Carefree Farmwife: Training the Husband, Raising the Bun - Chapter 115

That last joking remark made the two elders laugh, but they still firmly objected. Building a house was no small matter, it would cost a great deal of silver. They were afraid Ying Su would end up spending everything she had.

Finally, after much persuasion and insistence on Ying Su’s part, Mother Shen spoke.

“Lao Shen, take the silver and ask around to see if anyone’s willing to sell. If the price is too high, then we won’t buy. This house of ours really is a bit too cramped, we can’t let the children suffer.” She turned to Cuihua and said earnestly, “But you must tell Mother honestly, if you use this silver, will it cause you any trouble?”

Ying Su smiled and explained, “Mother, I earned this myself. It’s honest money, my own money. I can make this decision. I really do have enough to build a house! The shop in town brings in profit every month. You don’t need to worry.”

At last, Father Shen accepted the money. He said he’d go ask if the neighbors were willing to sell, but if it was too expensive, they wouldn’t buy. They could just repair their current house and make it livable.

Ying Su knew Father Shen and Mother were worried about the expense, so she deliberately told them about the Weixuan shop she owned in town, just to reassure them that they could use the silver freely. She wasn’t short of money now.

Just as they were talking, the sound of the courtyard gate creaked. Someone came in directly without even knocking, just pushed the door open and walked in.

The newcomer wore a patterned jacket. Though the colors were faded, it was still eye-catching in the village. She had thin brows, shifty eyes, and a black mole at the end of her brow. She looked just past forty, her hair done up in a bun slick with oil.

As soon as she entered, she fixed her gaze on Ying Su, her shifty eyes sizing her up and down with a frown, as if she had found something distasteful. She was the wife of the Shen family’s third son, named Wang Chunlan, notorious for being greedy and petty.

“Third sister-in-law, what brings you here?” Mother Shen asked worriedly from her stool. People from the old house rarely came to this shabby courtyard, and whenever they did, it was never for anything good. In the past four or five years, the number of visits could be counted on one hand.

Ying Su frowned slightly under her scrutinizing stare. Father Shen quickly stood, stepped in front of Ying Su to block Wang Chunlan’s gaze, and repeated his wife’s question, “Sister-in-law, what do you want?”

Wang Chunlan finally withdrew her shifty eyes. She had been inspecting the second family’s “cheap daughter” for a long while but hadn’t seen a single sign of wealth. Her clothes were plain coarse cloth, her whole appearance unkempt, though her face looked even prettier than before. But just one glance at her dress showed she hadn’t lived a good life outside.

Wang Chunlan curled her lip. She had heard that when Shen Cuihua returned, she had brought back an ox cart full of things. She thought she might be able to take advantage of it somehow, which was why she rushed to volunteer to deliver a message from the old house. But seeing for herself, there was nothing worth picking at. It seemed the old man had been right not to recognize the second family anymore!

Since there was no cheap benefit to grab, Wang Chunlan dropped her pretense and said bluntly, “Father asked me to tell you this, if you insist on recognizing this shameful, family-ruining daughter, then don’t bother coming back to the old house again! As far as the Shen family is concerned, there is no second son anymore.”

Both Father Shen and Mother Shen went pale. Mother Shen wasn’t too surprised, she had long known the old house’s attitude, and this was only a matter of time. Back when Cuihua first disappeared, the old man had said good riddance and forbade them to search for her. When he found out they secretly had, he drove them out into this broken-down house, giving them only one mu of land.

Over the years, she had come to see that the old man’s heart was harder than stone. The three of them had survived on that single mu of land, barely enough if the weather was good, but when harvests failed, they starved on thin gruel. Even when they begged the old house for grain, they had never once been given any. From that time, Mother Shen had already stopped harboring hopes for the old house.

Shen Hefu’s expression, however, was dazed. After all, he was the old man’s biological son. Though he knew his father was biased and didn’t favor him, he had never thought it would come to severing their father-son ties.

“Lao Shen…” Mother Shen spoke anxiously. She feared her husband might foolishly choose his father over his own daughter.

After a long moment, Father Shen came back to his senses. His face stiff, he looked up at Wang Chunlan, nodded with some difficulty, and said, “I understand.”

Wang Chunlan lifted her chin, surprised, and asked, “Second brother, what do you mean? Are you going to listen to Father and deny this disgraceful—”

“Get out!” Father Shen’s roar cut her off mid-sentence.

His face was still grim, his eyes glaring fiercely at her. Startled, Wang Chunlan shrank under his stare. Not wanting to lose face, she muttered resentfully, “What are you acting so fierce for? These are Father’s words, not mine! If you want to recognize your daughter, then go ahead. But don’t think life away from the old house will be any good for you!”

With that, she spun around and slammed the rickety courtyard gate behind her with a loud bang.

“Lao Shen, don’t be angry. Haven’t you seen clearly after all these years?” Mother Shen said weakly from her chair.

Father Shen was silent for a while before replying in a hoarse voice, “I know… it’s just, in my heart—”

Mother Shen looked at Ying Su and explained, “Cuihua, don’t take your grandfather’s words to heart. He’s a scholar, bound by rules—”

“Mother, there’s no need to say more. I understand,” Ying Su said with a faint smile. With such good parents by her side, what more could she want? Not everyone was worthy of being connected to her anyway.

They said without the old house, their family wouldn’t survive? Ha. Ying Su sneered inwardly. She would make sure that old house saw clearly whether they could live well or not!

When Shen Changyun returned with the ox cart borrowed from Wang Dachui, Ying Su said her farewells to Father Shen and Mother Shen. The two stood at the gate, watching until she and Changyun disappeared from view.

“Little brother, head for Shili Town,” Ying Su told him.

Changyun nodded. “Alright. Second sister, what are you going to town for? To check on the shop?”

“Yes,” Ying Su said. “Do you have anything you want to eat for lunch?”

Changyun gave a shy grin. “Second sister, your cooking is delicious. Once you bring Huzi home, I’ll tend the fire and you cook.”

Ying Su smiled gently and agreed. “Alright.”

Sitting at the front, Changyun suddenly grew a little downcast. “I just don’t know if Big Brother will ever get the chance to taste your cooking.”

Ying Su patted his shoulder in comfort. “He will.” She had a favorable impression of their eldest brother, Shen Changge, who had angrily joined the army after what happened to the original Cuihua. Especially after hearing from Changyun that he had been an excellent student. Though the old man at the old house disliked Shen Hefu, he still thought highly of Shen Changge.