The couple were both extremely annoyed that Ye Wen insisted on going out to work in the fields. But the old matriarch ruled the household—once she made up her mind to go, there was nothing they could do about it.
“Let it be for now,” the second son said irritably, yanking the quilt over himself. Deep down, he hoped his mother wouldn’t be able to endure the hardship of farm work and would give up after just one day.
But when he thought about how he wouldn’t be able to go to town to do business the next day, he tossed and turned on the kang like a pancake being flipped.
Missing one day might be manageable, but if he missed several days in a row, his regular customers would probably be poached by someone else. Thinking of this, he couldn’t help cursing his father in his heart—what was the old man thinking, bothering himself with all this even after being laid to rest?
As for the matter of his father appearing in a dream, he actually believed it.
Earlier, when his mother had scolded him, he had felt something was off and even suspected she might have been possessed by something unclean. But after seeing her just now beating and yelling at his eldest brother with that same fierce energy, it was clearly the familiar mother he knew.
His father had been knowledgeable and capable of making money. When he was alive, his mother always listened to him. If his father hadn’t appeared in a dream, given her usual temperament, how could she have let his sister-in-law off so easily?
Not to mention insisting on raising that newborn girl properly. With his mother’s old temper, not drowning the child would already have been considered merciful—how could she possibly say something like “raise her well”?
What’s more, he noticed that his mother spoke differently today. In the past, she only knew how to bicker and argue like a typical village woman, but today her words were clear and well-structured, carrying a hint of how his father used to speak when he was alive.
When his father was young, he had traveled far and wide and seen much of the world. He was the most eloquent person in the village.
He remembered how his father used to tell stories at the village entrance, with villagers crowding around to listen. He often went too, and it was then that he began to yearn for the outside world, unwilling to be trapped in this tiny place for his whole life.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that his father appearing in a dream was almost certainly real.
He didn’t dare completely go against his mother’s wishes. After all, his father had spoken—if he didn’t listen to his mother, he could forget about ever making money.
If it really came to it, he could find a partner in the future and take turns delivering fish. He wasn’t willing to give up the money-making opportunity he had worked so hard to find.
He was the kind of person who couldn’t sleep at night without counting his silver at least once. If one day there was no income at all, he’d probably lie awake all night.
Having thought it through, the second son prepared to sleep.
“Do you really expect me to cook for this whole family every day?” Tian Chunhua complained, pushing him in dissatisfaction. “I refuse to work every single day!”
Just as the second son was about to fall asleep, he was shoved awake and immediately flared up.
“Is your sister-in-law supposed to sit through postpartum confinement for the rest of her life?” he snapped. “You just need to endure until she’s done with her month—then the work will rotate back to her. Besides, didn’t Mother say it herself? If you don’t want to cook, then go work in the fields. Stop making noise—I’m exhausted and need to sleep!”
Hearing this, Tian Chunhua suddenly understood. Right—at most it would only be a month. Once her sister-in-law finished confinement, all the chores would fall back on her. By then, she could go back to carrying Yaozuang around and wandering from house to house again.
Working in the fields? Not a chance! She had already had enough of farm labor before getting married. Tian Chunhua had sworn long ago that she would never touch those backbreaking jobs again in her life!
Thinking this, she lay down contentedly and soon fell asleep.
Early the next morning.
Before dawn, Ye Wen opened her eyes under the influence of this body’s biological clock.
Soon after, soft rustling sounds came from the east wing. Ye Wen quickly got up as well—she had already said last night that she would go work in the fields today.
Pushing open the door, Ye Wen stretched widely.
In the courtyard, the eldest son was gathering up some long strips of cloth. Seeing her come out, he flushed red and hurriedly put them away while greeting her. “Mother, why are you up so early?”
Ye Wen took a closer look and realized he was collecting Jiang Lian’s menstrual cloths. Seeing how embarrassed he looked, it was obvious he had followed her instructions last night and washed them for Jiang Lian, and was now planning to bring them back into the room. People in ancient times valued modesty—since people passed through the courtyard during the day, such private items were usually not left out to dry.
Those who listened deserved praise. Ye Wen nodded. “Well done, Eldest.” The fact that this son took her words to heart wasn’t bad at all.
The redness on the eldest son’s face deepened—partly from embarrassment, since washing a woman’s menstrual cloths would be mortifying if word got out, and partly because his mother had actually praised him. In all his years, this was the first time.
Lately, not only had his mother stopped scolding him, she had even praised him. This stirred a faint longing for familial warmth in his once-numb heart.
He asked tentatively, “Mother, are you really going to the fields with us?” After so many years without farm work, could she handle it?
Ye Wen looked at her “bargain” eldest son and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I know my limits—I’ll just do what I can. I can’t pile the entire household’s burden on you alone.”
Hearing this, the eldest son’s eyes reddened. Since his father passed away, as the eldest son, he had shouldered the family’s weight all by himself.
Watching his mother favor the second and third sons all these years had never felt good. Now that she was finally thinking of him too—even just a little—it made his heart feel warm.
Seeing him standing there lost in thought, Ye Wen turned and headed for the west wing. There hadn’t been any movement at all from the second son’s household.
She frowned and knocked hard on the window frame. “Second daughter-in-law, the sun’s already shining on your backside—why aren’t you up making breakfast yet?”
After quite a while, Tian Chunhua’s lazy voice finally came from inside. “Coming, Mother…”
Ye Wen’s expression darkened. She hadn’t expected the second household to drop the ball on her very first day in charge.
Without saying more, she went straight into the kitchen, scooped out coarse rice from the cupboard, rinsed it, and put it into the pot. Breakfast was always simple—cook a pot of mixed-grain porridge and eat it with some pickled vegetables.
Only after finishing this did Ye Wen finally have time to wash up.
She stared at the frayed willow twig in her hand and helplessly stuffed it into her mouth.
This lousy branch poked her gums and didn’t clean well at all, but she had no choice but to use it. It was truly miserable.
The system shop did have toothbrushes, and she had enough exchange points to get one—but how could she dare take it out and use it? Once things settled down, she would have to go to the city and buy a proper toothbrush no matter what.
According to the original owner’s memories, this era already had toothbrushes made from pig bristles and wooden handles. But one cost twenty-five copper coins—an astronomical price for someone as broke as she was now.
Money… she had to find a way to make money…
Ye Wen stood there blankly, brushing her teeth mechanically, her mind filled with nothing but the word “money.”
Seeing that their mother was washing up, the eldest and second sons each picked up buckets and went to fetch water.
This chore was usually done by the eldest son alone early in the morning. No one expected the second son to join him today.
Last night, Ye Wen had said that those who worked more would get more. The second son figured that if he showed some initiative in front of his mother, maybe he’d get a larger portion when food was divided later.
Though selfish, he wasn’t truly lazy. When it came to a chance to show his face in front of someone in charge, he naturally rushed to do it.
After washing up, Ye Wen went to the kitchen to tend the stove and simmer the mixed-grain porridge.
By the time the porridge was boiling, Tian Chunhua finally sauntered out of the west wing. Peeking into the kitchen and seeing that the rice was already cooking, she secretly felt delighted.
As expected, as long as she dawdled a bit, someone else would do the work for her.
So what if her mother-in-law only gave her a small bowl of porridge later? Once everyone left the house, she could go back to her room, hug her child, and sleep again. By the time she woke up, it would be lunchtime—no need to worry about going hungry at all.
But Tian Chunhua’s happiness only lasted for about a quarter of an hour.