Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Chapter 159 Xia Lanyue is angry

While Xia Yao was there, Xia Lanyue went to cook. She felt that she should spend as little time as possible with Xia Huifang.

She was busy cooking and adding firewood at the same time, and she was a little overwhelmed.

Xia Lanyue glanced at the main house every now and then, hoping that Xia Yao would come out and help start a fire, but she didn't see him come out for a long time, so she didn't feel comfortable calling him.

Xia Yao, who was in the main house, wasn't unwilling to help Xia Lanyue, but Xia Huifang was intentionally or unintentionally making conversation to prevent him from leaving.

"This A-Yue spent the night outside, I wonder if she and Li Zhuang... are they...?" Xia Huifang looked at Xia Yao's eyes.

"Mother, don't talk nonsense," Xia Yao interrupted Xia Huifang in time, "They're fine."

"That's hard to say. A man and a woman alone in the middle of nowhere, how do you know nothing will happen?"

"Mother, what do you want to say?" Xia Yao understood Xia Huifang's unspoken meaning.

"Why don't we take this opportunity to annul the engagement?"

"Impossible, I won't do that," Xia Yao said to Xia Huifang with righteous indignation.

Xia Huifang was not willing to accept this. "I will not accept her as my daughter-in-law. Either now or later, when rumors start to spread, it will not look good for anyone."

"Rumors? Who dares to say anything about my woman?" Xia Yao said.

"Hmph," Xia Huifang sneered.

Xia Yao seemed to sense the unusual meaning in her tone, "What do you want to do?"

"I want you to break off the engagement," Xia Huifang said bluntly.

"I advise you not to resort to these crooked and shady methods, otherwise not only will A-Yue be embarrassed, but I will too!"

"You? What do you want?"

"What for? To marry her, to marry a woman whose reputation is ruined, a woman who brings shame to the family," Xia Yao said.

Xia Huifang looked furious. "Are you crazy?! Have you gone stupid from reading too much? I'm trying to help you!"

Xia Yao had no intention of arguing with her, so he softened his tone and said, "Mother, Village Chief Zhao is engaged, and I must marry A-Yue. Besides, I love her, so please grant us your blessing."

These words seemed to strike a nerve with Xia Huifang, making it unacceptable to her. Her brows furrowed, she pounded her chest, and could only sigh.

Seeing that Xia Huifang was not in a good state, Xia Yao quickly stepped forward and said, "Don't be angry. Lie down. I'm going to cook for A-Yue."

Xia Huifang grabbed Xia Yao, "You're not allowed to go. This is a woman's job, what are you going to do?"

Xia Yao tried to break free from her hand, saying, "Just leave it alone."

“If I say you can’t go, then you can’t go,” Xia Huifang said, holding onto Xia Yao tightly. “Let Dai You do it.”

Xia Yao sighed helplessly and squatted down by the bed. "He's not back yet."

"They just eat and don't do any work, they're really good at shirking their responsibilities, not a single good person in their family," Xia Huifang complained.

"Mother~" Xia Yao said helplessly.

"Ouch, my head hurts," Xia Huifang closed her eyes, lay back, and still held tightly to Xia Yao with both hands.

For dinner, Xia Yao ate with Xia Huifang in the main house, while Xia Lanyue and Dai You ate in the courtyard.

The two families ate separately, which reduced their mutual dislike.

Dai You looked at the blisters on Xia Lanyue's fingers and asked, "What happened to your fingers?"

"I got a little burned," Xia Lanyue said casually.

"Did you apply the medicine?" Dai You asked.

Xia Lanyue thought for a moment, realizing there was no medicine at home, "It's okay, I'll be fine in a few days."

"Next time you get burned, remember to soak it in cold water to cool it down first," Dai You said.

"I see, you know so much," Xia Lanyue said with a smile.

“When I was little, I often burned myself while cooking for my younger brothers, so I naturally learned how to handle it,” Dai You said.

“You have a younger brother, but I’ve never heard you mention him,” Xia Lanyue said.

Dai You smiled and said, "I told you this before, but you don't remember it now."

"Ah, I remember you asked your brothers in the capital to take care of Brother Ma, was it them?" Xia Lanyue asked.

Dai You shook his head. "My brothers were all sold long ago."

Xia Lanyue's expression froze. She realized she had said the wrong thing, stirring up Dai You's painful memories. "I'm sorry."

Dai You smiled and said, "It's alright. This is normal in poor families. If the brothers are sold, they'll still have a way to survive."

What Dai You said was something Xia Lanyue had only seen in TV dramas. Now that she heard him say it in person, it felt so real.

"Did this woman give you a hard time today?" Dai You asked.

Xia Lanyue glanced at the main house, "No."

Dai You didn't say anything more, just nodded.

At this moment, Xia Yao came out of the house, looked at Xia Lanyue, and hesitated to speak.

Xia Lanyue understood what he meant and walked over. "What is it?"

"Have you finished eating?" Xia Yao asked.

Xia Lanyue nodded.

"Mother wants to... relieve herself," Xia Yao stammered.

Xia Lanyue looked down at the rice in her bowl, quickly shoveled it into her mouth, stood up, and said, "Then I'll go," before walking straight into the house.

Xia Huifang was sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for her to arrive. Even when Xia Lanyue came to help her, she didn't give Xia Lanyue a friendly look.

Xia Lanyue pulled the toilet out from under the bed and helped Xia Huifang sit down.

After Xia Huifang finished, Xia Lanyue, holding her breath, picked up the toilet and quickly walked out of the house.

Dai You was turning over the soil in the vegetable garden when he saw her and immediately came over to greet her, taking the bucket from her hands.

In his eyes, a young lady like Xia Lanyue had never suffered such grievances.

Xia Lanyue wanted to refuse, "I'll do it, ouch~", but she couldn't control herself and choked out.

Dai You ignored her and took the bucket. He poured the excrement into a small vat in the corner, then scooped up water to wash it off and poured the water into the vegetable garden.

Xia Lanyue had never known what that vat was for until now, when she realized it was for holding excrement!

"Why don't you pour it out? Ugh~" Xia Lanyue couldn't help but burp.

"Let's ferment it first, then we'll use it to water the fields," Dai You said, handing the clean bucket to Xia Lanyue.

Xia Lanyue only then realized that there were so many intricacies involved. She took the bucket, wiped the tears that had welled up in her eyes with her sleeve, and then went to Xia Huifang's room.

Xia Huifang was relatively peaceful when Xia Yao was around, but her malice towards Xia Lanyue became apparent after Xia Yao and Dai You left.

"Ah Yue, you need to clean this toilet. It smells terrible and it's giving me a headache," Xia Huifang shouted loudly in the room.

Xia Lanyue went inside upon hearing the sound. "It's already been washed. Even if you wash it again, it will still smell."

"Then you should take it outside first, I can't stand the smell," Xia Huifang said, covering her head.

Having no other choice, Xia Lanyue took the toilet outside.

But then, Xia Huifang kept giving her orders.

"Ah Yue, I want to drink water..."

"Ah Yue, fan me with a fan."

"Ah Yue, you have time to wash Pan Gao's clothes, he doesn't know how..."

"Ah Yue, bring out the millet from the house and let it dry in the sun..."

"Ayue..."

Xia Lanyue stood helplessly in the courtyard. Xia Huifang wouldn't let her rest for even a moment, and she felt like she was about to explode.

She knew that Xia Huifang was deliberately ordering her around, trying to make her obedient.

However, she had a rebellious streak.

"Ah Yue, Ah Yue?" Xia Huifang was calling her again.

Xia Lanyue pretended not to hear, took the mold, and went to Wang Xiang's shop.