The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure-Chapter 66 - Have you noticed that the old aunt has lost weight
66: Chapter 66: Have you noticed that the old aunt has lost weight?
66 -66: Have you noticed that the old aunt has lost weight?
Lady Jiang didn’t dare say much, but she came to regard this young girl more highly in her heart, not expecting that someone who was usually lazy and selfish, with a bad temper, would show such resilience once she set her heart to something.
Especially since, she didn’t know if it was her imagination, but watching Wang Yongzhu closely, why did she feel that her niece seemed, perhaps, to have lost some weight compared to a few days ago?
The flesh on her cheeks had thinned a little, and her eyes, once small slits squeezed by the fat, looked a bit wider today.
However, Lady Jiang thought she must be seeing things.
How could her niece lose weight when she was eating and drinking well?
Pah!
She must be overthinking it.
In the Wang Family Courtyard, Lady Lin hid in the room out of shyness, Little Bean and the others had gone out to play, and these past few days Wang Laozhu was probably still fuming over Wang Yongping’s marriage issue, clutching his smoking pipe, filling the room with smoke haze.
In the past few nights, Wang Yongzhu often heard coughing from her parents’ room late into the night, persisting until the wee hours.
This morning, Old Granny Zhang brewed a pot of loquat leaf tea for Wang Laozhu to drink, and after some reluctance, Wang Laozhu ceased coughing and was now resting in the room.
Wang Yongzhu had checked on Wang Laozhu in the morning, and although his complexion wasn’t great, his spirits were okay, especially after drinking the loquat tea.
She reassured him a bit more with talk of Fourth Brother and her own upcoming marriage, needing Wang Laozhu’s discerning eye, managing to lift his spirits somewhat.
As long as the coughing stopped and he could catch up on sleep, he should be fine.
That’s how it was with country folk; they wouldn’t go to a doctor for such trifling illnesses and would rather treat headaches and fevers with home remedies.
Seeing that the man of the house could now sleep peacefully, Old Granny Zhang felt at ease leaving Wang Yongzhu with Lady Jiang and went out.
With the spring planting just over, the peasant families could take a breather, and the only tasks left were the more relaxing chores in the home vegetable gardens.
The Wang family had many hands; these tasks were easily handled by the Eldest Son and Laosan’s house.
Since the Eldest Brother had been scolded and didn’t dare to show his face these past days, everyone else in the house was looking to her for cues on how to get through the day.
Moreover, everyone in Qilidun knew that the Wang family had received ten taels of silver for breaking off the engagement.
Even families with meager resources, not taking the Wang family’s circumstances into account, were attracted by the silver alone.
Some of them had already stealthily sent intermediaries to inquire about marrying their daughters to Wang Yongping, asking for no more than a bridal price of five taels of silver.
With this, Old Granny Zhang’s confidence grew; these past days, whenever she had free time, she’d head to the old locust tree at the village entrance to gossip with a group of elder women.
With her presence, others didn’t dare to speak ill of the Wang family, and those seeking to connect with the Wang family through marriage praised her indirectly, speaking ill of the Li Family.
Old Granny Zhang felt that these were the days to be enjoyed, almost lost in rapturous contentment every day.
Now that brothers Wang Yongfu and Wang Yongping had gone out to the fields, the Wang Family Courtyard was quiet for a moment.
The laughter of young girls suddenly reached from outside, then the courtyard gate creaked open, and Jinhua, followed by a little girl, walked in.
Wang Yongzhu looked up to see, wasn’t that Jinhua’s best friend, Zhu Ye?
Zhu Ye, the young girl, entered the Wang Family Courtyard, and upon seeing Wang Yongzhu and Lady Jiang, her face showed a trace of embarrassment, probably because the Li Family had broken off the engagement with the Wang family.
Even though she was young, living next to Li Jinzhi’s house, she heard everything.
She knew it was the Li Family at fault, so there was a cautious look on her face as if she feared the Wang family would not welcome her.
Wang Yongzhu hadn’t thought that much about it at the moment.
In her mind, Li Zhuye’s family and Li Jinzhi weren’t the same people.
After all, it was only that Li Zhuye’s grandfather and Li Jinzhi’s grandfather were brothers.
The annulment of the engagement was Li Jinzhi’s fault.
What did it have to do with Li Zhuye’s family?
Having finally threaded a needle after much effort, she felt emotionally exhausted and instinctively set aside her needlework.
She then flashed Li Zhuye a smile, “Zhuye, you’re here, come sit!
Jinhua, pour Zhuye a bowl of water.”
Lady Jiang wouldn’t stoop to arguing with a young girl either.
A naturally gentle person, she knew Zhuye got along well with her own daughter and also greeted her with a slight smile.
Li Zhuye’s heart, which had been lifted with anxiety, now settled as she took a familiar stool and sat down next to Wang Yongzhu, “Eldest Sister, are you learning to sew?
”
Wang Yongzhu sighed, “Yes, it’s just a pity that I’m too fat.
Now I even struggle to hold a needle.” She accepted her weight as a fact and felt no need to hide it.
Li Zhuye hadn’t had much interaction with Wang Yongzhu before and only knew from Jinhua how awful her eldest aunt was.
Yet last time she had given her a hair tie, and today, far from giving her any attitude, she spoke to her so amiably.
The young girl thought that perhaps everyone had misunderstood Eldest Aunt from the Wang Family, and that she wasn’t as terrible as everyone said.
The tender-hearted and enthusiastic young girl felt that Eldest Aunt must have been dearly hurt by these misunderstandings, and it was only right to offer comfort, “Eldest Sister, that’s called being full-figured, okay?
I’ve heard only the young ladies in the city are able to achieve such fullness!
Which girl from our village can get like that?
It’s all good fortune!”
Did that not comfort you at all?
Wang Yongzhu’s face fell, and she seriously began to doubt whether Li Zhuye had come to mock her.
But looking at the girl’s earnest face and how she seemed to be rallying her whole being to console her, it seemed unlikely.
However, Li Zhuye seemed intent on bolstering the credibility of her statement and carefully sized up Wang Yongzhu, her expression growing more serious.
Just as Jinhua brought over the water, she was abruptly pulled by Li Zhuye, causing the entire bowl of water to splash onto the floor and herself.
Fortunately, it was only warm water.
She jumped up, setting the bowl aside, and patted the water stains on her clothes, “Zhuye, why are you so clumsy?
Good thing I didn’t pour boiling water, or what if you got burned?”
Li Zhuye wasn’t listening at all, instead slapping Jinhua on the shoulder, “Jinhua, haven’t you noticed?
Eldest Aunt lost weight!”
Jinhua and Lady Jiang were both taken aback, turning to look at Wang Yongzhu.
Wang Yongzhu just smiled at Li Zhuye.
Smart girl, noticing the details!
Having spent every day with Wang Yongzhu, neither Jinhua nor Lady Jiang had realized it.
After a long examination, they only vaguely felt perhaps she had lost weight?
But even if the Eldest Aunt had slimmed down, didn’t she still look as plump as before?
Seeing that Jinhua and Lady Jiang seemed not to believe her, Li Zhuye went to great lengths to substantiate her claim, “Look, Eldest Aunt’s face before was like—a footbath, but now it’s only like a washbasin; and Eldest Aunt’s chin, previously it had three layers, now look, it’s only two and a half; and also, Eldest Aunt’s eyes, they were just a slit before, but now, um, there’s at least two slits’ width…”
Wang Yongzhu looked at Li Zhuye expressionlessly: Thank you for the compliment!
You observe so carefully, you must really love me deep down, right?
Then there was Jinhua, who upon hearing Li Zhuye’s examples, began to observe while comparing.
After a while, she finally nodded seriously, “Zhuye, you’re right.
Eldest Aunt’s waist used to be as thick as a vat, but now, it’s only a bit thicker than a bucket; and Eldest Aunt’s arms, before they were as thick as the mouth of a bowl…”
Wang Yongzhu felt that she no longer needed to hold back her feelings.
If she continued to endure, she felt she might just explode with anger.
