Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 12049

“Auntie, we’ve all raised kids before, so we know how hard it is!” Yang Ruoqing said with a smile.

Yang Huamei nodded repeatedly: "Qing'er, our family staying here is really causing you trouble."

Yang Ruoqing shook her head: "Aunt, what are you saying? It's only because the east room is being renovated recently that I have this opportunity to entertain you."

"You should just settle down here comfortably. If you need anything, just let me know. Don't be a stranger."

Yang Huamei was so moved that all she could do was nod.

"Grandma, then you'll stay here, right?" Yang Ruoqing asked Tan Shi casually before leaving.

Madam Tan nodded firmly: "Yes, your grandfather and I have already discussed it. I have to stay and help your aunt take care of the children."

Seeing that Yang Huamei did not deny Tan's words, Yang Ruoqing understood the situation.

"That's fine. If the milk can't stay, I'll arrange for Aunt Rong and the others to come and help my aunt take care of the baby."

Yang Huamei quickly said, "Qing'er, no, no, Ronggu has to manage your household affairs, Linglan and Shaoyao have to take care of Tuantuan and Yuanyuan, and Maisui and Maili are still children themselves... It's perfect that your grandma stays here to help me take care of the children."

"Okay, then I'll tell my grandfather when I pass by the main room later."

And so, Yang Ruoqing left the guest room and returned to the main room, and casually told Old Yang about Tan's overnight stay at the Luo family's house.

Old Yang wasn't surprised at all. "Very good."

Then, he stood up and left the Luo family with Old Sun and the others.

Before leaving, Yang Ruoqing overheard Old Sun asking Old Yang about the renovation of the old house in the east wing. Old Yang's reply to Old Sun was: "My third, fourth, and fifth sons originally planned to do it after the Lantern Festival, but now they've changed their minds and plan to do it all at once while the fifth son is home."

"The things have been mostly emptied in the last two days, and construction can begin after the Lunar New Year."

Old Sun exclaimed in surprise, "The New Year is over? Tomorrow is the seventh day of the new year, so isn't that tomorrow and beyond?"

"Yes, they said construction would start on the eighth day of the first lunar month."

"The eighth day is an auspicious day," Old Sun said. "Where did you hire the craftsmen from?"

“They are He’er’s sons-in-law, the three Li brothers,” Old Yang said again.

Old Sun nodded again: "That's right. The three brothers are skilled in carpentry and masonry. The renovation of the new house and the old house of the fourth branch were all done by their craftsmen."

Old Yang's face was full of wrinkles as he smiled: "For this kind of thing, it's definitely more reassuring to have family members do it than to hire outside craftsmen."

The two walked away chatting and laughing, and Yang Ruoqing listened intently.

She was about to tidy up the main room herself when Rong Gu came over. "Madam, you should go and rest. I can handle things here."

Sisters Mai Sui'er and Mai Li'er followed behind Rong Gu, one holding a broom and the other a rag.

Mai Li'er even winked playfully at Yang Ruoqing.

Yang Ruoqing smiled at her as well.

The two had already agreed that, although they were practically from the same hometown, they would forget their past identities and completely integrate into life here.

So, Yang Ruoqing is the master, the elder, while Mai Li'er is a guest in her house, the junior, a child.

Therefore, one must use a child's mask to cover oneself; otherwise, appearing precocious and lacking the ability to protect oneself will make one easily treated as an outsider or evil spirit.

"What about Tuan Tuan Yuan Yuan?" Yang Ruoqing asked Rong Gu again.

Ronggu said, "Peony and Lily of the Valley each took one and have already gone back to their rooms to sleep."

"The young lady and her husband are playing chess in the study."

"The general and Uncle Zuo were drinking tea and talking in another study."

The general and Uncle Zuo mentioned by Rong Gu naturally refer to Luo Fengtang and Zuo Junmo.

"Okay, then I'll leave this place to you. Thank you for your hard work."

"Madam, why are you being so polite with us? This is just our duty."

……

That night, Yang Huamei and Tan lay on the warm bed, each on one side, covered with soft bedding. The bedding not only had the refreshing scent of being baked in the sun, but also a faint fragrance left by incense.

"Mom, this fragrance is so refreshing, not irritating at all, and it makes me feel very at ease!"

Yang Huamei lay on the bed, savoring the faint fragrance. In the past, the children would be noisy at night, but tonight, perhaps due to the fragrance, the three children ate and drank their fill and relieved themselves before falling into a deep and peaceful sleep in their cradles.

Madam Tan also caught a whiff of the faint fragrance and said, "This fragrance was probably made by Qing'er herself. You know, that brat is quite clever and capable."

Yang Huamei chuckled softly, "Mother, Mother, you can just praise Qing'er properly, why do you have to add 'that brat'? When are you going to change your sharp tongue but soft heart? It's so easy for people to misunderstand!"

If someone else had said this, Tan would most likely have jumped up and retaliated, but when it was Yang Huamei who said it, the effect was completely different.

Tan just chuckled helplessly, holding Yang Huamei's feet tightly in her arms, using her own body heat to warm them.

At the same time, he calmly responded to Yang Huamei's questions.

"Those who understand me don't need me to change; those who don't understand me, changing me is pointless."

"Besides, I only care about a few people. As long as you understand me, that's enough. I don't care what others think of me."

"If anyone dislikes me and badmouths me behind my back, I won't listen. But if they dare to badmouth me to my face, I'll tear their mouths apart!"

Yang Huamei laughed, "After all this talk, it all boils down to one thing: you're not going to change!"

Tan's voice in the quilt was a little smug, and a little willful and capricious: "I won't change it, and I can't change it. I'm already over eighty years old. I've lived my whole life to the end. There's no need to change it."

Yang Huamei thought about it carefully and realized that it made sense. A person's personality was probably already formed when they were teenagers.

The changes that followed were due to life smoothing out one's rough edges, but even so, the true self remains deep within, unchanging, and will always emerge at crucial moments. If a person can be themselves their whole life, without needing to change or pretend for anyone else, without needing to change themselves to accommodate others, isn't that a kind of happiness?

Yang Huamei believes she doesn't have the fortune or the confidence to do so, and she has already changed a lot.

So, if Mother is unwilling to change, then let's not change. As Mother always said, those who know me will understand. Those who don't, no matter how much you change, will never understand. Sometimes, people's prejudices are like a sleeping mountain in their hearts, impossible to move or get rid of.

"By the way, Mei'er, there's something I need to remind you of. You should also say hello to Xu Yuanming later." Tan's voice suddenly rang out again.

"Mother, I guess you're trying to remind us not to reveal all our business secrets to Yongjin?" Yang Huamei asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"You really can't hide anything from me," said Madam Tan.

“Those are your secrets to making money, but Yongjin and his gang have stolen them. I’m worried they’ll steal your business,” Mrs. Tan said again.

Yang Huamei said, "Mother, don't worry, we can't steal it. Yongjin was just asking around for Xiuhong and Sixi. They never thought about making roast duck."

Mrs. Tan frowned. "You're such a simple-minded child. Even if you don't plan to make roast duck, there's no guarantee that your roast duck shop will make money for a lifetime."

“Life is so long. Who knows when the people of Qingshui Town will get tired of roast duck, or when other shops will appear that can replace roast duck, such as roast chicken or braised goose? At that time, won’t you and Xu Yuanming have to think of other businesses? But you’ve already taught Xiu Hong and Sixi your business ideas. What are you going to do?”

When Yang Huamei first heard Tan Shi admonish them not to pass on their experience, she secretly laughed to herself, thinking that her mother was really too protective of her children.

But after hearing the end, Yang Huamei did feel that what her mother said wasn't entirely unreasonable.

There's a saying: "Teaching your apprentice will starve your master."

"Yes, Mom, you're right. I'll talk to Lao Xu about this later."

"Yes, we have to talk to him. We'll talk to him first thing tomorrow morning, so he won't have to go to the second room for lunch. We can then get Yongjin to drink a few cups of wine and have Xu Yuanming reveal all his secrets!"

……

Second room.

Yang Yongjin and Cao Bamei were still awake.

Cao Bamei had just come from Xiuxiu's room. The mother and daughter chatted for a long time, and were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't want to go to sleep.

Back inside, seeing Yang Yongjin return, Cao Bamei quickly fetched water for him to wash his feet. She excitedly said to him, "Tomorrow is the seventh day of the first lunar month. It's rare that Xiuxiu and Wang Wei are both home. Let's invite Er Yatou and Sixi, and the whole family can go to the Taoist temple to burn incense. Consider it a trip. What do you think?"

Before Yang Yongjin could respond, Cao Bamei continued, "Oh, by the way, let's not cook at home tomorrow noon. Let's donate more incense money to the Taoist temple and have a meal there as a family."

Yang Yongjin refused outright.

"I was just about to tell you that we can't go tomorrow. Call Er Ya and the others back tomorrow. We have guests at noon. You and your family should use all your skills to prepare a good feast!"

"What?" Cao Bamei was very unhappy when she heard this.

As housewives, many people might not believe it if they said it out loud, and would say they were being pretentious.

However, if you are part of the same group, you will understand Cao Bamei's feelings very well.

“During the first few days of the Lunar New Year, I was cooking from morning till night. Relatives and friends came one after another, and we invited all the branches of the Yang family, especially your brothers, to come over for dinner. We also invited the in-laws from both sides. I’ve been in the kitchen almost every day for the past few days, and I’m covered in the smell of cooking oil. I’m so smelly that I can’t even eat anything!”

"I finally finished entertaining the guests and was thinking of going out to have some fun, but why did you have to do this to me again?"

"Hey, what's wrong with you, woman? You don't even wait for me to finish speaking before you start scolding and making excuses?"

Seeing Yang Yongjin's face fall, Cao Bamei, though still unwilling, dared not vent her anger as before.

"Then tell me, what kind of amazing guests did you invite that made us change our plans?" she asked.

"I've invited Aunt Mei'er and Uncle Xu Yuanming," Yang Yongjin said. "They'll be coming to our house for lunch tomorrow. I've already told them!"

Cao Bamei thought they were hosting a banquet for someone else, but she never expected it to be Yang Huamei and her group!
Cao Bamei had argued with Yang Huamei, although that was several years ago, before Yang Huamei remarried and when she was still living at Old Wang's house...

"What are you doing? Are you complaining that you can't finish the food at home? Or are you just jealous that we're all idle all day?" Cao Bamei ignored Yang Yongjin's expression and got up to sit on a stool in a huff, puffing out her cheeks and giving Yang Yongjin a hard time.

However, fearing that the noise in the house would disturb their eldest daughter and son-in-law who lived next door, Cao Bamei and Yang Yongjin kept their voices very low.

Yang Yongjin rubbed his feet slowly, glanced at Cao Bamei's sullen profile, but was not annoyed.

She even chuckled and said, "So you women are all talk and no action. Don't you realize that I never invited my aunt and the others to dinner in previous years?"

"Why invite him this year? Do you think I, Yang Yongjin, do things without a purpose?"

Guided by Yang Yongjin's words, Cao Bamei slowly turned her face, her expression full of suspicion.

"Could it be... that you want to learn business strategies from them?" she asked.

Yang Yongjin nodded.

"I chatted with the Luo family for a while tonight, and I feel that Uncle Xu Yuanming has a lot of ideas about this area."

"He suggested several low-cost businesses to me, with no high technical barriers. As long as Er Ya and the others are hardworking and patient enough to learn, they're guaranteed to be able to make the business thrive!"

This time, Cao Bamei not only turned her face, but her whole body turned as well, facing Yang Yongjin with a burning gaze.

"Okay, I'll go tell Xiuxiu right away and tell her to go to the Taoist temple to change the date!"

Cao Bamei immediately got up and walked out, but Yang Yongjin called her back.

"Let's talk about it tomorrow. Maybe our daughter will be asleep by then."

Cao Bamei continued walking out, but turned to reply to Yang Yongjin's words: "Even if she's asleep, we should wake her up and talk to her. What's the most important thing for our family right now? It has to be Er Ya and her husband's business!"

Yang Yongjin thought it made sense, smiled and nodded, letting Cao Bamei go about her business.

He was mentally calculating what vegetables he still had at home and whether he should go to the market in town to buy vegetables early tomorrow morning. The market in town should be open by now, right?
Tomorrow we're having a dinner party, and we can't just invite my aunt and uncles. My grandparents, my third, fourth, and fifth uncles, as well as Uncle Luo and his family, and Old Sun and his family, will all be invited.

Even Sixi's father should invite them over. The relationship between the two families is there, and it involves Xiuhong and Sixi's business. Even if Sixi's father and his family don't invest any money, they might have to contribute some effort sometimes. So, inviting them over for a meal is a way to at least get some information.

I believe Sixi's father was willing to do this; it's all for the good of the children.