Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 74

Chapter 74

Ye Xi chose a rock under the shade of a tree by the oil mill entrance and sat down. Other women waiting for their oil were also there, chatting in groups.

Some bolder and more flirtatious women even craned their necks to peek inside the oil mill, drawing laughter from the others, who teased them for never having seen men before.

“Go on, what are you laughing at? The men inside are sweating and working hard all day, all strong and sturdy, their arms thicker than a cow’s, surely you’ve also thought about peeking?”

“I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed,” the other women chuckled.

“You don’t know, her husband is thin and frail, always sick and needing medicine, probably useless in bed too. She’s at that age, and seeing other men, she must be itching…”

The woman being teased blushed, and even Ye Xi felt his neck flush, discreetly moving away from the gossiping women.

But another woman noticed him and wanted to include him in their conversation.

“Xi-ge’er is also here to extract oil?”

Ye Xi could only nod and greet them.

One of the women smiled. “Look at our Xi-ge’er, still so delicate after getting married, and even fairer, your skin as smooth as an egg, you don’t look like a married man.”

Another woman chuckled. “Must be because your husband is taking good care of you, full of yang energy.”

Ye Xi’s ears burned from their bold words.

“I’d say Jiangshan lad is even stronger than the men in the oil mill, his back so broad, his wrists as thick as two of ours, he probably needs more fabric for his clothes. Xi-ge’er found a good husband.”

“Jiangshan is so diligent and capable, and earning a good living, Xi-ge’er will probably be pregnant soon, hopefully, a chubby baby to help his father with the work.”

Ye Xi pursed his lips, thinking about how he clung to his husband’s broad back at night, the women were right, his husband was strong.

After a while, some of the women’s oil was ready, and they left, while the others continued to wait and chat. They vaguely heard angry shouting from the village, harsh and unpleasant.

Ye Xi looked over, and another woman, cracking pumpkin seeds, said casually, “Nothing new, it must be the Zhao family again.”

Ye Xi asked, confused, “The Zhao family?”

“That old couple is a menace, as they say, ‘A menace lives a thousand years,’ they’re already over seventy and still strong and healthy, stronger than many others. They must be scolding their daughter-in-law, Zhao-ge’er’s wife, again.”

Ye Xi realized it was the family he had just bought soybeans from, and as Grandma Zhao had said, her parents-in-law were difficult.

“Do they scold her often?” Ye Xi asked.

The woman nodded, spitting out melon seed shells. “That Zhao-ge’er’s wife is soft-spoken and can’t argue back, and her husband is also foolishly filial and doesn’t defend her, so she just has to endure it. It’s a pity, her son is about to get married and have children, and she’s still being bullied by her mother-in-law.”

Another woman sighed. “It’s because she’s weak and has no support from her family. Before she married into the Zhao family, her family was very poor, her father had passed away, her mother was sickly, and she had a younger brother who had just been weaned. To help her family, she asked for eight taels of silver as a dowry, which was unheard of for a young man at that time, usually three or four taels, five at most. The Zhao family’s parents-in-law resented her for that, but their son was getting old and they couldn’t wait any longer, so they had to pay the eight taels and marry her into the family. They probably haven’t forgotten about it all these years.”

“That old woman probably hasn’t forgotten. That’s why Zhao-ge’er’s wife has had such a hard life, getting up before dawn to cook and even washing clothes and bedsheets in the river in the freezing winter. I saw her hands one year, red and cracked from the cold. And with no one in her family to support her, her mother passed away, and her younger brother was still young, she had to endure it all these years.”

Ye Xi felt sorry for Grandma Zhao after hearing their stories. She was innocent, marrying into that family to help her sick mother and young brother, enduring hardship for twenty years.

The sun moved westward, and the oil mill worker brought out the oil and soybean meal. “Young Master, your oil is ready.”

Ye Xi quickly went to check the oil and the soybean meal, finding them to be good quality, and thanked the worker, taking the oil and leaving.

As he passed through the village, the harsh scolding had stopped, and he glanced at Grandma Zhao’s house, imagining her crying inside.

He walked further and turned a corner when a dog suddenly rushed out, barking at him fiercely. Ye Xi was afraid of dogs.

He stepped back, afraid it would bite him.

“Go away! You blind beast!” Grandma Zhao came out, holding a stick, and chased the dog away.

Ye Xi quickly thanked her. “Thank you for saving me, Grandma Zhao.”

Grandma Zhao’s eyes were red and swollen, she had clearly been crying. She said softly, “It’s nothing. Several families’ dogs haven’t been tied up recently, Xi-ge’er, be careful, if you encounter one, just pick up a stone and throw it at it.”

Seeing her red and swollen eyes and listless demeanor, Ye Xi asked softly, “Grandma, were you… scolded again?”

Grandma Zhao didn’t hide it, her parents-in-law’s scolding was so loud and harsh, the whole neighborhood probably heard it, and it wasn’t the first time. “I sold you the soybeans for two hundred wen, and I just went to the vegetable garden, I don’t know where I dropped the money, I searched everywhere but couldn’t find it. When my parents-in-law found out, they scolded me, accusing me of giving the money to my brother again.”

Ye Xi had heard from the other women that Grandma Zhao had a younger brother. “Does your brother know how difficult your life is?”

Grandma Zhao wiped her tears. “He’s studying, what does he need to know about these things? It’s better for him to focus on his studies.”

“Your brother is studying?” This surprised Ye Xi. Even some well-off families in the village didn’t send their children to study, and Grandma Zhao, in her situation, actually had a brother who was a scholar.

“He’s intelligent and quick-witted, so I sent him to the private school. He’s been studying all these years, thanks to the money I earned from embroidering. He’s sensible, and during festivals, he goes to town to sell calligraphy and paintings, and he also helps people copy books, enough to make ends meet.”

Ye Xi nodded. “If your brother can achieve something through his studies, then all your hard work will be worth it, Grandma Zhao.”

Grandma Zhao, mentioning her brother, felt a sense of comfort and smiled faintly. “The spring imperial exam is in a few days, he’s going to take the county exam. I pray to Buddha every day, hoping my parents’ spirits in heaven will bless him and make him a Xiucai.”

Ye Xi smiled. “He definitely will.”

After chatting with Ye Xi for a while, Grandma Zhao’s mood improved slightly. Ye Xi helped her search the vegetable garden, and just as it was getting dark, they finally found the two hundred wen under some leaves.

Grandma Zhao was overjoyed, now she had an explanation for her parents-in-law, and she wouldn’t be scolded again. She thanked Ye Xi profusely before leaving.

When Ye Xi left the village, it was already completely dark. As he walked home, carrying the oil and soybean meal, he saw a tall, sturdy figure approaching in the darkness.

Looking closely, he smiled, it was his husband, coming to pick him up.

“Why are you here?”

Lin Jiangshan approached. “It’s already dark, and you weren’t back yet, I was worried, so I came to look for you at your parents’ house.”

Ye Xi said, “I didn’t go to my parents’ home, I went to the oil mill. I bought twenty catties of soybeans from Grandma Zhao in the village and had them extracted into oil, we’ve run out of vegetable oil at home, and the soybean meal is good for the goat.”

Lin Jiangshan took the oil and soybean meal from him, carrying everything himself. “I just got back myself, I would have picked you up if I knew you were in the village.”

Ye Xi smiled, linked arms with Lin Jiangshan, and they walked home together along the mountain path. “I met Grandma Zhao in the village, she was being scolded by her parents-in-law, so I chatted with her for a while and helped her find the money she lost, that’s why I was late. Are you hungry? I haven’t started cooking yet.”

Lin Jiangshan said, “I ate the pancakes you packed for me this afternoon, thankfully you gave me a few, otherwise, I would have been starving. The food they provided was just plain, watery vegetables, no oil or meat, not very filling.”

He then asked, “Grandma Zhao?”

Ye Xi nodded and told him what he had heard that afternoon, sighing. “She’s having a hard time, married into a bad family, constantly being bullied.”

Lin Jiangshan knew his husband was kind-hearted and comforted him, “You said she has a younger brother who is studying, there’s still hope for their family, he might become a teacher and provide for them.”

They chatted as they walked home.

Back home, Lin Jiangshan helped tend the fire while Ye Xi fried two eggs, added some sliced ham, some leafy greens, and chopped pickled mustard greens to the pot, and cooked a simple noodle soup. It was too late to cook rice now, and noodles were a quick meal. He added sesame oil, salt, and chopped scallions, a simple but flavorful dish with meat and vegetables.

Lin Jiangshan, who loved spicy food, added two spoonfuls of chili oil to his bowl, and they sat under the eaves, eating their noodles, the bright moonlight casting a silvery glow on the courtyard.

“I plowed fields for others today, here’s the money,” Lin Jiangshan said, handing his earnings to Ye Xi, as usual.

Ye Xi slurped his noodles and took the copper coins, over seventy wen. Having a cow made earning money faster, but it was still hard work for Lin Jiangshan, and his shoulders must be sore.

“You worked hard today, husband, I’ll give you a good shoulder massage after you soak your feet tonight.”

Lin Jiangshan wouldn’t refuse his husband’s care and smiled. “Good, I’ll enjoy my husband’s pampering.”