Chapter Fifty-Three was actually Song Xingzhi.
After dinner, Zhang Chunxue washed the dishes with a clatter, and without looking up, said to Zhong Xiaoxiao, who was helping to clean up, "Xiaoxiao, just listen to what Mom said to Hongqing and forget about it."
Zhong Xiaoxiao exclaimed "Huh?", somewhat taken aback.
Zhang Chunxue stacked the washed dishes aside, wiped her hands, and looked at her with an unusually serious expression:
"If anyone dares to talk to you like that in the future, no matter who they are, don't waste your breath on them. Just go up to them and slap them across the face until their own mother doesn't recognize them! Understand?"
Zhong Xiaoxiao was startled and almost dropped the rag in her hand.
She looked up at her mother abruptly, only to see Zhang Chunxue still wearing that indifferent expression, as if those shocking words hadn't come from her mouth at all.
“Mom…” Zhong Xiaoxiao opened her mouth, but didn’t know what to say.
Zhang Chunxue, however, acted as if nothing had happened and continued, "If someone is good to you, they are good. If they are not good to you, why are you so grateful? How shameless!"
In the courtyard, the three brothers were still standing there like three wooden stakes, kneeling for most of the day. Their legs were numb from kneeling, and their stomachs were growling with hunger.
Seeing that her mother was wiping the stove and humming a tuneless little tune, Zhong Xiaoxiao felt much better, so she mustered up the courage to speak.
"Mom, look at my older brother and the others... they've been kneeling for most of the day and haven't eaten a single bite of food."
"There's still work to be done in the fields this afternoon, I can't just kneel like this forever, can I?"
Zhang Chunxue paused, her hand holding the rag still, and snorted coldly: "Work? What have they been doing all day?"
"Besides causing my mother distress and engaging in infighting, what else can he do? He's just a lazy, good-for-nothing spendthrift!"
The voice was quite loud, and the three brothers in the courtyard heard it clearly.
Zhong Chengyi, who had just been muttering about Zhang Chunxue's ruthlessness, immediately shut his mouth. Zhong Chengfa and Zhong Chengren also shrank back, not daring to utter another word.
Zhong Xiaoxiao smiled and offered a few more words of advice, basically saying that they knew they were wrong and wouldn't do it again next time.
Zhang Chunxue waved her hand impatiently: "Alright, alright, go tell them to get up! It's annoying to look at them!"
Zhong Xiaoxiao felt like she had been granted a pardon and quickly ran out of the kitchen and into the yard.
"Brother, Mom wants you to get up!"
Zhong Chengyi was the first to grimace and try to stand up, leaning against the wall for support. But his legs buckled, and he almost knelt down again. He said with a bitter face, "Oh dear, Xiaoxiao has so much influence! A younger sister is just different!"
Zhong Chengfa slowly pushed himself up to his feet, his knees throbbing with pain. He rubbed his legs and snorted, "That's right. Right now, the three of us brothers are nothing but weeds in Mom's heart. Only Xiaoxiao is the apple of her eye!"
Zhong Chengren also stood up unsteadily, rubbing his numb legs as he grumbled, "Xiaoxiao, why didn't you plead for us sooner? We've been kneeling for half a day for nothing, our knees are almost ruined, and our stomachs are growling with hunger!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Chunxue's head peeked out from the kitchen doorway.
She raised an eyebrow, grabbed a bamboo pole used for drying clothes, pointed it at them, and said sternly, "What? You don't want to get up? Then keep kneeling! Kneel until dark! Nobody gets any food!"
Zhong Chengfa, Zhong Chengren, and Zhong Chengyi trembled in fright, and the three men who had just straightened up bent over again, their faces plastered with ingratiating smiles.
"Mom, Mom, please calm down!" Zhong Chengfa was the first to speak, his voice trembling slightly.
"How could we dare! It was just a joke with Xiaoxiao, nothing more!" Zhong Chengren quickly explained, afraid that the bamboo pole would actually fall on him.
Zhong Chengyi felt even more wronged and muttered softly, "I didn't say anything, Mom, you can't wrong an innocent person..."
Zhang Chunxue snorted and tapped the bamboo pole on the ground, making a dull "thud".
"If it weren't for Xiaoxiao pleading for you good-for-nothings, I would have made you kneel on the ground until the end of time!"
Her sharp gaze swept over the three men: "Have you all lost your minds? Daring to talk behind my back, you're really pushing your luck, thinking you're in the right?"
The three of them dared not say they were right and hurriedly shook their heads.
“No, no! Mom is right!” Zhong Chengfa said, head bowed.
“It’s all because we were ignorant!” Zhong Chengren echoed.
Then, the three of them turned to Zhong Xiaoxiao in unison, their faces instantly filled with gratitude.
"Thank you, Xiaoxiao! It's always my sister who cares about her brother!" Zhong Chengfa said sincerely.
"Xiaoxiao, my own sister! If anyone dares to bully you in the future, I'll be the first to stand up for you!" Zhong Chengren patted his chest and made a promise, even though he could barely stand up.
Zhong Chengyi quickly added, "Xiaoxiao, your third brother knew you were the best!"
He was so frustrated!
He was genuinely grateful to Xiaoxiao, but it was all the fault of the eldest and second eldest brothers for their loose tongues, stirring things up and making sarcastic remarks, which caused them to get scolded as well!
It's truly a case of "when the city gates catch fire, the fish in the moat suffer!"
Zhang Chunxue then leaned the bamboo pole against the corner of the wall and waved her hand impatiently: "Alright! Get yourselves to the fields and work! Standing here in the way!"
The three brothers, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, ignored the throbbing pain in their knees and the rumbling of their stomachs, and scrambled out of the yard.
Before leaving, Zhong Chengfa looked back one last time.
Zhong Hongqing followed closely behind Zhong Xiaoxiao, who would occasionally turn around to tease him. The two figures, one big and one small, looked quite harmonious.
He was slightly relieved, knowing that Xiaoxiao was sensible and would definitely be able to take good care of Hongqing.
He took a deep breath and quickly followed him into the field.
Zhong Chengren and Zhong Chengyi, however, were extremely unhappy.
These two are a gambling addict and a good-for-nothing; neither of them is willing to work hard.
When they arrived at the field, the sun was blazing, and Zhong Chengren complained of back pain after hoeing the ground for a couple of strokes.
"Oh dear, no, no, my back must be sore from kneeling just now, I need to rest for a while."
Zhong Chengyi followed suit, throwing down his hoe: "My knees are swollen too, I must have injured them kneeling, I need to find some herbs to apply to them quickly."
The two exchanged a glance, understanding each other perfectly. One said he had a stomachache and needed to go to the outhouse, while the other said his farm tools were broken and he needed to go to Old Li's house at the village entrance to get them fixed. In the blink of an eye, they had vanished without a trace.
Zhong Chengfa watched from the edge of the field, shaking his head in frustration, but there was nothing he could do but bury himself in his work.
After all, his mother hasn't completely given up on the idea of him bringing his son back!
He'd better make a good impression.
In the courtyard, Zhang Chunxue sat down on a small stool in the main room and began to plan her small business.
She's preparing to make braised pork offal.
Pig offal isn't so easy to handle; it has to be fresh.
She needs to go to town when she has some free time to talk to Old Wang, the butcher, and ask him to reserve fresh pig intestines, lungs, and livers for her, with a negotiable price.
As for side dishes, things like dried tofu, potatoes, eggs, and white radishes can all be bought cheaply in the village.
The most troublesome thing is pricing.
These days, every household doesn't have much spare money. If it's too expensive, no one will buy it; if it's too cheap, there's no profit to be made, and it's not even worth the effort.
Zhang Chunxue spent the entire afternoon mentally calculating on her fingers, and finally made some progress.
Just as I was thinking about going to town tomorrow, someone knocked on the gate of the courtyard.
Zhang Chunxue put down her work, slipped on her shoes, went out to open the door, and saw...
It turned out to be Song Xingzhi.
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