Chapter 58 The Fourth Brother Doesn't Want to Herd Sheep Anymore
"That's how it was done."
Song Chunxue suddenly pushed Niu Fuzi, causing him to fall to the ground and remain there for a long time.
That's what she was thinking.
In reality, she remained standing in the same spot, calmly watching the cowherd.
She used to not think much of such questions, but now, seeing Niu Fuzi's smiling face, Song Chunxue felt a surge of anger.
She wanted to retort, "None of your business."
But she endured it.
“They’re used to bullying people, and they say really nasty things. When I said something back, they even tried to hit me.” Song Chunxue sighed. “Even honest people have their moments of temper. I never thought it would reach the teacher’s ears.”
Looking at her composed and unyielding demeanor, showing no sign of embarrassment, Master Niu was surprised and also felt a sense of admiration for her.
“That’s right. I won’t offend others unless they offend me, but I will retaliate if they do. The people of Shangchuan have good land and live a good life, so they always look down on others. You’ve really stood up for yourself.”
As he spoke, he turned to look behind him, and stood up with a smile.
"Master Jiang is here. There are some students here who want to study. They're from your Jiang family. Which teacher would you like to take them on?"
Jiang Yao was handsome and upright, with a square face, the appearance of an official, and he always smiled at everyone he met.
When he saw Song Chunxue, he walked over with a big smile and greeted her very familiarly.
"Aunt Song really came. I heard you were going to bring Sanwa to study here, but I didn't expect it to be true." He warmly invited Song Chunxue and Sanwa to sit down. "Come, sit here and have some tea first."
Although they didn't interact much, they knew each other's generational differences. Song Chunxue was only a few years younger than Jiang Yao, but she was a generation older than him.
Jiang Yao quickly decided that, given Sanwa's age and knowledge, it would be most suitable for him to be led by Master Niu and to study with some students who had completed three years of schooling.
Sanwa readily accepted and followed Master Niu directly to the school building.
After chatting with Jiang Yao for a few minutes, Song Chunxue left the school and went home.
As soon as I reached the door, I heard the eldest son and his wife arguing.
Chen Feng cried and complained about all sorts of trivial matters. The eldest brother impatiently tried to comfort her for a couple of minutes, but then lost patience and simply stopped talking.
Chen Feng was so angry that she said it would be better to marry a dog than to marry the eldest brother. The eldest brother then threw something on the ground.
Song Chunxue didn't want to go in and break up the fight, so she entered the courtyard with a blank expression.
Jiang Hongying was sweeping the yard when she saw Song Chunxue return. She put down the broom and sat on the steps.
"Mother, how is it? Has the teacher accepted the third child?"
"Of course we'll take the money. Besides, Sanwa isn't the oldest. I've seen several sixteen or seventeen-year-olds at the school. What's there to be afraid of?"
After entering the house, Song Chunxue changed into clean clothes and put on her usual work clothes, feeling completely refreshed.
Xiujuan lay down on the ground, like a puppy, and crawled up to Song Chunxue.
Amused, Song Chunxue sat down on the steps, hugged her, pinched her little cheeks, and smelled her milky scent, making her not want to work anymore.
"Is Mother going up the mountain again today?" Jiang Hongying asked. "What should we have for lunch today? I'll prepare it."
"We're not going today, let's rest for a day." Song Chunxue laughed and lifted Xiujuan up, making the two of them giggle.
Jiang Hongying smiled, looking much more relaxed, and sat lazily on the steps.
As long as her mother stays at home, she will have less chores to do.
Just then, Chen Feng's crying came from outside the door, drawn out as if she wanted everyone to hear it.
Song Chunxue ignored her, so Jiang Hongying couldn't help but move closer to her.
"It sounds like they argued about the theft yesterday. The boss said we can't take anything from inside next time. Chen Feng said it was all for the boss's own good. The boss said it wasn't necessary. Then Chen Feng got angry and yelled, and the boss wouldn't back down."
At this point, Jiang Hongying shook her head with a smile, "I never expected the eldest son to be like that in front of his wife. He was only a little tougher today. Before, I could always hear him coaxing Chen Feng, and sometimes he would even get beaten by Chen Feng and have to crawl under the table. It was so embarrassing."
Song Chunxue didn't care. "Let them argue, don't worry about it. Don't try to break them up, don't meddle in other people's business."
“I didn’t care. I can’t even take care of my own affairs, let alone others.” Jiang Hongying hesitated at this point. “Before we came, we agreed to stay at my parents’ home for more than 20 days, but I’ve already stayed for a month. I’m afraid they will urge me to come back.”
"Don't worry about it, they'll write to urge us. When the time comes, have the fourth brother write a letter telling them that you want to stay at home for a while longer and don't want to go back to serve them."
Song Chunxue said irritably, "Their whole family of more than ten people don't even know how to help take care of Xiujuan. Your belly is getting bigger and bigger, do you want to go back and suffer?"
“But,” Jiang Hongying said, her face full of struggle as she mentioned her husband’s family, “I can’t really give birth at home. Would I dare to go back then?”
"Mom, please take care of Xiujuan for me, just for a year. I will come back to pick her up. I definitely won't be able to take care of Xiujuan when I'm more pregnant. She's still unsteady on her feet and is becoming more and more clingy. She wants me to carry her everywhere. I'm afraid it will affect the baby in my belly."
Jiang Hongying pleaded, "Mother, please help me take a look, just for one year."
“Not even a year.” Song Chunxue calmly refused. “There are two options: either you have the child’s father come to pick you up, or you stay at home until the child is born before going back. Later, when you get pregnant, I will take Xiujuan with me when I go out, but she has to be able to see you every day.”
Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Jiang Hongying had no choice but to agree for the time being.
“Then I’ll write them a letter, but I need their permission.” The thought of returning to the Wu family made Jiang Hongying feel suffocated.
To be honest, she didn't want to go back at all. Just thinking about how her in-laws scolded her made her wish they were dead before she could go back.
However, her husband treats her very well, and she always sides with him when things happen. But he's weak-willed and can't stop her much, so Jiang Hongying is the one who suffers in the end.
In the blink of an eye, the apricots turned yellow, and it was time to harvest the broad beans and peas.
This is also the most beautiful time of year in this village.
Jiang Hongying would bring the children and go with Song Chunxue to pick beans in the field for a while, and then sit in the field with Song Chunxue.
Before noon, Jiang Hongying took the children home to prepare some light chores, while Song Chunxue would cook dinner after she got home.
The Jiang family owns a lot of land and grows a lot of grain.
After the grain ripened, she had almost no time to do anything else.
Fortunately, the weather is getting hotter, and the time spent working in the fields in the afternoon is getting shorter and shorter.
After waking up from her afternoon nap, Song Chunxue would take the opportunity to pick apricots under the apricot tree. Afterward, she would separate the apricot flesh from the pit and take the apricot skins outside in the yard to dry.
The fourth brother didn't like herding sheep, but Song Chunxue would supervise him every day at the appointed time.
After persisting for half a month, the fourth brother didn't get up early that morning, and Song Chunxue thought he was sick.
Unexpectedly, he simply didn't want to herd sheep and wanted to throw a tantrum.
"Fine, if you don't want to go today, then don't. It's good to rest for a day, especially since it's going to rain these next couple of days. If you still don't want to herd the sheep, you can take a sickle and cut grass, and bring it back for the sheep to eat every day. Otherwise, I won't feed you."
The fourth son lay angrily on the kang (a heated brick bed), saying, "Then I won't eat."
“You said it yourself.” Song Chunxue was neither anxious nor angry. “If you want to go to school, you can only afford the tuition by selling sheep. If you starve the sheep, you can forget about going back to school for the rest of your life.”
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