As soon as they reached the old well in the center of the village, Wen Dazui and Wen Huimei, who were washing clothes there, took the initiative to greet them.
"Aunt Wu, are you taking your new daughter-in-law to the fields?"
"Yeah! Sister Wen is doing laundry so early!"
Wu Ju quickened her pace as she spoke, fearing that Wen Dazui would attack again with guns and cannons. Shumei also followed closely behind him tactfully.
"Aunt Wu, you're asking your new bride, who's so delicate and beautiful, to work in the fields right after you got married. Your Ji Zong will definitely be heartbroken. With such a beloved new bride, there will be so many people vying to show their affection. Don't let the cooked duck fly into someone else's pot."
Wen Dazui spoke very nicely, but no matter how she tried to disguise her intentions, Wu Ju and Shumei could hear the mockery in her words.
She had her own schemes, and Wu Ju had her own ways to get around them. But Wu Ju wasn't someone to be trifled with; how could she just sit there and let someone mock her? She stopped her hurried steps, turned around, and said angrily, "Sister Wen! You look like you're just too bored. If you have so much free time, why don't you go wash clothes by the river instead of wasting our drinking water?"
"What a waste of drinking water! Which eye of yours saw that it says you can't wash clothes here? I did wash clothes, how does it bother you? Do you think this well belongs to your family? It's ridiculous. The upper beam is crooked and the lower beam is crooked."
"What did you say? Who are you calling crooked?"
"Whoever picked up the conversation is talking about who! The old woman is flirting with other women. I didn't expect that before she even got married, she'd already cheated on her husband. And she still has the nerve to talk nonsense here. I would have killed myself a long time ago."
Wen Dazui lowered his head and rubbed the clothes in the basin while speaking rudely and disdainfully, with a look of contempt in his words.
Hearing this, Shumei felt very aggrieved. To be honest, she really wanted to rush out and scold the fat woman in front of her, or have a good fight with her.
But she didn't do so. Now her words and actions were no longer just about herself, because she had her own family. For this small family that she had been looking forward to for a long time, for her beloved Ji Zong, and for the Zhang family, she had to endure and smooth out her edges.
Wu Ju was furious. She threw the bamboo basket on her back aside and pointed at Wen Dazui, cursing, "Wen Dazui, keep your mouth shut! Do you believe I'll tear your stinky mouth apart?"
Wen Dazui stood up and threw the clothes in his hand heavily into the basin. "What? You still want to hit me? Everything I said is the truth. If you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself. You have the nerve to do it, but you don't have the nerve to let others say it?"
"Today I must tear your stinky mouth apart." Wu Ju was so angry that she rushed towards Wen Dazui who was standing there.
Seeing that the situation was not going well, Shumei hurriedly put down the hoe in her hand and the basket on her back, and grabbed Wu Ju before the two of them started fighting.
"Mother, forget it, let's go!"
Hearing the two quarreling, the villagers gathered around. Wu Ju had just been struggling to leave, but as she watched the crowd grow and the terrifying eyes grow, her curses ebbed and flowed. Finally, with Shumei half-pulling her, she grabbed her backpack and slipped away.
"Pooh!"
Wen Dazui spat on the ground and stomped on it twice. Some nosy women gathered around her and asked her what happened. She felt very accomplished and started chatting with these nosy women while washing clothes.
Shumei kept her head down and remained silent all the way. She used to think that other people's spit could drown her, but after what happened today, she finally understood that this was life, this was the life of these uneducated, simple mountain people. Quarrels and gossip were commonplace.
Wu Ju was not as patient as she was. She complained non-stop all the way, beating her chest and stamping her feet, pointing her finger at the sky and the ground, and cursing endlessly. When she arrived at the rapeseed field, she kept mumbling while pulling the rapeseed seedlings.
Shumei bent down and pulled the rapeseed seedlings skillfully, and she could only turn a deaf ear to Wu Ju's words.
Seeing Shumei working so efficiently, Wu Ju's anger subsided a lot. "Hey! You taciturn person, why didn't you say a word when someone just bullied your mother?"
"Mother, the clear are clear and the turbid are turbid. We are upright and have nothing to fear from our own shadows. Why bother to get entangled with them?" Shumei did not stop the work in her hands to answer Wu Ju's question. She continued to pull the rapeseed seedlings skillfully.
"I'm talking to you! Don't you know that people always pick on the weak? Do you think that giving in will make things peaceful? The more you give in, the more they'll see you're easy to bully, and the more they'll push you. Over time, you'll become everyone's plaything, the topic of conversation after dinner, and when you suffer a loss, others will think you're taking advantage."
Seeing Shumei acting as if nothing had happened, Wu Ju was so angry that she put her hands on her hips and scolded her, and gave her some advice.
"Suffering a loss is a blessing. Just live your life well."
"You, you, when you really suffer a loss in the future, you will remember what I said today." Wu Ju sighed and shook her head.
Summer had passed, and autumn had arrived. It was now the end of autumn, and the sun was no longer as scorching as it had been in the summer. It was the perfect time to work, neither too hot nor too cold, just the right temperature. Shumei, accustomed to farming at home, naturally didn't neglect her work. She had no mood to chat with Wu Ju, and she quickly filled her empty basket.
"Mother, it's full, let's go!"
Shumei wiped the sweat from her forehead, took the initiative to carry the heavy phosphate fertilizer on her back, picked up the hoe, and waited for Wu Ju to lead the way.
The village they live in is a picturesque place, surrounded by water. It's often called "Little Taiwan." Although the people here aren't wealthy, they live happily. They plant in spring and harvest in autumn, working hard to make ends meet. Their days are fulfilling and peaceful.
They don't smell the stench of money, don't worry about being laid off, and don't indulge in the bright lights and feasting...
While not as picturesque as spring, with its vibrant birdsong and fragrant flowers, this "Little Taiwan" of this season is still quite picturesque. Wild yellow chrysanthemums are in full bloom across the mountains and fields, the evergreen cypresses haven't lost their leaves with the arrival of autumn, and the birds' chirping remains melodious.
Shumei didn't even glance at the beautiful scenery, but followed Wu Ju closely with her head down. When they got to the field, she didn't need Wu Ju's instructions, but took the initiative to pick up the hoe, raised it high and turned the soil in the field with a hoe.
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