Chapter 73 - 73 73: The Motivated Liu Xiaomei
73 Chapter 73: The Motivated Liu Xiaomei
In particular, her youngest son’s little face was almost chubby.
On the other hand, her daughter-in-law…
Madam Liu couldn’t help but look at Qin Xiaoyao. From her big face down, she peered at her whole body.
It seemed that she had lost some weight…
Thinking of this, Madam Liu decided to let her daughter-in-law eat more meat during dinner to nourish her body.
Meanwhile, Big Girl Li stared at the small fishes in the bowl. She held back her craving and quickly rushed back to the Liu family’s house.
“Mother…” As soon as she entered the house, she shouted towards the courtyard.
At this point, Aunt Liu had just returned from the field with Liu Xiaomei. They were about to go to the kitchen to cook. When they heard that the daughter-in-law had returned, they looked over.
“What’s the fuss about?” Aunt Liu immediately replied loudly.
Then, she saw her daughter-in-law holding a bowl in her hand and asked, “What are you holding in your hand?”
Big Girl Li didn’t mind her mother-in-law’s attitude. Instead, she smiled brightly.
“Small fried fish given by Aunt Song! It’s so fragrant!” As she spoke, she quickly ran to the two of them.
As Big Girl Li approached, the smell of fragrant oil quickly wafted into Aunt Liu and Liu Xiaomei’s noses.
Liu Xiaomei looked at the golden, crispy small fishes in her sister-in-law’s bowl and couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.
“Sister-in-law, this… this is the fish that you and Sister Sanya caught from the river?” she immediately asked.
“Yep!” Big Girl Li replied proudly.
“These are the small fishes that Fortune Mansion doesn’t accept. Sister Sanya decided to let Aunt Song fry them and then split them between our two families.”
When Aunt Liu heard this, she frowned.
“Your Aunt Song is really extravagant! Look at this fish. It’s obvious that she had used a lot of oil!”
“And you dared to accept such a big bowl?” Then, she looked at Big Girl Li with displeasure.
However, Big Girl Li was still smiling brightly.
“Why not? My Sister Sanya treats me like her own sister, and Aunt Song also dotes on me!” As she spoke, Big Girl Li revealed a somewhat proud expression.
Aunt Liu was speechless as she glared at Big girl Li.
“By the way, Sister Sanya and I didn’t just get this small amount of fish.”
“The big fish and the other crucian carps added up to about 20 catties!”
“When we send them to Fortune Mansion tomorrow, we’ll make another 200 over copper coins. For my share, I can get more than 40 copper coins!” Big Girl Li raised her head, gloating gleefully.
She simply adored the way her mother-in-law and sister-in-law looked at her with admiration.
True enough, Aunt Liu and Liu Xiaomei were both shocked and immediately gazed at her with the expression that Big Girl Li adored so much.
“Then… you are going to town again tomorrow?” After a while, Aunt Liu finally came back to her senses and asked her daughter-in-law.
Didn’t they just go to town today? Were they going again tomorrow?
However, if Sanya and her daughter-in-law could really catch so many fish, they would probably have to go to town more diligently.
“I’m not going,” Big Girl Li said.
Recalling the important matter, Big Girl Li quickly said, “Oh, yes. I have something to ask you.”
Aunt Liu was puzzled.
“What is it? Tell me,” she said with some impatience.
Big Girl Li smiled. “It’s something good!”
Following that, she told them about Qin Xiaoyao’s intention to ask Liu Erniu to help out.
“Sister Sanya’s handcart is light and easy to push. Erniu will definitely be able to push it! That child’s speed is also fast. If there is no delay on the road, a round trip will only take slightly more than an hour!” Big Girl Li added.
Seeing that her mother-in-law didn’t say anything, Big Girl Li then continued, “Sister Sanya only offered this job to Erniu on my account. Mother, if you don’t agree, I’ll go back to Sister Sanya now and don’t delay her from finding someone else!” She was a little angry when she spoke.
After she finished speaking, Big Girl Li turned around and was ready to leave.
Aunt Liu’s expression changed, and she quickly pulled her daughter-in-law back.
“What are you so anxious about? Did I say no?” she said.
Big Girl Li turned around, but her expression wasn’t pleasant.
“Then why didn’t you say anything just now? Other families don’t even get the chance to do such a good job, even if they want to. You, on the other hand…”
“Gosh, I didn’t mean it that way!” Aunt Liu said hurriedly.
“I’m just afraid that Erniu won’t do a good job. If that happens, it will embarrass you and cause trouble for Sanya!”
Big Girl Li was surprised, and then her expression became more amicable.
“Why can’t he do it well? Tomorrow, Sister Sanya will personally take him along and give him instructions. After that, he only needs to deliver the goods and take the money!”
“Every time Fortune Mansion settles payment with us, they always give us an invoice. My Sister Sanya knows how to read, so she can tell how much money was settled when she sees the invoice.”
Seeing her mother-in-law’s worried face, Big Girl Li said, “Erniu is already 14. It’s time to let him go out and see the world. Please consider this matter carefully.”
When Aunt Liu heard this, the hesitation in her heart quickly disappeared.
“Okay! I’ll call Erniu back now and tell him about this!” she immediately said.
As she spoke, she walked outside.
A smile finally appeared on Big Girl Li’s face.
She turned around and glanced at her little sister-in-law before going to the kitchen.
Liu Xiaomei quickly came back to her senses and gave chase.
“Sister-in-law…” she followed behind and called out to Big Girl Li.
Big Girl Li didn’t stop. “What’s wrong?” she asked as she walked.
After entering the kitchen, she began to look for a bowl to replace the one given by the Song family.
Liu Xiaomei smiled ingratiatingly and leaned close to Big Girl Li’s side.
Then she actually asked, “Sister-in-law, can you help me find a job too?”
Big Girl Li was stunned.
“We don’t have much land, and the spring plowing is almost over. I have nothing to do at home, so I want to earn some money like Sister-in-law,” Liu Xiaomei said.
How could she possibly be idle at home?
Whether it was washing clothes, cooking, or feeding the pigs and livestock, which task didn’t need her?
However, what was the point of doing all this? Not a single copper coin could be seen.
Her mother wanted her to learn embroidery and then take some jobs from town to do.
This was also the main skill that the girls in the village learned.
However, she wasn’t interested.
Firstly, she felt that she did not have the talent in that area.
Secondly, embroidery work did not earn much money at all.
It was not like her sister-in-law’s work. She earned so much more money than her Big Brother by following Sister Sanya!
Of course, she also knew that she could not compare to her sister-in-law.
However, Sister-in-law’s work had given her a direction.
Who said that women were not as capable as men?
Her sister-in-law and the Song family’s sister-in-law were both women, and they were much more capable than most of the men in the village.
If she could follow them, maybe one day she could make a name for herself.
Or, it would be great if she could learn a skill that could really make a living like the Song family’s Yun’er!
The straw sandals were sold for four to five copper coins per pair in town. If she knew how to make them, she could even feed her entire family!
Well, okay… she used to feel sorry for that girl Song Yun, but now she was envious of her.
A woman’s mind matured early. She really didn’t want to miss the opportunity in front of her and wanted to fight for a future for herself.
Big Girl Li turned her head and glanced at her little sister-in-law.
“You’re quite proactive,” she said with a hint of admiration.
Big Girl Li had been working with Sister Sanya for so long, but her mother-in-law and Erniu had not thought in this direction at all.
Her mother-in-law was even a little hesitant when she proposed on her own accord to let Erniu help out Sister Sanya.
Yet, it was her little sister-in-law who took the initiative to speak to her.