The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 89: Firmly Refuse!

Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Firmly Refuse!

Wang Yongfu was both exhausted and drowsy, murmuring a vague response before falling asleep again.

Lady Lin, unable to sleep with excitement, was making plans. After digging up the yams tomorrow, she would not take them home but hide them somewhere else. The day after tomorrow, she would find an excuse to rush to the market and sell them. In this way, the main house would have a bit more private money.

After all, the father-in-law forbade the family from digging any further; those yams would sooner or later be discovered by others. Rather than letting others benefit, it was better to benefit her own family.

Besides, the money would eventually be spent on her sons. Even if the father-in-law and mother-in-law found out, she had ways to talk her way out of it.

Lady Lin was busy scheming about how to make a small fortune the next day.

In the third house, Lady Jiang did not ask much about going up the mountain during the day to pick mountain goods but reminded her children again to listen to their grandparents and never casually speak about the good fortune of their Old Aunt never coming down the mountain empty-handed.

The little ones were all very sensible and obediently agreed.

After washing and tucking the children into bed, Lady Jiang said in a low voice, "Jinhua, from tomorrow on, don’t run about aimlessly. Stay at home and learn needlework with your aunt!"

It was like a bolt from the blue!

Jinhua turned over in bed hastily, nearly rolling off, "Mom, what... what did you say? Learn needlework? I just can’t learn that, it’s not in my nature! I can go and gather firewood, herd cattle, feed pigs, and cook, but please don’t make me sew. Holding a needle is even harder for me than wielding a knife."

She refused outright!

"Nonsense! You are already a big girl, and in a few years, I will have to find a match for you. If you don’t learn needlework, how will you establish a foothold in your husband’s house? Look at your aunt, how much your grandma adores her, and isn’t she learning now? I’m doing this for your own good, child—why can’t you understand? Needlework is the essential skill for us women. No family will want a girl who can’t do needlework!" Lady Jiang tried to persuade her earnestly.

Jinhua covered her ears, "I won’t learn! Eldest Aunt’s needlework is just average, yet isn’t her life at home better than yours? Anyway, I won’t learn. I’d rather go work in the fields. If I have to learn something, I want to be like Eldest Aunt, strong and capable. People say that she could do a man’s work and even gets more food portioned to her than we do. You know how to do needlework, yet you can’t even fill your stomach! As long as I’m strong and able to work in the fields after getting married, what else do I have to fear? Even if I’m not the best, my strength will keep others from bullying me!"

She spoke with conviction.

Lady Jiang had intended to persuade her daughter further, but after hearing Jinhua’s words, she was at a loss for words.

Sitting on the kang bed, she started to cry.

Jinhua, this child was led astray by her mother! If she could have been firmer, if she had not been so stubborn in the past, estranging husband and wife, with a loving father to protect her, this child would not have turned out this way.

A girl trying to compete with men in strength, how can this be!

But thinking carefully about Jinhua’s words, although they were a child’s reasoning, they held some truth. If she really could be like her sister-in-law, strong and able to work in the fields, wouldn’t life be less difficult?

Lady Jiang fell silent for a while and finally relented a bit, "Fine, you don’t have to learn embroidery, but at least learn to mend clothes and make shoes, won’t you? Your eldest aunt can do that— all the women in the village can!"

Jinhua made a face; she really had no patience for such trifles as needlework. But seeing her mother step back, if she refused again, her mother might cry all night.

So be it! At worst, she would play at home with her Old Aunt and younger brother.

Jinhua reluctantly agreed.

Lady Jiang finally felt relieved, "Then don’t go out tomorrow, stay by my side and learn, do you hear me?"

Jinhua hummed in response, which counted as agreeing.

Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Lady Lin was urging Wang Yongfu to get up. She stealthily fetched two cold pancakes left over from the day before from the kitchen. The couple then headed out in the dark, bearing dew, carrying their hoes and baskets on their backs.

Old Granny Zhang got up early and saw that the courtyard had not been swept, and the cattle had not been let out; the front door of the main house was still tightly closed.

She immediately became angry, cursing as she went to pound on the main house’s door, "The sun’s shining on your asses, and which lazy wife is still asleep at this time? Acting like a dead body! Eldest Brother’s house, roll out here for me, are you still warming eggs in bed?"

The main house was thrown into chaos. Jindou and his brothers, not even fully dressed, stumbled and crawled out to open the door.

Seeing that it was her grandsons, Old Granny Zhang reluctantly suppressed her anger, "Go call your father and mother to get up! You’re all nearing the age to take a daughter-in-law, yet you still laze in bed like a lazy loafer—"

Jindou’s face turned red, and he hurried into the inner room, only to find the bed empty and no one there.

He ran out quickly, "Granny, my parents aren’t in the room."

Ever since Old Granny Zhang became a mother-in-law, she rarely entered her sons’ and daughters-in-law’s rooms. But now, stepping in, she saw the blankets on the bed were indeed neatly folded.

Muttering to herself, she went outside and saw that the carrying basket and hoe usually left at the courtyard gate were missing.

Looking at the courtyard gate, it was also ajar from the outside and had not been fastened shut.

There was no need to look further; it was clear that the couple had risen early to start work.

A flicker of suspicion crossed Old Granny Zhang’s mind; why was Eldest Brother’s household so diligent today, going out before dawn to which field? Weren’t they afraid of accidentally hoeing away the crops in their eagerness to weed?

Despite that, Old Granny Zhang was quite pleased with Eldest Brother’s household’s behavior, as she had seen through all of Lady Lin’s petty schemes.

These past few days, she had deliberately shown a kindly face to Lady Jiang for a while, partly because of the eldest daughter learning needlework at Laosan’s house.

Aside from truly fearing that Lady Jiang might starve into a calamity, another half of the reason was to make an example for Lady Lin.

Over the course of the year, as Jindou and his brothers had grown, so had Lady Lin’s ambitions, revealing intentions to vie for power with Old Granny Zhang herself.

Whether Lady Lin harbored such intentions or not, it was imperative to nip this bud before it could bloom; otherwise, how would she control the household in the future?

That’s why she had favored the third household; Lady Jiang was meek and easy to manipulate. By showing preference for the third household, she didn’t believe Lady Lin wouldn’t become anxious.

It seemed her tactic had worked; at least, Lady Lin was now diligently working in the fields early in the morning, wasn’t she?

It was never like this in the past.

Feeling her strategy had been effective, Old Granny Zhang thought about stretching Lady Lin a bit further and returned to her room, quite content.

Later, when Lady Jiang came to get some grain for making breakfast, she tentatively mentioned that the two cold bread buns left in the kitchen from the day before had disappeared.

Old Granny Zhang immediately guessed that it was probably Eldest Brother’s household who had taken the buns.

But since they had gone off to work, taking provisions with them meant they weren’t planning to come back for breakfast, so Old Granny Zhang didn’t say much about it.

She deducted the portion for their breakfast and handed the rest of the grain to Lady Jiang.

With Old Granny Zhang’s explanation, no one waited for Wang Yongfu and Lady Lin to return for the meal.

After breakfast, Old Granny Zhang instructed Jindou and Jinhu from the first household, one to sweep the courtyard, the other to tend the cattle. She ensured that the first household’s chores were completed.

As for the younger ones, Wang Laozhu kept the children in the courtyard; the boys learned carpentry from him, sawing wood, drawing ink lines, and the like.

Wang Yongzhu and Lady Jiang, together with Jinhua, worked on needlework.

Although Jinhua was very impatient, she still forcefully calmed herself and sat down.

Old Granny Zhang, with Jinshao at her side, watched over them. The family, for once, seemed quite at ease.