CHAPTER 28: CHAPTER 28: CAN YOU SAY NO?

EDITOR: ATLAS STUDIOS

"Third Sister, we’ve arrived!"

The ox cart had reached the entrance of the house, and Long Yue and Zhang Meihua quickly got off. Chai Tieniu looked at the clothes in their hands and laughed heartily, "Third sister, you are so thoughtful, buying food and necessities for the family. You are sure to be a virtuous lady of the house in the future!"

Chai Tieniu had no idea about Long Yue’s plans? He just happened to say the right thing at the right moment, making Long Yue feel very pleased. She turned her head and said, "Brother Chai, you’re always giving us a ride in your cart. Next time, come to our place for a meal!"

"Sure thing!"

"Moo——"

The old ox carried Chai Tieniu away, while Mrs. Zhang hastily asked, "Third sister-in-law, you haven’t answered me yet. What kind of business do you plan to start to earn money?"

These past few days, Mrs. Zhang was envious. Not to mention Qingxue and Xiangxiang, even outsiders were coming to her place to learn embroidery, which could earn them money in the future. She wanted to learn too, but she got a headache just looking at the complex needlework.

She had been bothered by this for a while, but finally found an opportunity today.

Long Yue pondered and said, "I’ve passed by a pharmacy these days and noticed that there are a lot of people coming and going, each one shouting about how expensive the medicine is. I was wondering, could we plant some medicinal herbs ourselves to sell to the pharmacies? We could earn quite a bit that way, couldn’t we?"

"Plant medicinal herbs?" Mrs. Zhang widened her eyes, "Aren’t those things all growing in the mountains? Can they really be grown ourselves?"

"Of course, they can. The crops we’re planting in the fields now were also discovered by our ancestors in the depths of the mountains and then were cultivated. Second sister, don’t we have two acres of land at the back that are empty? We can cultivate them, can’t we?"

"Cultivate the land? You expect me to do that? How tiring would that be? I’m not doing it!"

"It’s not just you. Big brother and second brother also need to help. You see, when we work for others, we don’t earn much. Why not try doing our own thing?"

"Doing our own thing?"

Mrs. Zhang’s eyes swirled around as she calculated that maybe there really was potential in this, though could these medicinal herbs indeed earn money?

Seeing that Mrs. Zhang was silent, appearing to be deep in thought, Long Yue knew she was tempted, so she quickly added fuel to the fire, "Second sister, you can have a look in the pharmacy when you have time. Isn’t that how we buy our medicine? Without at least one and a half taels, you can’t even start."

"What you said is true. The medicine for father’s leg already cost so much that it makes my heart ache. If these herbs really earn that much, I’m definitely in!"

"Earning money, it certainly will! It’s just that..."

"Just that what?"

Mrs. Zhang saw Long Yue’s troubled expression and got instantly nervous. She wouldn’t suddenly back out, would she?

"It’s just that those two acres belong to the Li family, and the Li family is managed by mother. By then, she’d definitely oversee everything, and the money we earn might not end up in our hands."

"Oh dear, now that you mention it, mother keeps a tight hold on the money. When it really comes to earning, what if she doesn’t give it?"

"There’s nothing we can do if she doesn’t. After all, she’s the one in charge of this family."

Long Yue pursed her lips and went into the house, while Zhang Meihua felt uneasy. She had just been told about a money-making plan, but then there were issues with the finances?

"Third sister-in-law, how can you do this!"

Zhang Meihua shouted in frustration, and when Mrs. Li Zhou came out to see, she was surprised, "What’s going on with you two causing a fuss?"

"Nothing much!"

Zhang Meihua thought of what Long Yue had mentioned earlier, and her face turned cold. With an impatient response, she too went inside.

Mrs. Li Zhou was bewildered; why were each of them giving her attitude? What had she done to deserve this?

...

"Husband!"

By evening, when Li Qingyuan returned from outside, too breathless to even sip some hot tea, he was called into the room by Mrs. Wang.

"What is it now? I’m tired, not in the mood to listen to your nagging!"

Li Qingyuan was a bit impatient with Mrs. Wang, assuming she wanted to talk about the eldest son’s issues again. His mother had already said repeatedly, "No more tuition; what else could be done? We have no money!"

Mrs. Wang knew as much. But this time was different. Ever since Long Yue told her about it a few days ago, she hadn’t been able to sleep well. She was really hesitating, even afraid. But for the sake of her child, she was ready to take a leap.

"Third sister-in-law said we could raise money to send our eldest to school!"

"Are you crazy? Desperately wanting the child in school has made you lose your mind! She’d be out of her mind to fund our Bai Chuan’s studies; it’s not a small amount, you know?"

Li Qingyuan thought his wife’s mind must be off, and angrily said, "Who is she? A young lady from the Capital City, how could she possibly look at us mountain folks? How could any word she says be reliable? Let me tell you, with those noble young women, don’t believe a single word! They’re just bluffing!"

"Why are you yelling? I’m doing all this for our child! Besides, didn’t she promise us the clothes and actually deliver them? You even complimented how nice my clothes looked that day!"

Feeling wronged by the shouting, Mrs. Wang’s voice choked up, making Li Qingyuan realize he’d gone overboard, so he softened his tone, "Fine, even if she really said so, why would she be so kind? There must be some conditions, right? What did she ask you to do?"

It’s undeniable that the eldest of the Li family, although timid, was quite sharp. Sometimes, timidity wasn’t real weakness, just deep consideration.

"Well... she just wants our Li family’s... um, that head of the household authority..."

Mrs. Wang was hesitant, and seeing her husband getting angry, he reached out like he was about to hit her, but thankfully it was just a gesture without actually striking.

"You’re asking for a beating! You foolish woman! She’s being ruthless, wanting our family’s head authority, wanting to control everything about us — all of our lifelines! And you dare become her accomplice? I... I really feel like giving you a thrashing!"

"Husband, how can I consider all that? Bai Chuan is already twelve, almost grown. If he doesn’t go to school, does he end up like you, farming for others? He’s the flesh that fell from my body; as a mother, is it wrong for me to consider for him? Wuwu..."

These days, Mrs. Wang had been restless, and now provoked by her husband, she burst into crying.

Li Qingyuan was annoyed by her crying but also felt a sense of sadness. Yes, it was all for their child...

Accused by his own mother since the birth of the second child, who was less cared for, as the second child came of age, he, as the eldest, became less valued, almost as if raised by a stepmother...

He sniffed, feeling sour inside.

"That Third Sister, are you sure she’s not deceiving you?"

After calming down, Li Qingyuan began to reconsider for his small family.

Mother, if you don’t value me as your son, don’t blame me for turning my back on you!

"She guaranteed it; she’d definitely help our son go to school! She also said... if Bai Chuan succeeds in the future, he might even work alongside Third Brother... Third Brother is known for his studies, one day surely becoming an official. Can I say no to that kind of opportunity?"