Traveling Through Those Years Of Farming (Quick Transmigration) - Volume 4 Chapter 9

“I came to take Big Brother and Big Sister to my house to play.”

Ge Shiyan was squatting beside the well washing dishes when a woman in her early thirties appeared outside the Fu family courtyard. 

This was her stepdaughter, Fu Yuexia.

In truth she wasn’t as old as she looked. She was born looking older than her age—especially the drooping corners of her eyes that made her look like an elderly woman.

Two children followed her. The older one was her daughter Du Juan. The younger was her treasured son, Du Mingbai, whom she carried in her arms.

The dragon-phoenix twins, who had been hiding inside the room, heard their aunt’s voice and rushed out excitedly.

Their parents had repeatedly warned them never to leave the house while their parents were away, and if they wanted to play, they must go to their aunt’s house—because there was a malicious old woman at home who would bring kidnappers to sell them off. 

They believed this wholeheartedly, especially after seeing how openly hostile Ge Shiyan had become.

After marrying, Fu Yuexia felt Ge Shiyan no longer had any authority over her. Her attitude toward her stepmother grew increasingly insolent. Whenever Fu Dayan wasn’t home, she didn’t even bother calling Ge Shiyan “Mother.”

“So this is the girl you want to raise? What a joke. All these years, I never even knew I had an aunt. She never once came home to visit. But the moment she dies, suddenly they remember they can toss the worthless one back to us.” Fu Yuexia stared at the skinny, dark little girl helping wash dishes, her eyes full of disdain. “My father and my brother work hard to earn silver. You can’t just take advantage of their good nature and drag every filthy thing into our house.”

She glanced at Baobao, who was sitting on the steps grinding a stone, and her mouth twitched. What an idiot—how had she not drowned earlier?

She had never suffered in her life. Her brother protected her, and her father pampered her even more than the other men in the village spoiled their daughters. When she married, her dowry was the best among all the girls her age, giving her great face at her husband’s home.

Because she had been spoiled from childhood, her temper became what it was. She showed no respect to her stepmother, talking back whenever she pleased as though she were the matriarch of the family.

Clatter—

Ge Shiyan tossed the dish into the wooden basin. “Did you eat crap this morning?”

“What?” Fu Yuexia’s eyes widened.

“Otherwise why does your mouth stink?” Ge Shiyan waved a hand before her nose in disgust. “A-Yu’s mother was your father’s biological sister—your own aunt. She’s not an outsider. If you think A-Yu doesn’t qualify to stay in this house, then do your dear aunt a favor and don’t you ever step into this house again either. Who are you? You’re a married-out daughter. What does this house have to do with you?”

Ge Shiyan felt she had been far too tolerant before. She thought that if they didn’t like her, she could just live quietly and stay out of sight. But she hadn’t realized these people had bigger ambitions and nastier means. Her retreating one step only made them advance ten more—eager to push them off a cliff.

They said motherhood made a woman strong. Her stepchildren’s behavior had already crossed her bottom line. Out of instinct to protect her own, even straightforward Ge Shiyan began using strategy—and every word she spoke stabbed straight into the lungs of her targets.

“And those two brats of yours—you’re right. I can’t bring filthy things into this house. So don’t bring those two outsiders back during the New Year holidays either. Your father and I can save two red envelopes.”

To her, Fu Yuexia’s hypocrisy was hilarious. She looked down on her own aunt, claiming married-out girls had no right to dump children back on their mother’s family. But wasn’t she also a married-out daughter? Didn’t she rely on the old man’s affection? Whenever the family slaughtered meat or killed a chicken, she would drag her two kids home to freeload. She acted like a guest, glued to a chair, too precious to lift a finger, and even dared show attitude.

Well, not anymore!

“You actually scolded me!” Fu Yuexia was furious. “I’m telling Father!”

She wasn’t as smart as her brother. Her only tactic was tattling.

She grabbed her son and ran off without looking back. 

The dragon-phoenix twins and Du Juan hurried after her.

“Disgusting.” Ge Shiyan curled her lip. 

She was already a mother of two—yet she still acted like an unmarried young girl? Once upon a time, stomping her feet and pouting might have been cute. But now if she stomped her foot, the flesh on her belly would jiggle three times. That wasn’t cute—that was an earthquake.

“Don’t take that cousin of yours to heart. When her mother gave birth to her, she had a difficult labor. I’ve always suspected her head was squeezed too long and something got damaged.”

Since she was determined to oppose her stepchildren on everything, she now found Lin Yu pleasing to the eye in every way.

“Your uncle and I decided to raise you. We never planned to treat you like an outsider. And you’re certainly not freeloading. Look at you—you can already help Aunt with chores. Your cousin and your little sister can’t even compare to you. I treasure you.” She turned to Lin Yu and added, still taking the chance to belittle Fu Yuexia.

She truly believed she had made the right decision keeping Lin Yu. The girl was so sensible and capable. Who knew how the Lin family had tormented her? At such a young age she could naturally handle every chore.

Ge Shiyan wouldn’t make a six- or seven-year-old do real labor, only light tasks. But she had to admit—having Lin Yu lend a hand made her own work much easier.

She had already decided: she would treat Lin Yu well, praise her often, coax her affection. That way Baobao could be as lazy as she pleased. With Lin Yu helping, there was no need for Baobao to work hard.

With this in mind, Ge Shiyan liked Lin Yu more and more.

Lin Yu hadn’t taken Fu Yuexia’s words to heart—she had heard worse in her past life. 

What she never expected was that her aunt would quarrel with her cousin because of her.

“Aunt, don’t worry. When Uncle comes back, I’ll definitely explain for you.”

She didn’t know what lies her cousin would tell her uncle. She only knew she couldn’t let her aunt be wronged.

As for her aunt praising her as more capable than Cousin Shinian and Baobao, saying she treasured her most—Lin Yu felt happy, but she understood perfectly. She had been here only one day. In her aunt’s heart, she could not compare to those two.

That was natural. Shinian was her aunt’s biological son. Baobao was her aunt’s beloved daughter. Their bond was deep. She couldn’t compare, nor should she try.

Lin Yu had already planned it out: she would strive for sixth place in her aunt’s heart. Not third, fourth, or fifth—because there were also the three younger siblings her aunt once relied on.

She would try to compete a little for her uncle’s affection, so her aunt would like her more.

Lin Yu lowered her head with a touch of guilt. 

In her past life, her uncle had been good to her too. She really was quite the ungrateful child.

Baobao, meanwhile, had originally been ready to rush out and scold Fu Yuexia on her mother’s behalf. But her mother had been so fierce she didn’t even get the chance.

Seeing her new fierce cousin rising in rank, Baobao panicked and increased her grinding speed.

She had to finish the five-spice–scented jade and give it to her mother—then she would once again be her mother’s favorite little darling.

“Ssssss—”

Even though the stone was only the size of her palm, Baobao’s hands felt like they were going to fall off. All she managed to grind away was a thin layer of the surface. She used a small bowl to scoop well water, rinsed the stone, and revealed…another gray surface.

QAQ This stone was bullying her golden mouse self.

At some point, Fu Shinian had walked over carrying his primer. The book was open to the first page, and he held a brush, tracing each character stroke by stroke.

He couldn’t read the words or know their meaning, but he found copying them fun. His mother had also told him these were precious things. If he learned them well, he could pass the xiucai exam and become Baobao’s and his mother’s support.

So the two children crouched on the ground—one “ssssss” grinding the stone, and one “shua shua” drawing characters with a stick in the dirt—looking very peaceful and content.

“Did our daughter come home today?” At noon, Fu Dayan returned carrying farming tools, exhausted. 

Fu Shichun and Ma Meifang followed him, eyes full of fatigue—and thinly veiled gloating.

Clearly Fu Yuexia had already tattled in the fields.

“Uncle, please take me home.” Before Ge Shiyan could speak, Lin Yu said it first.

“Why are you going back? This is your home.” Fu Dayan panicked. 

This was his sister’s only flesh and blood. How could the Lin family be a good place? How could he send her back?

Something must have happened this morning.

This time he did not suspect Ge Shiyan at all—because she had been the one who insisted on keeping Lin Yu. If she wanted to get rid of her, she could have sided with Ma Meifang yesterday.

“Cousin was right. My mother… she…” Lin Yu lowered her head, staring at her toes, her voice choked. “Mother said she had no face to bring me back… it’s all for me… Uncle, please send me home.”

A child’s words, jumbled and illogical.

But Fu Dayan still understood: his daughter had come back and picked on his niece, probably saying terrible things—like how a married-out daughter had never visited her family in all these years, so why should the niece be allowed to return, and so on.

But was it because she didn’t want contact? No—back then his parents had married his sister far away, to a terrible household. She had feared dragging him down and never dared send word for help.

The thought alone broke his heart. He had dreamed all last night—his sister begging him to take care of her daughter. It was her last wish.

Now his daughter had come home to spout nonsense, hurting the girl. Worse, she had rushed to him first to complain, making him almost suspect his wife!

Fu Dayan’s anger surged. Had he spoiled his daughter rotten? How else could she lie so brazenly?

“Ah, Yuexia has really been spoiled by us. A-Yu is so pitiful—how could she say such things to her?” Ge Shiyan looked deeply at Lin Yu. She hadn’t expected the child to come up with such a strategy.

She didn’t dislike it. The girl was on their side—having a sharp mind was a good thing.

“I was angry at the time and said she was a married-out daughter. According to her logic, does that mean we don’t need to worry about her or her children in the future? If that’s the case, she shouldn’t bring her children home on holidays either—they’re all unrelated anyway.” Ge Shiyan sighed with just the right amount of remorse. “My words may have been too harsh. She looked angry when she left. She must have gone to complain to you. My fault—I shouldn’t argue with children.”

“She’s already a mother! How is she a child!” Fu Dayan snapped.

The moment he said it, clarity struck.

He was right. His daughter was a married woman with children. How could she still act like a child? If she behaved like this at her in-laws, he was doing her harm.

“What you said was right. If she thinks A-Yu is an outsider, then she’s also an outsider to this house. If that’s how she sees it, then she shouldn’t come home for New Year.” He said it in anger. He only wanted his daughter to realize her mistake and apologize to A-Yu and Ge Shiyan.

But Fu Shichun didn’t see it that way. After hearing his stepmother and that “freeloader” twist the truth, he felt deep grievance for his sister. And now, hearing their father say such a thing, he was furious.

Not letting a married daughter return for New Year—that was an extremely severe punishment. Once such a rumor spread, it meant the maternal family disowned the daughter, refusing to support her no matter what happened.

Only women who committed extreme offenses were treated like that.

He believed they were trying to ruin his sister’s future at her husband’s home!

He clenched his fists, full of resentment toward his biased father and devious stepmother.

After two and a half days, Baobao finally ground half the rough shape of the jade.

“Mother!”

That afternoon, she ran into her mother’s room with a tearful face, pitifully raising the stone.

“The stone… broke…”

At her age she didn’t know how precious jade was. From the day she bought the stone until now, sanding it like a toy, she had only shown childlike fondness. So discovering the jade should have made her sad.

“It’s green… and yellow… this isn’t my stone…”

Ge Shiyan was confused—until she saw the stone with a patch of jade revealed.

“My heavens!” She sucked in a breath.

“Eh?” Baobao feigned innocence, puffing her cheeks and sticking out her little belly. She didn’t even bother pretending to cry.

“I wasn’t scolding you… fine, fine, you’re Mother’s darling.” Ge Shiyan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. 

After soothing Baobao, she examined the jade carefully.

She remembered the merchant’s words: it was gambling stone—raw rocks from jade mines. Whether they contained jade depended on luck.

She hadn’t taken it seriously. Jade was expensive, while the stones at ground stalls were cheap. A merchant wouldn’t sell stones containing jade on a street stall.

And this stone was cheaper than all the others—ten wen, twenty wen each—so she never imagined it could produce green. She treated it as an expensive toy for Baobao.

She was even glad Baobao stayed home grinding it every day—it kept her from running out and worrying her.

She never expected Baobao would one day bring her actual jade.

Ge Shiyan didn’t know what top-grade jade looked like. But the color of the patch Baobao revealed was thick and vivid, with green and yellow intertwined—not ugly at all, rather harmonious.

She remembered the jade bracelet her sister once wore—it wasn’t as green as this, nor as lustrous.

She didn’t know how to evaluate jade, but she assumed that the clearer and more translucent it was, the more precious.

This was a treasure.

It might be worth more than the entire Fu family’s property combined.

And since Baobao discovered it, it belonged to Baobao. As for family rules—that nothing could be considered private property before dividing the household—what did that have to do with Baobao? She wasn’t part of the Fu family by birth.

Even if one argued it was bought using household funds—well, she was the “evil stepmother.” She could play favorites. The eldest branch didn’t deserve to touch even a speck of it.

“Our Baobao truly is a blessed child. Mother knew you had great fortune!”

She adored her little treasure. She already planned to visit her sister tomorrow. As a farmer woman, she didn’t know any wealthy people. Her only way to liquidate such a precious item was through her sister.

Jade was too far removed from their lives. Better to sell it and buy land for Baobao—that was real wealth.

“Tomorrow I’ll let your brother start school. If he doesn’t study well, I’ll beat him half to death.”

Her daughter was about to become a little rich woman. If her son had no abilities, how could he match his sister?

Baobao didn’t know how far her mother’s imagination had run. Hearing praise, she proudly puffed out her belly again. 

She was still her mother’s favorite little darling.

Without delay, early the next morning, Ge Shiyan went to the Wang landlord’s estate under the pretext of asking her sister to help find a good teacher.

Ge Feiyan had not seen her elder sister in a long time. She had been waiting in the second courtyard since dawn. When she saw her sister, she clung to her affectionately like a young girl—not at all like someone’s mother.

Ge Shiyan thought of how disgusting it looked when Fu Yuexia acted coy, but with her own sister she enjoyed it—as long as she pretended to scold her.

“You’re already a mother. Don’t let others laugh at you.”

Between the two of them, they were nearing sixty or seventy in combined age, yet here they were holding hands like little girls. It wasn’t like Baobao and Lin Yu—those two had known each other for only a short time, yet clung together like conjoined twins. Her youngest son kept asking whether Baobao no longer liked him best.

“In front of Elder Sister, I will always be the younger sister.” Ge Feiyan refused to let go, shaking her arm, insisting she stay for lunch.

Seeing her sister so cheerful made Ge Shiyan deeply relieved. It meant her sister’s life in the Wang family was truly good.

Madam Lu, the gracious main wife, sent the boy raised by her side to greet his aunt. 

He was a well-behaved child—only five years old and already learning to read, with clear speech and orderly manners.

The Wang family had few children, likely because of the master Wang Fugui’s health. Despite having many wives and concubines, including children lost in the womb, in decades only two children had survived—one was Ge Feiyan’s son, the other was a concubine’s daughter who was nearly twelve, also raised under Madam Lu.

Seeing her scholarly-looking nephew made Ge Shiyan more excited about sending her son to school.

But she didn’t forget the main purpose today. After signaling her sister to send away the maidservant, she took out the jade.

She thought, such a precious item should at least be worth fifty taels. She didn’t dare think of more.