Li Man was sitting in the corner of the kitchen and eating a steamed corn bun when she saw Mudan, who was wearing wooden clogs, leaving the courtyard. She looked very lonely, and her footsteps weren’t stable. There were several times when Li Man was worried that she was going to fall.
Wasn’t Li Yan being a bit too heartless towards this gentle, beautiful girl?
Bah, never mind. Other people’s feelings were the hardest thing to be accurate about. Sometimes, a person could seem as if he was doing something heartless, but in reality, he was using the most kind-hearted method.
Because of Mudan’s matter, the family had eaten breakfast rather gloomily today. No one said a word during the meal.
Once breakfast was finished, Li Man scrubbed the bowls, and Li Hua went to feed the piglets for her. Li Mo, Li Yan, and Li Shu went to finish up getting rid of the rotting straw on the roof and piling it up in a corner. After that, they would repair the roof.
During this time, Li Man collected all the clothes that need to be washed. Because the dirt paths wouldn’t be easy to walk, she didn’t go to the back mountain’s pond to do laundry. Instead, she had Li Hua pump out water from the well for her, then she started washing the clothes at home in a wooden basin.
Once she was done with laundry and not having anything else to do, she went to the backyard with Little Five to watch the brothers busily working on the roof.
On the roof, Li Shu stood up and saw Li Man. He hurriedly warned her, “Wife, go back a bit. Be careful. Don’t let the falling straw get into your eyes.”
“En.” Li Man held Little Five’s hand and led him to a corner with her. The walls of their home were made of dirt. She suddenly had an idea. If she planted long vines near the walls and arranged for them to climb up the walls, they would have flowers in the spring, fruits in the summer, and falling yellow leaves in autumn. It would look just like a scene from a fairytale world.
Right, she had bought some vegetable seeds the previous time they went to the market. Because this family didn’t have any fields ready to plant vegetables, she hadn’t done anything with those seeds. Wouldn’t it be nice to plant some Chinese okra and what not in this corner?
Li Man had been happily talking with Little Five when she unexpectedly heard someone viciously cursing nearby.
She turned her face to look and saw that Xing-niang was walking over here while viciously glaring at her. She had one hand on her hip, and the other hand holding a cucumber that she was munching on. Her gaze showed that she had come here to pick a fight.
Little Five quickly grabbed Li Man’s hand and said, “Older sister, let’s not pay attention to her.
“Oh.” She didn’t want to talk to a woman like Xing-niang either. She decided to walk away from this corner with Little Five.
Xing-niang looked at them coldly. She spat out a piece of chewed up cucumber. “Bah, you’re rotten goods too. Why are you pretending to be innocent?”
Second Shun heard her cursing from inside and came out. “It’s so early in the morning. What’s wrong with you?”
Xing-niang looked at Second Shun, then she looked at Li Mo and his two brothers on the roof. They were too eye-catching. She abruptly directed her anger at him. Poking his head, she said, “What did you say about me? It’s already so late in the day. And you just woke up? This old lady has to chew on this cucumber because you won’t cook. Do you want this old lady to starve to death so that you can go out and find a slut?”
“What nonsense are you saying? Don’t use such shameful words.” Second Shun knew that Li Mo and the others could hear their conversation, so he quickly grabbed Xing-niang to pull her inside.
Xing-niang turned her hand over and harshly slapped Second Shun. She cursed, “You idiot. You only know how to treat this old lady badly. When other people bully your old lady, you’ll turn around and apologize to them. You’re so useless. This old lady’s face has already been thrown into the trash because of you.”
Her voice was very loud. Li Mo knew that she was yelling because she wanted him to hear. His expression immediately sunk.