Chapter 441 Boss, why don't you take a concubine?

Mulan was quick and efficient; she wrapped her hair, picked up a broom, and began to tidy up.

Song Chunxue went outside to find a shovel, and when she returned, she found that Mulan had already cleaned up the things on the kang (heated brick bed) in the north room and laid out wool felt and mattresses.

“Mother, my eldest brother’s house isn’t big. Sanwa and I can sleep in this yard too. If it’s inconvenient, I’ll sleep with you, and Sanwa can sleep with Lao Si.”

Xia Mulan was holding a basin of water. She took a dry rag from somewhere and sprinkled some water on the ground so that there wouldn't be any dust flying around when she swept later.

"Alright, if you don't want to sleep in the eldest son's house, that's fine too. Just tidy up the west room or the east room."

Although the kang (heated brick bed) was large, and it was not uncommon for men and women to squeeze onto the same kang during the Spring Festival when there were many people, she did not want to share a room with the fourth son.

Mulan and Chen Feng didn't get along in their past lives. Mulan remembered that in her previous life, if Chen Feng lost an egg, he would search all around this courtyard while cursing.

At that time, she couldn't out-argue Chen Feng either. Chen Feng was taller and bigger than her, so she had to turn a blind eye.

To be honest, there were several times when she wanted to beat Chen Feng up to vent her anger, but Chen Feng was pregnant at the most infuriating time.

She's pregnant again now.

Out of sight, out of mind; she might as well stay here.

If the eldest son were to take a concubine someday, heavens above, she certainly wouldn't be stingy; she might even give him a piece of gold.

But he just couldn't live up to expectations.

The fourth brother was weeding in the yard, and Song Chunxue tidied up the west room. She was just about to rest for a while before going to eat when the third brother arrived.

"Mom, the food is ready. Let's go eat."

The sun had just set, and the sky was ablaze with colorful clouds.

The farmers in the village should be going home to cook, but the sounds of children playing, donkeys bleating grass, and the old shepherd scolding his sheep across the way made Song Chunxue feel as if she had never left.

She fiddled with the bracelet the Taoist priest had given her, and smiled easily.

Everything so familiar made her feel that all the hardships she had endured were worthwhile.

"Mom, when are we going back?" Sanwa asked. "Big brother planted a lot of buckwheat this year, and he said there are still five mu left to harvest. Shall we go to the field together tomorrow to help harvest?"

"Great, I'll go check on the fields and see how the crops are doing, Boss Wu." Saying this, Song Chunxue asked softly, "Did Chen Feng cheat on you?"

Sanwa also lowered his voice, "No, she said she was tired and went back to her room to lie down. I guess her older brother gave her a beating; her eyes were all red."

The fourth brother gloated, "Well done! That woman doesn't know how to appreciate kindness. When we were moving things into the kitchen, she was standing at the door counting them. I guess she thought there wasn't enough."

"With such a large group of us, it's a miracle we can even fit in the carriage. Do you think we can buy her a pig's leg?" Song Chunxue said calmly. "Don't be angry. We're just here to see our boss. We'll treat Chen Feng like she's not here. We're only here for a day or two anyway."

“That makes sense, then I’ll just have to put up with it,” the fourth brother said lazily. “This afternoon, I almost couldn’t resist urging the eldest brother to divorce his wife.”

Song Chunxue remained silent. If she weren't afraid of disrupting his cultivation, she would have advised him to divorce his wife long ago.

Anyway, she wasn't the one watching Chen Feng every day. The eldest brother loved this kind of hardship, so why should she stop him?

As they spoke, they passed by the door of the Li brothers' house, and they all greeted them with smiles, "You're back."

"Yes, we came back to see our boss. Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet, I'm just about to start. Come visit me when you're free."

"Okay, I'll come when I have time."

People who used to ignore the mother and son are now greeting them warmly.

When they entered the house, Jiang Hongying and the eldest brother were cooking noodles in the kitchen, while He Chuan was arranging chairs.

In the middle of the main room stood a large round table, which was painted and gleamed like a mirror.

"Mom, please sit down and eat. My sister and I are making noodles." The eldest brother smiled shyly. "I was thinking that you might come to our house for meals in the future, so when we were building the house, I had the carpenter make a big round table. I didn't expect to be able to use it so soon."

Song Chunxue smiled and said, "This table is beautiful; it will come in handy tonight."

The children sat in their chairs and started banging on the table. Mulan went to the kitchen to help.

Sanwa said sincerely, "Big brother is getting better and better at managing his household. He even dug a new water cellar. Have you seen the yard behind the house? It's all smooth and tidy, and there's a low, openwork wall made of blue bricks on the side. It's probably the most impressive place in the whole village now."

The fourth brother said frankly, "That's right. Big brother learned bricklaying before. Once he stops pretending to be a coward, he has quite the air of a boss. It would be even better if he divorced Chen Feng. If that doesn't work, he could take a beautiful concubine, the kind who is gentle, virtuous and knows what's good for her. That would be perfect."

Sanwa kicked him under the table.

The fourth brother shook his head, giving off an air of "He said it, so what? What can you do about it?"

Bowls of noodles were served one by one, and everyone began to eat.

In the end, Jiang Hongying kicked the eldest brother out and let the brothers eat together.

Xia Mulan then pushed Jiang Hongying out of the kitchen, saying, "I'll make myself a bowl and be right back. You guys go and eat first."

The whole family was together, and she was the daughter-in-law, so it was normal for her to eat at the end.

No one went to the west room to call Chen Feng to come for dinner.

Xia Mulan had just walked out of the kitchen with a large bowl of noodles when Chen Feng, standing at the door with a long face, brushed past her, spilling noodles from her bowl onto her shoes.

She took two steps back, getting scalding soup on her hands. She had no choice but to put the bowl on the windowsill and take out a handkerchief to wipe her hands.

This scene was witnessed by Song Chunxue, who was sitting in the seat of honor in the north room.

She gave a cold laugh. If she didn't set the precedent for this woman with such a bad reputation, the boss probably wouldn't be able to bring himself to punish her, considering that Chen Feng was Jiang Huan's biological mother.

"Mulan, what's wrong? Did you burn your hand?"

Song Chunxue got up and walked out, "What's going on? Doesn't Chen Feng watch where she's going?"

Jiang Yeming stood up abruptly, turned around and walked out of the house, "Sanwa's wife, did Chen Feng push you?"

Xia Mulan was startled and quickly shook her head, "It's okay, she probably didn't see me. I was carrying the noodles to the door and spilled some soup, it's nothing."

Jiang Yeming walked over and picked up the noodles that were on the windowsill. "I'll bring them to you. Hurry up and eat, the noodles are getting cold."

Song Chunxue stood at the door and said, "Boss, I don't know who you took after. You can put up with so much humiliation. People who don't know you would think you owed her something in your past life."

She said irritably, "To be honest, I don't approve of the others taking concubines, but if you're willing, I'll pay three times the amount for a concubine, and the remaining money can even buy you a carriage."

"It's not easy for you to work all by yourself. How about taking a concubine to cook for you and take care of your children?"

The group of people eating almost choked when they heard this, and they all turned to look at Song Chunxue.

The fourth brother, carrying a bowl of noodles, slurped them down to Song Chunxue.

"Wow, my good brother, such a wonderful thing has come your way, what are you still hesitating for?" The fourth brother took a sip of soup and analyzed casually, "Mother doesn't want your son Jiang Huan to go from being a legitimate son to an illegitimate one, so she didn't directly ask you to divorce your wife. I wanted to take a concubine, but Mother wouldn't allow it."

Jiang Yeming raised his hand to the back of his head, looking slightly embarrassed, and said, "Really? I've been thinking about bringing a girl home since last year."