Chapter 223 Zhen Yi Is Disappointed and Heartbroken

Chapter 224 Aunt Zhen Disappointed and Heartbroken

Aunt Zhen looked at her sons with no expression. She wanted to see their attitude. As for the daughters-in-law, she didn't really care. Did they really think she had no money just because she wasn't earning? Over the years, the Madam and the Young Master had given her many bonuses, which were much higher than her salary. She was not worried about not having money for her old age.

"Mom, you have your skills. It would be a shame to waste them. Why don't we ask the Zi family to introduce you to someone else?"

"Exactly. If Mom doesn't earn money, life will be really difficult for the family in the future."

Aunt Zhen's heart sank completely. These were the children she had worked hard to raise. Would her late husband, who had escaped suffering, be sad if he saw this from heaven?

"If I don't plan to work anymore, will you support me?"

Aunt Zhen smiled as she saw the glances the daughters-in-law were giving their sons.

"Mom, how could we not support you?"

"That's right, we're not heartless people."

Aunt Zhen immediately stood up, patting her backside, her face full of smiles.

"Alright then, I knew my sons were kind-hearted. I'll just wait at home for you to support me from now on."

That night, there were considerable disturbances in every household of Aunt Zhen's family, with arguments and shouts. But Aunt Zhen did not come out to mediate. She lay on her bed, looking out the window, shedding silent tears.

The next morning, Aunt Zhen sat in the courtyard waiting for breakfast. She paid no attention to the sound of her daughters-in-law smashing things in the kitchen, nor did she pay heed to her grandchildren who were not close to her.

Only a few sons sat beside Aunt Zhen with dark faces, wanting to speak but hesitating. Finally, after breakfast, someone couldn't hold back.

"Mom, now that you're back, you should help with the housework. You can't just expect to eat without working."

Aunt Zhen wiped her mouth and ignored her daughters-in-law, looking only at her sons.

"Do you all think the same way?"

Her sons finally spoke, their expressions somewhat awkward.

"Mom, the family is indeed very busy. You have nothing else to do now, so just help with cooking and laundry at home."

"Besides, Mom cooks well."

Aunt Zhen laughed, her laughter growing louder, giving a sense of terror.

"I've spent years earning money to support you useless lot. I've just returned, and instead of letting me rest, you can't stand to see me idle for a moment. It's wonderful. Over the years, I've brought back twenty-five yuan every month, three hundred a year, and three thousand in ten years. Yet, you're still not satisfied."

Her sons hung their heads in shame, but they dared not say much in front of their wives.

Aunt Zhen sighed and suddenly reached out, slapping each of her sons across the face.

"You owe me far too much, the debt of raising you, and the debt of the money I earned through hard labor. How much money is left in the family now? I want each of you to give me two hundred yuan as my retirement fund, otherwise, get out of this house."

The scene immediately erupted into an argument. Aunt Zhen carefully observed everyone's expressions. She would rather serve Young Master Zi for a lifetime than be with these people.

After the commotion died down, Aunt Zhen indeed received the retirement money from each of her sons.

"After giving this money, will we not need to support you anymore?"

Aunt Zhen smiled and nodded, then stood up, picked up her unopened luggage, and left. She had no lingering attachment to the house or the people in it.

Everyone in the house breathed a sigh of relief. At least, Aunt Zhen's sons thought their mother had gone back to work and would continue to send money home, and their lives would return to how they were before.

But they didn't know that their mother was no longer an ignorant woman. She had been influenced by a large family for twenty years and had developed a decisive heart.

Aunt Zhen took out a piece of paper from her embrace and went directly to the person whom Zi Shao had told her to seek help from if she got into trouble. Without saying much, she handed over the paper.

"Please help me sell the house. The money from the sale can be remitted to where Young Master Zi is staying. I'm going to find Young Master Zi."

"Rest assured."

Aunt Zhen felt as if all her ambitions had been laid to rest. With light steps, she walked to the train station and bought the earliest ticket to Chuncheng.

She was only forty-five years old this year and could take care of Young Master Zi for a very, very long time. Perhaps she could even continue to take care of Young Master Zi's children. She would follow Young Master Zi from now on, using the rest of her life's efforts to earn someone to see her off.

Ye Shenge also began her daily routine of herding sheep. With her mother's company, Ye Shenge had time to wander around the foot of the mountain, carrying a small bamboo basket and a small shovel, looking like she knew what she was doing.

She actually found some common medicinal herbs and decided to dig some up in advance to prepare for the village doctor.

Honeysuckle, Atractylodes macrocephala, Peony, Belamcanda chinensis—she could find them all. Although the number at the foot of the mountain was not large, she could accumulate them slowly. After the busy farming season, she could bring people to the mountain to collect more.

Ye Shenge, wearing a straw hat and arm sleeves to protect herself from the sun, truly looked like a farm girl. With her daughter's full set of sun protection gear, Mother Ye no longer feared being exposed to the sun.

When Ye Shenge's basket was full of herbs, she put down her mother and the sheep and went home first. Checking the time, it was already ten-thirty. It was time to prepare lunch.

Looking at the remaining vegetables in the kitchen, Ye Shenge quickly planned the menu. They had to deliver the lunch to the fields today, and the workload was heavy, so everyone really didn't have time to go home to eat.

Ye Shenge decided to make stir-fried bitter melon with eggs and stir-fried cabbage with cured meat. During the busy farming season, everyone would use their best food for these few days, for fear of tiring themselves out. So, their meal wouldn't seem too out of the ordinary.

She cored the bitter melon and sliced it. Ye Shenge's knife skills were such that she spent several seconds on each cut. It took her twenty minutes to slice four bitter melons.

Breaking the eggs was easy. Six eggs were added with a little salt. These were all steps Ye Shenge had seen in videos. People should be brave enough to try.

The cabbage was simple. She tore it into small pieces, filling a whole basin. The cured meat was sliced into pieces of uneven thickness, about one and a half jin.

After everything was ready, she realized there was no staple food. Ye Shenge didn't know how to steam rice in a large pot. Thinking of the flatbread her aunt often made, she quickly dug three bowls of white flour and two bowls of cornmeal from the flour bin.

She poured some water into the flour and stirred it slowly, sometimes adding too much water, sometimes too little flour. This way, by the time Mo Lin returned, Ye Shenge had already messed up a whole basin of flour.

"Sister, how many flatbreads are you planning to make?"

Ye Shenge's face was covered in flour, and there was even some batter on it. The kitchen was hot, and sweat had soaked her temples. She looked very disheveled.

"Mo Lin, you're finally back. I really can't control the amount of water for kneading the dough."

Mo Lin wanted to laugh but dared not, for fear of discouraging his sister. He quickly washed his hands and took over the dough-kneading task.

"I'll do it. Next time, half a basin of flour will be enough for everyone to eat."

Ye Shenge watched intently, observing what the dough should look like when it was kneaded properly. Seeing Mo Lin quickly knead the dough, she felt it was incredible.