Jiang Yingying stretched lazily, only then noticing the sky outside had darkened. Rubbing her sore wrists, she remembered the items she’d bought in town today and carried them inside.
The meal on the table was the usual fare: a few coarse corn buns, a plate of greens cooked without oil, and a pot of plain rice porridge. Patting her stomach, Jiang Yingying set down the pastries she was holding. “Mother, I bought these in town today. Try them and see if they’re good?”
After saying this, she handed Wen Cong and Wen Qin each a piece of candy. “Auntie got these for you.”
Li Xuelian was momentarily stunned before breaking into a smile. “Yingying, don’t always spoil them like this!”
Shen Xiaoyun glanced at the fragrant pastries on the table, feeling deeply ashamed of the dissatisfaction that had risen in her heart earlier… Her sister-in-law was truly wonderful…
Halfway through the meal, Jiang Yingying suddenly remembered the fish she’d brought home yesterday and casually asked, “Mother, shall we make fish soup tomorrow? If we keep it too long, the fishy smell will get stronger and it won’t taste good anymore!”
That fish had been salted by Li Xuelian and stored in the well. Hearing this, Li Xuelian hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back. “Yingying, we just had meat yesterday. We can save the fish to eat slowly…”
Jiang Yingying disagreed. “Mother, when we have food, we should eat it! We can always buy more after we finish this.”
She made it sound easy, but rabbits didn’t just jump into their hands from outside every day. Li Xuelian fell silent, finishing her meal with her head down. When she returned to her room, she sighed heavily. “That girl Yingying is good in every way, except she doesn’t know how to manage a household…”
Actually, the family didn’t expect her to do heavy work—after all, she was a delicate young woman, and Shen Yao was capable enough. But wanting to eat meat and fish every day? They couldn’t afford that!
Shen Qinghong was flipping through a book and laughed at her words. “But she’s the one who brought the meat and fish. If she wants to eat it, let her eat it!”
Li Xuelian smacked him irritably. “You’re always playing the nice guy! Do you think I’m being stingy? The problem is, what do we do after the meat is gone? How can we let this delicate daughter-in-law eat pickled vegetables and coarse grains every day? She won’t be able to stand it for long!”
Shen Qinghong put down his book helplessly. “Then what do you suggest we do?”
It was precisely because she couldn’t bring herself to say anything that she was complaining to her husband! Li Xuelian grew even angrier. She turned over. “After the wheat harvest, we’ll raise a few more chickens and ducks at home! Things are different now than before—the crops we grow in the fields are our own. At least life isn’t as hard as it used to be.”
Meanwhile, Jiang Yingying had enlisted Shen Xiaoyun as her laborer again. “Little sister, I know you must be tired after working all day, but could you do me a favor?”
Shen Yao pulled Shen Xiaoyun away impatiently. “Don’t drag Xiaoyun into this! Do it yourself!”
He’d never seen her lift a finger to do any housework, and now she expected others to work for her?
Jiang Yingying let out a delicate hum and intimately grabbed Shen Xiaoyun’s hand. “If you help your sister-in-law, I won’t make you work for free. I’ll pay you. How about that?”
Shen Xiaoyun’s eyes widened. “Sister-in-law, how could I take money for helping you? Mother would scold me to death!”
“Even brothers keep clear accounts! I’d have to pay outsiders if I hired them, so why shouldn’t I pay my own family?”
Ignoring Shen Yao’s dark expression, Jiang Yingying pulled Shen Xiaoyun into the room. Pointing at the clothes on the floor, she asked quietly, “Do you have any reliable girlfriends? Preferably honest ones who can keep their mouths shut and are good at needlework.”
Shen Xiaoyun was stunned by the pile of fabric before her. It took her a moment to regain her composure. “Sis, where… where did you get so much cloth?”
In a year—no, in her entire life—she had never owned this many clothes…
Jiang Yingying gave her a mysterious smile. “I promised an aunt I’d make clothes for her daughter. This fabric is from her.”
Shen Yao’s brow twitched slightly, but he didn’t expose her lie.
Xiaoyun half-believed her and thought for a moment. “Little Hua from the back alley has good skills and is honest. There’s also Aunt Shen’s daughter, Xiao Yu.”
Jiang Yingying considered this. “I only need one girl. Which one is more reliable?”
“Little Hua,” Xiaoyun said decisively. “She hardly ever talks to anyone.”
“Then call her over tomorrow during the day. We’ll work together and should finish in about two days.”
Jiang Yingying clapped her hands, making the decision.
“Ah? Tomorrow during the day?”
Xiaoyun shook her head vigorously. “I might be fine with it, but Little Hua probably can’t. She still has to work in the fields!”
Jiang Yingying laughed. “I’ll pay each of you one yuan per day. Isn’t that a hundred times better than working in the fields?”
“One yuan…”
Xiaoyun stammered, “Th-that’s too much! We can’t accept that!”
At this time, workers only earned about twenty-something yuan per month. How could two young girls earn so much money?
“I keep my word,” Jiang Yingying said. “As long as you work diligently and do a good job, I’ll pay you every day.” She glanced outside. “Besides, it’s going to rain tomorrow. You won’t be able to work in the fields anyway.”
Xiaoyun was even more confused. “Sis, how do you know it’s going to rain?”
Jiang Yingying patted her head. “Just a guess.”
Dazed, Xiaoyun accepted a piece of candy and returned to her room.
Shen Yao stood leaning against the doorframe, his gaze sharp. “Are you really Jiang Yingying?”
Jiang Yingying tilted her head and gave him a flirtatious look. “Brother Yao, would you like to verify that in person?”
Shen Yao’s ears turned red. After a moment, he said, “You’ve changed from before.”
He hadn’t interacted much with Jiang Yingying previously, but they had crossed paths a few times. Every time, she had looked down her nose at everyone and acted utterly foolish.
Had he misjudged her before?
Jiang Yingying clicked her tongue. “Who stays the same forever?”
Shen Yao seemed thoughtful. “Have you lost feelings for that Cheng Wenjian?”
Even he had seen Jiang Yingying chasing after Cheng Wenjian more than once.
Jiang Yingying sighed with feigned sorrow. “When I was younger, I always thought educated men who loved reading were the best. But a person can’t stay blind forever, right?”
“My heart has been completely broken. How could I possibly like him again?”
For some reason, hearing her say she couldn’t like Cheng Wenjian anymore brought Shen Yao a flicker of joy. But when he heard her heart had been broken by that man, he couldn’t help feeling sour.
“You were pretty blind before,” Shen Yao said coldly, leaning against the doorframe and watching her arrange the clothes. “And how did you know it would rain tomorrow?”
Outside, the moon was bright and the stars sparse—there was no sign of rain.
Jiang Yingying rubbed her stiff neck. “While waiting for the bus, the textile factory across the street was broadcasting. They had the weather forecast.”
Shen Yao had nothing to say to that. After a while, he closed the door and came in. “Turn off the light. Time to sleep!”
Jiang Yingying refused. “You go ahead and sleep. I still have some work to do.”
Some of the small decorations needed to be hand-sewn, and she had to do those herself first.
Seeing her head bowed so low it almost touched the needle, Shen Yao casually turned off the kerosene lamp and snorted, “Keep working like this, and you’ll really go blind!”