Chapter 74: Who Farms the Land?

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Who Farms the Land?

Just then, Bai Dazhu’s shout came from inside the house. "Is dinner ready yet? I’m starving!"

Liu hurried to the kitchen for a look. The stove and pots were cold—not a trace of food to be found. She returned to the main hall and said to Old Mrs. Bai, "Mother, you really need to do something about my sister-in-law. It’s so late, why hasn’t she started cooking?"

Old Mrs. Bai said, "She took Zhenzhu and went back to her mother’s family. You can make lunch."

Liu was instantly displeased. "Why is it me again? I cooked yesterday. It should be my sister-in-law’s turn today. She’s quite the slacker, isn’t she? If she was going to leave, why couldn’t she have left yesterday?"

Old Mrs. Bai stuffed the silver into her robes, a smile still on her face. "If she’s gone, she’s gone. Good riddance. It saves us a few meals. Now hurry up and cook. Didn’t you hear your husband yelling that he’s hungry? Xiao Feng will be back soon. Remember to boil an egg for him."

Seeing that the old woman always had Xiao Feng on her mind, Liu finally felt a little better. "Fine, I’ll go cook. But we’re out of eggs. Our old hen hasn’t laid any in days."

She opened the main gate and, seeing no one in the courtyard, added, "That damn girl Bai Zhi isn’t back either. I’m afraid we won’t have any vegetables for lunch."

Liu’s gaze fell on the bulge in the old woman’s robes, and she suddenly smiled. "Mother, Li Si’s family slaughtered a pig yesterday and took it to town to sell today. I bet there’s still plenty left. Why don’t we go buy some meat and have a proper meal for a change?"

Normally, Old Mrs. Bai would have refused, no matter what. But today was different. Liu had brought in ten taels of silver, with another twelve taels on the way. She was ecstatic. It occurred to her that it had indeed been a long time since they’d had any meat. And with Ms. Zhang and Zhenzhu gone, if they bought two pounds of pork belly, the rest of the family could eat their fill.

With that, she turned and went inside, locking the ten taels of silver in her money box. She then took out a string of copper coins, counted them out, and handed them to Liu. "Here are fifty cents. Go buy two pounds of pork. If there’s anything left, buy a few eggs. Go on."

Liu was ecstatic. She quickly took the fifty cents, swallowing hard as if a plate of braised pork was already sitting right in front of her.

Bai Erzhu walked in just in time to see this and couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. "Mother, did the sun rise in the west today? I can’t believe you’re letting us buy meat."

Old Mrs. Bai shot him a glare and snapped, "Listen to you. It’s not like I’ve never bought you meat before." She looked Bai Erzhu up and down. His clothes were spotless, without a trace of sweat or mud, and his shoes were so clean he looked as if he hadn’t even stepped outside.

Old Mrs. Bai’s expression immediately darkened. She was very displeased. "You didn’t go to the fields?"

Bai Erzhu looked at her as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "How was I supposed to go to the fields alone? I didn’t have anyone to help me."

Old Mrs. Bai was so angry she felt like grabbing the nearest object to beat him with. But he was her son, after all; she couldn’t bring herself to actually strike him. "What nonsense are you spouting? Why can’t one person go to the fields? What do you mean, ’a helper’? When Zhao Lan wasn’t injured, she went to the fields by herself, and I never saw anyone helping her!"

Bai Erzhu jutted his chin out. "Zhao Lan is Zhao Lan, and I am me. Why do you always compare me to her? Besides, this is your fault, isn’t it? If you hadn’t injured Zhao Lan, she probably would have finished all the fieldwork by now. Would we even need to be worrying about it?"