Witty Wife, Better Life

Chapter 39: Chapter 37: Big Cousin in the Main Hall Chapter 39: Chapter 37: Big Cousin in the Main Hall Before dawn had fully broken, Shen Zhiwen came to pick up Shen Yunfang.

Upon seeing the high pile of quilts on her bed, he was a bit stunned.

It was Shen Yunfang who explained that she had wrapped some of her belongings inside, which made Shen Zhiwen nod in understanding.

After one last check around the house, Shen Yunfang picked up the four hens by her feet and followed in Shen Zhiwen’s footsteps to Uncle Shen’s house.

After handing the chickens to Auntie Shen, she then climbed onto the horse carriage that had been waiting at Uncle Shen’s doorstep all along.

Auntie Shen was a woman in her forties who still possessed a certain charm. In her youth, she had been considered the belle of the surrounding villages. Her daughter, Shen Yunfeng, had inherited her mother’s beauty, which had allowed her to marry into an official’s family in the county.

Auntie Shen glanced at her niece’s attire and pursed her lips, but then reconsidered and thought it might be for the best. After all, wouldn’t this highlight Shen Yunfeng’s extraordinary family background?

“Yunfang, why are you bringing a jar to the county? Is it something you’re taking for your sister Feng?” Auntie Shen had initially been curious about what was wrapped inside the quilt, but to her surprise, she discovered a jar when she pulled it back.

Shen Yunfang felt a bit embarrassed. Could she admit she hadn’t brought anything for Shen Yunfeng? Inside the jar were earthworms she was raising.

“No, I had thought about bringing some freshly harvested sweet potatoes for Sister Feng, but I was afraid that her in-laws might look down on rural items like that and it would be embarrassing for her. I thought about it and couldn’t come up with anything else worth taking, so I decided the best I could do was to work hard and make Sister Feng proud.” Shen Yunfang spoke earnestly, pointing at the jar wrapped in the bedding, “These are the earthworms I’m raising, Auntie. Do you want to take a look? They’re quite intriguing.”

Auntie Shen didn’t quite believe her niece’s words. Who in their right mind would carry a jar full of earthworms all the way to the county? She leaned over to have a look and saw not earthworms, but soil mixed with the smell of pig manure, and recoiled with distaste, “Child, why on earth did you think of raising such things? They’re quite disgusting.”

Because of the low temperature, the earthworms had burrowed deep into the soil, so none were visible on the surface.

“I was idle anyway, and raising some living creatures keeps me company. I can’t afford to keep anything else, and these at least don’t cost any grain,” Shen Yunfang mumbled.

Auntie Shen puckered her lips again and said nothing more. She didn’t want to interfere with this niece of hers. As long as she could help Feng keep her job, she couldn’t care less even if she were raising tigers.

Heading out in an ox cart in the dead of winter was sheer masochism. Not even twenty minutes had passed and Shen Yunfang felt thoroughly frozen. It wasn’t the same as being in the mountains, where trees could block the wind. Sitting in the cart, the chilly breeze was incessant.

Auntie Shen’s mouth had grown a bit stiff from the cold, but she kept chattering non-stop to Shen Yunfang about the dos and don’ts of living in the county, the high standards of Feng’s household, how Shen Yunfang must behave when she arrived there, the proper conduct while working, and the absolute necessity of not bringing shame upon Feng’s family.

Shen Yunfang started off paying some attention to these admonitions, but the more she listened, the more uncomfortable she felt. She was there to help, not to be treated like a long-term laborer. If they felt so ashamed of her, why let her come in the first place? Add to that the cold weather, Shen Yunfang shifted her bottom, pulled apart the bundled bedding, tucked herself in, and then draped the loose corner of the quilt over her body. Ah, finally, it felt a bit warmer.

She still cherished the opportunity for a paid trip, so afterwards she simply shrank her head and thought, “You say yours, I think mine; neither of us will hold the other back.”

Because the road was covered in snow, it took the ox-cart nearly three hours to reach the county. After saying a few words to Second Aunt and Uncle Yougen, they loaded all the luggage Shen Yunfang had brought onto the cart, so it could be taken directly to the place once they knew where they were going. Then, she led Shen Yunfang toward a residential area for families.

The houses in the residential area seemed quite new, arranged in rows, all red-brick homes.

When they reached the fourth house in the second row, Second Aunt stopped to knock on the door.

The man who came to the door was a young fellow in his twenties. Upon seeing Second Aunt, he called out “Mom,” and without further ado, it was clear he was Shen Yunfang’s cheap brother-in-law.

Shen Yunfang politely called out to him as “brother-in-law.”

After entering the house, Shen Yunfang didn’t think much of it; having not only seen but also lived in mansions in her previous life, she really didn’t think much of a house of this level. But it was different for Second Aunt; she was visibly nervous and didn’t know where to put her hands.

Luckily it was the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, and New Year’s had not officially started yet. Shen Yunfeng’s in-laws were both official workers and were still at work at that time, so only Shen Yunfeng and her husband were home. After Second Aunt exchanged a few words with her daughter Shen Yunfeng, she seemed much more at ease.

Shen Yunfang stood in the room, watching Second Aunt and Shen Yunfeng chat away. She observed as Second Aunt slightly exaggeratedly praised the son-in-law, while she, who should have been greeted warmly for coming to help, stood to one side like someone punished, watching their motherly and filial exchanges, all because Second Aunt despised her for wearing ragged clothes, fearing she would dirty the in-laws’ sofa.

Originally, Shen Yunfang had held a trace of respect for her Second Aunt, but after hearing this, her gaze grew cold; to her, this Second Aunt was no more than a stranger. The big cousin who pretended she didn’t exist was no different.

The cheap brother-in-law, in contrast, seemed quite amiable, calling out several times to his wife’s younger cousin, appearing to be a decent person.

Shen Yunfeng and her mother, one lying on the kang and the other sitting on the edge, chatted for over ten minutes before they remembered there was an extra person standing in the room.

“Mother, wait a moment. I’ll have Jialong take Yunfang to the procurement station, and we can continue our chat afterwards. I’ve already discussed it with our supervisor, and we’ll take her there today,” Shen Yunfeng said, her large phoenix eyes briefly sweeping over Shen Yunfang, who stood silently in the corner, and then turned away with a hint of disdain.

Since she was a child, she knew she was attractive and would not settle for mediocrity. When it came time to find a partner, she was incredibly picky, but ultimately she managed to find one with good conditions. Now that she considered herself a city person, she naturally looked down on her rural cousin.

“Alright, we, mother and daughter, can chat anytime, but don’t let it interfere with your important matters,” Second Aunt said tenderly to her daughter. She turned her head towards Shen Yunfang and added, “This job your Cousin Feng found for you wasn’t easy to come by. Once you get there, you must work hard and not bring shame upon your cousin, understand?”

Shen Yunfang scoffed inwardly; they really thought she was nothing more than a laborer.

However, Shen Yunfang still nodded obediently. Just then, her big cousin’s husband, heeding his wife’s call, entered the room. Shen Yunfang asked softly, sounding somewhat ignorant, “Cousin Feng, Aunt said I’d earn five yuan a month for this job, is that right?”