Doctor Reborn as a Peasant Girl? Time to Get Rich

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: A Muddled Affair

Just then, Bai Dazhu and Bai Erzhu, the eldest and second sons of the Bai Family, returned home from the fields with their own sons. When they learned what had happened at home that day, both brothers were beside themselves with anger.

Bai Dazhu glared resentfully at his old mother and his wife, complaining, ”How could you not hold back? This is just great. Now that you’ve beaten Zhao Lan this badly, who’s going to do all the work in the fields tomorrow?” He shot a glare at Liu. ”Are you going to do it?”

Liu hurriedly waved her hands. ”Not me! I can’t do that kind of work. I’ve never done farm work in my life, I wouldn’t know how.”

Bai Dazhu then turned his gaze to Ms. Zhang. Ms. Zhang raised her eyes and swept them over him, saying coolly, ”If a person as capable as my sister-in-law can’t handle the work, then I certainly can’t.”

Ms. Zhang watched the family with cold eyes, sneering inwardly. ’I’ve lived with this family for over a decade. How could I not know what Bai Dazhu and Bai Erzhu are really like? They only go to the fields to put on a show, cherry-picking the cleanest and easiest tasks. What’s more, the four men of this family go out together and still can’t finish the smallest bit of work in a whole day. They always have to wait for Zhao Lan to finish her work in the paddies before they go and ”finish up” the rest.’

’Zhao Lan was responsible for five whole mu of paddy fields by herself, while Bai Dazhu, Bai Erzhu, and their two sons were only planting a half-mu plot of peanuts—and they still hadn’t finished after a full day.’

Ms. Zhang’s gaze swept over Bai Dazhu’s and Bai Erzhu’s immaculate clothes. ’They look less like they’ve come back from the fields and more like they’ve been out sightseeing.’

Bai Erzhu sighed. ”Mother, you’ve really made a muddle of things this time.”

The old woman glared. ”How was I muddle-headed? That little bitch Bai Zhi has eaten our Bai Family’s food and lived in our Bai Family’s house for twelve years. Do I not even have the right to teach her a lesson? You weren’t there! That damned girl chased me and your sister-in-law with a wooden stick! Were we just supposed to stand there and take it?”

Bai Erzhu sighed again and said to his mother, ”Mother, that’s not what I meant. My point is, now that she’s injured, someone has to tend our fields. Zhao Lan can’t move, so who’s going to do all that work?”

”Who’s going to do it? Are you two grown men just for decoration? Of course you’re the ones who should be doing it! Other families would kill to have this much land, and you’re complaining it’s too much work?”

Ms. Zhang, the second son’s wife, cut in, ”Mother, let’s forget about the farm work for a minute. Who’s making dinner tonight?”

The old woman shot her a glare and snapped, ”Who do you think? Are you expecting me, your mother-in-law, to cook for all of you?”

Ms. Zhang gave a hollow laugh. ”Mother, that’s not what I meant. It’s just that I’ve been shelling peanuts for planting all day long. My hands are raw, so I can’t possibly cook. Why not have Sister-in-law and Zhu’er do it?”

The moment Liu heard that, she blew up, planting her hands on her hips. ”You’re telling me you shelled peanuts all day? I took a look, and there wasn’t much of a pile. You did that little bit of work in a whole day, and now you’re saying your hands are ruined? Who do you think you are, some pampered young lady from the city?”

Ms. Zhang and Liu didn’t get along on the best of days, so Liu’s sarcastic retort made her fly into a rage. ”I did *that little bit of work* all day? Fine then, Sister-in-law, why don’t you tell us what *you* did today? Did you cook? Did you do the laundry? Did you sweep the courtyard? Or did you pull weeds in the fields?”

Liu racked her brain, but for the life of her, she couldn’t recall a single thing she had done all day. It seemed the entire day had been spent with the old woman, scheming about how to spend the ten taels of silver they would get from selling Bai Zhi. Unfortunately, after lunch, the girl had overheard them. She refused to agree, no matter what they said, and had even started a fight. As a result, she and the old woman had beaten Bai Zhi to death.