Chapter 4

That pile of clothes looked as though it hadn't been washed in ages. Some were black, others yellow, and a foul, musty smell could be detected from several feet away. Chen Jiaojiao's beautiful face immediately scrunched up. She glanced at Xiao Li and felt relieved that he was at least a clean man. There weren't any unpleasant smells in their room. Otherwise, she wouldn't even let him touch her toes! Chunxi was caught off guard by the stench and quickly moved away, protecting the basin of clothes she was washing. "What are you doing? Can't you see I'm already washing clothes?" She was a maid belonging to the Chen family, not the Xiao family. Why should she wash their smelly clothes? The heavily pregnant woman looked at Chen Jiaojiao with a hint of arrogance. "Second Sister-in-law, now that you've married into our family, you're one of us. Your maid is so ill-mannered. Aren't you going to teach her some manners?" Chen Jiaojiao waved her handkerchief in front of her face and replied politely, "You're my third sister-in-law, right? Look at what you're saying. Chunxi is a maid my parents bought, not one I bought myself. Besides, you threw such a huge pile of clothes at her that you startled her. She's usually very well-mannered." Then Chen Jiaojiao turned to Chunxi. "Go wash the clothes somewhere else. You're blocking my third sister-in-law's spot, so let's make room for her. Remember to be more polite next time. My third sister-in-law is heavily pregnant. If you offend her, just see how I'll punish you!" Chunxi stood up with the basin in her hands. "You're right, Miss. This servant won't do it again." With that, she moved to another spot and continued washing. Li Cui Liu felt quite pleased by Chen Jiaojiao's words. She thought to herself that this merchant's daughter actually understood the rules. She cleared her throat. "Fine. I'll let it go this time. A servant is a servant, after all. There's no comparing one to the master. Remember to wash my clothes later!" Chunxi looked at Chen Jiaojiao. Chen Jiaojiao smiled and said, "Chunxi, go unpack my dowry chest first. Take out the quilts my parents prepared for me and put them out in the sun." "Whatever you say, Miss." Li Cui Liu immediately became unhappy. "Second Sister-in-law, my clothes still haven't been washed!" Chen Jiaojiao pretended not to understand. "Sister-in-law, didn't we make room for you? You can wash them yourself. Would you like me to bring you a stool?" Since they were women talking among themselves, the men didn't feel comfortable interrupting. Xiao Yang and Xiao Bao picked up their sickles and went out to harvest the wheat. Xiao Li glanced at Chen Jiaojiao. Seeing that she didn't look like someone who would easily be bullied, he followed them outside. Wang Chunyan told Xiao Ping, "Take breakfast to your father and uncles." As she ladled porridge into bowls, she watched Chen Jiaojiao and Li Cui Liu and thought that her new sister-in-law wasn't someone who could be pushed around either. Li Cui Liu was so angry that she almost laughed. She began putting on airs. "Second Sister-in-law, I meant for your maid to wash my clothes! What part of that don't you understand? Are you seriously expecting me to wash clothes while I'm pregnant?" Chen Jiaojiao had helped her parents manage their shop since childhood and had dealt with all kinds of customers. Li Cui Liu's words were hardly enough to intimidate her. She replied politely, "All right. I'll go call Third Brother back so he can wash your clothes for you. You're heavily pregnant, after all, so it must be inconvenient." Wang Chunyan, who was in the kitchen, nearly burst out laughing. Li Cui Liu looked at Chen Jiaojiao's face and sneered. "No wonder you're such a lowly merchant's daughter. You're certainly good at twisting words!" Chunxi frowned, but Chen Jiaojiao didn't care. She turned around, went back into the room, and returned with a small bundle. "Eldest Sister-in-law, this is a little gift for you. It's a new moisturizing cream from Liren Pavilion. It won't feel sticky even when you apply it in summer. I also brought some snacks for the two children. I hope you don't mind these little things." Wang Chunyan hurriedly wiped her hands and came over to accept the gifts. Glancing at Li Cui Liu, who was watching from outside, she deliberately raised her voice. "Of course I don't mind! These things are expensive. I almost feel embarrassed accepting them. If you ever need help with anything around the house, just let me know. I'll do whatever I can to help." Chen Jiaojiao sweetly replied, "Eldest Sister-in-law, you've worked so hard taking care of this household. If anything comes up, I should be the one helping you. Mother is also being cared for by you and Eldest Brother. You're a great contributor to this family, and I still have a lot to learn from you." Wang Chunyan was so delighted by her words that she couldn't stop smiling. "We're family. There's no need to be so formal! Come, let me serve you some porridge. Would you like it thick or thin?" "A little thin is fine. I'm usually not very hungry in the morning." After winning Wang Chunyan over, Chen Jiaojiao took her bowl into the courtyard to eat. Seeing that Chen Jiaojiao had no intention of giving her a gift, Li Cui Liu became even angrier. How dare a merchant's daughter who had just married into the family treat her with such disrespect? She clearly had no regard for seniority! She clutched her belly and began making a fuss. Unfortunately for her, all the men in the family were away, and Wang Chunyan had already been won over by Chen Jiaojiao. She simply pretended not to hear anything and continued clattering around in the kitchen, scraping the last bits of thin porridge from the pot. Chen Jiaojiao retreated into her room, too lazy to pay her any attention. Xiao Li had finished harvesting an entire mu of wheat before he finally straightened up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Meanwhile, Xiao Yang and Xiao Bao hadn't even finished half a mu between the two of them, yet they were already exhausted. Xiao Yang complained, "It's too hot. Let's go back and eat first, then return this afternoon." Xiao Bao nodded. "Let's go. We should tell Second Brother to come early this afternoon. He's so fast that one person can do the work of three or four of us. As long as he comes early, he can harvest the wheat for us." Xiao Li had no objections. He put away his sickle, gathered the remaining bundles of straw into a pile, and walked behind them. Seeing sweat running down Xiao Li's entire body, Xiao Bao couldn't help laughing to himself. His second brother had only gotten married last night, yet he was already working so hard this morning. Could it be that he wasn't capable in bed? Otherwise, how could he still have the strength to harvest an entire mu of wheat by himself? Xiao Li wasn't wearing a straw hat, so the sun beat directly down on him, making his firm, muscular body even more noticeable. Xiao Yang handed him all the water bottles and reminded him, "Come back after you've eaten. Let's finish harvesting the last three mu of wheat today. Once we sell it, we'll take Mother to see another physician." "All right." Xiao Li took his sickle from him. "Give me yours too." Xiao Yang was extremely satisfied with this younger brother, who always kept his head down and worked without complaint. "Fine." He patted Xiao Li's broad shoulder and began advising him earnestly. "Now that you're married, things are different from before. Your wife comes from a wealthy family, so you should have a better life ahead of you. But don't forget our mother. She's suffered her entire life. During the years you were conscripted into the army, she cried day and night until her eyesight nearly failed. Her health deteriorated, and she lost more than ten years of her life because of it. No matter what happens in the future, you must always be filial to her. Do you understand?" Thinking of their mother, who was still unconscious, Xiao Li's eyes reddened. "Eldest Brother, I understand." Xiao Bao added from the side, "Second Brother, Father has been working away from home for an entire year to earn money for Mother's medical treatment. I think we should let him stay home once he returns at the end of the month. You can do a little more work so Father can finally enjoy some peace and comfort." "During the farming off-season, I'll go to the docks to carry cargo," Xiao Li replied after taking a drink of water. "Father is getting old. If we still make him do hard labor, we'd be failing in our duties as sons." Xiao Yang sighed. "If Mother didn't still need me and your sister-in-law to look after her, I'd go to the docks too. You can earn twenty or thirty copper coins a day there." "Exactly," Xiao Bao agreed. "My wife is about to give birth. Otherwise, I'd go as well." Both brothers had their own difficulties, and Xiao Li knew he couldn't blame them. He said nothing more. Besides, strength was the one thing he had plenty of. If he could use it to earn some money for the family, he would. After finishing their advice, Xiao Yang and Xiao Bao hurried ahead. They had eaten nothing but porridge that morning and were already starving. Other villagers were also heading back in the same direction to eat lunch. A man around forty years old approached Xiao Li, revealing a mouthful of blackened teeth as he grinned. "Second Xiao, congratulations! You've married yourself a good wife!" The man was Uncle Hu San, an unmarried bachelor who lived at the entrance of the village. He had neither a wife nor children. He'd once had a wife, but she'd eventually fled after being beaten by him. He hadn't attended the wedding banquet the previous day, but he'd followed the crowd around for quite some time and learned that Chen Jiaojiao was exceptionally beautiful. Xiao Li nodded. "Thank you, Uncle Hu." "Don't mention it." Uncle Hu San acted as though they were close brothers. "Listen to your Uncle Hu. You must treat your wife well. I was foolish when I was young and offended my wife. That's why I'm still living alone now." His advice wasn't wrong, so Xiao Li nodded to show that he understood. "I heard your wife is the daughter of the Chen family, who own Chen's Rice Shop in town. Lots of people in our village sell their rice to that shop. Your father-in-law must be quite a big shot!" Uncle Hu San continued making small talk, and Xiao Li listened, occasionally replying with a few words. Seeing how honest and simple-minded Xiao Li was, Uncle Hu San felt both jealous and envious. How had this fool gotten so lucky? If his own wife had been as wealthy and beautiful as Chen Jiaojiao, he would never have laid a hand on her. They were almost back in the village when Uncle Hu San couldn't resist asking one more question. "Your wife must be good in bed, huh? I heard she was involved with another man for several years. She might not be a virgin anymore, but I bet she's pretty wild, isn't she?"