Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 11941

"That's right, someone has to do the work. If you don't do it, and she doesn't do it, then someone with the worst luck has to do it!"

"Selfish people, ptooey!"

Liu ran excitedly toward the new fourth house at the village entrance, only to encounter a large horse-drawn carriage coming from the opposite direction on the way.

That was the Luo family's large carriage. Liu was not surprised to see the Luo family's carriage, because she knew that Yang Ruoqing and Wang Cuilian had gone to Zhoujia Village to visit Luo Da'e that morning.

But now, Liu couldn't move her feet, because she saw a large bundle of purple sugarcane hanging in front of the carriage!

It looks so tempting!
Judging from the white frost covering its purple skin, this sugarcane must be incredibly sweet and delicious. It must be the kind of sugarcane that makes a crisp, crunchy crack when you bite into it, followed by a sweet taste that travels from your mouth all the way to your heart...

"Sister-in-law Cuilian, Qing'er, you're back from visiting?" Liu stopped in her tracks, no longer heading towards the new house of the fourth branch of the family, and instead stood by the roadside to greet the Luo family members inside the carriage.

The carriage curtain was then lifted, revealing Wang Cuilian's face. Upon seeing that it was Liu Shi, Wang Cuilian smiled and said, "Oh, it's her fourth aunt. Yes, we just got back."

As they were talking, the carriage slowly came to a stop by the main road in front of the Luo family's courtyard. Ping An got out of the carriage and stood by the roadside leading the horse.

In the next carriage, Yang Ruoqing came out first from behind Wang Cuilian. When she saw Liu, Yang Ruoqing smiled and then turned around and stretched out her hand towards the carriage door: "Auntie, slow down."

"I'll lend a hand too!" Liu Shi suddenly became a helpful person again, eagerly moving closer to the carriage, sticking out her buttocks, leaning forward, and stretching out her arm so that Wang Cuilian would have more support when she came out.

"No need, Qing'er can help me." Wang Cuilian saw Liu's arm but did not reach out to support it.

However, Liu took the initiative to support Wang Cuilian's arm, saying, "There's no need to be so polite. It's always better to be steady!"

"Alright, then I'll trouble you." Wang Cuilian thanked them and, with the help of Yang Ruoqing and Liu Shi, steadily stepped down from the carriage and onto the ground.

Behind her, Luo Fengtang and Luo the blacksmith also came out one after another.

After greeting them, Liu's eyes kept darting to the bundle of sugarcane. Knowing the answer already, she asked, "How is Tang Ya's aunt doing?"

Wang Cuilian's smile was a little forced, but she still nodded: "It looked pretty good today."

"That's good. The Zhou family is well-off. They have chickens, ducks, geese, and eggs that they could eat for several lifetimes. With all those good things to support them, they're sure to live to be a hundred years old."

Wang Cuilian nodded. "I hope so."

These words reached the ears of the blacksmith Luo, who loved hearing such things and wanted to take advantage of others' good wishes.

"What her fourth aunt said today is so true, it really touched my heart!" the old man said. "Fourth aunt, come inside and have some tea."

"Okay, okay, let's go, let's all go inside together."

Liu took the initiative and invited the Luo family into the Luo family home for tea...

Yang Ruoqing took in Liu's every move and concluded that there were two reasons for Liu's current enthusiasm and initiative, which was like a little sun.

The first point is that Liu herself is a person who likes to gossip. She likes to listen to even the smallest things that happen in the neighborhood, such as how many puppies someone else's old female dog has, and how many are male and how many are female.

The news of Luo Da'e's intermittent illness had long been known throughout Changping Village, so it was bound to be a topic of conversation among the Liu family during their leisure time.

As for the second reason, it's even simpler: the bundle of purple sugarcane on the carriage!

However, Yang Ruoqing saw through it but didn't say anything, and didn't take the initiative to speak, just to see how Liu would steer the topic to purple sugarcane later.

At this moment, Liu helped Wang Cuilian into the Luo family courtyard, chatting and laughing. Behind them, Luo Fengtang and Ping An led their horses into the courtyard.

Suddenly, Liu stopped in her tracks, turned to Luo Fengtang and the others behind her, and said, "You should be careful when you come in. The doorway might not be wide enough. It's best to come in vertically or diagonally, but please don't come in horizontally, it's inconvenient!"

Luo Fengtang: ?

Safety:?
Wang Cuilian: ?

Luo the Blacksmith: ?

Ping An scratched his head, looking puzzled: "Fourth Aunt, the sugarcane was supposed to be stacked upright on the carriage."

You can simply lead the carriage into the yard, and the sugarcane will naturally come in with it; there's no need for any unnecessary trouble.

Liu pretended that she only just noticed that the sugarcane was stacked vertically, and then burst out laughing, saying, "Look at me, my eyes are playing tricks on me. When I saw this big bundle of things, I wondered what it was. I had to look at it carefully for a few moments before I recognized it as purple sugarcane. Ah, I'm getting old, my eyesight isn't what it used to be!"

Wang Cuilian patted Liu's hand with a smile: "You're still too green in front of me, so don't talk about yourself like that!"

"Good, good!" Liu nodded repeatedly. "Sister-in-law Cuilian, you shouldn't talk about yourself like that. We're not old, we're still young!"

“That’s more like it! Come on, let’s go inside and have some tea.” Wang Cuilian pulled Liu Shi straight into the main room.

When Liu first steered the conversation to sugarcane and saw that the Luo family didn't continue the discussion, she continued brainstorming, thinking about how to bring up the topic again.

After entering the courtyard, Luo Fengtang and Ping An led the carriage to the backyard, taking a different route from Yang Ruoqing and the others.

After sitting down in the main room, Liu had no interest in drinking the tea placed in front of her.

Wang Cuilian took out some peanut candy from her home to treat Liu Shi, saying, "Try this peanut candy, it's so sweet."

Liu picked up a piece and took a bite. "It's so sweet!"

"Yes, it's made from maltose, syrup made from this year's seasonal malt," Wang Cuilian said.

Liu took a few more bites, put down the peanut candy made of maltose, and sat there, covering her cheek.

Seeing her like this, Wang Cuilian was puzzled and asked, "What's wrong? Why aren't you eating? Is it not to your liking?" Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case. In the past, Aunt Qing'er never picked and chose when it came to food and drink.

Yang Ruoqing held a teacup in her hand, glancing sideways at Liu Shi. Was she preparing a big move?

Sure enough, the next moment, Liu frowned and said to Wang Cuilian, "Don't laugh at me, Sister Cuilian, but my teeth have been hurting a bit lately when I eat sweet things. I asked Wangsheng, and he said it might be because there are worms in my cavities, and that eating sweet things like maltose makes them hurt."

"Oh? Still like that? Then you should eat less sugar, just listen to Wangsheng." Wang Cuilian didn't suspect anything and went along with what Liu said.

Liu shook her head and sighed, "Sister-in-law Cuilian, you know me. I've loved sweets since I was a child."

"Of all the flavors in life, sweet is my favorite. When I'm feeling unwell or upset, I eat something sweet to treat myself. But now that you've taken away my sweets, it's like taking away my life! Life has lost so much of its flavor!"

"Then, what should we do?" Wang Cuilian continued to ask.

Ms. Liu said, "Later I asked Wangsheng again, and he told me that if I really craved sweets, I shouldn't touch maltose, because maltose sticks to my teeth and is bad for my cavities. He told me to eat some cheaper alternative sweets to satisfy my cravings."

"Affordable substitute? What's an affordable substitute? Is there anything that can replace maltose?" Wang Cuilian had completely fallen into Liu's rhythm and sat there racking her brains to think.

Not only her, but also the blacksmith Luo, who was sitting in the main seat next to her, was tilting his head in thought.

"Pfft~" Yang Ruoqing burst out laughing. If she hadn't been prepared beforehand and had already put the lid on the teacup in her hand, she probably would have laughed so hard that her saliva would have splashed into the teacup.

"What's this about substitution? Fourth Aunt, if you're craving my sugarcane, just say so openly. Why play these riddles here? Aren't you tired?" Yang Ruoqing asked, smiling as she stared at Liu Shi.

Liu's thoughts were exposed in one sentence, and her face must have turned red.

She sat there with her legs together, twisting her body slightly from side to side on the stool, and said with a smile, "Qing'er, don't say that. I really do have worms in my tooth cavity, and Wangsheng did tell me to eat less maltose."

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Wang Sheng later and see if I'm lying!"

"Fourth Aunt, I believe you without even asking Wangsheng about your cavities!" Yang Ruoqing said. "Because you're greedy and have a sweet tooth, and you only brush your teeth once a day at most in the morning, and don't brush them after meals or before going to bed at night. It's no wonder your teeth get cavities!"

Liu's face turned even redder, and she felt a little guilty because she had been sleeping in late for the past two mornings and eating the breakfast that Yang Huaming had left in the kitchen before he went to the Taoist temple.

After finishing breakfast, she thought to herself, "I've already eaten breakfast, so even if there's any bad taste in my mouth, it's all gone with the food I chewed."

Moreover, the process of chewing breakfast can also be considered a process of brushing your teeth, right?
"Fourth Aunt, if you have cavities in your teeth, you can't touch any sweets, whether it's maltose or cane sugar, you can't! If you don't believe me, you can ask Wangsheng or Uncle Fu!" Yang Ruoqing continued.

"Oh dear, Qing'er, my cavities aren't that bad. I can still eat sugarcane..."

“I can eat it, but I won’t give it to you,” Yang Ruoqing continued. “That bundle of sugarcane is for the children in the family. As an elder, you wouldn’t take food from the children, would you?”

The moment Yang Ruoqing uttered her refusal, the atmosphere in the main room instantly changed.

Luo the blacksmith and Wang Cuilian exchanged glances discreetly. Both elders were very surprised and embarrassed.

The surprise was that after all that beating around the bush and playing the victim, Liu's real purpose was actually to crave sugarcane?

The awkwardness stemmed from the fact that everyone was an adult and a real relative, so Qing'er rejected Liu's idea right away.

If it were according to old habits, Luo the blacksmith and Wang Cuilian would definitely try to smooth things over.

However, after living and getting along with Yang Ruoqing under the same roof for more than ten or twenty years, they knew that there were some things they couldn't do to smooth things over, because doing so would be like undermining Qing'er's reputation.

They and Qing'er are the real family. When it comes to how a family acts in public, whether it's right or wrong, they should at least be of one mind and have the same attitude. But when they're alone, the family can sit down together and discuss things further.

So Luo the blacksmith and Wang Cuilian exchanged glances, each seeing a reminder in the other's eyes: Don't talk, don't say anything, let Qing'er handle it.

If all else fails, my wife and I can find an excuse to slip away and leave this awkward place.

However, at this very moment, Liu, who should have been the most embarrassed party after being rejected by Yang Ruoqing, was not embarrassed at all.

Sitting on the stool, Liu's smile widened even more, a smile tinged with ingratiation: "This...this can't be called robbery! I see there's quite a lot of sugarcane in that bundle. Give me one, please. Even if you can't give me one, cutting it in half and letting me nibble on it wouldn't hurt, right? Hehe..."

Yang Ruoqing rolled her eyes. She knew that her fourth aunt's skin was as thick as an old city wall. If she was going to refuse her, she would just be straightforward and direct.

You can't beat around the bush or be subtle. If you are subtle, she will take advantage of you and eventually control you.

"No way!" Yang Ruoqing took a sip of tea and refused again with firm conviction.

"Oh, Qing'er, you're so stingy. It's just a piece of sugarcane, why are you making such a fuss?" Liu was also unhappy. She stopped smiling and her face fell. However, Qing'er's bottom was firmly stuck to the stool, showing no intention of moving.

“Stingy? Hehe, Fourth Aunt, I just said that the bundle of sugarcane was brought back for the children in the family.”

"Liangliang from your fourth branch is among them. Am I being petty? Or are you lacking in perspective? Hmm?"

"Oh dear, Qing'er, my dear Qing'er, your fourth aunt was just joking with you!" Liu's face once again showed a bright and flattering smile, and she moved up from the stool and got closer to Yang Ruoqing.

"You brought back such a big bundle of sugarcane for the children at home. There's no one in the world as generous as you."

"I'm not craving sugarcane, I was just joking. Um, where's the sugarcane? When are you planning to distribute it to the children? I can help!"

Yang Ruoqing glanced at Liu Shi with a half-smile: "No need to help, you go about your business. If there are any left after we divide them, I'll leave you two pieces."

"Oh my god, Qing'er, you're so kind and generous!" Liu clapped her hands excitedly in front of everyone. "With your words, even if Fourth Aunt didn't get to eat the sugarcane, her heart is already filled with sweetness!"

Um... Yang Ruoqing couldn't stand it anymore. When it comes to being flexible and adaptable, Fourth Aunt is second to none.

Moreover, Aunt Si didn't really take the conversation to heart. Any unpleasantness was just a verbal argument that was over and done with. This is precisely why Yang Ruoqing was willing to deal with the other person even though she knew their personality.