Dong Xiufang couldn’t wait to stomp Meng Yu into the mud!
Look at her, acting all delicate?
It was just fieldwork—don’t all young wives have to go help out in the fields?
But she acted so refined, screaming at the sight of a bug. It was truly disgraceful!
Fan Cuixiang had to soothe Meng Yu while also turning to shout back at Dong Xiufang—she was utterly busy!
“Shut up! If you don’t value your own daughter-in-law, does that mean you can’t acknowledge someone else’s as a precious treasure?”
“Dong Xiufang, may heaven strike you with thunder for your wickedness!”
Fan Cuixiang cursed Dong Xiufang fiercely, then quickly looked over at her eldest son, urgently waving.
“Snian, come over quickly! Your wife got scared!”
Hearing Zhou Snian’s name, Dong Xiufang panicked. Her eyes darted wildly, and she instinctively stepped back, saying nothing.
Although Zhou Snian being sent back home was a disgrace to the old Zhou family, Dong Xiufang wasn’t foolish. Who knew what twists were involved here? She couldn’t afford to get on Zhou Snian’s bad side!
Zhou Snian strode forward and, when he reached Meng Yu, crouched down and gently took her wrist.
“Ah! A bug!”
Meng Yu’s nerves were still on edge, and when she felt the touch on her wrist, she screamed even louder!
The next moment, she was enveloped in a safe embrace.
“Don’t be afraid.”
A calm, reassuring voice came from above her head.
Before Meng Yu could even react, Zhou Snian scooped her up into his arms!
“Hey! In broad daylight!”
“Shameless… truly shameless!”
Everyone standing around was too embarrassed to look as they witnessed the scene.
Zhou Snian didn’t care; holding Meng Yu, he turned and walked away.
With the distraction gone, Fan Cuixiang seized her target and charged at Dong Xiufang with a shout!
“Dong Xiufang! Today I’ll tear your mouth apart!”
Dong Xiufang had thought she had escaped, but to her surprise, Fan Cuixiang had turned on her.
Judging by her mother’s furious demeanor, she knew this was no joke. Screaming, she turned and ran!
The field immediately erupted into chaos.
Meng Yu, held tightly against Zhou Snian’s chest, felt an unprecedented sense of calm listening to the steady beat of his strong heart.
The two of them didn’t speak, remaining silent all the way home.
Zhou Snian used his foot to push open the door and carried her inside.
Only after placing Meng Yu gently on the kang did he speak softly, “Are you okay?”
Even back home, sitting on the kang, Meng Yu still felt as if all the bugs were everywhere around her!
Clenching her fists, she suddenly jumped up.
“I… I…”
She looked left and right, trying to spot the disgusting, plump little bugs.
Zhou Snian immediately hurried over and grabbed her wrist.
“There are no bugs inside.”
“Yes! There are so many!”
Meng Yu looked at Zhou Snian, panicked and helpless.
“I want to go home! I don’t want to be here! So many bugs! I can’t bring myself to crush them with my hands!”
She couldn’t handle it.
Her whole life had been devoted to practicing the violin; she had never done real labor. The only “experience” she had with creatures were the little goldfish she kept as a child.
She knew the bugs were pests, but she really couldn’t bring herself to touch them.
Not just that—she was terrified.
Zhou Snian frowned, not understanding why she was so afraid. For a farmer’s family, this was normal work. Why was her reaction so extreme?
Seeing Meng Yu pale and panicked, Zhou Snian could only hold her close, gently patting her back.
“It’s okay. You won’t have to go again.”
His words made the previously flustered Meng Yu freeze.
She lifted her head, looking at Zhou Snian in surprise.
“Not go… really?”
“Why not?”
His tone was calm, showing no judgment about a young wife not working in the fields.
Meng Yu frowned, as if trying to say something, but couldn’t organize her thoughts.
“You… I…”
She had really been dreading the fieldwork, since she had no skills for these so-called peasant chores.
Originally, she had planned to wait until evening to negotiate with Zhou Snian. She didn’t want to work in the fields; she could have used her brains to earn some money in this era, but she had never imagined encountering the bugs she feared most today!
And now, without any effort, she had won the right not to work in the fields.
“But… what about mom?”
“It’s fine.” Zhou Snian remained calm, as if he understood her thoughts. Smiling faintly, he said, “Don’t worry. Mom isn’t a petty person. With the way you are today, she won’t make you go.”
Considering Meng Yu’s state today, his mother would surely be frightened too and would not force her to the fields.
Meng Yu pressed her lips together.
She cautiously glanced at Zhou Snian.
“So… do you think I’m too incapable?”
Hearing this, Zhou Snian looked at Meng Yu with a trace of something indefinable in his eyes.
“So, what can you do?”
Just this one question left Meng Yu speechless.
All the small feelings of warmth she had been stacking up disappeared instantly.
She rolled her eyes at Zhou Snian, pushed him away, and flopped back onto the kang.
“I don’t want to talk to you.”
Seeing her little spoiled act, Zhou Snian chuckled, turned, and left, closing the door behind him.
After he left, Meng Yu finally sat up. Her lips were pressed together, her face still a bit pale, but she felt much more at ease.
As for why Zhou Snian had done this, Meng Yu couldn’t understand.
He had really allowed her to stay home so easily?
In this era, every household had to go out to earn work points. She had been genuinely frightened by the fieldwork, yet Zhou Snian could so effortlessly exempt her from going in the future…
Meng Yu thought about it again and again but couldn’t figure it out.
“Forget it… if I can’t understand, I won’t think about it.”
As long as she didn’t have to face those bugs, she didn’t care what Zhou Snian thought.
Near noon, Meng Yu had just entered the kitchen, and before she could start anything, Fan Cuixiang returned.
Seeing Meng Yu about to light the fire, Fan Cuixiang’s face changed dramatically!
“Put that down! Don’t touch it!”