I'm already a concubine, who wants to fight with you?

Chapter 5: Poverty and Cold
Xie Fei asked casually, "Mother Liu, are your whole family in this village?"

Mother Liu's expression changed slightly, not sure what Xie Fei meant.

Xie Fei added, "You don't have to think too much. I'm just asking casually."

Mother Liu bowed and said, "You must be exhausted from the journey. Please take a rest first. I will prepare dinner for you and bring you some hot water to welcome you."

Then she asked the woman to leave with her.

After no one else was in the courtyard, Fu Yu said, "Miss, this Madam Liu is mentally reliable, and she is very careful in what she says and does. She is a real character. Tell me, did she receive a secret order from Xiao Shirong and secretly..."

Fu Yu made a gesture of wiping his neck.

Xie Fei hit her on the head angrily.

"I am not a lowly concubine who can be sent to any place at will. No matter how arrogant Xiao Shirong is, she will not take my life."

Fu Yu stuck out his tongue, picked up the package and went into the house first.

Xie Fei's expression slowly changed from relaxed to solemn.

Although Xie Fei didn't spend much time with Xiao Shirong, he could tell that the woman was cruel and ruthless, and acted insanely.

Did they send her to this farm with the intention of poisoning her, burning her to death, or having someone pretend to be a robber and hack her to death?
She should have let Yuan San come earlier. She would feel much more at ease with him around.

Later, the servants brought candles.

The small manor was not as bright as Pei's mansion. Once night fell, it was pitch black everywhere and not even a light could be seen.

Xie Fei asked about it, and the servants said that it was not appropriate to use candles on the farm.

They usually used torches for lighting, but because Xie Fei came, Mother Liu ordered people to go to the town to buy some candles urgently.

Fu Yu said, "Mother Liu is a good person. She knows how to treat our girl well."

Xie Fei yawned, "Let's go to sleep first, and talk about it tomorrow."

"Yes, I will run you a bath."

In the ear room, Shui Huaiyu, with her bulging stomach, swallowed the multi-grain porridge with difficulty.

She didn't want to eat much, but she was hungry. She used her chopsticks to stir in the bowl twice and said, "Mother-in-law, I think Miss Xie is a good person, very kind and gentle."

Mother Liu scooped a piece of oil residue into her bowl and said with a serious face, "Everyone is good. Miss Xie is also a lady from a wealthy family. Can't she do the superficial work? We still have to wait and see what kind of person she is."

Shui Huaiyu nodded silently and ate the oil residue slowly.

After a whole night, Xie Fei had a headache.

She really underestimated the poverty of this village.

There were two quilts on the bed, and it was obvious that Mother Liu had tried her best to bring newer bedding.

But it was still cold and hard, and felt like frozen iron by the time I woke up in the middle of the night.

The bed was old and thin, and it creaked every time he turned over, which prevented Xie Fei from sleeping the whole night.

Fu Yu slept worse than a pig, but was full of energy after waking up early.

"Girl, did I squeeze you last night? I'll clean up the room next door today and sleep over there tonight."

She folded the quilt quickly and looked at Xie Fei eagerly.

Xie Fei's dark circles grew thicker. He propped up his head and said in distress, "When Yuan Datou comes, ask him to change the bed first."

As soon as she finished speaking, there were three regular and rhythmic knocks outside the window.

Fu Yu smiled mischievously, "It's here as soon as I said it."

Walking to the window, Fu Yu said, "Third Brother Yuan, the girl hasn't woken up yet, you can answer her from outside."

Yuan San's low and hoarse voice came, "I picked some fruits in the back mountain, still with dew on them, and let the girl have a taste." Xie Fei felt dizzy, thirsty and hungry, and there was not even hot water in the house.

"Fuyu, wash it and bring it over. I want to eat one to cushion my hunger."

Fu Yu responded, washed the fruit first and gave it to Xie Fei.

Xie Fei took a bite, and the outrageously sour taste rushed up to the top of his head, then spread to his limbs and bones, and he immediately became sober.

She threw the fruit directly at the window and said angrily, "Yuan Datou, you are deliberately making me jealous!"

Yuan San dodged the fruit attack outside the window and said innocently, "I didn't say it was crispy or sweet."

Xie Fei was speechless.

After washing up, Mother Liu sent someone to deliver breakfast.

White porridge, pickles, two steamed buns, and an egg were not as good as the meal at Pei's house.

Fu Yu burst into tears and wailed, "Why is our girl so miserable? No one loves her in the Xie family, and she is even more pitiful after getting married!"

Xie Fei said while drinking porridge: "Why are you pitiful? This mountain is vast and boundless. I will go hunting in the wild later. There will be plenty of meat to eat."

Fu Yu was not as optimistic as her, but he still quickly drank the porridge and went to prepare some tools for hunting.

After breakfast, Xie Fei stretched and looked at the clear blue sky.

There is still a lot to do.

Yuan San didn't stop when he arrived. He first cleared the dead leaves and weeds on the roof tiles, covered the leaking places, and also got some yellow mud and clay to fill the cracks in the wall.

Xie Fei did not act like a hands-off boss. He removed the cobwebs in the room, wiped the dust off the table and window frames, and took out the quilts that needed to be dried and spread them on the clothesline.

She has been used to doing this since she was a child and doesn't feel tired at all.

When Fu Yu came back, the yard was much tidier.

"Oh, girls, you guys are really quick. You've almost finished cleaning up."

Xie Fei said with satisfaction: "In fact, as long as we put up a sign, it will be no different from Songyueju."

Fu Yu still felt a little aggrieved, "But Miss, Pei's Mansion is a big house after all. Look at this farm, it's full of muddy roads and weeds, it's small and shabby."

Xie Fei opened the window, opened his arms to feel the breeze, and said, "How can it be small? If you walk around the mountains and plains, isn't it a thousand times more spacious than Pei Mansion?"

She then instructed, "Go ask Mama Liu for some paint, and have Yuan Datou repaint the faded tables and chairs."

Fu Yu said, "I asked before I came back, and Mother Liu said there is nothing like this in the village." He didn't have any extra money to buy it.

Xie Fei sighed, "Then I can only make the paint myself."

Fu Yu asked, "Or should we use tung oil, lacquer and cinnabar?"

"Yes, there should be tung oil in the shop. Since cooked lacquer can only be bought in town, we can dye it ourselves with cinnabar, which is cheaper." Xie Fei saves money wherever he can and is always thrifty.

In the morning, Xie Fei was going to take Fu Yu out.

Mother Liu tried to stop her, and said tactfully that as a married concubine, Xie Fei was sent there by fate, and it would be inappropriate for her to go out casually.

Xie Fei smiled and said that he just didn't eat well in the morning and wanted to go to the mountains to get some game.

Mother Liu still refused to give in and ordered her son to go hunting in the mountains, refusing to let Xie Fei go out at will.

Xie Fei did not force his way in.

After returning to the yard, she told Yuan Sanyi, who jumped onto the wall, set up a bamboo ladder, and took her and Fu Yu out.

(End of this chapter)