Xie Hanshuo’s eyes widened in disbelief, his lips pressed tightly together, his face full of grievance.
It was clearly her who was unwilling on their wedding night; how could she be spreading rumors about him?!
“Ye Yao, you are going too far.”
He rushed in front of her aggressively, his eyes looking exactly like a wolf ready to eat someone.
As his tall figure loomed over her, Ye Yao thought he was about to make a move, but while she was stunned, the man simply snatched the quilt from behind her.
He spread the quilt out on the floor, flushed with shame and anger, lay down with his back to her, and said stiffly:
“I won’t sleep with you. In any case… I absolutely will not yield!”
Ye Yao: “…”
Fine, she was truly out of ideas this time.
At breakfast the next day, Ye Hanzhu arrived last.
Her face was haggard, her eyes dull, and her lip was bitten open, revealing the deep red flesh underneath.
Her legs trembled as she walked, and she looked as though she had lost her soul.
Ye Yao took a casual glance, her brows slightly furrowed.
After all that happened yesterday, Xie Moyan was unhappy, and it seemed he had vented his frustration on his wife during the night.
In her previous life, she had not been able to escape such torment, so she did not feel any gloating at this moment, but rather felt it was pathetic.
Ye Hanzhu thought herself clever for swapping marriages twice, but does she realize that wealth and honor are not easily enjoyed?
Ye Yao shook her head to herself and sipped her porridge slowly.
Immediately after, she heard Mother Xie say in a sarcastic tone: “Why are you up so late? You little wretch, you only know how to be lazy!”
Ye Hanzhu had been put through a lot last night.
She didn’t understand how her usually gentle and considerate husband had suddenly seemed like a different person.
She was terrified, but didn’t dare to make a scene for fear of losing face, so she endured the night in agony.
Now, being scolded by her mother-in-law again, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at her husband with a pitiable expression.
Xie Moyan immediately stood up to support her, speaking in a soft, gentle voice: “Mother, Zhu’er has been tired these past few days; I specifically let her sleep in for a little while.”
He held Ye Hanzhu’s hand with concern and even gave her half of the egg that Mother Xie had boiled for him.
A slight smile finally appeared on Ye Hanzhu’s face, and most of her inner grievance dissipated.
She thought that it must have been the conflict between Ye Yao and the second Xie son yesterday that had displeased her husband.
With nowhere to vent his anger, he had been rough during their marital intimacy.
It was all those two people’s fault!
When she got the chance, she would definitely teach this bitch Ye Yao a harsh lesson.
It was all because of this bitch that she had suffered!
Ye Hanzhu endured the pain in her body, her gaze cutting toward Ye Yao like a knife.
Ye Yao pretended not to see it and finished her meal in silence.
Afterward, everyone except Xie Moyan had to go to the fields.
Xie Hanshuo had been up in the mountains hunting for the past two days, so there weren’t enough hands in the fields, and the work hadn’t been finished.
Today, even Ye Hanzhu had to go to the fields to help, so they could barely finish harvesting those five acres of wheat.
It was September, and the sky was clear and crisp.
The wheat in the fields was growing well, a golden expanse that was pleasing to the eye.
Mother Xie and Ye Hanzhu were responsible for the two acres closer by, while the three larger acres by the river belonged to Xie Hanshuo and Ye Yao.
Harvesting wheat was hard labor; Ye Yao bent over, baking in the scorching sun, becoming so exhausted that she was gasping for breath and could barely keep her eyes open.
“You rest, I’ll do it.”
The sickle in her hand was suddenly snatched away by the man.
Xie Hanshuo was shirtless, sweat running down the tight muscle lines of his abdomen.
His stature was burly and tall, and Ye Yao had to tilt her head back to see his face.
Only then did she realize that the second Xie son was very handsome.
His brow bone was as sharp as if carved by a knife, his eye sockets were deep, and his eyes were dark and bright.
His nose was high and straight; when he frowned in anger, he looked like a wild, untamable wolf.
Although he was an uneducated, rugged country man, this sturdy and handsome build was something Xie Moyan could not envy enough.
“I can finish these three acres by myself.”
Seeing Ye Yao staring at him, Xie Hanshuo turned his face away coldly, avoiding her gaze.
Ye Yao knew his strength was like an ox, so she didn’t stand on ceremony with him.
But there was so much work, she felt embarrassed to be idle: “Then what should I do? Or else… should I go home to make lunch?”
“It’s still early.” Xie Hanshuo glanced at the sun; there was still a while until noon.
Next, he took two eggs that were still warm from his embrace with somewhat clumsy movements and stuffed them into Ye Yao’s hands, trying his best to make his tone less fierce:
“You rest, eat an egg.”
At breakfast, only Xie Moyan had eggs to eat; others did not.
He had shared half an egg with Ye Hanzhu, and Ye Hanzhu’s tail had been wagging in triumph.
But where did the second Xie son get this egg?
Ye Yao was surprised: “Where did you get these eggs?”
“Stole them.” Xie Hanshuo said righteously, “In the morning when Mother was boiling eggs, I sneaked two and threw them into the pot. After they were boiled, I snuck them out. Mother won’t find out, don’t worry.”
Ye Yao: “…”
In the morning she had only drunk thin porridge, and she was indeed a bit hungry now.
She peeled off the eggshell, and seeing Xie Hanshuo turn to leave, she hurriedly called him back.
Ye Yao quickly stuffed one into his mouth: “You need to be full to have the strength to work, go on now.”
Xie Hanshuo bit into the egg, gave a muffled “Hm.”
He couldn’t describe what he was feeling at this moment; he only felt a warm current flowing through him, and his whole body felt energized.
Taking a rare moment of leisure after finishing the egg, Ye Yao idly began to calculate in her mind.
The Xie family had a total of ten acres of land: five acres of dry fields and five acres of paddy fields.
The five acres of fields could yield about 400 catties of wheat; the family kept 150 catties for food every year, paid 50 catties as grain tax, and the remaining 200 plus catties were sold for money.
This money was all held in Mother Xie’s hands.
What Ye Yao cared about was not the money from that little bit of grain, but that when the grain was sold, she would have a chance to go to town.
Living penniless was truly unbearable, and the gourmet shop she had been planning for a long time needed to open sooner.
Just as she was calculating, Ye Hanzhu and Mother Xie came over.
It was noon, and time to go back to cook.
Ye Hanzhu intended to go home, but Xie Hanshuo spoke first to Ye Yao: “You go back, and remember to fetch plenty of cold water from the well.”
When Mother Xie heard him tell Ye Yao to go back and cook, she glanced over and did not object.
After all, Xie Hanshuo was her biological son; how could a mother and son hold a grudge overnight?
Mother Xie also wanted to ease their relationship at this moment and instructed Ye Yao to bring more food back.
Xie Hanshuo had a big appetite and loved fried eggs; Mother Xie also told Ye Yao to make a portion for him, adding a meat dish for lunch.
The meal was delivered quickly, and as soon as the food box opened, the aroma of fried eggs drifted out.
Ye Yao had made two home-style dishes: fried eggs and stir-fried melon slices.
The plain, ordinary melon was stir-fried by her until it was soft and flavorful, making it perfect for eating with rice.
Xie Hanshuo took a bite, his eyes brightening as a flash of amazement passed through them.
He hadn’t expected Ye Yao’s cooking to be this good.
Even the usually picky and mean-spirited Mother Xie praised her repeatedly: “The second daughter-in-law really cooks well; from now on, the cooking in the house will be up to you.”
Ye Yao nodded and said “Yes.”
In her past life, she had also used this skill to coax Mother Xie, only then obtaining the capital from her to start her business.
However, Mother Xie was greedy; later she frequently asked for dividends and often brought poor relatives to eat and drink at the shop for free.
Once bitten, twice shy; in this life, she would find another way and would never let Mother Xie take advantage of her again.
Seeing the cooking duty snatched away by Ye Yao, Ye Hanzhu’s heart was filled with bitterness.
But upon reflection, wasn’t Ye Yao just relying on those food recipes her mother had left behind?
Ye Yao’s mother had come from Jiangnan as a refugee during the floods; it was said that her ancestors had served in the Imperial Palace and knew how to make many famous dishes.
If she could get her hands on these recipes and sell them…
Ye Hanzhu was full of schemes, but while she was distracted, Ye Yao was not idle, quickly eating her fill.
Before long, the dish was empty.
Ye Hanzhu was not yet full, and looking up to see Ye Yao smiling and burping, she turned green with rage.
Damn Ye Yao, she definitely did it on purpose!
Bitch, just you wait!