CHAPTER 61: 61 EMBARRASSMENT

Su Yuanyuan nodded with a smile, thinking how capable both Hu Chunhua and her husband were, and that their three kids could all work. They must be doing better and better.

"Yuanyuan, I went back to my parents’ place to borrow some money a few days ago. I’m finally going to live on my own, and I won’t have to put up with their crap anymore."

"Have you decided where to build your house?"

"Yes, I’ve chosen it. It’s at the south end of the village, far enough from them."

Su Yuanyuan smiled, signifying a sense of relief, perhaps.

"Yuanyuan, I’m telling you, when you choose a husband in the future, you must choose wisely. It’s not easy for us women to be someone else’s daughter-in-law," Hu Chunhua said with feeling. The eldest was already thirteen and still living with her mother-in-law.

The mother-in-law was someone who didn’t have a clear grasp, otherwise, the two younger sons wouldn’t have turned out like that. She just always wanted to drag their whole family down. Let alone as brothers, even as sons, you can’t always be the one to bear everything.

Su Yuanyuan felt exasperated, thinking it’s a bit early to tell her about such things. Besides, she hadn’t considered getting married in this lifetime. She had secrets, and living alone for two lifetimes, suddenly having someone beside her might be something she couldn’t easily adapt to.

"Yuanyuan, when you find a husband in the future, make sure you don’t choose one with many brothers. You have to find out everything about the mother-in-law’s character. Don’t end up with bad relations between in-laws," Hu Chunhua advised once more.

Su Yuanyuan laughed awkwardly, not knowing how to respond.

As a single person herself, finding an in-law family didn’t seem too realistic. Moreover, with her poor fate in this life, what normal family would want a daughter-in-law like her?

"Yuanyuan, let me tell you, nowadays no one dares to speak a word in my house. Both my younger brothers-in-law haven’t even thought of planting wheat. My mother-in-law is always sulking.

Luckily, I’m going to move out. My mother-in-law still doesn’t know we’re building a new house. If she did, her expression would definitely be even longer."

Generally, a daughter-in-law wouldn’t badmouth her mother-in-law behind her back. Hu Chunhua must have been very aggrieved these past years.

After staying for a while longer, Hu Chunhua went back home too. She didn’t do much of the household chores either, since she didn’t want to do any favors for people she disliked.

The next morning, Su Yuanyuan went to check the fish trap, and there was an unexpected surprise. Maybe because of the rising water, there were actually two large carp inside.

She happily put them into her space. If she went to the county to send them to Old Yang, he’d be sure to appreciate it, as he had helped a lot.

Today, it was still impossible to go into the fields due to the sticky mud. So she stayed home. The vegetables in the garden were growing particularly well, lush green. The baby cabbages were already ready to eat.

With nothing else to do, she made some pan-fried dumplings with cabbage filling today. They were particularly delicious, dripping with oil.

In the afternoon, Hu Chunhua came by again. "Yuanyuan, your Uncle asked me to tell you he wants to borrow your big cart tonight to go fishing."

"No problem. Just tell my Uncle he can come over whenever he needs it."

"We’re building a house at home, so we’re thinking of catching fish to sell at the market."

Su Yuanyuan thought it might be hard to sell, as most people who went to the market were farmers, and few would be willing to spend on fish. Besides, when it rains, people from villages near the reservoir would catch their own fish.

But she didn’t say this. People might know better than she does. Plus, even if they can’t sell them, they can eat them at home to satisfy their cravings.

In the evening, Yang Minggang came over. He carried a big cart and left. The next morning, he came back, bringing Su Yuanyuan a carp that weighed over a pound.

"Uncle, I have plenty of fish to eat. I set a fish trap. You should take it to the market to sell."

Yang Minggang didn’t say much, leaving the fish behind anyway.

"Yuanyuan, shall we go to the market?" Zhao Yanli called from outside.

Su Yuanyuan went out and said, "Xiao Li, I’m not going. I don’t have anything to sell. Besides, the roads must be bad."

"Come on, today there must be a lot of people at the market."

"I’m really not going. I hate stepping in the mud. You go and have fun."

With nothing to do, going to the market just meant buying things, but her money wasn’t easy to come by.

It was bright and sunny these past few days. A few days later, Su Yuanyuan went back to weeding the sorghum fields.

After working for three days, she went on to weed the sweet potato fields.

She also went to the cornfield. It was much better there. There was some grass but not much. It was fine that way.

These days, many households in the village were planting crops. It was already mid-July. If planted now, they might not mature before autumn comes.

Every day, she just circled around the house, tending to the family livestock.

The three little pigs were now over fifty pounds each, growing particularly well. The ducks and geese were being free-ranged.

Su Yuanyuan trained them for a few days, and they knew to go to the reservoir in the morning and come back in the evening.

The little sheep also showed signs of pregnancy. Everything was just as Su Yuanyuan had planned.

She still checked the fish trap every day and even caught some crucian carp, which she used to make fish soup for herself.

Today, she made tofu pudding. At noon, she stewed crucian carp, steamed the tofu pudding, and served it with red pickles and flatbread.

It was so delicious that she ended up eating too much. She had no choice but to wander around the house to digest. She thought it was pathetic how she couldn’t resist overeating.

That evening, when she counted the ducks, she found one missing. The ducks were already two pounds each now. How come one was missing?

She followed the path the ducks took daily to the reservoir to look.

But she couldn’t find it. Reluctant to give up, she wandered along the riverbank twice. It was late, and she couldn’t find any clues.

Did someone steal her duck? It indeed put her in a bad mood.

After coming home, she counted them again. It was indeed one less.

The next day, when she went to the reservoir to check the fish trap, she purposefully searched again.

When it was light, Su Yuanyuan released the ducks and geese. She also went to the riverbank half an hour later to look.

She didn’t find anything unusual. She knew someone must have stolen it. The ducks were over two pounds now. They could be eaten.

But stealing her ducks wasn’t acceptable.

She went home to go about her business. Around noon, she went to the reservoir again and counted the ducks. None were missing.

In the afternoon, before the ducks were about to return, she went to the riverbank again and spotted a few teenage kids on the shore. Her ducks and geese were still in the water.

Su Yuanyuan didn’t make a sound and approached them from behind.

What she overheard almost blew her top off.

"Da Linzi, you ate more duck meat yesterday, so today I get to eat more."

"Why should you? I caught that duck after all."

"Haha, finally caught you."

Su Yuanyuan’s sudden words startled the three people with their backs to her.

When they turned and saw it was Su Yuanyuan, their expressions eased a bit.

"You dare to steal my duck to eat?" Su Yuanyuan asked, narrowing her eyes.

She had already taken a small pick handle out of space. Today, she wasn’t going to let this slide.

The three of them knew the ducks belonged to Su Yuanyuan. It was precisely because they knew that they dared to steal and eat them.