Transmigration: A Farm Girl's Brocade-Chapter 53 - Selfishness_1
Chapter 53: Chapter 53 Selfishness_1
Chapter 53: Chapter 53 Selfishness_1
The next day, except for Qian Sangui and Cheng Yue, who were unwell and needed to sleep a little longer, everyone from the Qian’s third wife’s household got up early.
Qian Yijin got up and ran outside to practice martial arts—jogging, horse stance, boxing, and kicking; these were what Qian Sangui usually taught him.
Qian Yixiu also came out of the house with panda eyes and yawning.
Qian Manxia entered the kitchen to cook, while Lady Wu went to Pine Pool to fetch water.
Qian Yixiu did not follow her elder brother to practice martial arts as usual but headed to the village instead.
“I’m going to Second Grandpa’s house for a bit,” Qian Yixiu shouted loudly.
By the time Qian Manxia wanted to ask for details, she had already run out the front door. Hearing this, Qian Yijin, worried about his sister, also ran out after her.
The sun had just risen from the east, the wilderness was damp, the wildflowers were adorned with crystal dewdrops, and the sweetness in the air mixed with the moisture was invigorating. Everything was so beautiful, yet the siblings’ hearts were uneasy.
Upon entering the village, it was still very quiet, with only the roosters crowing and almost no other noise; nearly every house had its doors tightly shut. Their running footsteps sounded particularly clear, causing dogs within the courtyards to bark wildly.
Pounding on the gate of Qian’s Main Courtyard, it was Lady Wang who came to open the door; aside from Lady Wang and Lady Xu, the others were just beginning to get up.
Surprised to see the siblings so early, Lady Wang asked, “Is there an emergency at home?”
Qian Yijin appeared calm, while Qian Yixiu was drenched in sweat. Panting, she said, “No emergency, I… I just came to tell Auntie Wang. This year, the flower shop and the flower farmers haven’t… haven’t grown Xia Grass, so they might buy in large quantities. You should pick some Xia Grass and inquire at the flower shop. Be quick, so no one beats you to it. If… if the flower shop buys it, it’s much better than selling it on your own. The price is sure to be lower, but the income will be stable.”
Lady Wang laughed, “Oh, Yixiu is such a clever girl. I appreciate your thoughtfulness; come in and sit for a while.”
“Thank you, Auntie Wang, but I can’t. My family is waiting for me to eat,” said Qian Yixiu, shaking her head and then pulling her elder brother back towards home.
Lady Wang went into the kitchen and said to Lady Xu, “Ever since she rolled down that hill and recovered, Yixiu has become so clever. She’s really sincere, coming to tell us this early about selling Xia Grass. Not like Jinwa, who’s all sweet talk but never does anything worthwhile. I can tell, Yixiu is like your Third Uncle; Jinwa takes after Lady Wu, only good at charming with words.” After a moment she added, “Hope they’re not telling us this because they have a better way to make money.”
Qian Dagui happened to come out to wash his face and heard Lady Wang’s words. He said, “You always overthink things. Last night, Sangui said they were short on hands and needed to prioritize the fields. You heard it yourself…”
They then ran to Qian Ergui’s house. Yixiu really didn’t want to come here because of Lady Tang, but out of respect for Qian Ergui and Qian Manhe, she made the trip.
The courtyard of Qian Ergui’s house had only been built last year, with water hyacinth growing on the walls and many vines climbing over. The mud-brick house had a tiled roof. Although it couldn’t compare to Qian’s Main Courtyard, it was still considered middle-class in the village and was a hundred times better than the third wife’s house.
Lady Wong, the wife of Manhe, came to open the door. So early in the morning, lazy Lady Tang was surely still in bed. Qian Yixiu repeated what she had said to Lady Wang.
Lady Wong smiled and said, “Thank you, Yixiu, thank you, Jinwa, I’ll tell father-in-law right away.”
After Lady Wong closed the door, Lady Tang’s voice came from the main house’s window, “Who came knocking so early in the morning?”
“It was Yixiu and Jinwa,” Lady Wong relayed Yixiu’s words.
Lady Tang muttered, “What does such a little girl know? It’s probably Lady Wu sending her to meddle with us. The flower shop owner isn’t our kin or relative who would keep buying our Xia Grass. It’s nonsense!”
Qian Ergui said, “Others are all rushing to get ahead! Only you, woman, don’t know how to take good advice.” He raised his voice and said, “Manhe’s wife, go find Auntie Die after you’ve eaten and quickly head to the county town.”
“Who will work the fields if she goes to town?” Lady Tang clamored, “If she’s in the fields, I’ll go to town.”
Qian Ergui scoffed, “With that mouth of yours, even deals that could be made will be ruined by you. Just honestly go work the fields.”
Leaving Qian’s Second Wife’s place, Qian Yijin, perplexed, asked his sister, “Grandpa and Second Grandpa are so selfish, yet they let Grandma and Grandpa marry our mother off. Especially Second Grandma, she’s even worse. Why should we still tell them how to make money?”
Looking at the young boy, his eyes still red and swollen, it was clear how heartbroken he had been the day before.
Qian Yixiu said helplessly, “Grandpa and Second Grandpa choose to protect themselves rather than be burdened by our mother, which is different from Lady Tang’s desire to sell our mother to the Xu family for her own selfish wants. They are just selfish, not malicious. Selfishness is a human frailty. Everyone is selfish; it’s just that some are more so than others. People as kind-hearted as our grandparents are rare in this world. I told them the ways to make money because I want them to feel too guilty to abandon our family and, hopefully, they will remember this favor when we need their help… Currently, we don’t have a more powerful patron to rely on and we still need them. We are too weak, and when you live under a low roof, you have no choice but to bow your head…” Her voice got lower and lower.
Although Qian Yijin was only six years old, he was extremely smart. He understood his sister’s words and dejectedly lowered his head. After a moment’s thought, he looked up and said, “When we make something of ourselves and become strong, we won’t let them look down on Mother and they will be the ones asking us for help.” After speaking, he pursed his lips tightly, his face full of determination.
“Mm,” Qian Yixiu nodded heavily.
The little brother, holding his younger sister’s hand, slowly walked home. In the morning light, the mottled earthen wall stood lonely on the wasteland, desolate and broken, as if another storm could wash it away.
Upon reaching the entrance and standing still, the door opened. It was Cheng Yue who had opened it. She had gotten up and, not seeing her son and daughter, grew anxious. Hearing that they had gone to the village, she had been standing there, looking out through the crack in the door.
During breakfast, Qian Yijin said to Qian Sangui, “Father, I am thinking about delaying school to first repair the courtyard and the house.”
Qian Sangui shook his head, “Father is already useless, and all I hope for is that you study hard, gain insight, succeed early, and sustain our family honor. Your schooling is our family’s top priority, more important than anything else. I’ve thought about it last night; we also need to repair our courtyard and the house sooner, let’s do it next month.”
Qian Yixiu said, “If we’re going to do it, why not do it all at once? The two tasks don’t conflict.”
Qian Sangui shook his head, “Still, it’s better to do them one at a time to avoid arousing too much jealousy.”
During the busy farming period, the people of Qian’s third wife’s household worked together, starting with the main household, followed by the second, and then the third. The third household was short of hands, so not only did Lady Wu and Qian Manxia have to work in the fields, but the young boy, Qian Yijin, did too.
Since none of these households had oxen or donkeys, they pooled their money to borrow the donkey from Xie Huzi’s family so that the three families could take turns using it to plough the fields.
The hillside fields of the various Qian households were adjacent to each other, with the main and second households each having four acres, and the third household only two.
With those three people not at home, Qian Yixiu stayed behind to watch the house and would occasionally go out to dig some tender wild greens by the nearby creek.
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The third household only had two acres of hillside field, which they finished in three days. Unlike the main and second household, who, after finishing their hillside fields, still had to work on the paddy fields by the side of the Hong River.
After the work in the fields was completed, Lady Wu went to the Xu Family Meat Shop the very next day to slice off two pounds of pork belly. With a package of sweets given by the Zhang family, she took Qian Yijin to privately meet Mr. Zhang.
Thank you little Qiqiqiqi Fei for the gift, thank you Jian and Rose, Sister Lu, Xiao P Youyou, and Hera@Qian Lin for your purses, thank you! Thanks for your support and recommendations!
Had something to do today, got up early to edit and post the article. Wishing you all a happy weekend!
