Chapter 449: Chapter 233: Manure_2
"Why didn’t the Old Master eat the food we sent him? Did she eat it all?" Lady Zhang asked when she overheard the conversation.
"Exactly." Lian Yeye repeated what Zhao Xiue had done, how she vomited, and how Old Master Lian handed over the bowl of noodle dough to Zhao Xiue.
"Manman, why didn’t you mention this when you got back?" Lady Zhang asked.
"It’s not surprising, there’s too much to talk about every day; we wouldn’t have time for anything else," Lian Manman responded. Ever since Zhao Xiue got pregnant, she had been making a fuss over nothing every day, manipulating people as she pleased.
She didn’t speak of it because she didn’t want Lady Zhang and Lian Shouxin to get angry as well. Zhao Xiue had everyone in the family under her control, except for Lady Zhou, Old Master Lian, and Lian Xiuxiu, at least for the time being. That’s not to say Zhao Xiue hadn’t tried.
"You’re right," Lady Zhang said thoughtfully, "now that Erlang’s wife is carrying a child, she really knows how to cause a fuss. I see she has even changed your grandpa and grandma’s temperament. In the past, this would never have been tolerated!"
As they were talking, Lady Chiang came in from outside. She had changed her clothes, but her eyes were still slightly reddened. Lady Zhang felt a lot of sympathy for Lady Chiang after hearing what Lian Yeye had just said.
"Jizu’s daughter-in-law, come sit on the kang." Lady Zhang beckoned to Lady Chiang, "...you’ve been wronged."
This one sentence from Lady Zhang made Lady Chiang burst into tears.
"...She wasn’t really vomiting, she did it on purpose to disgust me, aiming it at my body... Talking about carrying a boy, as if the whole sky and earth revolve around her, she sees me as a thorn in her side. Every day she doesn’t order me around a few times or nitpick for faults is a day wasted... Every word she speaks is aimed at hurting me... there’s no respect for elders or rank in her eyes, she wants to trample on everyone," Lady Chiang sobbed.
"Auntie, I thought since I’m the older sister-in-law and she doesn’t understand, I should be more tolerant of her, but there seems to be no end to her behavior. All my grievances are kept inside in the Upper Room; only here do I dare speak out about them," Lady Chiang said, as she cried softly and told Lady Zhang about how Zhao Xiue had been mistreating her lately.
"She may speak sweetly on the surface, but who doesn’t know what she really wants? I know that the Old Master and Lady Zhou are also annoyed, and that’s why I’ve been putting up with things that I shouldn’t have to put up with, just to give them a bit less to worry about. But I don’t see an end to this. She tiptoes step by step, and next she’ll be overstepping with the Old Master and Lady Zhou. Today she ate the noodle soup that was meant for the Old Master, and even got Uncle and Auntie involved; I don’t even know what she’ll do next..."
After sending Lady Chiang away, Lian Shouxin felt a bit uneasy.
"Erlang’s wife is really out of line, showing no respect for the old or young. How on Earth did her family teach her? She even dares to bully the Old Master and the Old Lady; I can’t just watch this happen."
But what could he do? Should Lian Shouxin go and scold Zhao Xiue or maybe scold Erlang? If Lian Shouxin really did go, it would not only make the second branch unhappy but also, most likely, neither the Old Master nor Lady Zhou would appreciate it.
"Dad, cool down," Lian Manman hurriedly said, "it’s still a long way off from that. Sister-in-law Xiu E is cunning; she knows whom she can provoke and whom she can’t. That bowl of noodle soup was given to her willingly by my grandpa. And it wasn’t really for her, it was for his own great-grandson."
"If Erlang’s wife can cause trouble, in my opinion, we don’t need to worry about it. If Grandma wants to deal with Erlang’s wife, it would be easy for her," Lady Zhang also said.
In the end, Lady Zhang, Lian Manman, including Lian Zhizhi, Wu Lang, and Xiao Qi, all had full confidence in Lady Zhou’s strength.
The old house was lively every day, while Lian Manman’s family was busy with their own affairs.
The weather was getting warmer by the day, the frozen ground began to thaw, and the unique aroma of the earth diffused into the crisp early spring air. Along the roadside in the wild fields, tough grasses had started sprouting tiny buds of green.
There was a stretch of road between the breakfast shop and the old house, which was the same part where Lian Manman used to love to slide on ice in winter. The ice and snow had long melted away. Due to the unique soil quality, once thawed, it became soft yet firm and elastic, with a high surface tension, so you could step on it without worrying about getting mud on your feet.
Lian Manman loved walking back and forth on this stretch of road, listening to the sound of the nearby stream flowing, and watching the dappled spring greenery in the trees at the roadside. And so, the joy of spring gradually infused her heart.
"Manman, hurry up, don’t dally," Lady Zhang and Lian Shouxin called out from ahead as they looked back for Lian Manman.
"Oh, coming," Lian Manman replied, after stepping a few more times before running to catch up with Lady Zhang.
Before they even reached the gate of their home, they saw Old Master Lian bending over, busy working. Getting closer, Lian Manman could see clearly that Old Master Lian was holding an iron hoe, shoveling at the manure pile by the door.
Though called a manure pile, it actually contained a mix of materials: pig manure from the pigsty, animal droppings that Old Master Lian had collected, ash scraped out from the home’s hearth, and the Lian Family’s daily wastewater, all poured into it.
In the village, every household had one or more such manure piles. In those times without chemical fertilizers, these piles, with careful handling by the farmers, would turn into natural organic fertilizer that enhanced soil fertility.
"Dad’s already started spreading the manure," Lian Shouxin whispered to Lady Zhang. Old Master Lian was impatient and hated idleness. As soon as the ground started to thaw, he began preparing for farming.
What Old Master Lian was doing now was called "spreading manure," which was transforming the pile into organic fertilizer suitable for scattering on the fields.
"Old Fourth," Old Master Lian said as he saw Lian Shouxin approach and straightened up, "you’ve got a lot of land to cover this year; the manure may not be enough."
......***......
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone! Here’s the first update, asking for your support. On the last day of September, urgently in need of your support.
The second update will come later. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets, and your support is my greatest motivation.)
