Rebirth of a Farming Wife

In Mrs. Yang’s eyes, her son had always been frugal and would never be so extravagant. It must have been the daughter-in-law’s idea. She felt that Su Wenyue had no idea how to manage a household, considering how much money it must have cost to rent such a courtyard. The silver saved could be enough for everyday expenses. After all, coming from a wealthy family, she didn’t know the first thing about the expense of necessities. It was her son who bore the brunt of it all, having heard that such a petty official earned hardly any salary each month. She worried it must all be spent on this.

“This is a matter between the fourth child and his wife, why are you asking so many questions!” Old Man Han could tell what his old lady was thinking the moment she began, and he was afraid Mrs. Yang would stir up trouble, unsettling everyone. They had already divided the family, and how the fourth son and his wife managed their life was their own business.

The implications in Mrs. Yang’s words were too obvious, and naturally, Su Wenyue couldn’t fail to understand them. She glanced at Han Yu; although she knew how much silver had been spent on the house, as Han Yu personally handled it, she didn’t feel like responding to Mrs. Yang.

Han Yu, supporting Su Wenyue, had kept quiet up until hearing Mrs. Yang’s words, and then said, “The house didn’t cost any silver; it was the mother-in-law who kindly rented it for her daughter-in-law’s sake. My meager monthly salary just covers the household expenses. The frequent socializing and the need to give gifts cost money, and we’re grateful that Lady Yue often supplements our funds with the dowry silver.”

As he said this, Han Yu displayed a trace of remorse, “It’s also my lack of ability, even the holiday gifts are taken from my wife’s dowry. Otherwise, I would have been able to better honor my father and mother.”

Hearing Han Yu speak like that, Su Wenyue glanced at him, his face the picture of seriousness, and a mischievous smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. The man was full of cunning, easily deceiving even his own parents, but she loved it…

“So it was rented by the in-laws; that’s indeed very generous.” Mrs. Yang was a bit taken aback after hearing the house was rented by the Su Family and felt slightly ashamed. She realized she had wronged the fourth daughter-in-law. Hearing that Han Yu had to rely on his wife’s supplements for regular expenses, and even for travel gifts, made Mrs. Yang feel even more embarrassed. She had thought her son was living comfortably as an official, but that clearly wasn’t the case. The implication was that they often depended on the daughter-in-law’s contributions, or they wouldn’t even have been able to afford the holiday gifts.

“The fourth daughter-in-law is a good one. You’re always taking the fourth son’s side, and he’ll remember your kindness. Once he makes something of himself, he will surely let you live the good life.” With that, all of Mrs. Yang’s displeasure faded away. She feared Su Wenyue wouldn’t be willing to keep supporting Han Yu and kept singing Han Yu’s praises in front of Su Wenyue.

“Mother, you make it sound as if Han Yu isn’t my husband. If I don’t support him, whom will I support?” said Su Wenyue cheerfully. As long as Han Yu was willing to stand by her side, nothing else mattered. Besides, she had seen plenty of mother-in-laws and daughters-in-law interact. Except for being a bit too gullible and nosy, Mrs. Yang was otherwise quite agreeable.

The servants at home, seeing that it was Han Yu’s parents, hurriedly performed their greetings and became so flustered they didn’t know what to do with their hands. Upon further inquiry, it turned out that these servants had also been sent over by the Su Family, who even paid their monthly wages so that Su Wenyue and her husband didn’t have to worry about it. They expressed heartfelt thanks to the in-laws for the considerate arrangements, feeling a bit ashamed that as parents, they weren’t able to measure up, with everything thoughtfully provided for the young couple by the in-laws.

“Father, Mother, the meals and hot water have been prepared. You must be tired from the day’s journey. Please have a good meal and a bath first, then rest well. We can talk about everything else tomorrow,” Su Wenyue continued with a smile.

“Eh, alright! Very well!” The fourth son’s wife had made thorough arrangements, and they had no reason to object.

After settling her father-in-law and mother-in-law in, Su Wenyue let Han Yu help her back to her room. By the time she got there, she was already somewhat out of breath. Now that her stomach was getting bigger and bigger, it seemed as large as that of someone about to give birth, despite being only six months along. Walking had become a struggle, and had it not been for the arrival of her parents-in-law, she really wouldn’t have wanted to put in the effort.

“Wife, you’ve worked hard. Take a good rest.” Han Yu had been persuading her not to do these things, but the wife insisted on going personally, saying it was a daughter-in-law’s heartfelt gesture. He couldn’t stop her, and didn’t want to prevent his wife from making a good impression in front of her parents. He was happy to see his wife getting along well with his parents, after all, they were only here to drop off items and wouldn’t stay many days.

To avoid worrying Su Wenyue, Han Yu took care of all the arrangements before he left for the military camp the next morning.

“Fourth daughter-in-law, you’re awake. Be careful now, you’re carrying two in your belly!”

Su Wenyue woke up intending to call someone to attend to her when she heard Mrs. Yang’s loud voice, which startled her. It reminded her that her parents-in-law had arrived the night before. However, it was quite unsettling to find them in her room so early in the morning. Although she felt her privacy was being invaded and was somewhat uncomfortable with that, if it were not for her pregnancy, even Grandma Chen and Xiao Xi would not be allowed to enter without her and Han Yu’s permission.

Even though Su Wenyue felt uncomfortable, she still wore a smile on her face: “Mother, you must have been tired from the journey yesterday. Why are you up so early? I’ll have the kitchen prepare breakfast right away, and later, I’ll have someone take you and Father to visit the town. It’s not easy to come all this way, so you should have a look around everywhere. Ideally, my husband and I should be the ones showing you around, but he has duty in the camp, and with my big stomach, it’s not easy for me to go out. So I’ll have to let the servants take you. How about I let Xiao Xi take you? She’s been living with the Han Family for a while and is also familiar with you two.”

“You’re going through a lot with the pregnancy, don’t worry about us old folks. We’ll manage just fine. I got up especially early today, killed one of the hens we brought yesterday, and made you a big pot of chicken soup. Chicken soup is very nourishing for the body,” Mrs. Yang said cheerfully, approaching Su Wenyue and touching her stomach as if it contained a golden egg.

Su Wenyue’s smile stiffened slightly: “Mother, you’ve worked hard. I have Grandma Chen and others looking after me. There’s no need to trouble yourself with these matters. You can just order the servants to do things in the kitchen.”

Grandma Chen and the others knew their place too. As the old lady insisted on entering their master’s room, it wasn’t their place to stop her. When they saw Su Wenyue get up, they quickly came over to assist her.

Mrs. Yang thought the daughter-in-law was being overindulged. When she was pregnant, she had still worked in the fields. The daughter-in-law had nothing to do and even needed assistance to dress, but as long as her son was happy to spoil her, she would not say anything to avoid being deemed a meddling old woman. As long as her daughter-in-law could give birth to a precious grandson safely, she was content. Thinking that there were two in her daughter-in-law’s belly, Mrs. Yang’s smile brightened even more.

After freshening up, Su Wenyue saw the big bowl of oily chicken soup her mother-in-law brought over. Her stomach, which had felt very hungry, suddenly lost all appetite. Yet her mother-in-law kept urging her to drink while it was hot. Thinking of her mother-in-law’s good intentions, Su Wenyue held her nose and forced the soup down, only to find that the morning sickness she hadn’t had in a while decided to strike then.