Doctor Reborn as a Peasant Girl? Time to Get Rich

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Asking for Trouble

’Thank goodness I came back to life. Otherwise, if the Hu Family had made a scene, Old Mrs. Bai and I might have really ended up in jail.’

”You say that as if you did all the work,” Liu retorted sarcastically.

Ms. Zhang snorted. ”I may not have done it, but I also wouldn’t have beaten the person who did all the work to a pulp and then had to pay silver on top of it.”

Ms. Zhang shot her sister-in-law a cold glance, then turned and went back into her room. ’No matter what,’ she thought, ’I am absolutely not making dinner tonight.’

’Once you start something, everyone just assumes it’s your job forever. You can never unload the burden later on.’

The mention of silver made Mrs. Bai feel sick all over again. She waved her hand impatiently. ”For the next few days, the two of you will take turns with the chores. No slacking off. The eldest’s wife will make dinner today, and the second’s wife will do it tomorrow. You’ll rotate like that so it’s fair.”

Liu was about to open her mouth to protest, but Bai Dazhu, standing beside her, cut in disapprovingly, ”Mother told you to cook. What’s with all the nonsense? Get a move on! The whole family is starving.”

Liu saw her husband winking at her, unsure what he was plotting. Though she was still unhappy, it seemed the matter was no longer up for debate. She had no choice but to say, ”Fine, I’ll go. But someone has to help me. How am I supposed to cook for this many people all by myself?”

Mrs. Bai said, displeased, ”Why can’t one person do it? Didn’t that little slut always do it by herself? What? A grown woman like you can’t even measure up to a wild girl?”

Liu didn’t dare talk back and could only walk meekly toward the kitchen. Bai Dazhu grinned. ”I’ll come give you a hand.”

Bai Dazhu followed Liu to the kitchen, and Mrs. Bai’s gaze fell upon Bai Erzhu. ”Is all the fieldwork done?”

Bai Erzhu scratched his head. ”Not yet. There’s still a little left. We’ll finish it tomorrow.”

Mrs. Bai frowned. ”As I recall, our peanut field is only half a mu. How is it that the four of you worked all day and still aren’t done?”

Bai Erzhu gave a hollow laugh. ”It was too hot today, and we were afraid of getting heatstroke. We didn’t want to spend the family’s silver on a doctor, so we rested in the shade for a bit. It set us back a few hours.”

Mrs. Bai’s eyes bulged. ”Oh, so only you know it’s hot? Does no one else in this village who farms the land feel the heat? Fine, fine! I can’t be bothered to waste my breath on you. Just know this: starting tomorrow, you all better get your act together. After the dry fields, there’s still work in the paddies. Of our five mu of rice paddies, Zhao Lan already took care of two. You need to use the good weather these next few days to get all the seedlings planted in the other three. If the seedlings rot and it ruins the harvest, I’d like to see you all then—you’ll have nothing but the northwest wind to drink!”

Bai Erzhu’s expression couldn’t have been more bitter. In previous years, he and his older brother never touched the work in the paddies. Zhao Lan handled it all by herself, did a perfect job of it, and the harvests were never bad.

But now, all that work had fallen on their shoulders. ’Isn’t this just asking for trouble?’ he thought.

”Mother, speaking of which, you really messed up today. How could you beat her like that? With Zhao Lan around, would we ever have to worry about chores not getting done?” The thought of it made Bai Erzhu miserable. Utterly miserable.

Mrs. Bai snorted. ”I already beat her. What’s done is done.”

Bai Erzhu shrugged. ”I’m washing my hands of this, then. And I’m telling you in advance, I’m no good at paddy work. Let big brother do it. I need to go into the city tomorrow. Give me some money.”

Hearing this, Mrs. Bai’s eyes narrowed into a fierce glare. ”If you’re not going to work in the paddies, what are you going to the city for? Are you going to pick up free grain off the street?”