The Blessed Farm Girl Has a Spatial Storage
Chapter 73: Idle Talk at the Village Head

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Idle Talk at the Village Head

Zhao Yu had taken on the task of picking up Zhao Zhitong from school. At that moment, he was sitting in the Qiao Clan’s courtyard, squatting and talking with Xiao Shitou, when he heard the reading sounds from the study cease.

He quickly stood up. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Zhao Zhitong and her two friends emerged, hand in hand.

He hurried over with a little trot and asked, "Little sister, are we going home now?"

"Mhm." Zhao Zhitong nodded, bid farewell to her two friends, and they all went their separate ways, each heading back to their own mothers.

Qiao Muchen personally saw his best friend off. Only after Zhao Zhitong’s figure disappeared into the alley did he turn and run back home.

Without his friends for company, he didn’t feel like reading either. So, he and Xiao Shitou squatted outside the chicken coop, poking a large rooster with a bamboo stick until it flapped about, squawking in protest.

Hearing the commotion, Old Lady Qian poked her head out of the kitchen. When she saw her young master having a grand time playing outside the chicken coop, she quickly called out.

"Oh dear, my little ancestor, don’t scare the hens! If the hens get frightened, they won’t lay any eggs."

Hearing Old Lady Qian, Qiao Muchen dropped the bamboo stick, grabbed Xiao Shitou, and they both ran back to his room, yelling dramatically.

Zhao Zhitong skipped and hopped all the way home with her Xiao Ge.

Zhao Yu’s face turned slightly red as he cautiously asked, "Little sister, what did the Teacher talk about in school today?"

Zhao Zhitong began chattering endlessly, telling her Xiao Ge all about her day at school, finally saying, "I wrote quite a few large characters today! I’ll show you when we get home."

Zhao Yu nodded repeatedly. "Okay, okay. I’ve finished looking at the large characters you showed me the day before yesterday. I’ll give them back to you when we get home."

Zhao Zhitong emphasized, "Little One, just looking isn’t enough. You have to be able to recognize them and write them too, you know."

Zhao Yu just grinned widely at Zhao Zhitong. "I will, I will."

Laughing and chatting, the two of them headed towards the village.

A heavy rain had fallen that morning, only gradually tapering off in the afternoon. At this time, the air still carried the faint, cool fragrance of damp earth.

Under the big pagoda tree next to the village well, a number of villagers were sitting in the shade to cool off, or squatting under the tree with bowls in hand, eating their meals.

From a distance, two small figures could be seen hopping and skipping into the village. Just then, some villagers recognized them as the two children from Zhao Dong’s Residence.

As they approached, someone called out with a teasing laugh, "Well, if it isn’t Zhao Dong’s precious daughter who attends school! Back from school, are we?"

"Yes!" Zhao Zhitong smiled and greeted them.

At that moment, the teasing woman spoke again, "Tsk tsk, you’re a girl, what do you even learn at school? Go on, tell us, enlighten us a little."

There was an odd tone to the woman’s voice. Although Zhao Zhitong was young, she could detect it, and she also remembered who this woman was.

Zhao Tiezhu’s wife, Mrs. Zheng. She was particularly good at currying favor with her step-grandmother, Mrs. Wang.

Towards kind people, Zhao Zhitong was always pleasant and polite. But towards those she disliked, who spoke with veiled sarcasm, she wasn’t nearly as soft and sweet.

So, she snorted and said, "Of course, I’m learning classical literature! Even if I told you, Auntie Zheng, you wouldn’t understand."

Mrs. Zheng gave a sarcastic laugh, pointed at Zhao Zhitong, and said to the people around her, "Hey, look at this girl! So impolite, isn’t she? And to think she actually goes to school and studies with a Teacher, ha!"

After belittling Zhao Zhitong, she turned her attention to Zhao Yu. "Oh, this must be Zhao Xia’s second son, Erlang, right? You listen to your aunt and uncle, you and your brother. If you’re not good, your aunt and uncle might not want you anymore."

Hearing this, Zhao Yu’s small face immediately paled.

Zhao Zhitong felt extremely uncomfortable listening to this. So, she shouted at Mrs. Zheng’s son, who was playing nearby, "Zhao Damao! Did you hear what your mother said? You have to be good from now on, or else your parents will abandon you too!"

Zhao Damao was about the same age as Zhao Zhitong. Hearing this, his lip immediately trembled, and he burst into tears.

Mrs. Zheng’s expression instantly darkened. She hurried over, picked up her son, and began to comfort him. Then she glared at Zhao Zhitong, her tone harsh. "You little brat, what nonsense are you spouting!"

Zhao Zhitong, however, tilted her head and said innocently, "Auntie Zheng, why are you upset? Weren’t those your exact words? I was just learning from you."

"You wretched girl!" Mrs. Zheng was furious but had no way to refute her; those had indeed been her words.

Zhao Zhitong didn’t get angry. Instead, she flashed a wide smile at the seething Mrs. Zheng, which made Mrs. Zheng’s face nearly contort with rage.

Then, she took Zhao Yu’s hand and ran towards home, calling out as they ran, "Xiao Ge, don’t listen to Tie Zhu’s wife’s nonsense. Mom and Dad said we’re a family, and we’ll always be together, for a lifetime!"

"Mhm." With reddened eyes, Zhao Yu looked at Zhao Zhitong and nodded firmly.

Just as Zhao Zhitong and Zhao Yu ran off, Mrs. Zheng spat in the direction they had disappeared.

"A girl studying, what’s the use of that? She can’t become an official. In the future, she’ll just marry into a farmer’s family, work in the fields. What’s there to be so smug about?"

After her complaint, she noticed that none of the surrounding women echoed her sentiments, so she sullenly closed her mouth.

After a while, Mrs. Liang, the Village Chief’s second daughter-in-law, looked left and right, then smiled and said, "Who says it isn’t? Actually, I also think sending girls to school is a bit of a waste of money. Boys are better."

Seeing someone finally agreeing with her, Mrs. Zheng instantly perked up. "Hmph, isn’t that just it! You’d think their family struck it rich selling tofu, that’s why they’re willing to send a daughter to school. But if he’s made so much money, he’s still too stingy to send his elder brother’s two sons to school! Sending boys to study is what’s actually useful!"

Mrs. Liang nodded in agreement. "Who can say otherwise? Boys who study, even if they don’t become officials, can still find work as accountants or managers in the county town. I don’t know what that family is thinking, not sending those two boys to study."

At this point, two or three other old women joined their conversation.

Mrs. Zheng grew even more animated and said with a sneer, "What’s so hard to understand? Those two children aren’t their own flesh and blood, after all. Do you really think they can treat them like their own? It’s all just talk. It’s good enough they give them food to eat! I reckon those two have to slave away for that family."

Mrs. Liang pursed her lips. "Tsk, tsk, that’s right. I remember when their family wanted to take those two brothers back, they even told my father-in-law how pitiful the children were and how they’d take good care of them..."

"AHEM! AHEM!"

Just then, a sudden cough cut off their conversation. Everyone looked towards the sound and saw Tian Cuihua, the Village Chief’s eldest daughter-in-law, standing not far away.

Mrs. Liang instinctively felt a pang of guilt.

Her mother-in-law and father-in-law detested it when they gossiped outside. Now that Tian Cuihua had overheard, she felt the distinct unease of being caught red-handed, but she still feigned composure and called out, "Elder Sister-in-law."

"Hmph." Tian Cuihua acknowledged with a sound from her nose, then said flatly, "Mother-in-law is looking for you. You should go back quickly."