Chapter 131 The Lunar New Year is Approaching
"Second Miss, the yard is swept and the dishes are washed. Is there anything else I need to do?"
The silly girl warmed herself by the fire as she talked; it was so cold outside that her hands felt like they were going to freeze after just a short while.
Daya put down her needlework and frowned. "Erya, we agreed that we would take turns doing the chores in our house. You're slacking off again. If Mom finds out, do you still want to eat?"
Regardless of other aspects, Er Ya will definitely slack off whenever she can while working.
Since the silly girl came into the family, she had even more reason not to do chores, and would order the silly girl around from time to time.
Daya said, "Silly girl, the gloves will be ready soon. Next time Erya asks you to shovel snow, don't go. Wear the gloves first."
Silly Girl chuckled, "This little bit of work is nothing. I'll do whatever the Second Miss tells me to do."
Er Ya pinched her pinky finger and said, "Did you hear that? We have people in our family who do the work, why should I, the master of the house, do the work? I don't want to."
Silly girl eats so much, what's wrong with making her do some chores?
She finally managed to whiten her hands; what if they become rough when she does housework?
Aunt Cai, holding her needle and thread, chuckled and said, "This is what your mother meant when she said you have the airs of a young lady but not the life of one. If you were a rich young lady, no one would criticize you. But what will you do if you marry into an ordinary family?"
The house had been renovated and was bright during the day. The bamboo floor was clean, and the warm shoes made Aunt Cai feel that life was getting better and better.
"Then I won't get married. What's so good about getting married?"
After Er Ya finished speaking, she saw Ye Wan enter the courtyard and hurriedly went out to greet her.
"Mother! You're back! What good things did you bring?"
Ye Wan, wearing a thick cotton coat and boots, stomped the snow off her feet in the yard. "A cow fell and died. We bought beef, and we're having a beef hot pot."
At this time, cattle were not allowed to be slaughtered at will, and Ye Wan was able to buy them thanks to her connections with Xilailou.
Liu Wenshu gave her special instructions before he left; otherwise, she would be nothing at all, not even worthy of eating beef hooves.
"Is the beef delicious?" Sanya asked, her mouth watering as soon as she opened her mouth, pen in hand.
In their spare time, the three sisters would follow the old man to read and learn to read. San Ya was the youngest, and her handwriting was the worst and slowest.
So while her two older sisters had finished writing, she was still writing.
Er Ya: "Isn't that a pointless question? There's no meat that doesn't taste good."
"Beef is hard to come by." Aunt Cai put down her needlework.
"yes!"
The beef was taken away by the silly girl to be processed, and Ye Wan had already come in after changing her shoes.
"When spring comes, we'll clear a small plot of land behind the yard and plant all the vegetables we can. We'll have more than enough to eat every day."
She also discussed business with Xilailou today, and the village will produce sweet potato starch to supply Xilailou.
Everyone was having a hard time. Before Lin Anyuan left, he protected the villagers. Ye Wan didn't want to see people starve to death.
"Aunt Lin, are you home?"
Someone called from outside. Ye Wan went out and saw that it was Mancang, the son of Widow Tian, who had brought over beets.
Ever since Ye Wan helped Widow Tian sell her pickled vegetables at Xilailou Restaurant, the mother and daughter have had some income and would send things over from time to time.
Ye Wan stuffed two eggs into Mancang's hand and left. Soon after, Aunt Wang arrived.
"I heard that the Zhang family's daughter gave birth, and she had a son."
Aunt Wang is a gossip, and she's talking about Zhang Erniu's family.
Lamei gave birth to a son last night, and the news has spread throughout the village. Yewan lives a little further away, so she doesn't know about it because she doesn't follow these things.
Ye Wan clicked her tongue, "That's great, Zhang Erniu must be overjoyed, he's become a father overnight."
Aunt Wang chuckled, "He's just being someone else's father. Zhang Erniu is quite tolerant; the child is clearly not his, but he just accepted it despite his reluctance."
Lamei herself probably didn't even know whose son it was, but it was just attributed to Zhang Erniu.
"He brought it on himself."
Ye Wan had no liking for Zhang Erniu at all; he looked honest but was always doing disgusting things.
The aroma of meat wafted from the kitchen, and Aunt Wang swallowed hard, unable to sit still any longer.
"You're ready to eat, so I'm heading back now."
He wondered to himself, what kind of way did Lin Anyuan find to make money? How could he support so many people and even have meat to eat?
"Aunt Wang, wait a minute." Ye Wan took out two ounces of cured meat. "Take this back for your little grandson."
"Oh dear, I can't accept this."
Aunt Wang said she was sorry, but she still took the cured meat and left.
We haven't had any meat in our house for a month.
Er Ya was unhappy and muttered, "What message has been sent? I think they're just trying to take advantage of us."
It's one thing for the village chief's family to do this, but why does Aunt Wang's family have to?
Ye Wan looked at Er Ya and said, "Everyone has the desire to take advantage of others, and so do you. You just need to know how to use that. I gave her some cured meat, so she'll be the first to tell me if there's any news."
Er Ya was still unhappy. "You can't come empty-handed every time and just take our things with your mouth!"
Da Ya laughed, "You're being stingy, so don't make up any other excuses."
Hui Gu smiled and said, "Second Miss has a strong personality, which has its advantages. She won't suffer when she gets married."
"Did you hear that? I do have my strengths." Er Ya glanced at Da Ya smugly.
Sanya finally finished practicing her calligraphy. "Second sister will never get married. She should stay home and play with me."
"Sanya, you're asking for it! How much have you eaten? Look at your belly, it's almost bulging. No one will want you then."
"My mother wants me."
The family was playfully bickering, while the pots in the kitchen were steaming.
After dinner, it got dark again.
The next day was a bright and sunny day, and the snow outside was melting.
"The New Year is almost here, and I wonder where my father is."
It was Er Ya who spoke.
Ye Wan laughed and said, "You can still remember your father? I had almost forgotten about him because of you guys."
“How could I forget? Father is the same; he goes out and then never comes back.” Er Ya pouted.
She had actually missed her father for a long time, but she didn't dare to say it.
"I'm going out for a bit. You all stay home."
After Ye Wan finished speaking, she went out, this time taking Sha Niu with her and letting Sha Niu drive the carriage.
They arrived at the prefectural city and inquired everywhere, "Do you know of any caravans going to Ganzhou?"
She had only heard the news yesterday that the rebels had attacked Ganzhou.
"At this critical juncture, who would go to that poor place like Ganzhou to do business? But there might be some escorts, who would be delivering some worthless letters or something."
Ye Wan searched many places before finally finding the escort agency that led her to Ganzhou.
What is this?
The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) looked at the things Ye Wan handed over.
"Inside was a piece of clothing, a letter, and some dry food. It's almost New Year's and my husband still hasn't come back. I'm afraid he'll get cold or hungry."
Ye Wan packed some inconspicuous items and sent them to Lin Anyuan.
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