Miao Chu He led Tong Yu Er to their room to drop their stuff before tidying the room and taking their pillows and bedsheets out to sit under the sun. Everything was waiting for them to be done when they came home. Could they depend on Madame Xia? Miao Chu He never had that thought.
“Yu Er, you must be feeling aggrieved. We just have to make it through these two days!” The room smelled of mold and Miao Chu He felt bad for putting Tong Yu Er through this.
She had already sneezed several times, but she shook her head with a smile as she said gently, “Chu He, I’m fine and I don’t resent this. I swear.” The couple smiled lovingly at each other.
The two of them cleaned the room while Lu Xiao Shu sat by the brazier in the hall as she tended to the fire. Madame Xia had long since returned to her room to rest while Miao Tian Bao was sitting beside the brazier as well but with a stormy expression. Lu Xiao Shu rested her chin on her arms as she stared at Miao Tian Bao with her huge dark eyes. She stared at Miao Tian Bao so much that he felt more annoyed by the second, so he glared at her in return. Unexpectedly, Lu Xiao Shu was not afraid at all. Instead, she chuckled at him, pissing him off even more.
Miao Tian Bao felt that sitting there was a torture session in itself, so he got up and strode off to who knows where.
When Miao Chu He and Tong Yu Er emerged from their room, they were relieved to see that both mother and son were not around. They reminded Lu Xiao Shu to be good while tending the fire in the house and to be careful not to get the ambers onto herself. Then, they were off to clean the house inside out.
The yard was a complete disaster and it was the same inside the house. Supposedly, every house should have a spring cleaning by the end of the year so that they could enjoy the New Year happily, but Madame Xia was obviously too lazy to do it herself and she purposely left the task to both of them. It was a lot of work to clean the entire place.
At dusk, they managed to clean up the house and there was a huge pile of trash to be taken out. Miao Chu He said, “It’s getting late, you should go prepare dinner. I can take it from here.”
Tong Yu Er nodded and washed her hands before going to the kitchen to steam the rice. She carried a basket and got ready to go to the garden to pick some vegetables. When Lu Xiao Shu saw her, she asked to follow. When they were at the Lu Family’s home, Tong Yu Er had her share of preparing meals. Since Madame Xia did not give any instructions, she took it upon herself to get it done.
“Auntie, shouldn’t we ask Madame Xia what to prepare tonight? What if she doesn’t like what you make and blames you for it?” Lu Xiao Shu wondered out loud. Madame Xia was always trying to find faults in whatever they did, it would be better to get things straight so that they would not be held responsible for anything wrong later.
Tong Yu Er realized that she was right so she nodded, “Xiao Shu, you’re right, but…” but she is still sleeping in her room, wouldn’t it be rude to disturb her for this?
Lu Xiao Shu grinned, “Auntie, just wait for me. I’ll ask for you!”
Tong Yu Er happily replied, “Xiao Shu, you’re such a good girl!”
Thus, Lu Xiao Shu ran towards Madame Xia’s room. Since Madame Xia left her door unlocked, Lu Xiao Shu knocked on it and greeted “Madame” before entering.
“Who is it?” Madame Xia was lying on her bed before she groggily sat up with her eyes half-open. When she saw that it was Lu Xiao Shu, she lied back down and asked lazily, “What are you here for?”
“My auntie wanted me to ask you what dishes to prepare tonight! Auntie is afraid that what she makes might not suit your taste so she did not dare to decide for herself.” Lu Xiao Shu explained.
Madame Xia was annoyed, “She’s so useless. Must she still ask me such a menial thing? Simply stir fry two dishes of vegetables and steam some meat! It should be a simple meal tonight since the celebration is tomorrow!” To be honest, Madame Xia couldn’t care less if they were to eat only plain rice. After all, why would she share anything good with them?
“Okay!” Lu Xiao Shu repeated, “Steam meat and stir fry two dishes of vegetables, that’s it, right? I’ll go tell my auntie!” She immediately turned and ran back to the kitchen.
Tong Yu Er happily held her hand as the two of them went to pick vegetables in the garden.
After they rinsed the vegetables, Tong Yu Er kept herself busy in the kitchen while Lu Xiao Shu carried a stool to the stove to tend the fire. They chatted away happily. When Miao Tian Bao returned, he peeked into the kitchen like a ghost. He felt disgusted when he saw Lu Xiao Shu, so he left with a scoff. Meanwhile, Tong Yu Er secretly let go of the breath she was holding in.
During dinner, Miao Tian Bao might or might not have purposely sat beside Tong Yu Er. He thought that this could be his chance at taking advantage of her. Unexpectedly, Lu Xiao Shu carried a stool and wedged between the two of them as she asked, “Mister, could you move a little? I wish to sit with my auntie. My auntie will feed me.”
Miao Tian Bao was very annoyed as he reluctantly moved away a little while cursing Lu Xiao Shu in his mind. On the other hand, Lu Xiao Shu couldn’t care less about what he thought as she cheerfully sat beside Tong Yu Er.
Tong Yu Er and Miao Chu He both let out a sigh of relief. If Lu Xiao Shu did not come along, that Miao Tian Bao creep might have done something obscene. If he rubbed against Tong Yu Er while everyone was having their meal, what could she do other than to endure it silently? Women would always be the one who got hurt in these situations. Even if she made a scene, her reputation would be tarnished. As for Miao Tian Bao, he might as well have already lost his reputation long ago.
Lu Xiao Shu was not polite at the table and she asked Tong Yu Er to help her pick the dishes. While her short little legs unconsciously kicked Miao Tian Bao, he had no choice but to move away to create space. His dinner was eaten with a sullen mood, would he still be thinking of anything else? He did not even spare Tong Yu Er a glance.
Eventually, he could not hold it in and he demanded after finishing his dinner, “It’s not good to have someone else’s girl over for New Year. You should send her home tomorrow!”
“I don’t want to go home,” Lu Xiao Shu stubbornly said as she hugged Tong Yu Er’s arm, “I want my auntie, maybe auntie could go home with me? My mother said that I could spend the holiday with my auntie.”
“Yes, Xiao Shu is very obedient and she wouldn’t create any trouble. She’s just a kid, if she wants to stay, what’s wrong with that?” Miao Chu He added.
Madame Xia furrowed her eyebrows and frowned, it was obvious that this little girl tagged along to create trouble. Ever since this girl came, my son was gloomy and down. However, she’s so shameless that she wouldn’t leave no matter what. Would I be able to throw her out? If I made a fuss just because of a little girl, what if she started crying and wailing on the New Year? It would be preposterous!
“Stay if you want, but just be good and don’t cause any trouble!” Madame Xia snapped before saying to Miao Chu He and Tong Yu Er, “I have an important matter to discuss with both of you. In three months after the New Year, Ah Bao will be marrying. As his elder brother and sister-in-law, you should give him your blessings, right?
Miao Chu He replied, “Of course we should. Mother, you may arrange the wedding using everything in the house as you wish. We don’t have any opinions regarding how much money you spend on it. I will be taking part in the examinations in two years, so I will be very busy with my studies this year and I’m afraid that I can’t help much with the wedding. Since Yu Er signed a contract for her work, we can’t be sure whether she would be free to help either.”
Madame Xia scoffed, “Do you mean that you won’t help in any bit?”
“Mother, what do you mean?” Miao Chu He asked calmly, “I thought that I made it clear. I did say that you could use everything in the house, that would include my belongings. How many brothers out there could do such a thing?”
Miao Tian Bao got worked up by that, “Would you even have to say? Everything in this house belongs to us. If we were to use anything, why should you have a say in it?”
Miao Chu He smiled and turned to Madame Xia, “If I’m not mistaken, father did not chase me out of the house, right?”
Tong Yu Er gave Miao Chu He a pitied yet caring look, while Lu Xiao Shu was yelling sarcastically in her mind: Ah! Such great people, such an amazing mother and son duo! Isn’t my uncle the head of household? These two useless scumbags dare to speak without thinking! My uncle is just tired of the trouble they cause. Heh! We’ll see how I can prank them in a few years….
Madame Xia was snubbed as she grew annoyed and huffed, “What special heirlooms or products do we have at home? After your father passed away, how could I alone, as a widow, have any income? You were always at the academy studying and not making a living. Whatever your father left us with was already spent and used up! Go find a way to borrow one or two hundred silvers! I thought our third great uncle and the others kept talking about how great you are at studying and how successful you will become in the future. When you become rich, you could pay them back. The person who is going to get married isn’t just some stranger, he’s your little brother! As others may say, the eldest brother is like a father!”
Tong Yu Er was so enraged that her face had gone pale and her body shook slightly without making any sound. Lu Xiao Shu merely wished to arch her head back and let out a burst of howling laughter: Shameless, they’re so utterly shameless!
Meanwhile, Miao Chu He was completely calm. He had already heard those words countless times by now that he couldn’t care less about Madame Xia’s comments. He simply said, “I could try, but I can’t promise that I will be able to borrow any money.”
He knew that Madame Xia wanted him to ask for money from his sister. Even if Madame Xia said they would return the money, she would definitely not be the one who would be paying. It would have been the same as asking his sister to pay for Miao Tian Bao’s marriage. Madame Xia must be dreaming!
It was obviously an excuse! Madame Xia frowned, “You couldn’t even take responsibility for such a small matter? What use are you as the eldest son?”
“Mother, don’t tell me you don’t know how incapableI am?” Miao Chu He kept calm but he was neither gentle nor angry. He merely smiled, “As I have been studying at the academy all these years, I do not have much of a social life. I suppose it’s inevitable that you are worried!”
“Why would I not worry when we don’t have money?” Madame Xia was outraged, and she snapped, “Miao Chu He, don’t you dare think that you’re so great just because you’re a prodigy! I am still your mother!”
Miao Chu He was level-headed as always, and he gently said, “Have I said that you’re not my mother?”
Madame Xia’s face was red with anger. However, she could not do much to Miao Chu He. He did not ask for anything when he was off studying, so there was no excuse to say that he was the reason behind their financial problems and the lack of income. If she came up with an excuse to have him stay home and not study, those elders from the Miao Family clan would be the first to object to it! Unless she passed away, he would have to be home to pay his respects for three years…
But of course, she would not do that.
