Transmigration: On the Gossip Front
Chapter 603 - 604 Sister Like Mother 21_1

Chapter 603: Chapter 604 Sister Like Mother 21_1

After Zhao Mei was discharged from the hospital, she resumed her former life, spending all day drifting from house to house.

Even though Huang Man didn’t do household chores, taking care of her own business, she had no time for anything else, including working in the fields.

Zhao Mei didn’t work either, she now had money in her hands, why would she toil under the scorching sun in the fields?

Huang Xin and Huang Lina, despite being children from a rural area, had never worked in the fields.

In fact, they didn’t even know where their family’s land was, much less work on it.

The villagers had all seen Zhao Mei’s maneuvers and gossiped that, after getting the compensation from Huang Zhiqiang, she had become like a city person who did no work at all.

Those who were quick-witted and considered themselves on good terms with Zhao Mei naturally approached her directly, hoping she would let them farm her private land.

In reality, they would just need to oversee it a bit longer for the crops to mature, essentially getting a lot of grain for a minimal cost.

In the past, Zhao Mei would have had to consult Huang Man on such matters, but now, recalling Huang Man’s attitude that day,

Zhao Mei was very straightforward, "You can farm it, right, how do you plan to pay me?"

Zhao Mei was certainly not foolish enough to just let others farm her land—she knew exactly how to charge for letting others use it.

The other party had approached Zhao Mei thinking they could get the land for free, but never expected her to bring up the matter of fees.

Suddenly, their expression became awkward—this was something they had truly not anticipated. What should they do now?

This was a big issue, and they had not discussed how to pay the rental fee, so they had no way to respond to Zhao Mei.

Zhao Mei saw their embarrassed demeanor and knew they must have thought her a fool.

"Old Huang is gone, and as you know, I’m not the one in charge at home," Zhao Mei said, of course not wanting to ruin her reputation as a good person.

As for whom the other party would think of after her statement, that was not her concern.

If it had been the original owner, she wouldn’t have talked about these family matters and, being known for being stingy in the village, would naturally have been targeted directly.

But now the key thing was, the villagers had heard more than once from Huang Man that she didn’t manage the household matters and wouldn’t involve herself in financial issues if Zhao Mei took charge.

Now that Huang Man had taken such a stance, the other party subconsciously knew that this was entirely Zhao Mei’s intention.

But they couldn’t expose this outright, because then everyone would think they were greedy, wanting the grain from several acres of land without any compensation.

Zhao Mei noticed that the other party didn’t continue talking and just kept smiling and chatting with others, spreading village gossip.

Some people caught Zhao Mei’s implication: the land could be rented out, but it was a matter of how much they were willing to pay.

Zhao Mei seemed to be merely chatting, but she was quietly observing, noticing that many people were indeed interested.

With that, she felt reassured; with more interested parties, she could get a better price.

Many were interested, but everyone knew that most of the Huang family’s grain fields were managed by Huang Zhiqiang and Huang Man.

Zhao Mei would say that with Huang Zhiqiang gone, she was the head of the household, but some were still worried about Huang Man’s reaction if she found out the land had been rented out.

The next time the villagers gathered to cool off, they saw Huang Man returning.

Someone immediately called out to her, "Your mom said that nobody is taking care of your family’s land and is thinking about renting it out?" The person was very direct.

The land was going to be rented out? Huang Man responded with an "Oh," and said, "I’ve been busy lately, and it’s my senior year of high school, so I really don’t have time to take care of it. If my mom and the others don’t have time, it’s better to rent it out."

"Also, thanks for telling me, although family matters are already not my concern anymore."

"You’re not involved in anything, big or small?" Someone was quite surprised.

Huang Man helplessly spread her hands, "I’m just a high school student, how can I be in charge?"

"If it wasn’t for my good grades, the school waiving my tuition and fees, and giving me meal money, I would never have attended high school," she said.

"If I want to continue my education, I’ll have to earn my own living expenses."

"It’s already not bad if I can take care of myself well, as for the rest, I truly want to help but am powerless to do so."

"Aren’t you worried about your brother’s studies?" They knew about Huang Xin’s performance at school, which would only get worse without Huang Man keeping an eye on him.

Once Huang Man stopped caring, considering Zhao Mei’s temperament, would she be able to ensure that the two kids focused on their studies?

Huang Man gave a wry smile, "They’re about to be in the ninth grade, they’re sensible now, and they should be responsible for their own futures."

"Besides, my mom is still around. Little Xin and the others say mom is good, they say I’m not."

"Plus, I usually stay on campus and being a senior in high school, I might not even come home once a month."

"Anyway, I can’t manage them either way, so might as well give up now."

"Right, if you want to rent the land, you can go directly to my mom."

"She’s the pillar of the Huang family, she makes all the big and small decisions." Huang Man kept repeating that Zhao Mei was now the pillar of the family.

Without Huang Man cooking, it’s as if there’s nobody to cook at home, and of course, Zhao Mei wouldn’t want to be drenched in sweat making lunch either.

Having not cooked for many years, she knew the food she made was not only something the children would disdain, but she also found it unappealing in every aspect.

With money in hand, Zhao Mei naturally preferred taking Huang Xin and the others out to eat, and it must be said, eating out was indeed more relaxing.

After a satisfying meal, the three of them bought a large watermelon on the way home. Seeing Huang Man, Huang Xin tried to hide the watermelon behind his back.

Huang Xin’s actions made Huang Man laugh, "There’s no need to hide the watermelon."

"I won’t eat it." Ever since Zhao Lei started studying seriously, the Zhao family has been very courteous to her, providing really good food.

You could say she couldn’t imagine anything that the Zhao family didn’t have.

It was just a watermelon after all; the Zhao family ate fruits, some of which were imported. She wondered how surprised Huang Xin and the others would be if she mentioned this.

Huang Xin looked up at Huang Man, "You won’t eat?"

"Yeah, I’m already full," Huang Man hummed, "By the way, mom, if you decide to rent the land out, then it’s all up to you."

"You are the head of the household, whatever the issue, big or small, your decision will be final." In front of everyone, Huang Man made her stance clear.

What? Upon hearing this, Huang Xin wasn’t pleased, "Isn’t the land being farmed well, why not continue farming it?"

Even though Huang Xin didn’t work the fields, he knew that come October, they could harvest, and it was already August. If they persisted for two more months, there would be a bountiful reward.

"You gonna farm?" It’s easy to talk when one doesn’t have to do the work themselves, uttering opinions without a hint of backache.

It was then Huang Xin remembered that lately, Huang Man had been leaving early and coming back late; she had no time for farming.

"I don’t know how to farm, sis. Didn’t you always do the farming before?"

"Look, the harvest is almost here." Huang Xin knew that the grains harvested could be sold for a good few thousand.

This was no small income, definitely not something to give up on.

"Then you farm it. You’re the only son in the family, the house and land will eventually be yours."

"You might as well start learning now," Huang Man firmly silenced him.

"Don’t tell me you can’t. When I was in primary school, I was already helping Dad with the fieldwork."

"Now, this important responsibility is yours."