She was riding her bicycle and just arrived at the village, she saw more than 20 people scattered in the large field that her family had contracted. Each of them had a bag tied around their waist and was picking peppers. There was also a tricycle parked at the end of the field, which would take the peppers back home when the bag was full.
In order to dry the peppers, her father paved a cement floor in his yard, and other peppers were hung on the roof of the bungalow to dry.
After drying, quality inspectors from the food factory will come to inspect and accept the products. If they are qualified, they will be directly sent to the food factory.
As soon as Li Yutong arrived at the end of the field, she saw her father Li Hongwei, with a smile on his face. Next to him stood a plump woman in her thirties with big curly hair, a pink plaid shirt, black pants, and black leather shoes. She was clean and had a small notebook in her hand, keeping accounts.
The two of us laughed at the same time, and the atmosphere was very good.
Where is her mother? Li Yutong turned to look for her mother Liu Lanxiang, and saw a figure working in the field.
Li Yutong frowned: "Mom!"
Liu Lanxiang was picking peppers in the field with a sullen look on her face. She turned around when she heard her daughter's familiar voice. She saw her eldest daughter coming back. She subconsciously looked at her husband Li Hongwei, and saw that woman was still standing next to her. Her expression became even uglier.
Li Hongwei and the woman next to her also saw Li Yutong.
"Why are you back? Isn't your hotpot restaurant busy?" asked her father Li Hongwei.
Li Yutong looked at her father. In order to avoid arousing jealousy, her father Li Hongwei never told others about her opening a hot pot restaurant. But today he did, and there was a hint of showing off in his tone.
"This is your eldest daughter Xiaoyu. Oh, she is so amazing. None of my sons are as amazing as her. She is so young, but she has already opened a hot pot restaurant." The woman praised Li Yutong enthusiastically.
Li Yutong also smiled, and then she shouted at her mother, "Mom, why are you not keeping accounts in the field? If there are not enough people, just hire two more."
There was something else behind her words, and the woman felt a little embarrassed: "Oh, I just said, let me go to work in the fields, I'll be there soon."
Before she even picked up the bag, Li Yutong heard her father Li Hongwei say, "You're not a workaholic, so just keep the accounts here. Her mother is good at work, so let her do it."
Li Yutong widened her eyes. She could never have imagined that her father, a country man who was tanned and thin with a bad temper, could be so considerate of others. Her father had never been considerate of her mother.
"Dad, what does she do?" she couldn't help but ask.
Her father Li Hongwei was very impatient: "Why do you care about this? Just take care of your own business. You don't need to care about my business."
Li Yutong's heart suddenly sank.
No wonder her mother was in such a bad mood when she called. Maybe everyone in the village is laughing at her: Li Hongwei is interested in some woman, and she doesn't even dare to fart in front of Liu Lanxiang. They will get divorced sooner or later!
She had heard people in the village talking about other people's families, about a man who made a little money and lived with another woman in the city.
To date, his wife, with whom he had obtained a marriage certificate, lives in the village with her children, while the man lives in the city with another woman.
When everyone else ran out to work, this woman didn't dare to go. People in the village said that she didn't dare to leave at all. As soon as she left, the woman would come back and drive her out completely.
Li Yutong knew that when her family had money, they would definitely attract people's attention and be plotted against.
She thought about the illegal lottery, drinking and gambling next door in the past years, but she never imagined that her father, a skinny and dark country man, would also have a "honey trap".
Li Yutong looked unhappy and stared at her father Li Hongwei.
Li Hongwei felt a little guilty for some reason: "Why did you come back? If nothing happens, go back."
At this time, Liu Lanxiang had already come out from the field: "Why go back? There is so much work to do in the field. It's so busy. If she comes, she can help a little."
Li Hongwei immediately scolded: "What are you doing? How much money does she make in a hot pot restaurant in a day? How much money can she make working in the fields? Can't you tell which is more and which is less? All you know how to do is say things that make people laugh at you."
Liu Lanxiang was so angry that she almost cried: "What did I say? Who wants to laugh at me? Ask her to come over and laugh at me. Let's see who is laughing at me."
As she spoke, she stared at the woman with her hair permed.
The woman felt a little uncomfortable and quickly took her large floral bag and said, "Sister-in-law, you keep the accounts while I go to work in the fields."
Li Yutong glanced at her father Li Hongwei and said nothing. She knew her father's temper. If he ignored the consequences and started a quarrel over this woman, it would only make other people in the village watch the fun.
She had just seen it, too. The two of them were just standing there talking. They didn't say anything ambiguous, and there was no physical contact. She saw clearly a pair of eyes. It was the look in her father Li Hongwei's eyes. There was something indescribable in it. That thing probably meant: I like you but I know others can't like me so I dare not say it for fear of being laughed at. But I still want to show that I am rich and charming, hoping to attract her attention.
"Then please slow down." Her father Li Hongwei was still greeting the woman.
Li Yutong asked her mother Liu Lanxiang: "Where is this person from? He doesn't look like someone from our village."
Her parents had said at the beginning that if they contracted land from villagers, they would give priority to hiring people from the villagers. This woman didn't look like a worker from the village. Her face was pale, she wore makeup, had her hair permed, and dressed elegantly.
Rural women all wear old clothes and work in the fields. They earn some money, and basically save it all to buy seeds, fertilizers, and pay for their children's tuition and books, etc. No one would draw eyebrows, paint eyes, or perm their hair.
Her mother Liu Lanxiang glanced at her father Li Hongwei and said, "Who knows where she is from?"
Her father Li Hongwei glared at her: "You always speak in a sarcastic tone, as if someone has offended you."
Liu Lanxiang just kept her mouth shut.
Li Hongwei then said to his daughter Li Yutong: "He lives in the town. His eldest son is older than you and even has a grandson. He is a hardworking person. He only comes out to do some work while his grandson is in the education class."
“You have grandchildren already? You look quite young.” Li Yutong said.
Li Hongwei said, "They got married early, and their son got married early too. He is two years younger than me, and he has everything." His tone was quite envious.
"What does her husband do?" Li Yutong asked again.
She looks younger than her actual age and she spends so much time on dressing herself up, which shows that she never worries about food and clothing. Look at other women in the village. They have endless work to do in the fields and are exposed to endless ultraviolet rays every day. None of them has fair skin. They all have dark skin. They also have endless worries at home. They all look several years older than their actual age.
So, isn't it strange for a woman like this to come to her family's land to work?
"She has bad luck. All her men died in the early years." Li Hongwei said sympathetically.
Liu Lanxiang looked at Li Yutong, the frustration and anger in her eyes were evident.
Li Yutong couldn't help but sigh in her heart, and tentatively said to her father Li Hongwei: "I don't think he is the kind of person who does farm work, so let's ask him to go back later."