After the family property was divided, Xu Genbao and Wang Xiaoju went back to Wang's parents' home in town with the eldest son of the Wang family.
The villagers secretly shook their heads: This wife is no match for him; they should prepare for a divorce as soon as possible!
But just as it got dark, Xu Genbao took his wife and children back to the village.
A basket was filled with clothes and bedding, Wang Xiaoju carried her child on her back, and the couple timidly hid from people, not daring to look up.
The whole village was gathered under the drying shed talking about this matter, and when they saw the two of them, they naturally looked over.
The moonlight was bright at this time, and those with sharp eyes had already clearly seen the two people's disheveled state.
Wang Xiaoju's already swollen eyes became even more swollen, her face was puffy, and she had several bloody scratches. A piece of her hair was also torn off.
Xu Genbao rolled up his sleeves, revealing several bruises on his arms, clearly indicating that he had been in another fight.
Wang Xiaoju felt so ashamed of being stared at that she wanted to disappear into the ground, so she could only hold her child high to cover her face.
This is the result of a fight she had with her two sisters-in-law from her maternal family.
Because she wanted to keep the money from her previous dowry.
The already dissatisfied sister-in-law turned hostile, berating her for taking her family to her parents' house and eating and drinking for free for half a year, and now abandoning the mess at the patrol camp.
Not to mention that the family is already short of money, even if they had it, they wouldn't give her their previous dowry.
A married woman who wants money is not allowed to have any chance.
So he didn't get a single penny and was even beaten by his two sisters-in-law.
Wang Xiaoju was naturally at a disadvantage in a two-on-one situation. Not only did she suffer a beating, but she was also forbidden from ever visiting her parents' home again.
Her two older brothers, out of consideration for their blood relation, allowed her to take away enough grain and oil to last half a month, as well as some pots and pans.
When the two returned home in a disheveled state, fortunately, their mother-in-law and sister-in-law had already cleared out a shack and arranged their belongings inside, allowing them to settle down temporarily.
As for food.
Xu Genyou and Tian gave her the remaining cornfield, which still contained a lot of corn.
They just need to figure it out themselves.
So, in the following days, the scene of Xu Genbao and Wang Xiaoju crying, cursing, fighting, and picking corn in the field became a laughing stock in Xujia Village.
The wounds from the whipping of the yellow thorns had not yet scabbed over. When soaked with sweat and rubbed against the coarse cloth, the skin would tear open and then close again, causing both of them unbearable pain.
Liu felt sorry for her son, but this time she was determined to make the two of them settle down and endure some hardship.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Seeing that Tian Gui was working outside, she worried that it would be inconvenient for her to be at home with a pregnant woman who was almost full-term. Since Tian Tao, Xiao Quan, and Xiao Xi were just teenagers who didn't know any better, she simply went to Tian Gui's house every few days.
Make some needlework for the children, and help them husk corn and dry the grain.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Liu arrived, another person also arrived, and Qin, who was standing next to her, came along with a smug look on her face.
In the village, everyone helps each other when doing chores. After finishing his harvest, Xu Genqing would take Lianhua and go from house to house every day to help with the work.
Qin was alone at home, drying the grain, feeling restless and bored. She wanted to gossip about everyone, especially about Wang Xiaoju.
Seeing that Liu was working at the Tian family's house next door, Qin shamelessly went to the Tian family's house and lingered there from morning till night.
In Bavaria, summer is also the harvest season.
After the corn is harvested in the fields, it's also the time when sweet potato vines and weeds grow wildly.
The sweet potatoes at the base have begun to swell. To prevent the vines from growing wildly and taking root indiscriminately, which would consume nutrients, and to ensure good ventilation, the vines need to be turned over after each rain.
Therefore, weeding and turning over vines every morning and evening was an important task, with adults and children working together to compete with the weeds for food.
When the sun gets strong at noon, the family still has to husk corn and dry the grain while resting at home.
But seeing the golden grains, all the hard work was worth it.
Adults feel differently than children.
Every day at noon, when the adults weren't looking, the boys in the village would go to the riverbank to bathe and catch fish, shouting and plunging into the water.
"Ducks paddling in the water," "Dogs paddling," and "Standing on the water"—the variety of styles is endless.
They even had a competition called "hitting the muddy head" to see who could dive the farthest and longest.
【沕: mi, an ancient word in Sichuan dialect, originally meaning "to hide". The *Jiyun* dictionary defines it as "沕, to hide".】
Even the hardest days were happy for the children. Their lean, naked bodies were tanned dark and shiny, and they would show off their white teeth whenever they smiled.
The commotion in the water subsided only when people saw someone chasing after them from afar, carrying yellow thorn branches and cursing.
The girls would go to the scholar's house whenever they had free time to learn embroidery from his wife.
Nowadays, everyone knows that swearing at people in the village will get you beaten up.
The boys and girls would learn to read and write, as well as various other subjects, with the scholar at night.
The young girls subconsciously began to learn the manners and speech of the scholar's wife, and also listened to some things about Yuzhou City.
Old Yunya on the mountain is also very happy!
Li Laoshi sat under the shade of a tree in the courtyard, taking a sip of the refreshing honeysuckle dew, chilled with spring water, savoring its slightly bitter yet sweet aftertaste.
"Tsk tsk," she exclaimed twice. "Sister Jiang is living the life of a god in the mountains. This kind of thing is hard to buy even with money."
He knew about honeysuckle dew; others would mix it into balm, but Sister Jiang drank it directly.
And this guy... Li Laoshi kicked away the wild boar's head that was trying to pull at his pants.
Peiqi must drink a lot of alcohol regularly, for she's even trying to take it from me now.
Peiqi snorted and turned to leave. Only then did Li Laoshi say with a grin, "Sister Jiang, I'm going to town to sell herbs today. Manager Huo has a message for you!"
"What did you say?" Jiang Zhi asked casually as she aired the herbs she had picked that morning.
"Manager Huo said that the Huo family will send over the Ophiopogon japonicus seedlings in the fall, so that we can prepare ten acres of land in advance."
Jiang Zhi turned around abruptly, surprised, and asked, "Is it really ten acres?"
"Yes, that's right. I even asked why it's so much—a mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres)? That stuff hasn't been planted yet! Manager Huo said that's how the family keeps the word." Li Laoshi quickly explained.
Jiang Zhi was a little excited. Miss Huo was really generous, planting ten acres on her first try. She thought she would plant two or three acres of Ophiopogon japonicus to test the waters, and then plant some other medicinal herbs.
If Miss Huo dares to take the risk, why shouldn't I?
"Alright, then after harvesting the grain, quickly clear the land and fertilize where necessary!"
Jiang Zhi began making arrangements with great enthusiasm. In fact, she had been managing these matters much less, as there were other people in the village who didn't need her to worry about farm work.
It was Li Laoshi who specifically came up the mountain to talk about this, which puzzled her.
Since Errui and his friends came to the village to attend classes, they have been bringing mosquito coils and mosquito repellent directly down the mountain. They also handle any problems on the spot and then tell Li Laoshi when they get back, so Li Laoshi doesn't have to run around anymore.
"Li Laoshi, besides this, is there anything else you've done up the mountain for?"
Li Laoshi chuckled vaguely, "It's nothing, just delivering a money bag!"
Li Laoshi went to the pharmacy to sell herbs today, and all his money, a total of more than 800 coins, is here.
In addition to the various medicinal herbs that Jiang Zhi collected on her way up and down the mountain, there were also herbs that she bought from the village.
To help villagers increase their income, Jiang Zhi taught everyone a few of the most commonly used and readily available herbs, such as houttuynia cordata, moneywort, horsetail, and calamus.
They could sell it in town themselves, or they could sell it to themselves. The few coins they earned were not much, but they could buy a pound of salt or half a pound of pork.
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