Chapter 781 - 402: Casual Chat Between Siblings (2)

Chapter 781: Chapter 402: Casual Chat Between Siblings (2)

Qingmu smiled. "That’s good. As long as he knows to be a little scared of people. The ones who fear nothing are the real trouble, especially if they don’t listen to their parents."

Juhua chatted and laughed for a bit, then turned to her brother. "Brother, I think your mother-in-law is a bit worried about Sister Yunlan. She’s afraid our family is playing favorites, just doting on our mom while making her pregnant daughter serve her. You should find some time to talk to her and put her mind at ease."

The sieve went SCRAPE, SCRAPE, making it hard to hear. Qingmu stopped what he was doing, furrowed his brow, and asked, "What did she say?"

Juhua shook her head. "She didn’t say anything specific. She just sees Sister Yunlan busy with chores and feels bad for her, so she keeps trying to stop her. I didn’t think much of it and even told her that pregnant women should stay active, that it’s not good to be idle. But Mom happened to be feeling unwell and was lying in bed right then. Isn’t that just asking for a misunderstanding? She might be thinking, ’Your mother gets to lie down while my daughter does all the work?’ You should explain it to her properly. Mom’s getting old; it’s different for her than for Sister Yunlan. Besides, we just hired three new servants, so there isn’t much for Sister Yunlan to do anyway. She’s mostly just managing things—isn’t Sister Yunlan just like the chief of domestic affairs in a wealthy household now?"

Qingmu listened intently and nodded. "I’ll talk to her later. I’m just worried your Sister Yunlan doesn’t realize what her mother is thinking. If she knew, she’d explain it to her. The child she’s carrying is a child of my Zheng family. How could we possibly favor one over the other? When Mom and Dad found out Yunlan was pregnant too, they were overjoyed. They even said the tradition of having a single heir for generations was finally going to be broken."

Juhua said, "It would be better if you and Sister Yunlan talked to her together. She’s still an outsider, after all. How could she be as close as our own family or understand your and our parents’ feelings?"

Qingmu nodded. "Yunlan is in good health. She’s had no morning sickness during her pregnancy; she can eat and drink anything. She’s not like Mom, who throws up if she eats something a little greasy. It’s like you said—she’s normally so energetic. Making her stay idle might not be good for the baby. Anyone who can be up and about would rather not be stuck in bed."

Juhua smiled. "Sister Yunlan is truly blessed. Her pregnancies have been so smooth. You don’t see many like her. That’s a blessing you can’t even ask for."

A gentle smile spread across Qingmu’s face. "She’s the eldest at home, so she was raised to be quite healthy. Later, after her younger brother was born, she took on the household chores and did all sorts of work. She’s stronger than most girls."

He scrubbed the sieve a few more times, and once he felt it was clean, he stood up. "Let’s head up. I’m leaving, so don’t stay here by the river alone." He then pulled up a few sweet flags, washed them, and took them home for Hulu to play with.

Juhua nodded and walked up the riverbank with him, holding Banli.

A few half-grown goslings waddled closer, their flat beaks working hard to tear up blades of grass. They avoided the wild vegetables and chrysanthemums, picking only the tender green grass. They ate until their crops were bulging. Even the sides of their necks were swollen, making them look ridiculously as if they had two necks side-by-side. This was because the grass they had eaten hadn’t yet reached their crops and was stuck in their esophagi.

Juhua called out to them, "Geese! Big white geese! No, wait, you’re still little yellow geese." Then she changed her tune again. "You silly geese! I’m shouting so loudly, and you don’t even know to run."

The geese were really amusing. Usually, if you suddenly yelled at an animal, whether a chicken, a duck, or a dog, it would scatter. But geese were different. They would always cock their heads as if listening intently, and only after confirming that you were yelling to shoo them away would they belatedly start to run off on their big, webbed feet.

Qingmu watched with a smile as she and Banli shouted at the geese. He found Banli’s laughter so endearing that he wanted to hold him for a bit, but since he was carrying the sieve, he didn’t have a free hand and had to give up the idea.

Once the mother and son had had their fun, he asked, "You’re raising geese now too? Can you manage? Who’s looking after them?"

Juhua replied, "Heipi is in charge of them. It’s like with the ducks. He lets them out in the morning and herds them back at night. No one watches them during the day."

Qingmu said, "That’s fine while they’re still small, but it won’t work when they’re bigger. You’ll need someone to keep an eye on them. I heard from Huang Xiaodun that two of his family’s ducks went missing. We live in the middle of the village, so it’s easy for people to spot strangers coming in. Otherwise, with so many ducks by the river, we probably couldn’t keep them safe."

Juhua asked in surprise, "Really? Are people stealing livestock?"

Qingmu sighed. "When people get desperate enough, they stop caring about the rules. Our village is doing well, so of course, others have taken notice. Everyone needs to be more careful. We should have people wander by the river more often. With folks coming and going, it’ll be harder for petty thieves to succeed."

Juhua nodded and started walking back with him, asking, "What’s the new County Magistrate like?"

Qingmu replied, "He hasn’t shown his true colors yet, but I’m afraid it doesn’t look good. The business taxes for the shops and last year’s autumn tax haven’t been lowered at all. The people at the government office say the Lord County Magistrate hasn’t sorted things out yet and is temporarily following the old rules. We’ll know what kind of official he is after the wheat harvest."

Juhua frowned, looking like she wanted to say something but held her tongue. The two of them parted ways at the courtyard gate and went to their respective homes.

In the kitchen, He and Aunt Liu were dry-frying fruitcakes. They had already made several batches. Hearing Juhua’s voice, He called out, "Juhua, pick out some cakes to take to your mother."

Juhua put Banli in his little cart and told Pu Pao to watch him. Then she swung her arms, walked into the kitchen, and asked, "Are they done so quickly?"

He picked up a small basket from the chopping board. It was filled to the brim with about twenty cakes. She handed it to Juhua, saying, "There are still many more to cook. Take these over first so your maternal grandmother and the others can eat them while they’re hot."

Juhua nodded and then asked, "Should I pick out a few to give to Grandma Liu?"

He smiled. "Do you even need to tell me? I sent some over from the very first batch." An elder in her eighties always commanded respect. The Zhang family never treated her like a servant, but more like a respected elder. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)