Ugly girl only wants to farm

Chapter 227 Meng Xiuzhi Gets Beaten

He then glanced at the distance again, his eyes filled with jealousy and resentment, before leaving.

After looking around, Xu Chaoyan added another spoonful of soup to his bowl: "Hurry up and drink your soup. There's no one watching you here. Are you just being too suspicious, or have you been working too hard lately and haven't had enough rest?"

Shen Siheng quickly joined in the fun: "Sister-in-law, you can't treat me differently like this. You have to get me some good food too. I want to see if you're giving Brother Meng special treatment."

Zhang Xuyang was about to slap this guy across the face. The young couple rarely had a chance to be alone together at noon, and this guy had no sense at all.

He grabbed Shen Siheng by the collar and pulled him back, saying, "Even sweet potatoes can't shut you up. Hurry up, we have to go back soon."

Qi Yu held the bowl of hot soup with a reserved expression. Xu Chaoyan then scooped some vegetables over and said, "Here are some radish chunks for you to try. The longer the radish is cooked, the more flavorful it becomes. As the saying goes, 'Eat radish in winter and ginger in summer.' It's perfect that the weather hasn't warmed up yet; eating some radish will help you stay warm."

A burst of vicious curses came from a small courtyard in a village not far from the town.

Meng Xiuzhi was fighting with a man. The man was being beaten and howled. He flipped over and pinned Meng Xiuzhi down, punching and kicking her.

"You shameless shrew, you've been living in my house for so long, eating and drinking for free, and you're completely useless. Didn't you say you were going to send this old thing away before the New Year? Why haven't you sent him away yet? We don't have much food at home, and this old geezer eats three big bowls a day, like a starving ghost reincarnated. Are you trying to eat me out of house and home?"

After saying that, he beat Meng Xiuzhi again. Chunyu watched anxiously from the side and wanted to go forward to stop her parents from fighting, but as soon as she got there, her father yelled at her so loudly that she trembled all over.

"You brat, get out of my way! What business is this of yours? Go and cook me some food! You're the most useless girl around. If you don't behave, I'll sell you to a brothel."

Meng Xiuzhi was so dizzy from the beating that when she heard that her daughter was going to be sold to a brothel, she was so angry that she suddenly stuck her head out and rammed it directly into the man's chin.

"You damned, lightning-deserving wretch! You even think about exchanging your own daughter for money? Did that slutty widow swindle all your money again, and that's why you're coming back to throw a tantrum at your old mother? What do you mean my mother came here to freeload? My mother brought money with her before, originally for my son's wedding, but you, you damned wretch, took it all to give to that widow. You can't even stop munching on that widow's legs, and you don't even care about your own son's marriage."

The man was already seeing stars from her collision, and his anger flared even more. After hearing her words, Kuang Kuang slapped her a few more times.

“Meng Xiuzhi, I’m telling you, I’m giving you half a month to get rid of this old hag. She has a son, she’s not without one. Why should she come to my house to live out her days? The little bit of money she brought with her has long been gone. Get rid of her right now.”

When Grandmother Meng saw that her daughter had been bullied and beaten by her son-in-law, leaving her with a bruised and swollen face, she grabbed a carrying pole from the kitchen and swung it at the man. She had not had a good time at her son-in-law's house for the past six months.

She not only had to do housework every day, but she also had to watch her son-in-law's mood when eating. She had brought a lot of jewelry and fabric with her before, but this damned man stole them all under the cover of darkness. Now he has turned his back on her and even beat his daughter like this.

Just as the carrying pole was about to strike the man, he seemed to sense it and immediately reached out to grab it and push it back. Grandmother Meng's health was not good to begin with. She didn't have to do any work when she was in the Meng family. After coming to her son-in-law's house, she could hardly get a few hours of good sleep every day. She was so tormented that she was neither human nor ghost, and she had no face to go back.

When I went to town before, I met some villagers who said that her son and daughter-in-law had died in an earthquake. Her grandson was studying and doing business in town. Last time, she and her daughter went to the school gate several times but couldn't catch anyone.

As the year drew to a close, she went to town to inquire again, only to find out that the family had moved away. Originally, she had planned to have her daughter send her to her eldest grandson's house after the New Year, as a grandmother should fulfill her filial duty to her grandson. However, she was disappointed to find that the family had moved away, and she had no choice but to sheepishly continue staying at her son-in-law's house. She didn't dare to go to her younger son's house either.

Given Liu's personality, it would be good enough if she didn't gossip and insult her behind her back. Besides, this old woman is too weak to do anything, and Liu's shrewish nature would only make things worse for her.

The man, panting heavily, finally wiped the sweat from his brow, then kicked the woman on the ground with a look of disgust: "Meng Xiuzhi, stop pretending to be dead and get up now."

After saying that, he glared at his daughter in the distance: "Chun'er, I told you to go cook for your father. What are you still doing there? The butcher in the next village has promised me five taels of silver as a betrothal gift. When the time comes, I'll choose an auspicious day for you to go and become his second wife. The butcher's family will never have to worry about food or clothing. You'll have plenty of meat every day. This is the one I carefully selected for you. These days, you should stay at home and not be as restless as your mother. If I find out that you have other ideas, I'll send you to the butcher's house even if I break your legs."

Chunyu trembled with fear. She had heard of the butcher; he was the one who had beaten her previous wife to death. He often beat his wife when he was drunk. She was completely disoriented. Seeing her mother faint, she didn't dare to go forward to check on her. Only after the man left did she tremblingly step forward and extend her index finger to check her mother's breath. After feeling the faint breath, she breathed a sigh of relief, hugged Grandmother Meng, and burst into tears.

"Grandmother, Grandmother, what should I do? My father is going to ruin me!"

Grandma Meng struggled to crawl over, raised her hand to wipe away her granddaughter's tears and comforted her for a few words. It took the two of them a lot of effort to help Meng Xiuzhi to bed.

Meng Jiuhe would help set up the stall every day before going to the school. The weather hadn't been very good lately, with frequent overcast skies and rain.

Xu Chaoyan made a lot of konjac tofu and cooked radish chunks early in the morning. The colder the weather, the better the opportunity for her business. Her stall was clean, hygienic, and the portions were generous. The prices were not too expensive. Students from ordinary families could buy a bowl of hot food for just a few coins. Every day at noon when school was over, long queues would form at the stalls of the three of them.

As she predicted, after setting up her stall there for half a month, similar stalls gradually appeared around, selling fermented rice wine with glutinous rice balls, roasted sweet potatoes, and tofu pudding. Moreover, they were selling them for one coin cheaper than hers. Some students were tempted by the lower prices, and gradually the number of people surrounding the three-person stall decreased significantly.

Zhang Yueniang looked anxious: "Sister, what should we do? We used to be able to sell dozens of coins a day, sometimes even hundreds of coins, but now almost no one wants to buy them. Aren't you worried?"

Xu Chaoyan sat by the fire, rubbing her hands together with a leisurely expression: "Sister, why are you in such a hurry? Let them go if they want to. Besides, look at those merchants, they're all as shrewd as monkeys. They don't have the same weight as us. We can compare prices at three different places. They'll find out later."

Since Qin Zhenzhen made her statement to Xu Chaoyan last time, she hasn't been in a hurry to get an answer. Firstly, the woman might still have some considerations to make, and secondly, she has been too busy to leave recently.

Her mother was always trying to find her a suitable husband, and her father kept nagging her about how good the magistrate's son was and how good his family background was. She was forced by her father to attend several banquets held by the magistrate's family, so she didn't have time to bother Meng Jiuhe during this period.

However, she still had people watching his every move, especially when she intentionally or unintentionally mentioned Meng Jiuhe in front of her elder brother. Her elder brother was a man who appreciated knowledge, and after hearing his sister's words, Qin Xiao gave a few perfunctory replies, saying that he would pay attention to his sister's thoughts. He knew what she was thinking.