Chapter 342: Are You Joining?
Editor: Atlas Studios
“Don’t worry. As long as he doesn’t cheat, take bribes, or do bad things, Ah Ling is very tolerant of the children. My Xiuhong didn’t even know how to read at first. Now, Ah Ling even dares to let her manage the account book.”
Eldest Great-aunt Liu heaved a huge sigh of relief. Second Great-aunt Liu hesitated for a moment and asked, “Then in the future, the few younger ones…”
Great-aunt knew that Mu Shi came this time to get closer to the Liu clan hoping that they would be more eager to help out with the Mu family’s matters when he wasn’t home. Thus, she immediately agreed. “Don’t you know Ah Ling? As long as the children are obedient, she won’t hesitate to help if she can.”
Great-aunt looked at the two surprised sisters-in-law and said, “But although Ah Ling is usually good-tempered, she’s very bad-tempered when someone crosses her bottom line.”
“Don’t worry, Eldest Sister. If the children are disobedient, I’ll bring them back first without Ah Ling having to ask. I won’t let them embarrass themselves in front of Ah Ling,” Eldest Great-aunt Liu promised.
Second Great-aunt Liu quickly agreed, too.
After the Mu family had a lively lunch in the Liu Residence and they finished up work in the kitchen, the three families gathered in the central room to talk.
Shu Wanniang took out the four bolts of cloth that they had brought. “These are to make some new clothes for the children.” Each family was given two bolts of cloth. She didn’t need to split the rest of the things because they were all double portions. Only this cloth was more expensive. She was afraid that if she didn’t explain clearly, the two families would get into conflict over how to split it.
Oblivious to what Shu Wanniang was thinking, Eldest Great-aunt Liu and Second Great-aunt Liu were just thrilled to receive such an expensive gift.
They didn’t have anything to return the favor, so they could only carry two bags of vegetables out of the cellar and put them in the cart. Liu Daqian and Liu Erqian also prepared baskets and dustpans that they had weaved themselves for them.
There was a good reason for the gift. “You have to use these things at home and you don’t even know how to weave them yourselves. Since Rocky isn’t at home most of the time, you’d have to buy them outside. You should bring all these back with you.”
Great-aunt thought about it and agreed.
Thus, even though Mu Yangling and the others came with one cart-full of things and left with a cart-full of things, the people of West Village were still very envious of the Liu clan.
“That cart of expensive goods turned into a cart-full of junk when they left. When can I have such a relative?”
“Go ahead and be jealous, the Liu clan is not bad either. Whenever anything happens to the Mu family, doesn’t the Liu clan go over to help?”
“The Mu family brings wild animals over every few days, lends them money when they’re in need, and even gifts them meat, sugar, and cloth during the Lunar New Year. If I had relatives like them, I’d also be willing to go to their house all the time. Not to mention anything, I’d go over to help even if there was nothing going on.”
“Keep bragging. If you have such a relative, I bet you’d cling onto them like a leech. Pretty sure they’ll be scared to death.”
Liu Daqian naturally heard those discussions. He closed the door and ignored them. Liu Erqian pursed his lips and said, “There aren’t many gossipy women in this village, but there sure are plenty of gossipy men.”
Among the few voices just now, the male voices were the loudest.
Liu Daqian glared at him. “Alright, if you didn’t go out and brag often, would the discussion outside be so loud?”
Liu Erqian was unconvinced. “What secrets can there be in this village? Would they not know if I didn’t tell them? Ah Ling came over with all that stuff, and they were all watching when her family arrived. Moreover, what’s wrong with my nephew and grandniece being filial to me? They’re just jealous.”
“Our Liu clan has many people, and Rocky is also Brother He’s nephew.”
“How is that the same?” Liu Erqian muttered, “They’re just distant relatives…”
Seeing that Big Brother was glaring at him again, Liu Erqian stopped talking. He leaned over with a smile and asked, “Big Brother, since Ah Ting and Ah Yuan will go over to work with Ah Ling next year, do you think we can borrow two oxen from Ah Ling to plow our fields?”
This was a big deal. Everyone in the family pricked up their ears.
“No.” Liu Daqian rejected him immediately and said straightforwardly, “The two of them are only going to tend to those few acres of experimental fields. It’s not like they’re in charge of Ah Ling’s family’s land. They’ll just be taking a few days and go over every two to three days to take a look. We’ll plant our fields the same way we planted them this year.”
“But then again, this year and last year, Ah Ling even came to pull a plow for our family. Considering she’s so busy now, do you still expect her to come next year? If she doesn’t come, can we finish farming our fields? If we can borrow an ox, why not do it?”
“You can’t ask her of this.” Liu Daqian glared at him: “You’re really brainless. You’re already so old, can’t you be more thorough in your consideration? There are so many people in our Liu clan, and many of whom Ah Ling addresses as ‘Great-uncle’ and ‘Uncle’. It’s not like her family only has one or two oxen, in which case it’s reasonable for her to only help our two families. However, she has more than 3,000 oxen. When the time comes, if everyone in the Liu clan swarmed over like a swarm of bees, should she lend the oxen to them or not?”
When Liu Daqian said that, everyone fell silent.
“If you borrow the oxen for the spring plowing, are you also going to borrow it for the autumn harvesting? Then wouldn’t Ah Ling be raising her oxen for nothing?” Liu Daqian looked at his brother resentfully and said, “You’re not allowed to mention this to Ah Ling. Even if she brings the oxen to you, you have to return them to her.”
Liu Ting knew that his father had always been straightforward. Hearing this, he hurriedly said, “Father, even if our family doesn’t borrow it, others might go to her to borrow it. When that time comes, Ah Ling will also be in a difficult position. Why don’t we do this? Didn’t Ah Ling say that she was raising the oxen to rent them out? Then we’ll also rent them according to the rules. If there’s no grains at home, we’ll work for her to make up for it.”
Liu Lang mocked his father unceremoniously. “Father, even when our family doesn’t borrow oxen from our cousin, we have to help her family farm their land. Aren’t you borrowing them for nothing?”
When Liu Yuan saw how his nephew was undermining his father, he could not help but burst out laughing. Seeing Liu Ting glare at him, he hurriedly said with a smile, “Why don’t we split it evenly? We’ll rent two oxen. We’ll pay the rent for one of them using grains, and the other will be calculated according to labor. With our family taking the lead, it won’t be easy for the others to take advantage of Ah Ling.”
After saying that, he said with a smile, “Uncle, if you’re afraid that this will ruin Ah Ling’s reputation, let my father loudly declare in the village that it was his idea. He can say that he’s embarrassed to take advantage of his grandniece.”
Second Great-aunt Liu clapped her hands and said, “That’s a good idea. If such nonsense comes from his father, no one will suspect him. Even the patriarch won’t be able to do anything.”
So angry that his neck turned red, Liu Erqian straightened his neck and asked, “Am I nonsensical? Why should I be the one to give such a speech? Liu Yuan, what kind of a rotten idea is that?”
Madam Liu-Zhao and the other two daughters-in-law pursed their lips and smiled. Liu Lang and the others did not dare to smile in front of them and could only wink and hold back their smiles.
“Alright, alright.” Liu Daqian stopped him. “Ah Yuan didn’t say that you’re nonsensical. I think this idea works. Let’s do this later.”
Liu Erqian looked at his Big Brother sadly. However, he had always been afraid of his Big Brother, so he could only glare at his son and wife. When he left, he even followed behind Second Great-aunt Liu and asked, “Tell me clearly, how am I nonsensical? When in the past few decades have I ever behaved in a nonsensical manner?”
After questioning his wife, he went to question his son. “Liu Yuan, tell me, how am I nonsensical? You brat, if I’m a nonsensical person, would I be able to give birth to a brat like you?”
Second Great-aunt Liu glared at him and said, “Just based on what you said, you’re a nonsensical person.”
Liu Yuan wished he could bury his head in the ground and turn back time. If he’d known better, he never would’ve said those words.