"Second brother, your eldest brother has been away from home for almost three months. Why is the corvee so long this time? Didn't you say it would be a month at most before signing up? Do you know where your eldest brother is doing corvée work? Otherwise, you can sue me. Why don't you go and see him? Mom is so worried, she hasn't relaxed since he left home, for fear of something bad happening."
Under the eaves of a short and old adobe house, a thin woman who was only thirty-six years old but already full of wrinkles said to her second son sadly.
She wasn't really worried about her eldest son, who was so dull and dull that he couldn't beat him with three sticks.
Her boss was not the only one who went to do corvee work in the village. No one came back. I guess it was because the construction period was relatively long this time, so there was nothing to worry about.
She is really annoyed by the boss's wife. Why did she fall in love with such a dead woman in the first place?
She is lazy and greedy. She doesn't know how to do anything and eats nothing. She almost eats up all the food left at home.
Swear her a few words, she is more reasonable than you, saying that her husband-in-law's service saved the family three feet of silk cloth and one stone of grain, otherwise the family's surplus grain would have been empty long ago.
The woman was so angry that she picked up the poker and wanted to teach the lazy daughter-in-law a lesson. Unexpectedly, the lazy daughter-in-law actually ate the meat. With a twist of her backhand, she snatched the poker out of her hand and started crying. Seize the land and join her army:
"I can't live this life! The mother-in-law wants to beat the daughter-in-law to death! Why am I so miserable! On the day I got married, the man had to do corvee work for the family, and the new daughter-in-law was left a widow when she entered the house, and she was teased by her mother-in-law. Ugh. Ugh...what sins did I commit in my previous life? I have been treated so badly in this life..."
Neighbors looked over the fence and pointed at Mrs. Xu, who was the mother-in-law.
Mrs. Xu, who had always had a good temper, was so angry that she almost lost her temper.
She was wrong!
She shouldn't have found this woman for her boss.
I originally thought that the boss was dull and easy to suffer losses, so marrying a more aggressive wife would help control the family.
If you marry a gentle and carefree person who doesn't know how to reply when others bully you, and you have children in the future, wouldn't it mean that the whole family is a coward? How embarrassing for the old Cui family.
So she asked a matchmaker to ask around again and again, and finally found out that the Erya of the Xu family in the next town's Meihua Village had a fierce temper. She had never suffered a loss since she was a child. She was also very lucky, with a big butt that was very fertile. Mrs. Cui was satisfied. The earth decided this marriage for the eldest son.
As a result, as soon as I got married, she was aggressive, but she was too aggressive, like a piece of meat on a hob.
The new daughter-in-law dared to fight with her mother-in-law within five days of entering the house.
After winning the battle, he also took away the door keys to the kitchen cupboard and the warehouse. All the food from last year was hidden in them.
From then on, she had the final say on what the family would eat.
She herself wanted to eat white flour to make white noodles, and steamed rice, but others could only eat wild vegetables, rice bran and steamed buns.
Whenever there was any good stuff in the house, she would take it to her own room and feed herself like a steamed bun, while the rest of the family would be as thin as a bamboo pole.
How satisfied I was when I got married, how regretful I am now.
"Boss! It's my mother who can't help you!"
The more Ms. Cui thought about it, the more frustrated she became. She sat under the eaves and sobbed, wiping away her tears.
The second oldest brother, Cui Zhonggui, was also at a loss to deal with this sister-in-law.
He was only two years younger than his brother, so he was supposed to be doing hard labor this time.
But he was lucky. Two years ago, he went to the town to find work during the farm break. He helped an old man who was injured by a carriage and sent him home. Only then did he find out that the old man was a bookkeeper. Seeing that Cui Er was kind-hearted and clever, he took him to his house. Take him on as a disciple.
I worked as an apprentice with the accountant for two years, and was recommended by the old accountant. At the beginning of the year, I took over the old accountant's work and became the accountant of a rice store in the town.
When the corvee was sent out this time, he had just received the first month's wages, and he begged the shopkeeper to advance for two months. He also begged his mother to buy three feet of silk cloth, plus a stone of corn, and used things as a substitute for labor. After this hard labor.
But Cui Da was not so lucky. His family could not afford more money to buy silk cloth for the slaves, so he had to do hard labor.
Cui Er secretly gave the few copper coins he had left after paying back the advance wages to his mother, asking her to save them and marry him a girl from the town later.
The country girl was so tough that he couldn't help but tremble all over when he thought of the sister-in-law.
no!
He has to work hard to save money and ask his mother to marry him a girl from the town.
The little girl of the shopkeeper of the paper shop is pretty good.
"Mom, don't worry. I'll ask someone to find out where my eldest brother is serving when I get back. I heard that the imperial corvee service this time was divided into several places. It would be fine if it was building roads and bridges in other counties. I'm afraid... "
"Is there any work more tiring than building roads and bridges?" Ms. Cui had just put away her money bag when she heard this sentence and her heart skipped a beat.
Cui Zhonggui pursed his lips: "I also heard from the shopkeeper that a group of servicemen will be taken to the north to build the city wall."
"My poor eldest son!"
Mrs. Cui could not hold back and began to cry, feeling miserable.
The boss hasn’t come back for a long time, and the boss’s wife is behaving like this. What can she do?
Not only her, but also a pair of young children below also took offense.
The nine-year-old son had to get up before dawn to carry water and cut firewood for the family, and had to work in the fields during the day; the seven-year-old posthumous daughter was sent to do laundry, cook, clean the house, and then go to the foot of the mountain to dig wild vegetables without working. Not even the wild vegetables or steamed buns were eaten.
This time, Liu Mazi, who drove the bullock cart, called the second son back. In addition to asking him about the situation of the eldest son's corvee service, he also wanted to rely on him to take back the stewardship rights.
But the second brother is useless, even if he is asked to stand in the yard and call out the eldest daughter-in-law, he is still hiding in the house and sleeping in.
How can I hand over the key if I can't come out?
The more Ms. Cui thought about it, the more frustrated she became. Looking at the entire Dawa Village, who mother-in-law should be as humble as her?
She hadn't thought about divorcing this rotten daughter-in-law. The last time her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law quarreled, she blurted out that, but the damn mother-in-law came back and said that if the Cui family dared to divorce her, she would find someone to marry her brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Sold.
Mrs. Cui was so frightened that she did not dare to mention Dai'er's divorce.
The eldest son has not returned from the service, and the second son is working in the town and does not come back at ordinary times. She is the only widow in the family with two children under ten years old. She can only be a thief for a thousand days, but there is no way to guard against thieves for a thousand days. She is really I'm afraid of this daughter-in-law.
How to spend this day!
"Clang——"
The door to the east wing opened.
Hob meat... No, Xu Yin walked out of the room.
Cui, who was halfway through howling, stopped her voice instantly.
She quickly winked at her second son, asking him to be more aggressive and show off the courage of an adult, strike while the iron was hot, and help her mother take back the housekeeping rights.
"Sister-in-law." Cui Zhonggui stuttered when he met Xu Yin's half-smiling eyes.
Cui closed her eyes in despair.
Xu Yin looked around the small farmhouse, which was full of poverty, stretched, and walked towards the hut in the backyard: "My second brother hasn't been back for a long time. Why don't you stay home for lunch?"
"No, no, I'm rushing back to do the accounting."
Cui Zhonggui found an excuse and left in a hurry.
Leaving the thin and weak Ms. Cui alone to face her tough daughter-in-law, who is as delicious as hob meat and is too lazy to cook... Despair struck her heart again.
(End of chapter)
