Cuihua wasn't one to sit idle, so she went straight to the Tao family's old man and woman and volunteered to move to town to help them tend their ten acres of land.
The ten acres of land are planted with sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn. The corn needs weeding, the sweet potatoes need turning over, and there is also a vegetable garden planted with potatoes. With such a dry weather, how could she bear to let the old man work all by himself?
Now that she's unemployed, she not only goes to town to help with chores herself, but also tells Cuiju and Cuihong to go to Xihe Village to help the old lady with chores whenever they have free time.
Now the elderly couple has separated, one staying in the town and the other in the village, all to better tend to their crops and vegetables.
Although it's not the busy farming season, there's still so much work to do in the fields, especially with the purslane in the cornfields, which is so abundant it's practically a plague. This is the best dried vegetable for winter, and even if it's just for weeding, we still have to dig it up and bring it home.
Moreover, the Tao family also raised sheep and chickens, and brought the grass home to dry into hay, so the sheep would have something to eat in the winter.
No matter how busy you are every day, it's not all for nothing.
"Didn't you say before that if the old man passed away, you would take care of the old lady? Why has that changed?"
Cuihua's expression instantly became indescribable. What could she say? That the old lady was always on guard against her? That her son was even slightly nice to her, and her daughter-in-law would indirectly call her a little bitch?
She has her pride too; even if she's poor, no one can endure such daily insults.
Sending the old man away was the limit of how long she could stay in this family.
She didn't want to work even one more day.
Even if the old lady begged her to go back, she wouldn't.
So now when Grandma Tao asks her about it, she avoids the main point.
“It’s the old lady. She’s used to being frugal and doesn’t want to spend my salary anymore. Grandma, I also feel that I should come back. Look at all the work at home, how can you two possibly finish it all? My sisters and I can only help out at home for the next couple of years. In two years, when the production team is established, everyone will have to work on the public land.”
Cuihua had mentioned the future development direction, and the old lady knew about it, but she felt quite embarrassed that she was always troubling the girls.
However, Cuihua felt that the old lady was being too polite. Putting aside the fact that they had taken her in during their most difficult time, the kindness of providing food and lodging for several years was something that could not be repaid with these trivial tasks. In addition, there were the important matters such as repairing the house, finding her sister, and registering her sister's household registration. Which one of these things did not deserve Cuihua's gratitude today?
The sisters are all kind and grateful children. The old lady knows their kindness very well, so she can only make sure to give them extra food.
The children should at least be fed before they go to work in the fields, right?
As soon as Zhou Yue had a holiday, he went to his master's house to help out. At least he was provided with food and lodging there. Even if he wasn't paid, at least he didn't have to eat at his master's house.
Tao Zui also went to the county town. His parents were good at making money and found him several tutoring jobs, all for junior high school students who would be taking the high school entrance exam next year. These families were all well-off, and they hoped that he would get into high school. When they learned that Tao Zui was going to the county's top high school, they all took him very seriously.
To ensure his son could work part-time smoothly, Tao Changyi took the night shift for the past month. This way, Tao Zui could stay in the dormitory at night and wouldn't have to run around everywhere. It takes several hours to get back to the town from the county seat, and he couldn't bear to see his son go through such trouble.
Tao Changyi works the night shift, so Tao Zui can stay overnight. Tao Changyi sleeps during the day, so it won't cause any problems. This is a win-win situation.
The second son, Tao Ran, was responsible for helping his grandmother with chores in Xihe Village, along with his younger brother and sister, while Cuihua stayed in town with Tao An and their grandfather.
Even though Cui Mei was capable of self-taught success, she would still occasionally seek help from Tao Ran and Tao Qing at the Tao family.
So, Cuihong and Cuiju naturally went to the town to help.
The two families help each other and can communicate in a timely manner even though they live in different villages.
On the contrary, the people living in this village often come over but can't find anyone.
Besides the old lady of the Tang family and her troublesome daughters-in-law, even Tang Youtian often came to visit his daughters.
It's fortunate that the sisters don't own land, so they don't need to work in the fields all day or show their faces in public.
Even at home, the gate is kept locked, and all that's needed is to tend to the vegetable gardens in the front and back yards.
Or they might go out early in the morning to dig for wild vegetables and come back when it's hottest at midday. At that time, everyone is staying at home to cool off and eat, so who would still be wandering around outside?
So Tang Youtian came several times, but never saw anyone.
That day, he saw Tang Cuihong returning from the riverbank with a bamboo basket on her back from afar. He quickly stood at the door to wait. When Cuihong got closer, he could see her clearly. He immediately felt that she didn't look like him, so he didn't bother to look at her closely to see who she looked like.
He didn't care which children they were sending away; he only cared about where the money for their schooling came from.
The news that Tang Cuimei had gone to study in the countryside had spread throughout the entire Taoyuan Village.
Even if the sisters didn't spread the word, there's a chain of communication between villages. Tang Cuihong, the new classmate from Taoyuan Village, would definitely be asked about everywhere by her classmates. Before long, Tang Youtian found out too.
Even with Zhang Yanhong trying to stop him, he couldn't swallow his anger. His nephews and nieces had a hard time getting into school, so what made her so special that she had just found them?
He simply didn't believe that her previous status as a child bride would enable her to read and write.
Now the old lady doesn't dare to come, so he has to go, but his wife won't let him come. How can he resist?
But to his surprise, none of his daughters were home, and the only one left was deaf and mute. No matter how much he gesticulated around like a clown, she didn't even change her expression or give him a second glance before slamming the door shut.
Tang Youtian was so angry that he kept banging on the door, eventually disturbing the neighbors. The deaf man in the house didn't even come out to take a look.
He was even criticized: "Guess why she's deaf and mute? Aren't you just picking a fight? I already said she can't hear me. How could she hear you if you knock on the door? She can't understand what you're saying in front of her, so why should she talk to you? Her sister told her to close the door when she gets home. Don't say goodbye here. Wait until Cuihua comes back before you come over."
"Cuihua? That rabbit girl, if I could find her, would I need to communicate with this mute? What number is she? And what number is that girl who goes to school? Where do they get the money to go to school? And that girl who goes to school, how could she have never been to school before going to junior high?"
The neighbor found the question rather amusing: "What, do they need to tell you when someone starts school?"
"Then I went to Niujia Village to ask. It's impossible for her daughter to have ever gone to school. She has endless work to do every day, and she's too busy being beaten and suffering. She can't even afford to eat. How could she afford to go to school?"
Tang Youtian's question only made the neighbor lady despise him more.
"Oh, so you do care about these sisters after all? I thought you were hiding and not showing your face because you were afraid they would bother you again."
"And what happened? The women who had the guts didn't go looking for you, but you couldn't stand seeing them doing well, so you came to their door to dig up all the secrets."
"What? Even if this fifth son never went to school, do you know he had no other way to learn? Since he was able to go to school, and even went to the township high school, that proves he has the ability. Did he spend your money? Or eat your rice? You already have a son to support you, so why are you picking on your daughter?"
“Look at what you’re saying. Am I picking a fight? I’m just concerned. Look at my eldest brother and sister-in-law, and my second brother and sister-in-law’s children. Sending them to school is not only expensive but also exhausting. With their family’s circumstances, they’re reluctant to let their daughters go to school. Cuihua has some money, but she shouldn’t waste it like this. If you ask me, it’s better to give the money to my son than to keep it for these money-losing girls!”
"Pah! How old is your son? He's not even qualified for preschool yet, and you're already scrambling for school fees? You said it yourself, he's your son, not Cuihua's son. You don't want to raise him, but you expect Cuihua to? How shameless can you be? Tell me honestly, Tang Youtian, did you sell Cao Amei to some poor mountain village? Otherwise, where would you get the money to marry a second wife? How can you be so shameless? With your character, how could you marry such a beautiful widow? Haven't you considered that there might be something fishy going on?"
Just then, Zhang Yanhong came over, grabbed Tang Youtian, and left with an embarrassed smile, scolding him for meddling in other people's business as they walked away.
The elderly neighbor watched the couple walk away, feeling something was off about them, as if it was a forced relationship.
In fact, Tang Cuihong not only had no expression towards Tang Youtian, but also towards everyone else in the village. She was too lazy to painstakingly figure out what they were saying, so she simply immersed herself in her own world, going out early and returning late every day to dig wild vegetables and dry them, just doing her job.
If I feel like having a craving, I'll take a fish out of my precious storage cabinet and grill it in the wild or at home when no one's around.
Fish bones and the like are thrown directly to the chickens, leaving no trace whatsoever; it's very clean.
The only people she would treat kindly were her sisters and cousins who would bring her delicious food every time they came back.
She did learn to read from the fifth brother for a few days, but later found it troublesome and simply stopped, mainly because communication was too difficult.
Although being unable to hear was distressing for her, she hadn't talked so much in her previous world. They were more used to deciding who got food by fighting. Now that she was here, that kind of thing didn't apply, so she simply kept quiet, focused on doing the chores around the house, and was content as long as she had food to eat.
She is a simple and pure person who cannot accept the scheming and intrigue of others. Instead, she feels that this kind of life suits her better.
Tang Youtian didn't understand Zhang Yanhong's actions at all.
"Why do you always stop me from going to see them? Aren't you curious about where they get the money to send the fifth or fourth child to school?"
Zhang Yanhong began to understand why the old man was disliked by her daughters.
That's a bottomless pit. As long as there's a little benefit, they want to take it all for themselves. That's more than just shameless.
She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and looked at him with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, asking him a question.
"I don't care where they got the money to go to school. I don't care how she got into junior high. What's it to you, Tang Youtian? I'm just asking you, you've cut ties with them, so what's it to you how they're doing now? Are you trying to get on their good side because you think your eldest daughter hasn't insulted them enough?"
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