Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 1175 - 599: Testing the Waters
Additional update, asking for likes.
********
The family agreed, and Lian Manman specially prepared a food box with two kinds of sweet, soft pastries and headed to the old house.
They had long since split and lived separately, living far away now, and there was deep resentment between them and the old house. However, on the first and fifteenth of every month, the family always made time to visit Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou at the old house, rain or shine. Tenant farmer families don’t follow such customs. Their actions became a talking point in the villages for miles around.
Everyone said that Lian Shouxin’s family was benevolent, that they valued good conduct, which is why their children could succeed and receive imperial awards, and why their life could be as prosperous as it was. They also said that Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou were fortunate to have a son and daughter-in-law like Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang, and grandchildren like Wu Lang and the others.
This was said in front of them, but behind their backs, many people would add one more sentence.
"Those old folks don’t know how to enjoy their blessings, their hearts always leaning toward those two wayward sons."
Arriving at the old house’s gate, they saw it tightly closed. Ever since the old house’s people returned from Taicang, it had remained this way. Standing outside the gate, the family heard Lady Zhou cursing loudly from the courtyard.
"Looks like the Old Master is truly recovered," Lady Zhang commented, "hearing how full of energy Lady Zhou is as she curses."
A while ago, Old Master Lian had a stroke, and the old house had been quiet for a while. First off, Lady Zhou stopped yelling, dedicating herself wholeheartedly to caring for Old Master Lian. Of course, she just stopped yelling out loud and didn’t step outside to curse, but she didn’t fully stop cursing.
Lady Zhou inherently lacked patience, and taking care of someone who couldn’t move or speak was especially tedious. When Lady Zhou got frustrated, she sat on the kang and cursed. She cursed and cried alternately, and once she got her breathing steady, she would resume taking care of Old Master Lian, not willing to let anyone else take over.
For Lady Zhou, cursing was as essential as breathing. Asking Lady Zhou not to curse was only possible if she were dead.
Lian Manman couldn’t understand this, but that’s just how it was; she could only sigh at the vastness and strange diversity of the world.
During Old Master Lian’s illness, Lady Zhou cursed her sons, often including Old Master Lian himself, with crying mixed in. Now, Lady Zhou resumed her usual scolding, no longer cursing her sons but attacking Lady He and Lady Gu.
This confirmed Lady Zhang’s conclusion that Old Master Lian was indeed better. Otherwise, Lady Zhou wouldn’t be so vocally energized and spirited in her cursing.
The family said nothing, but everyone silently agreed with Lady Zhang’s assessment.
Pushing the gate open and entering the old house’s courtyard, they saw Lady Zhou leaning against the door frame of the Upper Room’s outer house, one hand pointing at Lady Gu and Lady He, her mouth foaming with anger as she cursed.
Lady He and Lady Gu were standing close, hunched over, grinding.
"...lazy donkey in the harness, soiling the lot..." Lady Zhou shifted from indiscriminately cursing both daughters-in-law to focusing on Lady He, "You’re going back and forth to the backyard like I wouldn’t notice! Does that backyard have your real father or mother? Why don’t you just **** yourself dead in the latrine..."
Lian Manman pressed her lips together, trying hard not to laugh out loud. Lady Zhang, Wu Lang, and Xiao Qi all showed expressions of suppressed laughter too.
Lian Shouxin, however, wore a clearly awkward expression. After all, the one treating cursing like a vital daily task, and cursing in countless creative ways, was his own mother. To this day, Lian Shouxin hasn’t uttered a curse, not even a single profane word. In this aspect, he’s not at all like a rough-and-tumble farmer, let alone like Lady Zhou. Such psychological rebellion and shadow are worth pondering.
Lady Zhou, after cursing Lady He, looked up and saw Lian Shouxin and the others.
Lady Zhou then fell silent.
This afforded Lian Manman and her family considerable face. It must be noted that in the past, even under dire circumstances, Lady Zhou’s cursing couldn’t be interrupted.
"Mother," Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang called from afar, quickening their pace to approach.
"Ah," Lady Zhou responded.
This was unusual too. In the past, Lady Zhou typically remained silent, and calling Mother often invited a round of aimless reproach or, at best, a cold stare.
