We ate the leftover pork rib congee from breakfast for dinner. Meat will spoil if left for too long, so it's best not to eat it overnight.
Taking advantage of the free time, Wei Yuyan massaged her ankles, something she does every day recently.
"Cuifang, the matchmaker told me again yesterday that there is a nice boy in Beicun."
He was a bricklayer, but he had a wide network of connections. As a team leader, he could earn half a tael of silver a month.
The village chief's wife has started introducing potential blind dates to Liu Cuifang again.
"What use is half a tael of silver if I don't have to work in the fields?"
Liu Cuifang seemed to look down on him, perhaps because she had seen such a fine young man as Zhang Hao and looked down on people from the countryside.
It's not that she particularly likes Zhang Hao, it's just that she feels she should marry a rich man like Zhang Hao.
"Well, men are busy making money, so women naturally have to take care of the home and the outside world."
Besides, farming only takes a few busy days; there's not much work to do the rest of the time.
The village chief's wife disagreed, saying that farming was fine, as long as they could eat their fill and stay warm, that was the best life.
"I don't think much of it. Little Grass even found a carpenter. If you ask me, a carpenter is better than a bricklayer."
The carpenter can stay at home all day, making furniture and helping with farm work.
Liu Cuifang compared them.
"You mean, you also want to find a man who doesn't require you to do farm work?"
The village chief's wife finally caught on to something.
"Pretty much. Anyway, I don't have to do farm work at my parents' house. Why would I have to do farm work after I marry into another family? Dream on."
Liu Cuifang left those words and went back to her room to embroider a handkerchief.
"Don't you have to work in the fields?"
The matchmaker was a little surprised by the request, as Liu Cuifang was not exactly a beauty.
She's not from a wealthy family, yet she demands she doesn't have to do farm work; that's a bit difficult to handle.
"Yes, Hua the matchmaker, she never lifted a finger in her family home."
At most, she just does housework at home. Her dad and I do all the farm work, so she doesn't need to do anything.
The village chief's wife shamelessly spoke to the matchmaker.
"Oh dear, this is difficult to find. The main problem is that Cuifang is getting on in years. It's not good for you to be so picky."
The matchmaker told the truth that all the girls in the village who were the same age as Cuifang and weren't married yet had arranged marriages, just like Xiaocao, who was already engaged.
"Matchmaker, that's why I've been running around so much. My daughter-in-law brought this half-pound of meat yesterday. Please help Cuifang find it again."
The village chief's wife knew that if she didn't offer some benefits, the matchmaker wouldn't bother to find a good boy. She had bought the meat yesterday and cut off half a pound of it.
"Oh dear, look at this, how can I accept this? Well then, let's just leave it there. Since you've said so, I'll definitely work harder these next few days and try my best to get things done for your Cuifang this year."
The matchmaker had long seen through Liu Cuifang's arrogance and unrealistic ambitions.
But when the village chief's wife came to see her, she couldn't very well refuse the village chief's request.
I had no choice but to nod, thinking that this was my last chance to try.
"Okay, thank you so much. I'll go home and wait for your good news."
The village chief's wife waved happily and went home.
In the afternoon, Wei Yuyan had nothing to do, so she carried the fertilizer from the composting pond to the paddy field to fertilize it.
After all, this matter cannot be delayed; once the seedlings have grown well, they will be transplanted.
Unexpectedly, I ran into Liu Cuifang on the way.
"Yu Yan, look, look! What have you picked out? It stinks like poop! We told you to leave here and go back to your parents' home, but you're not happy about it."
Liu Cuifang, having failed to find a good husband, stopped pretending to be Wei Yuyan's best friend and instead showed a hint of mockery.
…………
Wei Yuyan acted as if she hadn't heard anything and brushed past her. In fact, she was deliberately pretending to be deaf and dumb, just to piss her off. Obviously, she had achieved her goal.
"You~~".
Liu Cuifang stomped her foot in anger, turned around and left.
Wei Yuyan worked all afternoon to finish fertilizing the two acres of land and felt a little tired.
A few days later, Wei Yuyan remembered to use the toilet in bed in the middle of the night, but found that it was raining heavily and she couldn't even go out. Fortunately, there was a spittoon in the room that she could use.
I wonder if there's an umbrella at home.
During the time Wei Yuyan had been here, there hadn't been any heavy rains, only light drizzles, which only fell at night, so Wei Yuyan hadn't paid any attention to it.
When she woke up, the rain had stopped and the sky was clear again, but looking at the mud in the yard, Wei Yuyan really didn't want to go out.
I put on a pair of old shoes and slowly walked to the kitchen to cook. I'll just make pancakes for breakfast this morning. We have plenty of cornmeal at home, so we have to use it up.
The cornmeal has fermented well. I wrapped some sugar in it and fried it in a pan. It's sweet and quite delicious.
"Sister-in-law, this cornbread is so delicious!"
Wu Qian was thrilled to have tasted such a delicious pancake for the first time.
"I'll make it for you often from now on."
Wei Yuyan originally disliked sweet buns and sweet cakes the most in modern times.
But when I got here, I felt a bit bloated or something, and I also thought the sugar pancake was delicious.
"Sister-in-law~, sister-in-law~ thump thump thump~".
As soon as Xiuhua's voice rang out, Wei Yuyan, still chewing on a sugar cake, went to open the door.
"What's wrong, Sister-in-law Xiuhua?"
Wei Yuyan opened the door and saw Sister-in-law Xiuhua standing at the door with a basket on her back.
"Let's go pick mushrooms!"
Sister-in-law Xiuhua pointed to the mountain.
"Wouldn't that be a lot of mud? Maybe we should go this afternoon, or tomorrow."
Wei Yuyan wondered if the mushrooms could grow so quickly, especially since it rained late last night.
"There won't be any left for you this afternoon. A lot of people will be going up the mountain this afternoon, so stop dawdling."
Sister-in-law Xiuhua knew that the villagers would definitely go to the mountain to pick mushrooms today, so the earlier the better.
"Okay then, have you had breakfast? I made some sugar pancakes."
Wei Yuyan went inside to change her pants, and she had to tuck the cuffs in.
"I've eaten, Xiaolei, Qianqian, stay home and be good. We'll be back at noon."
Xiuhua's sister-in-law gave the two children a piece of advice.
"Okay, Sister Xiuhua, we'll stay home and not go out."
Wu Lei nodded.
"Xiao Lei, bolt the door. If someone knocks, don't speak or open the door. If it's us coming back, we'll call you."
Wei Yuyan was worried that her aunt would try to freeload again, since there were still some good things in the house.
"I understand, sister-in-law, don't worry."
Xiao Lei watched them leave before going inside and locking the door.
"Sister-in-law Xiuhua, is anyone buying these mushrooms? If we can't finish eating them, can we sell them?"
Wei Yuyan really likes to eat mushrooms.
"Yes, you can sell it if you want. I usually dry them and let your Brother Zhang sell them. He sold them to a restaurant, but the price wasn't high."
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