial to your parents-in-law. Do you still want to become the wife of a juren in this state?
Go ahead and dream! "
Lin Xueqing felt extremely aggrieved, but she did not dare to argue with her mother-in-law, otherwise she would divorce her and her family would not support her, and all her previous efforts would be in vain.
Jiang Xun and his siblings hid out early, but they didn't go far. They just sat in the haystack behind the house to bask in the sun and listen to their quarrels.
Every time they quarreled, it was a good day for the children. At least they would not take their anger out on the children. Jiang Xun really looked down on Lin. She could not do anything and could not sweeten the lips to please her mother-in-law. Following her would only lead to hardship.
Jiang Yu held his stomach, his eyes dull, and said, "Brother, I'm hungry. When can I have a full meal?"
Jiang Xun was very upset. What was he doing was hungry?
"We are small, but we eat a lot. We are lucky not to be scolded. Do you still want to fill your stomach? The Jiang family is up to no good and wants to get rid of us. We should be careful in the future and don't let them sell us out."
Jiang Yu said naively: "If I can be sold to a good family, it would be good to have enough food and warm clothes, just like when I was with Shen A Niang before."
Jiang Xun stopped talking, weighing her words in silence. He couldn't bear it any longer if this continued.
I glanced at Jiang Ke. He was just scribbling on the ground. He looked lifeless and lived numbly. Sometimes he didn't say a word for the whole day.
If this continues, he will be useless. How can he pass the imperial examination? No matter how good his talent is, it will be useless if he lacks food and clothing.
"Let me think of a way."
……
Aunt Hu went home early at noon, steamed a few buns made of whole grains, and went to visit her aunt's house in Yushu Village with a basket.
Nowadays, even a few steamed buns can be used to visit relatives, which shows how precious food is.
Aunt Hu's aunt married Shen Qingshan's cousin, Shen Qingshu, who was a simple and honest man and had a good relationship with Shen Qingshan's family.
Aunt Hu is only seven or eight years older than her, so the age difference is not that big. Although they are aunt and niece, they look almost like sisters.
This is also common in the village. Some daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law spend their confinement period together, and their age and seniority don’t matter much.
The door of Aunt Hu's house was open, so Aunt Hu went straight in. She didn't expect to see a few strangers in the yard. She thought she had walked into the wrong door. She looked a few more times and found out it was her aunt's house.
Fortunately, her nephew came out and called her in: "Cousin, why don't you come in? Have you eaten? There is food in the kitchen. I'll bring it to you. Dad and mom are busy working in the fields. I'll come back and boil some hot water for them."
"I've eaten it, no need to worry. How much land did you plant this year? How was the harvest?"
The cousin poured her some water and said happily, "This year we have a bumper harvest, so we don't have to worry about going hungry anymore. You don't know how high the yield of the new crop that Sister Nanzhi asked us to plant was. The county magistrate and the son of the prefect were all shocked. Now they are digging sweet potatoes in the fields themselves."
Aunt Hu's heart skipped a beat, and she knew it was related to her. "Tell me more about it. What new crop is it? Why haven't I heard of it?"
“Don’t say you haven’t heard about it. Even before, we didn’t believe it. We just listened to the village chief and planted crops when he told us to. We didn’t expect such a surprise. We couldn’t even finish eating all the sweet potatoes.
This is not the best. Do you see those people eating? They are all servants of the masters. They eat at various houses and are paid 100 coins a day. Our family is almost making 1 or 2 taels of silver. "
The cousin was also very honest. He did not treat her as an outsider. He was very happy and wanted to show off to someone, so he told everyone everything.
"So old?"
"Of course. Every meal had meat and eggs, as well as sweet potatoes and corn. They were so happy eating and even gave me extra money as a reward. I got dozens of coins.
Sister Nanzhi also said that whoever buys our new crops will be sold at a high price. My father even said that he would find me a wife during the Chinese New Year this year."
My cousin is in his early twenties. Because his family was poor, he had never found a wife. Now that he has money, he is very picky about who he wants to marry. He wants someone pretty and virtuous, and he won't marry someone who is not good-looking.
Aunt Hu swallowed her saliva and said, "That's great. Your family can live a good life. I feel relieved. Since you are busy, I won't disturb you. I will leave now."
"Are you leaving? Wait a minute. I'll get you some sweet potatoes. Go home and give them to your cousins. Plant more next year. I guarantee you won't go hungry."
Her cousin filled a basket with a big bag of sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn. They were all real relatives and were happy to help her because they had their own food.
Aunt Hu was embarrassed: "So much? Give less, it's not easy for you to farm."
The cousin waved his hand and said, "There are a lot of them. My family has ten acres of sweet potatoes planted. One acre of land can yield two thousand gold. Fortunately, we dug a cellar in advance, otherwise there would be no place to store them. The potatoes and corn have not been harvested yet, so there must be a lot. Don't worry, cousin, eat them."
Aunt Hu felt that she didn't know how to count and calculate. With so much, the harvest must be about 20,000 or 30,000 kilograms, right?
Can their entire village harvest so much food?
When her cousin escorted her out of the village, she saw Shen Nanzhi and Yang Lingzhao chatting and laughing from afar. They looked like wealthy young men. Aunt Hu asked in surprise, "Who is that young man?"
The cousin said, "He is the son of the prefect. We are not qualified to talk to him. The village chief and Sister Nanzhi are the ones who entertained us."
That fat guy with a big belly over there is the county magistrate, and there is also the county magistrate, and Mr. Jin from the county school. They are all important people, so don't bump into them, stay away from them."
"Oh, fine, I won't dare to rush in. My few lives are not enough to withstand the beating."
"No, the adults are very kind. They don't hit or scold people. Don't worry, cousin."
This is also Shen Nanzhi's credit. Before, there was a servant who was bullying the villagers, and she beat him up. She also found the master and asked him to apologize. Now these big shots and their servants are very polite.
Sister Nan Zhi said that as long as it was not their fault, they should stand up straight and behave themselves. If anyone dared to bully the villagers, they should be beaten out and she would take the consequences if anything happened.
Now it is these big shots who are begging us, not us begging them. The villagers are no longer afraid and can confidently joke in front of the county magistrate. County Magistrate Cao feels bitter, but he dares not say it. He has to be as gentle as possible for fear of scaring the villagers.
Aunt Hu had mixed feelings on her way back to the village. It was indescribably complicated. She was jealous, but she also felt that the people in her village had brought it upon themselves because they were the ones who forced Shen Nanzhi away.
Farmers don't care about good looks. What they want is to be capable and to have enough food to survive.
On the way, I saw Jiang Chen's brothers harvesting in autumn. They looked listless, as if they were struggling. They could not even carry a bag of grain, even worse than a woman.
I couldn't help but sneer, "Boss Jiang, what's wrong with the men in your family? They are so weak, be careful not to die in your wife's belly."
Boss Jiang had an unpleasant look on his face. It would be fine if he really spent his energy on women, but he was not good in bed. His wife scolded him for being useless and he was in a bad mood all day long.
"What do you care? Have you taken good care of your man? Maybe he's not as good as me. Do you want me to serve you?"
"Bullshit, you dare to tease me, I am your mother, do you think there is no man in my family?
Boss Jiang, do you know what I did?"
"Who cares about you?"
Boss Jiang was impatient to talk to the old women. When they said dirty words, they could make men blush. Who knows who will take advantage of whom.
"Even though you don't want to hear it, I still want to tell you that your former sister-in-law Shen is quite successful. She brought seeds of new crops to the people of Yushu Village. Now they have a good harvest, and the county magistrate is alarmed. Do you know why?"
Speaking of Shen Nanzhi, the three brothers of the Jiang family all turned pale. If they still didn't know that it was Shen Nanzhi who caused them to become impotent, they would be really stupid.
But they didn't dare tell anyone about this. After all, they were the first to start the fight. They felt ashamed that four grown men were killed by a woman.
Aunt Hu ignored their ugly faces and continued, "The yield per mu is 2,000 kilograms. My God, no one in our village can harvest as much as this family. How can we eat all this food?"
Boss Jiang didn't believe it: "Are you dreaming? How can you harvest so much food?"
Aunt Hu said, "I also hope it's a dream, but I saw with my own eyes that the county magistrate, the prefect's son, and my aunt gave me so much food and told me to eat as much as I wanted. Isn't it true?
If you don’t believe me, go and see for yourself. This can’t be hidden. I won’t tell you anymore. I’ll go home and try it to see if it tastes good.”
Aunt Hu was carrying food on her shoulders and in her hands, which must have weighed about 50 to 60 kilograms. She ridiculed them and gave herself a break. The women in the village were treated like men and could carry 100 to 80 kilograms of food.
Seeing that she was stronger than them despite her age, Boss Jiang hated Shen Nanzhi even more. She was really cruel. She directly poisoned them and ruined their bodies.
After watching Aunt Hu walk away, the three brothers of the Jiang family lost their mood to work and angrily cursed: "What kind of life is this? Is the Shen family really that powerful?"
"It's probably true. Shen has always been capable."
Jiang San said, "It would have been better if we hadn't divorced. Fourth brother is really a fool. He should have lived a good life after marrying her. But now, you owe everyone money and are laughed at all the time. There is no money at home, and we have to work for you. I don't want to work anymore."
"What can you do if you don't want to do it?"
Jiang Laodao said: "What do you think? Should we go and look for Shen's?"
"What do you want to do with her? Do you want revenge? Can you beat her?"
Thinking of Shen Nanzhi, the three brothers of the Jiang family shuddered. She could kill a wild boar with one punch. If you are tired of living, go find her!