Chapter 6: The awkward kid who pays you every day...
"Why are you paying me and Ya Ge'er our wages?"
Jiang Mai pulled Jiang Ya behind her, staring at Ye Li with wary eyes, and asked.
"Because you two helped filter the soybean pulp," Ye Li explained.
“Before, you made us work every day without paying us, and you even held up a stick and asked my brother where he hid the money at home.”
Jiang Mai did not let his guard down.
"...I didn't reform myself back then."
Ye Li also remembered this matter.
He cursed the original owner of the body in his heart a few times, and said, "Now I want to start anew. Since you two helped me make tofu, I should pay you wages."
He held up his index finger: "One coin per person, want it or not?"
One penny per person?
Jiang Mai was surprised. He only filtered the soybean residue and then gave him and Ya Ge'er two coins!
"Can Brother Ya also get a penny?" he asked.
"Yes, you two do the same work, and you get the same pay."
"Didn't you call Ya Ge a jinx before?"
“I used to be stupid, but now I’ve figured it out. Now that I’m in your family, if I curse him again, wouldn’t that be cursing myself?” Ye Li retorted emphatically.
Jiang Mai: "..."
His eyebrows were furrowed in disbelief; he couldn't understand why his brother-in-law had changed so much.
"Alright, alright, come on over. After I finish paying everyone's wages, I still have to do laundry, and you guys need to go gather firewood too." Ye Li waved to Jiang Mai.
Jiang Mai rolled her eyes twice, but still led Jiang Ya towards the kitchen.
He wanted to see if this person would actually pay them their wages.
With this thought in mind, he stopped in front of Ye Li and reached out his small hand to her.
Ye Li took a copper coin from the winnowing basket and placed it in his palm, smiling as she said, "And there's one for Brother Ya too."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ya eagerly stepped out from behind Jiang Mai and stretched out her small hand to Ye Li.
Ye Li picked up a copper coin and placed it in his small hand, asking, "Ya-ge'er, did your second uncle scold you for being a money-loser?"
Jiang Ya clenched his small hands, preparing to hide behind Jiang Mai, but upon hearing this, he looked at Ye Li with his big eyes and said cautiously, "Big brother said that I am not a commodity, but a person."
"He is the most important person to him and his second brother."
Upon hearing this, Ye Li's eyes flashed with surprise.
For the first time, I felt a little interested in a cheap husband.
Is this idea alright?
He smiled and said, "Your older brother is right. You are a person, a well-behaved and capable person. In the whole village, which boy your age can earn a penny every day?"
"Only Ya-ge'er can do it!"
"Yes or no?"
Jiang Ya blinked her big eyes and asked uncertainly, "Will you give me a penny every day from now on?"
"As long as you help make tofu, you'll definitely get paid every day!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ya's big eyes immediately lit up, and he nodded his little head hurriedly: "I will help make tofu every day from now on!"
"Good boy." Ye Li was charmed by his little expression and reached out to pinch his cheeks.
But halfway up his hand, fear flashed across his little face, and he quickly ran behind Jiang Mai to hide.
Jiang Mai was also on high alert and hurriedly pulled him back.
"..."
The original owner of this body committed terrible sins!
Ye Li forced a smile: "You two go gather firewood, I need to do laundry too."
Jiang Mai glanced at him warily a few times, and seeing that he didn't intend to make a move, she quickly pulled Jiang Ya and ran out of the house.
The two brothers headed straight for the large slope next to them.
After crossing the big slope, the foot of the mountain is just ahead. Villagers usually go up the mountain to collect firewood.
Seeing that Ye Li hadn't chased after them, the two brothers stopped and took a few deep breaths. Then Jiang Ya happily held up the copper coin in her hand: "Second brother, we're rich now!"
"Hmm." Jiang Mai also looked down at the copper coin in her hand.
Has that good-for-nothing really reformed?
A look of confusion flashed in his eyes.
On the very first day of his marriage to his elder brother, the idiot hoped that his brother-in-law would change, but how long did he wait before he actually did?
God has been too good to him...
On the other side, Ye Li first boiled the raw soy milk she had scooped out earlier, and then carried the dirty clothes that the original owner had accumulated to the well to wash them.
Halfway through washing, Jiang Dahe pulled over a large stone mill on a cart.
There happened to be a ready-made stone mill in the stone workshop, so Jiang Dahe bought it and hauled it back on a handcart, working up a sweat.
Ye Li was extremely grateful and scooped out a bowl of soy milk for Jiang Dahe to quench his thirst.
After finishing his soy milk, Jiang Dahe wiped his mouth and went out to find someone to help lift the stone mill off the cart.
Ye Li was busy soaking soybeans and tidying up the storage room next to the kitchen.
After placing the stone mill in the storage room, Jiang Dahe left. The sun hadn't set yet, so he could still go to the wheat field to weed for a while.
Soon, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya returned, each carrying a bundle of firewood.
Ye Li smiled and invited them to drink soy milk: "You've come back just in time. Come and have some soy milk, it's still hot."
Jiang Mai was stunned when she heard this.
Jiang Ya's eyes lit up. She threw the firewood on the ground and ran towards the kitchen, saying, "Great! Great!"
Seeing this, Jiang Mai quickly followed.
Ye Li lifted the lid of the pot and scooped the remaining soy milk into a bowl.
He also took out a jar of sugar and added sugar to the soy milk.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Ya immediately stretched out her little dirty paws and held one of the bowls.
But the bowl was a bit hot, and he immediately pulled his dirty little paws back.
"Go wash your hands and drink with a spoon," Ye Li said gently.
"Okay." Jiang Ya glanced at him carefully, and seeing that he looked calm, she ran out of the kitchen to wash her hands.
Jiang Mai glanced at Ye Li suspiciously, but did not follow.
Seeing that he was standing still, Ye Li didn't urge him, but simply placed the spoon in the bowl.
Jiang Ya quickly went back into the kitchen. He grabbed a spoon, scooped up a small spoonful, blew on it, and then slurped up the soy milk in the spoon.
The sweet taste, accompanied by the rich aroma of soybeans, spread in his mouth. He was overjoyed, looked at Ye Li, and whispered, "Thank you, Brother Li."
He had a bowl of sweet tofu pudding yesterday.
I had sweet soy milk again today. Li Ge has been doing so well these past two days.
However, turning his head, he caught sight of his second brother standing still and couldn't help but urge, "Second brother, drink up."
"You drink first." Jiang Mai glanced at Ye Li warily.
This person is so strange; not only did he give him and Ya Ge'er soy milk, he also added sugar!
He felt something was off.
Ye Li was puzzled by Jiang Mai's gaze: "Xiaomai, why are you looking at me like that? Why aren't you drinking?"
"How did you change..." Jiang Mai scratched his head, and seeing that Ye Li's expression remained unchanged, he simply stopped trying to hide it: "You didn't put sleeping pills in this soy milk, did you?"
"..."
That little rascal, he's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve.
However, it was precisely because he was shrewd that he saved Jiang Ya.
Yesterday morning, the original owner of this body was unusually kind and gentle to Jiang Ya, and after breakfast, she didn't let Jiang Ya go with Jiang Mai to collect firewood.
After leaving the house, Jiang Mai felt increasingly uneasy. Remembering that the original owner of this body had said she would sell Jiang Ya after arguing with Ye Daji, she quickly returned home.
But the original owner had already taken Jiang Ya out, so he ran to find Jiang Fuzheng and had Jiang Fuzheng hitch up the mule cart to catch up with the original owner and Jiang Ya.
Now that the original owner is dead, this brat has turned his cunning on him.
"There's no medicine in it, I'll drink it to prove it to you."
Ye Li took out another bowl, poured out half a bowl of soy milk from Jiang Mai's bowl, and then slowly drank it.
He was also a little thirsty.
Seeing Ye Li's reaction, Jiang Mai's face immediately turned bright red.
He realized that he had wronged his brother-in-law.
But it's impossible for him to apologize.
He was too embarrassed to drink the soy milk himself, so he brought the remaining half bowl of soy milk to Jiang Ya and said, "Ya-ge, you can drink this half bowl later."
Ye Li: "..."
A stubborn child.
He said with a smile, "Xiaomai, your vigilance is very necessary. You are doing this for Ya Ge'er's own good. You are a responsible and good older brother."
"Good brother should drink sweet soy milk, drink it quickly."
Jiang Mai: "..."
He wronged the man, but the man not only didn't hit him, he also praised him as a good older brother!
He stared at Ye Li for a few moments, and smelling the aroma of soy milk lingering around his nose, he couldn't help but swallow hard.
Just then, Jiang Ya spoke up: "Second Brother, drink up, it'll get cold soon."
"That's right, hurry up and drink. After you finish, go chop some pig feed. It's getting dark, and I should start making dinner," Ye Li urged.
Both of them offered a way out.
Jiang Mai twitched her lips a couple of times, but in the end, she picked up the bowl, turned her back to Ye Li, and began to drink in small sips.
Ye Li glanced at his bright red ears and chuckled inwardly, thinking, "Not bad."
It felt a little awkward.
But I'm not stubborn.
After finishing their soy milk, the two little ones went to chop pig feed to prepare for feeding the pigs and chickens.
Ye Li rolled up her sleeves and started cooking dinner.
I got up late this morning, so much so that by noon, when the villagers came to visit, the tofu wasn't fully pressed yet.
He planned to eat dinner and then go to sleep so he could get up early to make tofu.
Perhaps it was today's successful start that soothed his anxiety, and he slept soundly all night after lying down on the dilapidated earthen bed for the second time.
He woke up when the rooster crowed for the first time. Although he was still sleepy, he got dressed and got out of bed.
However, there are no mules today, so he has to grind the grain himself.
After grinding ten pounds of soybeans, he was not only exhausted and covered in sweat, but his arms also ached.
After breakfast, he started making tofu, and by noon, the firm tofu was pressed to perfection.
But the number of people buying tofu dropped sharply today; after a whole noon, only twelve catties of tofu were sold.
This was within his expectations; the remaining tofu was just enough to make fried tofu puffs.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com