Chapter 206 But we can't just focus on having a son and neglect Xi'er.
(Thanks to Fangcunluanjiangshan for casting a monthly vote.)
While the brothers Zhao Youtian and Zhao Youcai were discussing at home how ruthless Li Shiyue had been, another family in the Zhao You family was also talking about the matter.
The youngest daughter-in-law of the Zhao You family head, the woman named Wang Cuihua who complained to Li Shiyue last time, was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) wearing only a bellyband, fanning her youngest daughter with a palm-leaf fan in her right hand.
"The head of the household?"
Wang Cuihua called out to the man who was lying on the kang with his eyes closed. When the man did not respond, she raised her voice and called out again.
"Honey? Are you asleep?"
Hearing Wang Cuihua's call, Zhao Sanhe, who was about to fall asleep, had no choice but to turn around. He stretched out his long arm and snatched the palm-leaf fan from Wang Cuihua's hand.
Zhao Sanhe waved his palm-leaf fan, and a cool breeze swept over.
Seeing this, Wang Cuihua complied with Zhao Sanhe's wishes and lay down herself.
Zhao Sanhe increased the force of waving the palm-leaf fan, which not only fanned his own young daughter but also provided a cool breeze for Wang Cuihua.
"Honey, what do you think?"
Zhao Sanhe certainly knew what Wang Cuihua was talking about. He had also been working in Liujiatun during the day, and he had come to the village entrance with other members of the Zhao family to help build houses in Liujiatun.
Liujiatun offered a good amount of money, and the day's wages were settled that evening. They also provided a meal and transportation in the morning and evening. It was a job that you couldn't find anywhere else.
He was able to go because his wife, Wang Cuihua, was a good cook, which is why she asked him to help with the work; otherwise, he wouldn't have had a chance.
The Zhao family lived quite well because they owned an oil mill.
But it's rare to find someone who can earn extra money during the off-season.
He witnessed firsthand how Li Shiyue and his men beat up the men who were performing corvée labor.
When Wang Cuihua asked him a question, he simply said, "No wonder he dared to hire so many old people to build the house; he's quite capable."
Wang Cuihua had no interest in hearing Zhao Sanhe say this. She went straight to the point and said, "Didn't you hear what the Li family said?"
They fled famine all the way from Henan and crossed the sea, killing refugees and Japanese pirates along the way!
Their hands are stained with blood, and they still want to bully the women in the village?
Look, he's been beaten like a stray dog.
Zhao Sanhe recalled how Wang Ergou had been beaten by Li Shiyue with three sticks and was curled up on the ground, looking as if he had died silently.
"That guy named Wang Ergou is probably not going to make it."
Wang Cuihua was stunned for a moment; she really hadn't thought of that.
However, she was only stunned for a moment before Wang Cuihua said indifferently, "She deserved to die!"
Who told her to dare harass a woman in the village, who was Li Shiyue's aunt!
He deserved to be beaten to death.
Zhao Sanhe didn't say anything about what Wang Cuihua said; he didn't offer any evaluation. He only heard Wang Cuihua say again, "Husband, tell me, is it feasible for me to send Xi'er to the school in Liujiatun?"
Zhao Sanhe stopped waving his palm-leaf fan. He was a little confused and couldn't understand how Wang Cuihua's words had somehow gotten back to his own Xi'er.
As the moonlight streamed in through the wide-open window, Zhao Sanhe looked into Wang Cuihua's eyes in the darkness.
When their eyes met, Wang Cuihua naturally noticed the question in Zhao Sanhe's eyes.
“I asked around and found out that the school in Liujiatun has female students. In their village, children who can't work, regardless of gender, all go to the school to study.”
There were three girls inside, one of whom was originally from Liujiatun;
One of them was a girl from the Li family patriarch's family;
There was also a girl from the Wang family.
The teacher there was a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations and was hired from the city!
He's not just some random person; he's a legitimate scholar with official rank!
Zhao Sanhe remained silent, but Wang Cuihua, having been married to him for many years, knew what he meant simply by looking into his eyes, even without him speaking.
“We only have Xi’er now, so don’t think that just because Xi’er is a girl, she shouldn’t go to school!”
If I hadn't learned to cook from my mother when I was young, would I have been hired to work and earned this much money?
Even if our daughter gets married in the future, she will still be our own child!
If the woman is capable, who knows if she can't be filial to us?
Anyway, I thought I'd ask around and see if the school accepts people from other villages? And how much tuition is required?
I've saved up quite a bit of money lately, and with what you've earned, it should be enough."
Seeing that Zhao Sanhe's expression had softened, Wang Cuihua pressed on, saying, "Honey, don't worry, I promise I'll give you another son!"
We can't let your lineage die out!
But we can't just focus on having a son and neglect Xi'er.
Xi'er is also our biological child!
Xi'er always dotes on you. You work hard every day and when you come home, she always cools the water down for you to drink.
They would hand you a cloth and leave you food, afraid that you would be too tired to eat well.
Last time she came back to my parents' house with me, my mother gave her two pieces of malt candy, but she didn't eat either of them. She insisted on saving them for you to eat when we got home.
"Just tell me, isn't Xi'er thinking about you, her father?"
As Zhao Sanhe listened to Wang Cuihua, he gradually recalled how good Xi'er had been to him in the past. She truly cared about him as her father and was much more considerate than his elder brother's son.
"Honey, we don't have a son yet, do we?"
Why can't we prioritize Xi'er first?
If we have a son in the future, we can earn more money for him.
Besides, if Xi'er is capable, she can help her younger brother in the future. They're such close siblings; if Xi'er does well, how could our son not do well too?
Wang Cuihua was a woman who knew how to talk, or at least how to coax her husband.
After hearing Wang Cuihua say that, Zhao Sanhe also felt that his Xi'er was the best. If Xi'er could learn a skill, then when she had a son in the future, she could teach her younger brother to read and write. It would be a win for his family.
Having explained the matter to Zhao Sanhe, Wang Cuihua lay down, wanting to sleep.
She wanted to sleep, but she couldn't stop her mind from wandering. The more Wang Cuihua thought, the less she could sleep.
Just as Zhao Sanhe started snoring, Wang Cuihua suddenly turned over and reached out to pat Zhao Sanhe across Xi'er's shoulder.
Zhao Sanhe mumbled, still half-asleep, "Huh?"
"Honey, is your sixth uncle's third cousin's fiancé's daughter, who's engaged to him, still unmarried?"
In this half-dreaming, half-awake state, Zhao Sanhe's mind was in a daze and he couldn't react. It took him a while to realize who Wang Cuihua was talking about.
"ah?
Hmm, a swallow?
Yes, it shouldn't be yet.
What's wrong?
Why are we talking about her again?
When will she get engaged?
Has it been three years?
Although Zhao Sanhe didn't understand why Wang Cuihua was asking about this again in the middle of the night, he thought about it carefully for a moment before telling Wang Cuihua, "It should have passed. It passed in May this year."
What?
What are you up to now?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
