??Chapter 66: Chapter 64 Soone’s Up to No Good
Chapter 66: Chapter 64 Soone’s Up to No Good
“Yunfang, Yunfang, are you ho?”
The voice sounded sowhat familiar, but Shen Yunfang couldn’t imdiately recognize who it was.
“I am, in the backyard.”
Then she saw Shen Fuzhen scurrying into the backyard with her slightly plump figure, probably not expecting others there, so her wide-open mouth paused on seeing Dashuan and his wife. “Hehe, Dashuan is here too.”
Dashuan and his wife probably didn’t care much for her, rely nodding their heads without engaging in conversation.
“Second Aunt, you were looking for ,” Shen Yunfang offered, kindly giving her an out.
“Yeah, I have sothing to discuss, let’s talk inside,” said Fuzhen as she turned and headed for the house.
After greeting Dashuan and his wife, Shen Yunfang followed Fuzhen inside.
“Second Aunt, you were looking for ?” This was only the second ti she had seen her Second Aunt since her rebirth, and she wondered what brought her here today.
“Indeed, I’ve heard you bought two piglets from your aunt and spent twenty-five yuan?” Shen Fuzhen asked urgently.
“That’s true,” replied Shen Yunfang, surprised that Fuzhen had co to ask about this and unsure of what she wanted. She hoped Fuzhen wasn’t here to borrow money.
“Oh, you naive child, smiling foolishly even though your aunt ripped you off,” Shen Fuzhen exclaid, slapping her thigh and raising her voice again.
Shen Yunfang raised an eyebrow, “Second Aunt, what do you an? Is there sothing wrong with the piglets?”
“Piglets are fine; it’s the damn price that’s the problem! Do her piglets have gold trimmings that she charged so much? Enough already! You are clueless too. I’m going to confront your aunt for the money,” Fuzhen said impatiently, then left as if she had Wind Fire Wheels on her feet, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Shen Yunfang was left amused and bewildered. What a ss this was—she hadn’t even comnted, and Fuzhen was off to demand money on her behalf, money that wasn’t even hers to claim.
Not taking the incident too seriously, the next morning, feeling nearly recovered, Shen Yunfang’s thoughts lingered on that piece of land on the mountain. She went to the production team as soon as she started work and headed straight to herd the sheep, planning to do as she had done before. But upon arriving at the production team, she was stopped again by Shen Yeqing.
“Yunfang, don’t rush off, I need to ask you about sothing,” Yeqing had been waiting for her since early morning.
Shen Yunfang cracked her whip, letting the sheep walk on while she herself stopped and asked, “Uncle, what’s up?”
Uncle Shen pondered for a mont before asking, “Here’s the thing, so have reported that instead of herding during work hours, you’ve been lazing at ho.” As he spoke, he watched his niece, trying to gauge the truth from her expression.
If it had been before, Shen Yeqing would have known without asking that it was likely true—his niece was known for her laziness. However, he had noticed that in the past half-year, his niece had matured and beco much more diligent, so he wasn’t quite certain.
Shen Yunfang frowned and stayed silent, having a good idea of who was behind this.
“I’m not implying anything by telling you this; I just want to give you a heads-up. There are quite a few people eyeing your job, so that’s why I say you should start doing sothing else when you co of age next year. This ti, your uncle will pretend he’s heard nothing. You must be more careful from now on,” Uncle Shen didn’t plan to delve deeper. He had that privilege, being her uncle.
Shen Yunfang appreciated her uncle’s kindness and smiled, “Uncle, I understand, I’ll definitely be more careful.”
After leaving the production team’s gate, she quickened her pace, catching up with the flock of sheep. This ti, she didn’t return ho but headed straight into the mountains.
Herding the sheep up the hillside where she cleared land took two hours just climbing. Once the sheep were tied up, she pulled out a shovel and continued digging the ground.
This ti she didn’t dare to be too harsh, digging and pausing intermittently, she had made little progress by the afternoon.
Shen Yunfang glanced at the fruits of her hard labor and sighed, she really wasn’t cut out for farming; her petite body simply didn’t have much strength. She trudged down the mountain with heavy footsteps, herding the goats back ho.
It was another day of excessive labor, and although she wasn’t as sore as the day before yesterday thanks to so exercise, she still felt like her legs were filled with lead and she couldn’t even raise her arms. When she got ho, all she wanted to do was to lie down on the kang and rest.
When Dashuan and his wife ca by, they saw Shen Yunfang lying on the kang, skiving off again. Dashuan’s wife had sothing on her mind, so she shooed Dashuan off to do so work in the backyard while she herself went into the house to gossip with Shen Yunfang.
“Yunfang, did you know? Your second aunt went to your uncle’s house yesterday to make a fuss and swindled a dollar from your aunt-in-law,” Dashuan’s wife said with a look of you-don’t-know-that, huh?
Shen Yunfang really didn’t know about this. She had seen her uncle this morning, and he hadn’t ntioned anything.
“I don’t know, what happened? Sister-in-law, tell
about it. My second aunt has that kind of ability?” Her aning wasn’t that her second aunt wasn’t capable; after all, her second aunt was also a notable person in the village. However, when compared to her aunt-in-law, she seed to be a notch or two beneath. She knew all too well that her aunt-in-law never let herself be shortchanged; their own household supplies wouldn’t be given away unless she went to ask for them, and their own hens wouldn’t be exchanged for roosters.
“Heh heh, don’t underestimate your second aunt, she’s quite the character.”
Then Dashuan’s wife relayed the story she had heard to Shen Yunfang.
It turned out that last night, after leaving from her place, Shen’s second aunt went straight to Uncle Shen’s house, grabbing him to demand justice, accusing Auntie Shen of making blood money and cheating her own niece.
Of course, Auntie Shen couldn’t let that pass. A willing buyer and a willing seller, how could she be accused of cheating people? Moreover, the little piglets she raised were good quality, and the two she sold to Shen Yunfang each weighed no less than twenty-five pounds.
So the aunt and sister-in-law started a fierce skirmish over the money, arguing whether less or more had been cheated from the niece.
Uncle Shen had no choice; one was his wife, and the other his sister. After thinking it over, it seed they both had a point. The argunt lasted for most of the evening, and in the end, Auntie Shen gave in under Uncle Shen’s insistence, agreeing to cut the price by two dollars for Shen Yunfang.
Just in ti, Shen Yunfang still owed a dollar, so she took out a dollar.
Shen Fuzhen pocketed the dollar without any courtesy, claiming she didn’t trust her sister-in-law and insisted on delivering the money to her niece personally.
Shen Yunfang, dumbfounded upon hearing the story, exclaid, “It’s been a whole day, and my second aunt hasn’t brought
the money.”
Don’t tell
that money has been pocketed by Shen Fuzhen.
“Ha, your second aunt wouldn’t stick up for you without scooping so benefits for herself.” Living in the sa village, who didn’t know who? Dashuan’s wife’s assessnt of the second aunt was that she was stingy, a busybody, and quite the drama queen.
Shen Yunfang nodded in agreent, “But what does her buying piglets have to do with ? Whether I spent more or less, that dollar shouldn’t be going to her, anyway.” She analyzed in her mind that the main reason her second aunt could win against her aunt-in-law was that she had involved her uncle; otherwise, she would have had no chance.
Dashuan’s wife didn’t speak, just pursed her lips and smiled.
Shen Yunfang pondered whether to go to her second aunt’s house to get the dollar back.
“If you can get it back, I’ll be impressed. Your second aunt is known as the ‘Iron Rooster’—it’s all about collecting, never giving,” Dashuan’s wife said, laughing.
“Well, I’ve still got to go and argue my case; I can’t just let her think I can’t count,” Shen Yunfang said, mustering a smile.
No sooner thought than done. She didn’t stay lying down any longer, turning over and getting off the kang, telling Dashuan and his wife to keep working there while she cleaned up a bit and headed to her second aunt’s house.
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