Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 12117

Three years ago, or was it four years ago?

At that time, the relationship between my older sister Xiuxiu and Li Wei was rather strained, but it hadn't come to the point of divorce. Once, my older sister had a falling out and went back to her parents' home, where my fourth grandmother came over to inquire about her.

My mother was unhappy then and argued with Fourth Grandmother...

"I'll go take a look. Those two old women are just bored out of their minds. It's just a few bites of fried rice!" Yang Yongjin threw down the shovel in his hand, too lazy to even stomp the mud off his feet, and strode towards the kitchen in the front yard.

Xiu Hong then instructed Sixi, who was still standing there in a daze, "Don't go any further. My fourth grandmother's tantrums are terrifying. You hurry up and find Xiao Sanzi, lest he take advantage of the chaos to run off and cause trouble by the river behind the village!"

"Okay!" Sixi immediately turned around and went to find his mischievous brother-in-law.

Kids are like that. They get used to seeing adults arguing at home, and then they'll sneak out to play things they wouldn't normally dare to do while the family is arguing.

We mustn't let chaos lead to even bigger chaos!
As for Xiu Hong herself, she turned around and ran towards the front yard, heading straight past the kitchen where the three voices had come from, and went straight to the third house across the road to get help.

It was midday, and Yang Huazhong, Sun Shi, Xiao Hua, He Lian'er, and the others were eating around the table, with the children nearby.

The third family was filled with joy because they had only found out Xiaohua was pregnant earlier that day.

When Xiu Hong rushed in in a panic, everyone was startled.

"What's wrong with Xiu Hong?" Sun asked hurriedly.

Xiu Hong's eyes welled up with tears, and she recounted the whole story to Yang Huazhong, Sun Shi, and the others in one breath.

Upon hearing this, Sun Shi, Xiao Hua, and several other women were all left speechless, unable to find the words "laughable" or "absurd."

They can argue like this over a bowl of fried rice... sigh!

Yang Huazhong's face darkened immediately. He stood up and said, "This Liu woman is outrageous. It's not like she's starving. Why does she have to go to other people's houses to beg for food?"

Sun also stood up: "I'll go with you to take a look."

Yang Huazhong is a man, and it wouldn't be convenient for him to go alone, since it's a dispute between women.

"Mother, do you need us to come along?" Xiao Hua and He Lian'er both asked.

Mrs. Sun shook her head: "You two don't need to come over. Stay home and eat your meals. Taking care of the children is more important than anything else."

He Lian'er nodded.

Xiao Hua turned to Xiu Hong, who hadn't left yet, and said, "Your Aunt Qing'er should have just gone to bed by now, so don't disturb her with this. Go and call your aunt later, understand?"

Xiu Hong nodded repeatedly: "That's exactly what I was thinking, I'll go right away!"

It's a pity that no one from the Fourth Branch was home during the day. Fourth Grandfather was at the Taoist temple, and Uncle Kang and Aunt Jin Chuan had gone to Washi. Otherwise, Xiu Hong would definitely have gone to them to bring Fourth Grandmother back!
……

Yang Ruoqing slept quite comfortably during her afternoon nap, mainly because the children were all taken care of by Rong Gu and the others. Luo Fengtang was handling official business in the study, and the incense in the bedroom had a faint scent of gardenias after the rain.

She took a nap and felt refreshed when she woke up. At that moment, Luo Fengtang, who had finished his official business, came in and handed her a bowl of tea that was brewed at just the right temperature.

"How did you sleep? Did you feel any more comfortable?" Luo Fengtang asked.

Yang Ruoqing took two sips of tea before speaking: "I feel refreshed and my mind is clear."

"That's good." Luo Fengtang raised his hand and gently ruffled Yang Ruoqing's hair, which looked a bit like a bird's nest from sleeping. He felt that she was very cute like this.

"Get up and wash up?" he asked again, seemingly preparing water and a handkerchief for her.

"Let's hug first!" Yang Ruoqing stretched out her arms to him.

A look of surprise appeared in Luo Fengtang's eyes. He put the teacup aside, leaned down, and gently embraced her: "Silly girl!"

...Just as I finished washing up, Linglan came over and brought afternoon tea.

Yes, you heard right, Yang Ruoqing now has the habit of having afternoon tea.

This afternoon tea is a small snack before dinner, so that you won't overeat because you're hungry when it's time for dinner.

Afternoon tea usually consists of small snacks, milk, soy milk, and the like.

The calories are all moderate, and the main focus is on filling the stomach and providing nutrition.

Today's afternoon tea consisted of a small bowl of bird's nest, along with two pieces of glutinous rice crystal osmanthus cake, all freshly made with a subtle sweetness.

"Where are the children now?" Yang Ruoqing asked Linglan, taking a small bite of osmanthus cake.

"They're watching the commotion from the second room!"

"What? What happened to the second wife?"

Linglan smiled and leaned in to briefly explain the situation to Yang Ruoqing.

Yang Ruoqing wanted to roll her eyes at that!
This fourth aunt is really scratching herself up the wall for a bite to eat!
"What happened next?" Yang Ruoqing asked casually.

Linglan said, "The old master and old lady from next door went over, and the maternal grandmother of the Sun family also went. They should have persuaded them to stay. I don't know the specifics. I'll have to ask Shaoyao and Ronggu later."

Peony and Ronggu heard the commotion at noon and took the two children to the small second room to see what was going on. They haven't returned yet...

Yang Ruoqing shook her head. "Alright, alright. They've had a good show in the middle of the day. You can go now."

After Linglan left, Luo Fengtang also came over. "At noon, I was handling official business in the study when I vaguely heard a commotion outside. It turned out they were arguing."

“Living in the village, I’m used to this kind of thing! Here, open your mouth!” As Yang Ruoqing spoke, she scooped up a spoonful of bird’s nest and placed it in front of Luo Fengtang.

This is the finest bird's nest, which Yang Ruoqing uses for her beauty and skincare.

A woman shouldn't skimp on herself; taking good care of herself and looking delicate not only pleases herself but also those around her.

Nobody likes someone around them looking disheveled and without makeup every day, right? Even the best relationship is like a savings account; you can't just let it go without letting it go in. Otherwise, even the deepest feelings can easily be worn away by time and the mundane realities of daily life.

You need to deposit some money into that emotional savings account from time to time, and for men, a woman improving herself and dressing up is actually the best way to store up her emotions.

Because men are visual creatures, the reason why Fatty was able to attract Luo Fengtang was partly due to Yang Ruoqing's interesting personality, who was able to provide warmth to Luo Fengtang when he was most vulnerable, and also because she was working out and improving herself every day during that period.

Although Fatty is chubby, her features are beautiful.

Therefore, Yang Ruoqing never believed men who said, "I only value your inner qualities, not your appearance."

Forget it! Looks aren't a requirement, but they're definitely a plus.

If you were a man, and you were standing in front of 18-year-old Sister Feng and 38-year-old Liu Tianxian, who would you choose?

It must be the latter!

Later online jokes say that beautiful people can be forgiven for their mistakes.

Ugly people, on the other hand, cannot be forgiven for their faces alone!

Tsk tsk, although it's just a joke, the point is valid even if the words are crude.

"I won't eat it, this is for you, Qing'er." Luo Fengtang avoided the spoon.

"No, you have to eat a bite with me, and I'll eat the rest myself."

"Okay, just a small bite then."

After Luo Fengtang obediently took a small bite, Yang Ruoqing picked up her bowl and began to immerse herself in a beauty treatment.

Luo Fengtang sat to the side, his eyes filled with tenderness and doting affection.

His Qing'er is kind and generous; she even shared such fine bird's nest with him, which gave him even more motivation to do his work!
……

Before dinner, Yang Ruoqing heard the same version of the argument from several people.

Basically, Yang Huazhong went over and tried to persuade Liu, but he couldn't convince her.

Seeing that Liu was still throwing a tantrum, Yang Huazhong decided not to use his status as the third brother-in-law to persuade her, but instead used his status as the head of the Yang family and the village head of Changping Village to reason with her.

Da Sun also made a show of bravado, saying she would go to the Taoist temple to find Yang Huaming and bring him back.

Cao Bamei then insisted on going to the old house to find Old Yang and Madam Tan to settle the matter...

Despite the pressure from all sides, no one sided with the Liu family. The Liu family's arrogance vanished, and they could only slink back to their old house.

Sun and her sister stayed at the second house for a while to talk to Cao Bamei and comfort her before they dispersed.

"After this farce at noon, your fourth aunt will probably have to quiet down for the next couple of days," Luo Fengtang said with a smile.

Yang Ruoqing shook her head, "No way. Knowing her as I do, she'll only be quiet for half a day. After a good night's sleep, she'll be back to full health."

Sure enough, early the next morning, Liu came bounding over from the old house and headed straight for the village entrance.

However, when Liu returned to the village entrance, she did not go to the second house. Instead, she went to the Sun family first, and then to the third house. If the entire fifth house had not been out, Liu would probably have gone to the fifth house as well, and told the story of yesterday from her perspective, embellishing it.

Of course, that's all in hindsight.

That afternoon, Yang Yongjin skinned the rabbit, and the pure meat weighed nearly 8 jin. He added the internal organs, ginger, minced garlic, and dried chili peppers, and cooked half a pot of it.

"What should we do with this rabbit meat?" Cao Bamei asked Yang Yongjin.

"What to do next" refers to how to prepare the rabbit meat. After yesterday's fried rice incident, not only the entire Yang family, but also most of the people in Changping Village know that Xiao Erfang has a big rabbit.

It wouldn't sound good if they kept this big rabbit to themselves in their second room, behind closed doors.

“It’s all Aunt Si’s fault for having such a big mouth. She made such a big fuss about a rabbit. We can’t keep eating this rabbit behind closed doors anymore,” Cao Bamei said.

"How about we send a bowl to your grandparents as a token of our respect, and a bowl to your mother too? We can call Sixi and Xiuhong over and eat the rest ourselves, what do you think?"

Yang Yongjin shook his head, "That wouldn't be good. If we give some to them, my brother-in-law and third uncle won't give any back, and I'd feel bad."

"In addition, there's the Luo family. When they were skinning rabbits in the afternoon, Qing'er's two children were watching the fun. It's a bit petty of us to eat rabbits behind closed doors like this."

Hearing Yang Yongjin say so much, Cao Bamei stamped her foot in frustration: "This won't work, that won't work, so what should we do? Tell me!"

“If we send them all, even if it’s just one rabbit, we can’t possibly send them all!” she said.

Yang Yongjin thought for a moment, "How about this, then we won't send any more people over. You can prepare a few more dishes, and I'll invite everyone over for a bite. I'll also go and invite Uncle Si."

The commotion caused by Eighth Sister and Fourth Aunt during the day, despite the customs of rural families, meant that the quarrels between women did not affect the relationship between men.

However, it's better to talk to Uncle Si about some things face to face, so that Aunt Si won't gossip to Uncle Si behind his back.

Moreover, inviting Uncle Si over for a drink at night is also a way for them to show respect as juniors.

Cao Bamei thought about it for a moment, "Okay, we happen to have two jin of pork belly at home, and my daughter and son-in-law brought back two crucian carp from Washi at noon. I'll chop two lettuce stalks, pick some chives, fry some eggs, make a mushroom, egg and tofu soup, a dish of pickled vegetables, and a dish of steamed sesame oil fermented bean curd. How about that? Is this a good enough meal?"

Yang Yongjin gave Cao Bamei a thumbs up: "These dishes are amazing! You're the mother of the child, you're so talented, you came up with so many dishes in one go!"

Cao Bamei laughed: "Alright, stop praising me. You should go and greet them at their homes. I'll go prepare the ingredients."

“Okay, by the way, have Xiao Sanzi go to Xiu Hong’s house and tell them to come over when they wake up. It’s perfect timing, and your daughter can help you with the fire. I might be gone for a while before I come back,” Yang Yongjin added.

Cao Bamei waved her hand and said, "It's alright, let them sleep a little longer. I can manage the fire myself, don't trouble your daughter."

“That’s fine too. My daughter has worked hard enough,” Yang Yongjin nodded. “It won’t take me long to go and say hello to everyone. I’ll come back as soon as I’m done and help you start the fire.”

……

That night, Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang had dinner at Yang Ruoqing's parents' house with their two children.

Tonight, at everyone's 'strong request,' Mrs. Sun made fried dough cakes for us to eat.

This fried dough is a local food in Changping Village. It's made with wheat flour, a few eggs, a little bit of scallion, and salt.

Add a suitable amount of rapeseed oil to the pan, pour in the prepared batter, and then spread it evenly in circles with a spatula until both sides are golden brown. It should be soft yet slightly crispy. Then cut it into palm-sized pieces and plate it.

"We give the first batch of fried dough to the children so they stop making a fuss, and then we can make the rest of the dough with peace of mind," Yang Ruoqing said.

No one else objected. He Lian'er and Xiao Hua stayed in the front courtyard to look after the children and keep them calm, while Yang Ruoqing accompanied Sun Shi in the kitchen in the back courtyard to continue making fried dough cakes.

“Your second brother came over specifically to say hello, insisting on treating our whole family to a meal of rabbit meat, saying that he wanted to invite all the branches of the Yang family to come.”

In the kitchen, the mother and daughter chatted idly as they made fried dough sticks, a very relaxing atmosphere.

In a relaxed environment, Sun started talking non-stop.

"There's only one rabbit in total. If everyone from each household really went, what would they get to eat? Yongjin was just being polite!" Sun continued.