Chapter 213 How Much Money Does Mother Want?

Finally, they couldn't persuade Song Zhizhu otherwise, and the group quickly spread the sesame seeds out in circles on the field.

In Song Zhizhu's words, the sun is only shining for a short while. If they delay any longer, the sesame seeds won't dry properly or be milled, and they'll have to use a threshing machine, which is time-consuming and laborious.

After entering the room, Song Zhizhu looked around.

As he walked up the steps to the north room, his voice was neither too loud nor too soft, "Where is the Taoist priest? I heard from the fourth brother that he wanted you to watch the play here."

In an instant, everyone pricked up their ears.

The fourth brother and the third brother stood at the back, brushing the dust off their clothes.

They didn't see the Taoist priest this morning either.

"The Taoist priest said he made an appointment with the old man behind the mountain to find a good spot for him to be buried after he dies. He probably won't be back until noon." Song Chunxue pretended not to notice the silence earlier and went to the kitchen to bring out steamed buns and some snacks that she hadn't eaten much of.

She thought to herself, if one day she really did have an affair with the Taoist priest, she wondered what their expressions would be.

However, she got angry thinking about how her senior brother had scolded her so much last night that she couldn't sleep well.

She was determined to let everyone see for themselves that her senior brother was indeed her senior brother, and that there was no ulterior motive or unusual intention between them.

Anyone who harbors even the slightest wicked intention will be struck by lightning!

Fourth Sister noticed her unusual expression and immediately said, "Damn it, you look so pale. Did the Taoist priest scold you?"

Song Chunxue paused for a moment, "How did you know the Taoist priest was swearing?"

Song Chunlian laughed, "It seems the Taoist priest taught you how to draw talismans. He taught Alai to draw talismans last night and scolded him for half an hour. Alai is a good-tempered person, and he even pulled the Taoist priest out of bed early the next morning to continue teaching him. The Taoist priest even came to apologize to me."

Song Chunxue calmed down a lot. "He praised Alai for his extraordinary talent. Even he got scolded, which shows that the Taoist priest has a bad temper. Let him scold me. You have to be mindful of others' feelings when learning something."

Everyone laughed at her, saying she was already so old and shouldn't bother with all this, why did she have to learn these things from a Taoist priest?

She's a woman; it wouldn't be of any use for her to learn.

Song Chunxue disagreed, saying, "I feel more at ease learning from you. You guys have your tea first, I'll go cook."

The three older sisters stood up.

"Let's do it together. Let your third sister knead the noodles, your fourth sister tend the fire, and your fifth brother stir-fry the meat sauce," the second sister said with a smile.

"Then what will Second Sister do?" Fourth Sister asked irritably. "Will you supervise the work from the side?"

"Haha, that's right, I can wash the dishes too."

"Fine, if Big Sister isn't around, then you're the boss." The fourth brother was never one to mince words.

Her second sister knew her temper and didn't argue with her.

The four sisters squeezed into the kitchen, making it suddenly very crowded.

Before long, laughter and cheerful voices came from the kitchen.

Sanwa and Lao Si were in the north room drinking tea with their second uncle.

Song Zhizhu was furious when he learned that someone had climbed over the wall a couple of days ago.

“It’s one thing for Sanwa to go and help, but Fourth Brother, you knew someone was coming, why didn’t you stay with your mother?” He frowned at Fourth Brother. “If the Taoist priest hadn’t come, and something had happened to your mother, wouldn’t you feel guilty for the rest of your life?”

The fourth brother lowered his head and said, "Second Uncle is right. I shouldn't have left my mother alone at home because I was playing. The Taoist priest also scolded me. Second Uncle, I know I was wrong."

Sanwa pursed his lips. "I was wrong too, Second Uncle, scold me too."

Song Zhizhu sighed, "I'm not trying to scold you, but to remind you that you two will be the pillars of the family from now on, so you need to know how to protect your mother."

"Your mother gave birth to four sons. If in the end she has no one to help her, do you think she feels guilty about her life? What did she work so hard for?"

He was seething with anger and had nowhere to vent it. "You guys figure it out yourselves. I'm going to go outside and take a look."

If he didn't go out for some fresh air, he worried he wouldn't be able to resist giving the two boys a good beating.

He came to the outside of the sheepfold and saw the lambs grazing inside.

Sanwa is really soft-hearted; he sold them all long ago, so he doesn't have to add grass and mix feed every day.

But this little lamb is just so adorable.

Since Sanwa is reluctant to sell them and turn them into meat for city dwellers, and he just happens to need to buy a few more sheep to raise, selling them to him is fine too.

He then went to Lao Wu's vegetable garden and saw that the chives had already sprouted.

Today is the rainy season, and the wild grass on the ground is already green, hiding under the dry grass, very tenacious.

He looked up and saw his boss walking up the path.

"Second Uncle, I see that all the aunts have arrived." The eldest brother was carrying a plate of buckwheat buns. "I've come to see you all too. It's been many years since I've seen the aunts."

Song Zhizhu patted him on the shoulder, "Good boy, it's good that you came to see us. After all, you came from your mother's womb. If you are sincere in treating her well, she will soften her heart."

“Now that you’re a father yourself, you’ll surely understand your mother’s good intentions.”

The eldest brother lowered his head, listened to Song Zhizhu's teachings, and walked into the courtyard together.

The noodles with minced meat sauce were ready, and the third and fourth sisters brought them to the north room.

Song Chunxue came out of the kitchen carrying pickled vegetables and the last plate of Chinese mustard greens, and met her eldest son's cautious gaze.

He hesitated for a moment, then handed the things in his hand to Song Chunxue.

"I came to see my uncle and aunt. Chen Feng's meal is almost ready, so I'm going back now."

Song Chunxue didn't reply and remained standing still.

The second sister came out of the kitchen, smiling as she took the plate from the eldest brother. She put the buckwheat buns in the kitchen, then placed two small flatbreads on the plate and returned them to the eldest brother.

"Since you're already here, why don't you join us for dinner? We haven't seen you in ages." She nudged Song Chunxue, "Take the chopsticks over there. What are they going to eat with?"

Song Chunxue arrived at the north room, and Song Zhizhu pulled the eldest brother inside to eat.

With so many people around, everyone was chatting and laughing, and the awkwardness and distance between Song Chunxue and the eldest brother faded a bit.

Sanwa and Lao Si ate in silence, still remembering clearly what Chen Fenglai had done on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Song Zhizhu could tell that his boss had something else to say.

Thinking that the fifth brother is moving to the county, he probably hasn't told the eldest brother yet, and they probably haven't discussed whether to take the family belongings and the donkey with him.

"Fifth brother, I heard from fourth brother that you're moving to the county. Have you packed your things at home?" Song Zhizhu asked directly. "What are you going to do with the two donkeys? And what about the farm's belongings? Who's going to look after the farm?"

“You said before that the Cheng family took things from the house without saying goodbye. If you leave, they will climb over the wall and move everything out of the house.”

He looked at the eldest brother and said, "After all, the eldest brother is family. Since he doesn't want to divorce Chen Feng for the sake of the child, it would cost money to marry another woman, and the child would suffer."

Song Chunxue looked at the eldest son and said, "If you really want a divorce, I'll pay for the dowry. I could live in the county town. Can't you afford to get a wife?"

She sneered, "Someone like Chen Feng, even though she's the child's biological mother, but..."

Thinking about someone like the eldest, who knows if fate will arrange for someone even worse?

"Forget it, the eldest son is already married. Since he can't bear to part with him, I, as his mother, can't break them up."

She looked at the eldest brother without any emotion, "Besides the land in Shuichuan, you can choose to plant two acres of the rest. You'll also have to take care of this yard. If you want to use the water in this cistern, remember to check the irrigation ditch every few months."

"As for the donkeys, I'll take the smaller one with me, and the older one is pregnant, so you can take it and look after it."

"Then, how much money does Mother want?"