Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 1373 - 700: Coldness (Part 2)

At this time, of course these people didn’t dare to leave.

"Dad, don’t worry. Didn’t we just say we would take care of that land? After lunch, we’ll all go work the fields," said Lian Shouren and Lian Shouyi hurriedly.

After sending Lian Shouren and Lian Shouyi out of the house, Old Master Lian sighed and closed his eyes wearily. Lady Zhou called Lian Yaya to bring in a basin of water and then sat on the kang to start washing Old Master Lian’s mud-stained clothes.

"You, always doing too much, never giving your heart a rest. You even went to pull the cart, why didn’t you just kill yourself outright," Lady Zhou said harshly while washing the clothes.

Old Master Lian kept his eyes closed, not getting angry at Lady Zhou’s words. After all these years together, he was completely used to Lady Zhou’s unique way of expressing herself. When she talked like this, it wasn’t to curse him, but because she was worried about him.

"You think I want to? This morning, if I hadn’t pushed them hard, none of them would have wanted to go to the fields. Even when they did go, they complained about the tough path and each one quit on me. I was so angry, if you won’t pull the cart, I’ll do it myself!"

"You’re something, you really are!" Lady Zhou said angrily, "After all your fuss, it’s still me who has to suffer. If you really end up paralyzed on the kang, wouldn’t I be the one taking care of you again?"

Old Master Lian was at a loss for words, and after a long silence, he sighed again.

"They’re nothing like that family. If I were gone in the future, how would they live? Lazy and shallow. See the kids from Old Fourth’s family, they live well now, but they didn’t just do nothing. Wu Lang became a scholar, and he hasn’t missed a single harvest season. Xiao Qi is so young, and even though his father won’t let him handle the scythe, he’s out there helping with the corn... and Manman, that clever girl, she works too, never shirked. I heard she feeds those new ducks at home every day..."

"All the good kids are drawn to that side," Old Master Lian slowly opened his eyes, "In the past, we spoiled the eldest’s family too much and made them frivolous. Now, Old Fourth’s family is doing better than the eldest’s ever did, and they’ve still kept their nature... it’s really a matter of character."

"Character? They’re all cold-hearted. They all came to see you today, but not one of them looked at me. They’d all be happy to see me dead, that would settle their minds and be exactly what they want," Lady Zhou aggressively scrubbed the clothes, splashing water everywhere. Her clothes got wet too, but she didn’t mind at all.

"Yaya," Lady Zhou took the clothes out of the basin, wrung them dry, and called out.

Lian Yaya responded from the yard and quickly entered the house. Ever since Erlang took Er Niuniu to Luo Family Village, Lian Yaya became Lady Zhou’s main helper, constantly kept busy.

"Throw this water out and get me another basin of clean water," Lady Zhou instructed Lian Yaya.

Lian Yaya agreed, carefully carried the basin out, and soon returned with a basin of clean water.

"Go on, don’t go too far," Lady Zhou said as she rinsed the clothes in the basin.

Lian Yaya quietly left the room.

"So dull," Lady Zhou commented about her granddaughter, who was so easy to order around, "Three sticks wouldn’t get a word out of her, always looking so beaten."

"Go prepare dinner," Old Master Lian said, "In the afternoon, they still have to go to the fields."

"You’re not going to watch them?" Lady Zhou asked.

"No, I can’t pretend I’m not old. I didn’t break any bones, but I’m still in pain all over," Old Master Lian shifted a bit on the kang, "I scared them enough with this fall. Old Fourth came by again, so this time, they’ll work properly without needing me to watch."

Lady Zhou didn’t say anything, kept her head down rinsing the clothes, a shadow of sadness passed through her eyes. In this old house, their words carried less weight than before.

The reason she always ordered Lian Yaya was simply that the others were no longer easy for her to command.

Leaving the old house, since it wasn’t early, Lian Shouxin and Xiao Qi decided not to head to the fields, but to return home with Lady Zhang and Lian Manman.

"Everyone hates stepping in mud, they don’t want to pull the cart, pushing each other around, making the old man worried enough to pull it himself." Back at home, while washing up, Lian Shouxin spoke to Lady Zhang.

"Didn’t they try to stop him?" Lady Zhang asked.

"Probably told him off but didn’t actually do anything. They’d love it if the old man took care of all the work by himself. They don’t even think about how old he is now, he’s not like he used to be," Lian Shouxin said, wiping his hands and face with a clean towel, then sat on the edge of the kang.

"Even so, Grandpa still favors them. Listen to the things he says, protecting them like nothing else matters," Lian Manman was nearby, wiping Xiao Qi’s face clean, then told him to wash his feet, "Clean your feet well, you were barefoot in the mud too, weren’t you."

Xiao Qi giggled without answering Lian Manman’s question, just obediently removed his shoes to wash his feet. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Sister, didn’t you hear Grandpa say that? It’s like if we lend them the livestock and cart, everything will be fine," said Xiao Qi, washing his feet.

"No way!" Lian Shouxin said decisively.

Bonus update: Seeking pink votes. (To be continued. If you like this story, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)