Chapter 63 Let's Go Together

The fourth brother even tried to negotiate with her?

Song Chunxue spoke slowly and deliberately:

“Okay, as long as you can keep herding sheep for a year, I’ll let you continue your studies next year.”

"If you can't even last a year, let alone studying, you definitely won't be able to do the farm work well, and you definitely won't want to stay in this house anymore. When that time comes, you can go out and make a living with your classmates, and I won't stop you."

The fourth son gritted his teeth and said, "One year is fine, Mother, you can't go back on your word."

“Let Sanwa and Hongying be witnesses. Whoever goes back on their word is a dog,” Song Chunxue said slowly. “And I also have requirements. Your sheep must be as fat as Sanwa’s, otherwise you won’t get a good price and I can’t help you if you can’t raise enough tuition fees.”

"Okay, starting from the beginning of next month, I will take good care of the sheep." The fourth brother put down his chopsticks and got up to leave.

"Why the first day of next month?"

"I want to take a few days off." The fourth brother walked to the door, turning the back of his head to the crowd.

“That’s too long. Let’s start from the day after tomorrow,” Song Chunxue said in a deep voice. “You’re not a man of your word. You’ll keep putting it off and drag it out. By next year, the sheep will have starved to death.”

The fourth brother stopped and expressed his dissatisfaction with silence.

"It's settled then. If you don't herd the sheep properly starting the day after tomorrow, the work in the fields will be yours. After the peas, there's wheat to harvest, then flax and wheat in the fall, followed by corn and potatoes. None of these are easier than herding sheep."

“You need to understand that even if you don’t want to herd sheep, I won’t allow you to do no work at all. If you don’t work, you won’t eat. Your best option is to herd sheep properly. Don’t think that I will spoil you like before.”

The fourth brother didn't say anything, but angrily flung open the curtain and slammed the door of the east room shut with a deafening bang.

The house on the east side is quite special. It was originally where the eldest son, Jiang Yeming, lived, but after he got married, he moved to the north house.

The crown prince lived in the East Palace, which represents the eldest son and also the fortune and health of the men in the family.

Although Song Chunxue didn't understand feng shui, she was very clear about this point because a feng shui master had mentioned it before, so she had her eldest and second sons live in the east.

After the second son stopped studying, he let the fourth son move to the east room by himself.

As a result, none of them lived up to expectations.

Thinking of this, Song Chunxue smiled self-deprecatingly. She had been too obsessed with things in the past, which was perhaps the reason why her life ended in tragedy.

She turned her head and saw Sanwa, Hongying, and little Xiujuan all staring at her.

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Hongying lowered her head and picked up a piece of pickled vegetable with her chopsticks. "I just feel that my mother's temper is much better than before."

Otherwise, if the fourth brother made such a fuss, Song Chunxue would have already taken a broom and disciplined him.

Sanwa was a little uneasy. "Mom, you must be very tired when we all go to school. Maybe I can come back to herd sheep next year when the fourth brother goes to school."

"Don't worry about it, just focus on your studies. At worst, we'll stop raising sheep and sell them all for you to have money for your education." Song Chunxue handed him the book. "Study hard. You're the third child, so you don't need to shoulder the burdens at home. Our family isn't that short of money."

"By the way, I was thinking that when your day off comes around, you could come with me to the county, would that be alright?"

Sanwa nodded, "Okay, there are three more days until the holiday."

Jiang Hongying asked curiously, "What are you going to the county for?"

"Let's go for a walk. It's been a long time since I've been there. Do you want to come with me?" Song Chunxue said. "We'll bring the donkey cart. There'll be enough room for everyone, and it won't cost any money."

“Okay, I want to go.” Jiang Hongying was thrilled to hear this. “I always just pass by and never have time to go and have a proper look around.”

“Okay, this time you can see as much as you want. Just go in the morning and come back before dark,” Song Chunxue said casually, as the fourth brother’s behavior had no effect on her at all. “I haven’t taken you two to the county yet.”

Jiang Hongying looked at Sanwa, who also seemed somewhat expectant.

They were left behind by their mother to look after the house because they were the least promising.

The farthest place they had ever been was the village market.

"Mother, everyone says you've suddenly changed your personality. What happened to you? Could it be that the eldest son hurt you, making you so good to the third child, and even I benefit from it?"

Although Jiang Hongying is a woman, Song Chunxue only has one daughter. Although she is strict with her, there are some things that only Jiang Hongying dares to ask.

Sanwa gripped his chopsticks tightly, looking at Song Chunxue with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.

These past few days, besides studying diligently, he has been pondering why his mother is so good to him.

"Eat, eat."

Xiujuan waved her little hand, wanting to eat the rice in Jiang Hongying's bowl.

"Okay, okay, don't rush, I'll feed you slowly." Jiang Hongying picked up a little bit of rice from the bowl and brought it to Xiujuan's mouth.

Xiujuan seemed to really enjoy the meal, holding her chopsticks very carefully as she ate, as if afraid her chopsticks would be taken away before she finished.

Looking at the chubby-cheeked Xiujuan, Song Chunxue couldn't help but smile. "So what do you think is the reason?"

"Because of the eldest brother." Jiang Hongying said while feeding him, "The eldest brother is really something. I never thought he was so bad before. How come he can do things like climbing over walls to steal things after we got married? You really spoiled him for nothing."

What does Sanwa think?

Jiang Yexun shook his head slightly, "I don't know. Although my brother went a bit too far, it shouldn't have changed you so much."

Song Chunxue nodded, "Okay, just pretend I died once."

"Huh?" Jiang Hongying's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but feel a little scared.

Sanwa was stunned. He realized that his older brother's actions had made his mother so sad.

Song Chunxue got up and cleared the dishes. "I'm going to wash the dishes."

Sanwa stared thoughtfully at his mother's retreating figure.

*

Three days later, Sanwa took a break.

Song Chunxue and Jiang Hongying got up early to pack their things. The three of them changed into new clothes and washed their hair and feet the night before, so they looked clean and neat.

As usual, Lao Si got up to go herd sheep, but when he learned that they were going to the county town without telling him, tears welled up in his eyes.

"Mom, why didn't you take me with you when you went to the county? You didn't even tell me last night. Did you do this on purpose?"

He was so angry that he threw down his whip, shouting, "I'm not herding sheep anymore! This is outrageous!"

Sanwa and Jiang Hongying exchanged a glance, then looked at Song Chunxue.

Song Chunxue lowered her head and straightened her clothes. "We were talking about how you lost your temper that night. You had a sour face last night too. You left right after dinner. It was too late to say anything."

The fourth brother bit his lip, took a deep breath, and held back his tears.

He felt so wronged; he had never felt so frustrated before.

Song Chunxue looked up at him and saw that the usually clean-cut fourth brother was covered in dust and dirt today, and was wearing tattered cloth shoes that he would never wear. She almost couldn't help but laugh.

This child has been quite aggrieved lately; if we don't take him today, he might get really angry.

"Alright, who said we weren't taking you? Hurry up and change your clothes, we'll go together. If you don't hurry, we won't wait for you."

The fourth brother stood still, constantly taking deep breaths to suppress his tears.

"Go change your clothes quickly. Don't be angry. You were the one who got angry with me first, so don't blame me for everything." Song Chunxue pushed him. "Otherwise, if we leave, you won't have any lunch. We're going to the county to eat mutton noodles."