Chapter 110:
“Hey, wife, your little feet are all fragrant!”
Li Daqiang hugged Xiao Zhou Shi’s leg that was kicking him and said.
Xiao Zhou Shi felt a wave of nausea in her heart. For some reason, she now felt extremely uncomfortable with Li Daqiang’s touch…
She held back the nausea and said,
“Be gentle, Muqing Yunliang, Liuliu, and the others just fell asleep. Be careful not to wake them up!”
“Hehe, I know.”
“Li Daqiang! You didn’t wash your feet again, nor rinse your mouth. You’re suffocating people to death!”
“Uh… wife!”
“Why are you getting more and more disgusted with me!”
……
The next day, Li Sanmao ate breakfast and went to the village entrance to stand guard!
Currently standing guard were also the second son of the oldest brother from Li Zuzu’s family, Li Yong, A Cao’s man Zhao Si, plus Li Sanmao, totaling three young men.
Old Li Tou and Li Daqiang went to the field to till the soil.
Luo Zhi’er picked mushrooms today and had to come back early in the afternoon because she had to make a delivery early tomorrow morning!
Xiao Zhou Shi had gotten copper coins last night and originally planned to go to the town today to buy shoes for the kids.
She wasn’t foolish. She thought about how it would be hard to explain the source of the silver to Zhou Shi, and she was even more afraid it would be robbed. Zhou Shi wouldn’t approve of her going to the town privately either…
After pondering half the night, before dawn, she woke up those few kids, got herself ready, left Liuliu at home, and took Muqing Yunliang and left early in the morning.
Zhou Shi got up and shouted for a long time, but saw no one. The door was locked.
She asked Liuliu, and Liuliu said her mother carried a bamboo basket and left. Zhou Shi thought she had gone up the mountain to pick acorn beans…
So she didn’t pursue the matter!
Luo Zhi’er was a bit late leaving because she made breakfast. When passing by Li Zhengxin’s doorway, she spotted Zhenzhu, who couldn’t be found earlier for breakfast at home.
She was sneaking around, lingering under the old walnut tree in front of Li Zhengxin’s house!
The old woman from neighbor Zhao Yun’s house came out to dump pig feed, curled her lips in contempt, and muttered,
“Tsk! This is Zhao Li Village, not a brothel! How did such a morally corrupt thing come out of the village!”
She couldn’t cover the men’s eyes either, so she wanted her son and grandsons to go out less!
Zhenzhu was wearing a thin pink long skirt, faintly revealing the curves of her chest and body.
Her face was painted gaudily, her cheeks like a monkey’s butt, with bright red lips. Her hair was styled in the latest town fashion, mismatched and topped with a small wild flower.
Wasn’t she getting married in a few days? Out on the main road like this, seen by people and gossiped about, wasn’t she afraid?
The mother and daughter walked over. Miaomiao called out to her crisply: “Aunt, Grandma was just looking for you to eat breakfast. Where did you go?”
Zhenzhu saw it was Luo Zhi’er and Miaomiao, and with a face full of disdain: “What business is it of yours where I went? Go pick your mushrooms.”
Luo Zhi’er looked at her faintly and said, “Zhenzhu, you’re getting married in a few days. Instead of doing needlework at home, isn’t it bad to stand on the main road exposing yourself like this?”
Around here, before marriage, the bride needs to embroider some clothing, shoes, pants, pillowcases, etc., for her husband to show she’s capable…
These past few days, she hadn’t seen her doing any.
“Tch, what’s it to you? Mother and daughter are just alike, love sticking your noses in other people’s business.”
“Don’t you want to win Master Zeng’s favor? Not only exposing yourself outside, but you can’t even do basic needlework. How will you stand your ground in the manor?”
Zhenzhu dismissed it. She was young and beautiful, with a good figure for bearing children. How much more did she need to stand her ground?
The fortune teller had said she had a life of wealth. Why bother with all that?
“You don’t think that in a rich man’s manor, you can succeed just on looks, do you? Besides, they don’t lack beauties!”
“Hmph! So annoying!”
Li Zhenzhu saw Luo Zhi’er’s amber eyes as if they could see right through her, and annoyed at her meddling, turned and swayed her hips away!
As soon as she left, Li Daniu’s fool of a second brother, Li Erniu, came running out from a pile of corn stalks nearby. “Hey! Flower girl!”
“Niangzi, Niangzi, don’t run! Flower, Flower… flower girl!”
A magnified gorilla face, grinning and baring teeth, drooling, with a few bunches of dry corn straw stuck in his hair… it was startling!
Li Erniu grinned foolishly and chased after her all the way, scaring Miaomiao into hiding nonstop behind Luo Zhi’er!
Luo Zhi’er was also startled!
Damn, when did this crazy kid hide in that straw pile peeking? Scared the life out of her!
Zhenzhu was still pondering, badmouthing…
Needlework?
Hadn’t she told her mother to spend silver in town to buy it? With so many maids and servants in Zeng Manor, would she ever need to sew or mend in the future?
Only a fool would spend that effort embroidering herself. She stretched out her soft white tender fingers—what if she pricked them?
She wouldn’t have thought of it if not reminded. She still needed a dowry. Hurry back and mention it to her mother, find time tomorrow to go to town and buy some.
A dowry was nothing more than some small furniture for the room, clothing, jewelry, stationery…
Zhou Shi thought she was going as a concubine—a small sedan chair would deliver her, so why need those things? She didn’t mention it, saving where she could!
Suddenly, a man chasing from behind calling her Niangzi. Looking back, it was actually the drooling Li Erniu. She trembled with anger.
“Damn fool, alive you waste grain, dead you pollute the air! Stinking to death! Stay away from me, go die somewhere!”
Luo Zhi’er saw her walk far away. Li Erniu, after being cursed out by Zhenzhu, also disappeared.
She looked at Miaomiao beside her, gazing at her eagerly with innocent young eyes, and sighed twice.
“Mother, what’s wrong?”
“Mother is just worried. If your aunt has this temperament and causes trouble, it will affect Mother’s Miaomiao.”
“Mother’s Miaomiao is so good. How could Mother bear to let you suffer grievance!”
Miaomiao looked at her innocently. “Mother, Miaomiao hasn’t suffered any grievance. Miaomiao is so happy being with you!”
Miaomiao was five and a half. Around here, girls were matched for marriage at thirteen or fourteen, some even at eleven or twelve.
If people knew her close aunt was morally corrupt, who knows what they’d think of Miaomiao…
There were two little girls at home. The sister-in-law already had a bad reputation. If she did something shameless…
These two girls would probably be shunned when it came time to arrange marriages. How could they marry into good families?
That’s how it was in ancient times. If anyone in the family had a problem, all suffered, especially women who were particularly vulnerable!
This Li Zhenzhu looked more and more like big trouble!
“Ah? Mother, we agreed. Miaomiao won’t marry when she grows up. Miaomiao wants to be with Mother and Father forever and ever!”
“Silly girl!”
By then, she might not even be able to stop her!
Luo Zhi’er felt that explaining to Miaomiao, she wouldn’t understand, and didn’t know what she was worrying about anyway. Better drop it!
It was still early. Whether Zhenzhu entered Zeng Manor wasn’t even certain! She was worrying needlessly!
