Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 89

Inside the house, when Yu Jiao spoke with such certainty, Yu Ruhai started to feel a little uneasy. He stepped outside and asked, “And what if it doesn’t rain tomorrow? What if the wheat in the fields isn’t flooded?”

Yu Jiao let out a light scoff. “Then that’s even better, isn’t it?”

Hearing the sarcasm in her tone, Yu Ruhai frowned, visibly displeased. “If it does rain, we’ll have to mobilize everyone in the dead of night to harvest the wheat. And if it doesn’t, then isn’t all this just a farce?”

Yu Jiao couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. “Believe it or not. It’s up to you.”

With that, she pulled Yu Fuling along and left.

Standing there fuming, Yu Ruhai hesitated for a while. In the end, his concern for the harvest outweighed his pride. He turned to Old Madam Yu and said with a grim face, “Go call the eldest son and his wife to the fields.”

Old Madam Yu had originally planned to let the eldest couple sit this one out. Since they claimed to be sick to avoid working the fields, then let them be, better to prevent them from getting ideas and stirring up more trouble later.

“Husband, maybe Meng girl was just making an offhand remark. The sun’s been blazing for days. Doesn’t look like it’s going to rain anytime soon,” Old Madam Yu said, clearly reluctant to let the eldest branch get their way.

Yu Ruhai frowned. “I’m worried she’s not just making things up. If it really does rain, who knows how badly it’ll ruin the harvest. I heard this year’s land tax is going up again.”

“The land tax is increasing?” Old Madam Yu sighed. “The court really has no idea what hardships we commoners face. During Emperor Mingzong’s reign, it was one part in thirty. Now under Emperor Mingzheng, and it’s only been ten years, it’s already one in fifteen. If this continues, how will we have anything left to eat?”

Then she added, bringing the conversation back to the eldest branch, “Now the eldest couple are putting on airs again. If we ask them to help in the fields, they’ll probably bring up sending Zhizhou to the county school.”

Yu Ruhai rubbed his aching temples. “Fine. Jinshu and Jinyan have both been sent to the county school. We can’t show favoritism, it might cause a rift between the brothers. I’ll go speak with the eldest myself.”

Old Madam Yu realized what he meant, he was agreeing to send Yu Zhizhou to the county school. She instantly regretted speaking up. She’d wanted her husband to squash the idea completely, not encourage it.

But regrets are pointless now. Yu Ruhai was already on his way to the west wing.

After the rainstorm they encountered during their last hunting trip, as soon as Yu Qiaoshan heard it was Yu Jiao who said it would rain, he immediately pulled Madam Zhang out of bed to get dressed and head to the fields.

Though Madam Zhang had been angry at the old man earlier, she knew what truly mattered. The harvest was their food supply for the next half-year. So she dropped her stubbornness and even woke up Yu Gancao and the couple Yu Zhixing and his wife as well.

Unaware that Madam Zhang had already agreed, Yu Ruhai hurried to the west wing and happened to run into Yu Qiaoshan just as he was heading out.

“Meng girl says it’ll rain tomorrow,” Yu Ruhai blurted. “Tell your wife not to make a fuss, get to the fields and harvest the wheat! Once the busy season is over, we’ll send Zhizhou to the county school.”

Hearing this, Madam Zhang rushed out of the room. “Father, you better mean that.”

Yu Ruhai glared with his cloudy old eyes. “When have I ever gone back on my word? All the children are equal in my eyes. Why would I favor some over others?”

Madam Zhang, now satisfied, replied sweetly, “We all know how much you care for the children. Once Zhizhou achieves something, he’ll definitely show you the proper respect.”

Except for the third branch and the elderly couple, everyone headed to the fields. Two old paper lanterns were set up at the field’s edge, their faint glow lighting the way as the group toiled under the night sky, swinging sickles and dripping sweat.

Luckily, people in the small village went to bed early. If anyone had seen the scene in the middle of the night, they might’ve gotten a real scare.

Many hands made light work. The eldest couple were seasoned in farming, so under their leadership, the group worked energetically until a pale light crept over the dark mountains in the east. By dawn, they had finished harvesting all the wheat.

Once the wheat was gathered into piles in the fields, Madam Song returned to the village and knocked on Auntie Wang’s courtyard gate.

The Wang family hadn’t woken up yet. Auntie Wang opened the gate with a yawn and was surprised to see Madam Song. “Mengshan’s wife, what’s going on so early?”

Smiling, Madam Song replied, “Auntie, we need to borrow your ox cart again. Don’t worry, we’ll be quick and won’t hold you up.”

Auntie Wang wasn’t a stingy person and had always had a good relationship with the Yu family. Over the years, whenever someone in her family had even a mild illness, they often came to the Yu family for medicine. She agreed readily. “Alright, come with me to the backyard to get it.”

Madam Song followed her into the yard. Wang Shi brought out the ox cart and handed it over, looking a bit puzzled. “Didn’t you already haul in all your wheat yesterday? Why are you hauling more so early?”

The sky was just beginning to brighten, and Madam Song didn’t know for sure if Yujiao’s prediction of rain would come true, so she avoided the topic. “We don’t have our own cart and always borrow yours. We just didn’t want to hold you up later, so we harvested everything overnight.”

Auntie Wang chuckled. Not many families in the village owned an ox cart, and during the busy farming season, plenty of people politely came to borrow theirs. Even the capable Yu family had times when they needed help, this made her feel quite proud. Still, she spoke humbly, “It’s no big deal. Just let us know when you need it.”

Madam Song thanked her repeatedly and led the ox cart back to the fields.

As the morning brightened, a layer of mist hung in the air. The Yu family hadn’t yet finished hauling all the wheat when raindrops began to fall. 

Patter, patter. 

Other villagers who had also risen early to work in the fields began to panic.

Seeing the rain, the Yu family hurried to move the rest of the wheat. Fortunately, their fields were right at the west end of the village, not far away. Before the downpour began in earnest, they managed to haul all the remaining wheat home.

Yu Ruhai, seeing that it really had rained, beamed with joy and repeatedly praised Yujiao’s foresight. All the wheat had been fully ripened. Now that the rain had come and most households hadn’t harvested yet, who knew how much grain would be lost to the flooding?

Madam Zhao from the third branch, who had been muttering complaints before, now didn’t dare say a word.

Once all the wheat was unloaded from the cart, Madam Song returned the ox cart to the Wang family and brought along a tray of fruits that the couple from Zhang Zhuang had sent over earlier.

Auntie Wang looked distressed, only breaking into a faint smile when she accepted the fruit. “You’re too polite. We’re neighbors, it’s just an ox cart. No need to bring gifts.”

Country folk interacted all the time, and Madam Song knew the usual pleasantries. Smiling, she replied, “It’s nothing special. We had guests the other day, and with all the field work lately, I’ve been meaning to bring this over for you to try.”

Auntie Wang didn’t decline again and accepted the gift, sighing with envy. “Your family sure has good luck. Harvested the wheat in the middle of the night and—what do you know—it rained today. Who knows when this rain will stop. The wheat in our fields might be ruined.”