Transmigrated Farmgirl's Scheme to Get Rich - Chapter 229
Third Day Ceremony
Mo Ling and Mo Yan went over, “You’re being too courteous, we’re the ones who’re being impolite here.”
Mrs. Li immediately picked out the golden bracelet on Zao’er’s wrist, “Huh! Such a small child already has metal jewellery, you’re really caring for him thoroughly.”
This golden bracelet was given to him by Mo Yan when he was a month old. She heard that Zao’er cried all the time, and also heard that golden accessories were able to ward away evil spirits and calm the mind.
Mo Ling said, “Zao’er was a premature birth and had a weak body, so needed to wear a golden accessory to ward off evil spirits. My nephew was born at full term, and Xiuying has produced enough milk, so she’ll definitely raise him to be white and chubby. He doesn’t need something superficial like this.”
After everyone sat down, Mo Zenian and Ms. Liang sat at the head of the table together. He took out a few silk bags and opened them with a smile. Inside was a pair of silver bracelets with small bells, “Here’s a gift for my grandson, what do you think?”
Mrs. Li replied, “It’s good, but it’s made of silver.”
Mo Zenian truly had picked up some things from all his years in business, and naturally knew how to appease dissatisfied people, “He’s the eldest grandson of my Mo family, and all of my money will naturally be his. I’m saving up money for him to give him when he grows up, so he can buy whatever he wants in the future.”
Mrs. Li stretched out her hand to touch the silver bracelets, and Mo Zenian turned to hand them to Mo Feng, “Take them for your son.”
Ms. Liang said at the side, “Stop thinking about this nonsense all day, we haven’t even named the child yet!”
Mo Zenian laughed heartily, “I thought of it long ago, how about calling him Mo Jing, Jing, like daylight.”
Mo Yan repeatedly said that it was a good name, and there was a flash of a smile across Mrs. Li’s face before she replied disgruntledly, “It’s the grandson of your Mo family, whatever he’s called should naturally be decided by you.” [1]
Mo Ling had brought a bolt of blue fabric with dark patterns, “According to common convention, the child’s aunt should make a set of clothing for the child, but my needlework is poor. So instead, I brought over fabric so my mother can make it!”
Mrs. Li looked at Mo Yan, and Mo Yan looked back at her. According to the traditions of the countryside, unmarried daughters didn’t have to give gifts for the important matters of the family, such as weddings and funerals.
Mo Yan had prepared something, but she wanted to see what her nephew’s uncles and aunts would give first. If they didn’t give any gifts, Mo Yan didn’t want to waste any money. [2]
Ms. Liang told everyone to start eating, and Mrs. Li suppressed her frustration as she picked up her chopsticks.
It might’ve been because of the smoke from cooking, but Ms. Liang started coughing again, and Mo Ling asked, “Mother, why are you coughing again, are you taking your medicine on time?”
“I’ve been too busy these few days, with the cooking, taking care of the baby, and harvesting the chinese foxgloves. I might have forgotten a dose or two.”
Mo Yan immediately thought there was a problem, “Mother, why does it sound like you’ve been doing all the work? There’s Mrs. Li to accompany Xiuying during her confinement period, and brother to work the fields! You’re the head of the family and its most integral member, so you need to take care of your body.”
Mo Ling and Mo Zenian both agreed with her, and Mo Yan fished out another five silver taels to give to Ms. Liang, “Mother, take this money and buy some restoratives for yourself.”
Mrs. Li stared at the silver taels up until they were placed into Ms. Liang’s wallet before finally averting her gaze. Mo Ling and Mo Yan immediately understood what was going on.
Zao’er sat on Mo Ling’s leg, and seeing all the food on the dinner table which he wasn’t allowed to eat, he sat up straight and reached towards the food. Mo Ling could only pick him up and stand up, “Cheeky brat, ever since I’ve had you, I haven’t been able to have a single meal in peace.”
She took her son to the courtyard, and when she saw two chickens pecking at the chinese foxgloves currently being dried, she shooed them away, “Go away, stop pecking, this is as precious as gold! Everything you’re pecking at is practically money, don’t you know?”
After Mrs. Li finished eating, she went inside the house to accompany Xiuying. Seeing that there wasn’t anyone around them, she asked, “Xiuying, are the things drying in the courtyard worth a lot of money?”
Xiuying replied, “I heard Mo Feng say the chinese foxgloves they harvested last year were sold for over forty silver taels! They harvested even more this year.”
“I’m shocked, how could a patch of unclaimed farmland be able to produce this much money?”
“At the beginning, it was Mo Yan’s idea to reclaim farmland to grow chinese foxgloves. I think we should grow some next year as well.”
“Good, good, this is much better than just growing crops! I was just starting to worry about not being able to gather enough money for your brother’s dowry.”
Their family’s Xiucheng had been engaged long ago, but hadn’t married yet due to not having enough money for the dowry. No wonder Mrs. Li became green-eyed when she saw money. They’d only be able to receive the money from growing chinese foxgloves next year after autumn, and if he married after selling the chinese foxgloves, he’d have to wait another year. Who knew if his fiancee would be willing to wait that long for him?
Mrs. Li thought, “Where do they sell their chinese foxgloves to?”
“I heard that they sell them to the medicinal capital. The first time they went, Mr. Cao took Mo Feng over!”
“Mo Feng’s the one selling the medicinal herbs?”
“Who else would go, the medicinal capital’s fifty kilometres away.”
“Then does the money he get from selling the chinese foxgloves get given to your mother-in-law?”
“Who else would he give it to? She’s the head of the family, of course he’d give it to her.”
Mrs. Li glared at Xiuying viciously, “Silly girl, that’s cold hard lucre, do you really not want to get any in your own hands? Now that you have a child, are you really willing to beg for every single dollar from your mother-in-law’s hands?”
“Mother-in-law treats me very well, and has given me everything I need. My son is also her grandson, so she definitely can’t mistreat me.”
Mrs. Li couldn’t help but poke Xiuying on the forehead, “You’re really that stupid, huh? There’s still a layer of separation between a daughter-in-law and a mother-in-law, how can you be sure that she uses all of the money on you? Did you forget how large of a dowry Mo Ling got when she was married off? The golden bracelet on Mo Ling’s son’s wrist definitely wasn’t bought by the Zhong family.”
Thinking of Mo Ling’s dowry, infinite jealousy sprouted from Xiuying’s heart. Other women married with extravagant dowries and red wedding dresses, but when she married, she didn’t even have a decent wardrobe, and she was pregnant, becoming the laughingstock of the people in town.
“Mo Ling’s son is wearing a golden bracelet?”
“Can’t you see it, it’s right there on his wrist? If you don’t believe me, just take a look.”
Xiuying poked a hole in the paper window, and clearly saw Zao’er wearing the golden bracelet. The jealousy in her heart festered. They were both women from agricultural families, so why could she be married with such a large dowry, why could her husband love her so much, why could her son have everything better than hers?
“The chinese foxgloves in the courtyard can be sold after being dried for a few more days. At that time, when Mo Feng sells them, I’ll coordinate with him to hide some of the money.”
Mrs. Li nodded in relief, “Don’t listen to them saying that all of the money will be yours sooner or later, only what you have right now is truly yours. Everything else is just used to appease you. You helped them give birth to a son, and worked hard for them both inside and outside the house, but aren’t you treated just like a servant? If you get control over the family, not just the harvests from the field, even what Mo Yan earns will be yours.”
“But how will my mother-in-law give me control over the family?”
Mrs. Li showed a sinister smile, “Haven’t you forgotten? In the past, she started coughing as soon as autumn hit.”
“But hasn’t she gotten better now?”
Mrs. Li coldly harrumphed, “She’s gotten a little better, but she started coughing again after just missing two doses of medicine. If they didn’t have that medicine anymore, wouldn’t this family be fully run by you?”
P.S. Sinister. By the way, updates should be back to fully normal around early July, because I need time to not collapse after a six-week long examination period. I have a trip scheduled around late June, so I’ll try to get a few more chapters to tide you over during then.
[1] I’ll be completely honest, I have no idea what this means.