Traveling Through Those Years Of Farming (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 18

“Mother, you know the temperaments of my wife and me. How can we raise a good child? Besides, my wife is pregnant and will give birth soon. I can’t suddenly accept such a big responsibility!” Lu Jiafu jumps up three feet high. He loves taking advantage of others, so how can he let someone take advantage of him? “I don’t have the ability; why not give this child to my eldest brother and his family? They are the most capable. If not, there’s still the third brother. He can endure more hardships than I can. When the family is divided in the future, the third brother will certainly have a better life than me.”

At that moment, Lu Jiafu wishes to offload this major responsibility onto his eldest brother or the third brother. He can’t understand why his mother isn’t siding with him at this time.

Lu Jiafu begins to reflect—has he been negligent lately and not treated his mother well enough?

“You also know that you are lazy and incompetent!” Lu Miao shoots her foolish son a glare, embarrassed by how accurately he analyzes himself so thoroughly.

To be honest, Lu Miao has selfish motives for wanting the second branch to raise Yuan Ge’er. Despite her usual claims of fairness, she has a soft spot for her second son. Therefore, whenever there is something good, her first thought is for his family.

Unfortunately, she can’t express these reasons directly in front of her eldest and third sons’ families.

Seeing her second son’s strong opposition to adopting Yuan Ge’er, the old lady begins to ponder deeply whether it really is the right choice to let the second branch raise him.

The child is very smart; he can sense who treats him well and who doesn’t. Forcing a cow to drink water is rarely a good idea, and if Yuan Ge’er and the second son and his wife don’t get along, that would be problematic.

After scolding her son, Lu Miao exchanges glances with Old Butcher Lu, silently asking for his opinion.

“This is how your mother and I see it,” Old Butcher Lu begins. “Your Elder Brother has the most children; if we add another one, they might not manage. Your third brother’s Baotie is only three this year and still needs care from the third brother’s wife. All things considered, you two have the fewest children.”

Old Butcher Lu then looks at Xu Jiaoniang’s belly. “The baby in there won’t arrive for another three or four months. That should be enough time for Yuan Ge’er to adapt to life in our family. When this child is born, Yuan Ge’er can help you when things get busy.”

While this sounds reasonable, upon closer reflection, it doesn’t quite add up. 

It is true that the first branch has the most children, but the youngest, Baoyin, is already seven years old and no longer requires the eldest couple’s constant attention. Moreover, Tang Dingyuan isn’t a child who needs adults to take care of him. Given that the eldest family’s conditions are the best, what’s the big deal about raising one more child?

As for the third branch, Tang Dingyuan is older than Lu Xiuxin, which means he can help take care of the younger siblings. Liu Lanhua might even be able to relax a bit.

On the contrary, the second family—Lu Jiafu and Xu Jiaoniang—are so lazy and greedy that everyone in the village knows about it. Xu Jiaoniang’s only daughter has a “rich disease” and cannot handle any hard work. When the child in Xu Jiaoniang’s belly is born, it will mean a household of four giant babies.

It’s fine while they aren’t separated, but once they do, there will be one more mouth to feed in Tang Dingyuan, plus the burden of finding him a wife in the future. Lu Jiafu is too shrewd and stingy; he might just blow a fuse over it.

“Father, how about—”

The eldest Lu opens his mouth, wanting to suggest that the child should belong to the first branch. After all, their conditions are the best, and Tang Xiucai had once taught Baojin, creating a bond between them. It would be most fitting for Yuan Ge’er to belong to the first branch.

“Ahem!”

As soon as Lu Jiafeng opens his mouth, Jiang Bai’e senses he is about to take on the responsibility as the eldest brother again. She coughs several times to interrupt her husband’s words. 

“It’s cold; I think I might have caught a chill.”

Taking advantage of the table, Jiang Bai’e kicks her husband hard. “Father, Mother, how about we raise him together? We can treat Yuan Ge’er like our own child.”

After all, this burden shouldn’t fall solely on the first branch.

“Okay, I understand what you mean. Let Yuan Ge’er choose tomorrow.” Lu Miao sighs. It seems the second son’s family is determined not to take on this child. In that case, let Yuan Ge’er choose between the eldest and third sons. 

Raising him together isn’t a big deal. If the family does split in the future, Yuan Ge’er might just end up being passed around like a ball.

At that moment, Lu Miao didn’t even consider the possibility that Tang Dingyuan would choose the second son, who has the worst reputation among her three sons. She assumes Yuan Ge’er will most likely end up with the eldest family. 

Jiang Bai’e smile feels stiff as she inwardly resents the old couple for bringing this trouble into their home.

******

“Why does Mother want us to raise that child? Does she not love us anymore?”

That night, as Xu Jiaoniang prepares for bed, she asks her husband while he helps her remove her socks. 

Meanwhile, Lu Baobao has already washed up and lies on her little bed. Upon hearing her mother’s words, she immediately perks up her ears to eavesdrop.

Is Grandma going to let their family adopt Tang Dingyuan? Lu Baobao feels sympathy for the little boy who has lost both his parents. If she has an extra brother, she wouldn’t mind at all.

“Mother has never loved you. She thinks you’re lazy and greedy, but she definitely loves me.”

Lu Jiafu pinches his nose and tosses his wife’s socks to the far end of the kang. He feels miserable. How could he have let his wife accidentally get pregnant again? Now, he has to be at the beck and call of this pregnant woman. Whenever he feels lazy and reluctant to do something, she flaunts her big belly at him. 

Isn’t it enough to raise one leaky little cotton jacket? All his regrets begin with a night of confusion and passion…

Lu Jiafu sighs and looks up at the beams, blaming himself for being a “too capable” man.

“Hmph, my mother loves me, my father loves me, and I have seven pairs of the best brothers and sisters-in-law.” Xu Jiaoniang refuses to back down, placing her hands on her hips and speaking defiantly.

Lu Baobao, pretending to be asleep while eavesdropping, is nearly beside herself with anxiety. Why are they veering off-topic and bickering like schoolchildren?

“Okay.” Lu Jiafu smacks his lips, thinking of his brothers who dislike him, and realizes he can’t compare to his wife in that regard.

“Don’t change the subject. You still haven’t explained why Mother did this.” Satisfied, Xu Jiaoniang lies back on the kang. Just as she is about to drift off, she recalls the original topic. “I always find it strange. Our parents are so partial to us. Do you think raising that child might bring us some unexpected benefits that we haven’t thought of?”

Xu Jiaoniang has an inexplicable trust in her in-laws because she knows she lacks ability and often feels foolish. Therefore, she places great trust in the judgments made by those around her. At her parents’ home, she follows all the arrangements made by her parents and siblings, except for one thing: she rebels against their plans and marries Lu Jiafu, who shares her temperament.

After moving to her husband’s home, Xu Jiaoniang begins to follow her in-laws’ plans, carefully observing their attitudes toward their three sons. They favor their second son the most and would never make decisions that would harm him. Thus, she feels confident that listening to her in-laws will not lead her astray.

Previously, Xu Jiaoniang thought that raising another child would be a bit troublesome. However, now that she has returned to her room and calmed down, she wonders if there is something they are missing.

After hearing his wife’s thoughts, Lu Jiafu comes to his senses.

“Let me think about it.”

Lu Jiafu is somewhat clever, but his cleverness is mainly limited to competing for favor with his brothers. He struggles to devise more sophisticated schemes. 

Raising a child—specifically, Tang Xiucai’s son, who is eight years old and said to be very smart…

Lu Jiafu closes his eyes and begins to mentally count the things he knows about Tang Dingyuan.

“I figured it out!” With a loud clap, Lu Jiafu smacks his palm excitedly. “This is the child husband that Mother chose for our little darling!”

He feels incredibly astute for having deciphered his mother’s intentions so quickly. 

A child groom!

Lu Baobao is so startled that she can’t close her eyes. 

She is still just a six-year-old baby! Isn’t it too hasty to arrange a marriage for her at such a young age?

If she hadn’t been pretending to sleep, Lu Baobao would have climbed onto her parents’ bed to discuss this issue with them.

“Think about it: the boy from the Tang family is eight years old this year, and our daughter is six. Aren’t they a good match in age?” Lu Jiafu raises his head proudly, stating his conclusion.

“Well… the third family’s daughter and Yuan Ge’er would match quite well too?” Xu Jiaoniang says softly.

“How can they be the same? The third girl’s appearance is so casual, while our precious girl is as beautiful as jade. She is a perfect match for the boy from the Tang family. You know what? He’s really good-looking—seven points as handsome as I was in my youth.”

Lu Jiafu touches his face. Even though he is already a father of a six-year-old child, he still retains his charm.

Xu Jiaoniang glances at her narcissistic husband, her lips twitching. Why does she feel that Yuan Ge’er looks better than her husband?

“Our Lu Baobao is going to marry into the village chief’s family or the hunter’s family,” Xu Jiaoniang pouts.

The village chief’s family is powerful, and the women in the village deliberately avoid gossiping about the village chief’s wives. The hunter’s family offers good food, ensuring a steady supply of meat after marriage, unlike their own family, which, despite being a meat seller, has few opportunities to enjoy it.

These two families are Xu Jiaoniang’s favorite potential in-laws. In truth, considering Lu Baobao’s looks, she could choose a wealthier family, but Xu Jiaoniang knows that marrying well is not easy.

Back then, her beauty was well-known in Shilipu. Even wealthy families in town sent matchmakers to propose marriage, but her mother rejected them all.

Many people thought her mother was foolish for being so selective, especially since she ended up marrying someone like Lu Jiafu. However, Xu Jiaoniang understood that her mother rejected those proposals out of love. If she had married into such families, she might have been tormented by her in-laws, with her own family unable to help her.

Xu Jiaoniang loves her daughter just as much as her mother loved her. She wants her daughter to marry well, but not too well.

Lu Baobao, pretending to be asleep, bites the corner of the quilt and cries. Does her mother plan everything for her?

“What do you know!” Lu Jiafu says, feigning seriousness. “Our mother has good intentions.”

“Quickly tell me; I’m confused because of you,” Xu Jiaoniang urges. “Yuan Ge’er is without a father or mother. How can our precious girl benefit from marrying him in the future?”

“You think it’s a disadvantage for the boy from the Tang family to be fatherless, but have you considered this? He has no parents, and his wife’s family will become his closest relatives. We raise him since he is a child, so we will be his father-in-law and mother-in-law in the future. Doesn’t that mean he has to respect and love us as his own parents? He will treasure our daughter.”