Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 112: Chapter 113 Not Sweet-Talking_1 Chapter 112: Chapter 113 Not Sweet-Talking_1 Er Liang charged in excitedly, his hair dripping with droplets of water and his pure white undershirt already soaked in places, only to find Muniang sitting on the bed’s edge and sighing, “Wife, what’s wrong? Are you unhappy?”

Water dripped incessantly from Er Liang’s head, some even splashing onto Muniang’s cheeks. Muniang frowned and pulled him to sit down, “Why don’t you dry off? What if you catch a cold?”

Er Liang leaned close to Muniang, his finger poking her cheek, “Wife, sighing isn’t pretty. You look good when you smile, you’ll get dimples here.”

Muniang took a dry cloth and wiped his hair with annoyance, “Those are dimples! I don’t look good when I’m angry. Does that mean you won’t like me anymore?”

“No, even if wife isn’t pretty, I’ll still like you!”

“Then what would make you stop liking me?” Muniang suddenly felt like challenging him today.

Er Liang scratched his head, looking conflicted, “If wife doesn’t like me, I won’t like that.”

Muniang laughed out loud with a “pfft,” thinking him silly, yet her heart felt warm as she continued drying his hair.

Muniang was never the kind to sorrow for the world. As for the future, she would deal with it when it came. Right now, as long as Er Liang was sincere with her, she would love him wholeheartedly. If one day he truly wished to leave, she wouldn’t hold him back.

As for now, why should she bother with things that hadn’t even happened yet? To put it bluntly, she was just being needlessly emotional!

Early the next morning, Muniang and Er Liang went up the mountain to check on the fruit trees. The weather was heating up, and with the hot afternoon sun, no one wanted to go out. Taking a nap at home was perfect, so it was best to go out and check in the morning.

The hired hands greeted Muniang and Er Liang as they passed and then resumed their work; clearly, they were used to this. Muniang looked over the fruit trees, well-maintained, with their branches and leaves pruned diligently. These workers were personally chosen by her, and she had indeed not chosen wrong.

The branches grafted together were doing well; she estimated that by fall, they would bear sweet fruit. The fruits from grafting were incomparable to ordinary ones, boasting better texture and larger, sweeter fruits. In ancient times, fruits were already sold at high prices, and these would surely fetch a handsome sum in the future, not to mention they would be delicious to eat themselves.

The two made their way to the fish pond and happened upon Old Man Xue, who was leisurely strolling around. Muniang had initially asked this experienced Grandpa Xue to help manage the fish pond, and he had been devoted to the task, making the trip up the mountain three times a day, eagerly watching over the fish fry as they grew.

“Grandpa Xue,” Muniang called sweetly.

“What a coincidence to run into you two. Look, are the fish in the pond growing well? They were only the size of fingers a few days ago, and now they’re as big as palms.”

Muniang took a look, and certainly, this batch of fry had a survival rate of seventy to eighty percent, which was rare in ancient times, mainly due to Grandpa Xue’s meticulous care. She felt grateful in her heart, “It’s all thanks to Grandpa Xue’s good care.”

“Heh heh, you flatterer,” he chuckled.

Er Liang naively said, “Wife’s mouth isn’t sweet.”

Old Man Xue was momentarily taken aback, staring at Er Liang in confusion.

Er Liang continued, “I just don’t find it sweet.”

Old Man Xue finally caught on, realizing the boy was commenting on the taste. His old face turned a bashful red.

Muniang’s face flushed crimson, and she pinched Er Liang fiercely, “Shut your mouth!”

Er Liang wore a look of grievance, “Even if wife’s mouth isn’t sweet, I still like it, don’t be angry, Wife.”

Muniang was fit to fall over with exasperation. It wasn’t because her mouth wasn’t sweet that she was angry! Should she pry open this fool’s head to see what on earth was inside?!

Old Man Xue’s shoulders shook with laughter until he couldn’t hold it back anymore and burst into a hearty laugh.

Er Liang leaned close to Muniang, “Lady, is Grandpa Xue laughing at you or at me?”

Muniang glared at him, “At you!”

After having his fill of laughter, Old Man Xue finally said, “I’m free today anyway. Do you still remember you were going to teach me how to spear fish? Why don’t we learn it today?”

Muniang nodded, “Alright then.”

Er Liang became excited, “I want to learn too, I want to learn too, to spear lots of fish for my lady.”

“Spearing fish is fine, but not in our own pond. The fish are only just getting bigger, I can’t bear to lose them. Let’s go down the mountain to the river.”

Old Man Xue tutted, “You girl, still so stingy even after getting rich.”

Muniang felt otherwise, “It’s called having a knack for making money.”

Without further delay, the three of them headed down the mountain.

Muniang explained the basic technique to Old Man Xue and Er Liang, but there was no point talking about the principles—what did they know about the Law of Refraction? As for the correct angle, Muniang could only suggest they figure it out themselves; she couldn’t exactly give them the formula and ask them to do the math, could she?

Old Man Xue marveled, “Muniang girl, where did you learn all this? Even experienced fishermen wouldn’t leak a hint of these skills.”

Muniang chuckled, “Figured it out myself. When you’re so poor you’ve got nothing to eat, you’ve got to find something you can, right? Necessity breeds ingenuity.”

Upon hearing this, Old Man Xue felt a pang of pity for the kid—she must’ve really suffered these past years.

Now, Qiao Lianhua and Mrs. Ji were planning to visit Muniang that day, hoping to mend fences, but they hit a wall upon arriving—Muniang wasn’t home.

“They’re somewhere around here in the village anyway, so let’s go in and wait for them to come back,” said Mrs. Ji, walking toward the house.

But she was forcefully blocked by Hong Luo, who said sternly, “The lady ordered that the doors of the house must be strictly guarded, and we cannot let just anyone in.”

Mrs. Ji fumed, “What do you mean ‘let just anyone in’? We’re not strangers. What’s wrong with waiting inside? Are you, a mere servant, really trying to pick a fight with me? Don’t think I can’t deal with you.”

“The lady said that in Tupo Village, no one but her has the right to command the servants. If you want to throw your weight around as the master, you might as well stop, to avoid embarrassing us both.”

Hong Luo, well aware of the lady’s disdain for this woman, stood her ground firmly, unwilling to give way.

Mrs. Ji’s face turned various shades of red and white. Muniang had said these words in front of her face last time; how could she forget? But now to be looked down upon by a “dog-eyed servant”, Mrs. Ji’s heart was anything but pleased. She was on the verge of bursting into a tirade when she was quickly stopped by Lianhua.

“Hong Luo, since my sister isn’t here, we’ll come back another time. Remember to tell my sister we were here,” Lianhua said.

With each mention of ‘sister,’ she seemed lively, as if trying to assert her status. She didn’t wait for Hong Luo’s response, and immediately pulled Mrs. Ji away.

Mrs. Ji was furious, “Why did you stop me? That dog servant did it on purpose—she really doesn’t have me in her eyes anymore. I must teach her a lesson!”

Qiao Lianhua gave her a disdainful look.