Chapter 212 - 208: The Flood Monster_1

Translator: 549690339

After collecting the mushrooms, it was time to dry them, but the recent weather had been poor, the sun had a fog-like veil and was neither bright nor dark.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Sanlang urged the villagers to start a furnace to dry all the Golden Ear mushrooms at home.

If they delayed any further, the collected Golden Ear mushrooms might rot.

Once they turn moldy and black, the Furuifeng Trading Company would definitely not accept them.

If Furuifeng Trading Company didn’t buy them, wouldn’t the mushrooms they worked so hard to cultivate be left unsold?

As time passes, improper storage could make a month’s anticipation turn into disappointment.

Many villagers, who shared the same thoughts as Jiang Sanlang, started burning in a stove to dry the mushrooms in a hurry.

However, there were also some people who didn’t care, thinking that Jiang Sanlang was making a fuss over nothing when he encountered a little issue.

These villagers still hung their Golden Ear mushrooms outside to dry, without using the stove.

Among these people were Chen Yin’s elder and younger brothers, as well as Chief Chen Fu’s eldest and second sons.

Chen Fu’s eldest son, Chen Jiaxing, and his second son, Chen Jiazhen, still lived in the old village, while Chen Fu lived with his youngest son, Chen Zhu, in their new house on the South Slope.

Seeing that every household on the South Slope started stoves to dry the Golden Ear mushrooms, Chen Fu and his brother, Chen Sanyou, leisurely strolled to the old village to see if his eldest son’s family had started drying.

When they arrived, they found that the 300 Golden Ear mushrooms from both the eldest and the second son’s families were still drying outside.

The eldest daughter-in-law from the Sun Family was sitting under the eaves spinning thread, while the second daughter-in-law, Han Miaoniang, was chatting with Chen Changping’s wife from the Han Family on the other side.

“Where is the eldest son?” Chen Fu asked his eldest daughter-in-law.

Seeing her father-in-law return, the daughter-in-law from the Sun family immediately stood up and said, “He has taken the eldest grandson to the town for a medical examination.”

Ever since his eldest son, Chen Boyuan, was injured by a lady from the Wen Family and had trouble walking, he often had to go for a medical examination and buy some medicine for consumption.

“Going to the town for a medical examination?” Chen Fu said disapprovingly, “Haven’t I told you and your family many times, to let Boyuan go and see Yingbao on the South Slope. She even cured ZhuZhu, wouldn’t she be able to cure Boyuan too?”

The daughter-in-law from the Sun Family remained silent and did not respond.

It wasn’t that she was unwilling, but her husband simply didn’t believe that a child of few years could treat his illness.

Seeing that the eldest daughter-in-law was behaving like this again, Chen Fu couldn’t be bothered to talk to her any further and asked the second daughter-in-law, Han Miaoniang, “Where is the second son?”

Han Miaoniang said, “The second son has gone to the shop, and hasn’t returned today.”

Chen Jiazhen ran a cloth store in the town, which was doing quite well. His two children were both helping out in the store and seldom came home.

Chen Fu pointed at the mushrooms drying in the courtyard and said, “Since they are not at home, you two should take these to your younger brother’s house and ask him to dry them in his stove.”

Han Miaoniang rolled her eyes secretly, “Father, what’s the point of sending these to be dried when they are perfectly okay, they aren’t even wet?”

Chen Fu pointed at the sky, “Look at the weather. There’s no sun, how are they supposed to dry?”

Han Miaoniang pursed her lips, “Father, you say it so lightly, but it’s a long way. How am I supposed to transfer everything?”

You…” Chen Fu was so angry that he stomped off with a flick of his sleeves.

Forget it, since they weren’t anxious, why should he be? All of them were just not heeding his advice, let them be.

Chen Fu came to the house next door and saw his grandnephew being scolded by Chen Sanyou. He was asked to quickly pack up the Golden Ear mushrooms at home, send them to the South Slope, and have someone help to dry them.

The grandnephew, who was being scolded by his father, had no choice but to pack up the Golden Ear mushrooms and prepare to carry them to the South Slope for his second brother, Chen Yin, to help dry them.

Chen Fu sighed, waiting for Chen Sanyou to finish scolding the child before leaving together.

Now, Chen Sanyou had almost fully recovered, except for a slight slant in the corners of his mouth, he had no other symptoms.

Yingbao asked him to exercise more when he had nothing to do, so he often ran around and strolled with his elder brother, Chen Fu, going everywhere, which made him feel quite comfortable.

At Chen’s house next door, Han Miaoniang was quietly complaining to her cousin, Han Juniang.

“Look at our family, we really do have stepmothers and stepfathers. They split the family and instead of living with their eldest or second son, they live with the bastard child raised by the mistress! They go to South Slope and forget all about our family matters.”

Chen Fu split the family assets among his three sons, and the ancestral land and shop were also properly distributed.

The eldest son, Chen Jiaxing, being the legitimate heir, would take the Clan Leader’s position in the future, so he received the most land and the majority of the main residence.

Given up a portion of land, the second son, Chen Jiazhen, got a cloth shop in town and three rooms in the side houses of the old residence, which was quite satisfactory to him.

The youngest son, Chen Zhu, received the least land. However, he took all the South Slope land, used his own money to build a big house there, and moved his mother in to look after Yaoyao and his pregnant wife.

When Tang Family’s wife moved in with her youngest son, Chen Fu naturally had to follow suit, shamelessly occupying a room to himself.

Although he was living with his youngest son on the South Slope, in reality, he still hoped his eldest son would offer the final rites when his time came. So, he often came down to visit, taking the opportunity to check on his end-of-life preparations left in the old house.

Given Chen Fu’s arrangements, the eldest son and daughter-in-law didn’t dare speak out, yet they couldn’t prevent themselves from grumbling in private.

“Exactly,” responded Han Juniang. “He must have been influenced by outsiders.”

As Han Miaoniang worked on her shoe, she added, “I know who you’re talking about. Isn’t it that outside family, the Jiangs? They’ve snatched the village head position from our Chen family, and now they’re putting on airs, expecting all of us in the village to move to the South Slope to stir up trouble with them.”

With a cold smile at the corner of her mouth, Han Juniang hit her son lightly and stated, “Exactly, the Jiang family is worthless, relying on their bit of money, causing trouble. If they hadn’t used underhanded tricks, how could our third uncle have given up his village head position.”

She swept a glance over Chen Boyuan’s wife from the Sun Family, asserting, “Even if our third uncle Chen Shu can’t be the village head, there’s still Chen Boyuan. The position would never go to their Jiang Sanlang.”

Chen Boyuan’s wife from the Sun family paused at this, then turned back to Han Juniang. “Auntie, your words are inappropriate. Even if Chen Shu can’t make it, the position of village head is the last thing my husband desires. Don’t speak like this again, we’ll become the laughingstock of others, claiming we’re daydreaming.”

Humph! This Han woman is not any good. Since day one, she’s been stirring things up every time she visits their house. Her conversations always revolve around the Jiang family, seemingly yearning for their entire family’s downfall. The Sun lady certainly didn’t want to mingle with such a woman.

Chen Boyuan’s wife, Sun, was thoroughly annoyed by Han Juniang. Whenever she saw her carrying her child into the courtyard, she hurried to call her daughter back inside and close the door, not letting her come out.

A woman who has been released from prison will be bad luck to anyone she comes into contact with.

Han Juniang saw how Chen Boyuan’s wife showed her disapprobation, but she didn’t get angry. Instead, she smiled and said, “How could it be delusional? Chen Boyuan is highly respected and capable. Not only could he be village head, he also has the ability to be the town officer.”

Disgusted by her words, Sun wanted to throw the thread in her hands at Han Juniang’s face. But Sun restrained herself because Han Juniang was a distantly related cousin of her sister-in-law.

No matter how good her husband was, it was not the place of a criminal woman to comment.

With a glance, Sun stood up, picked up the thread she had spun, and went back into the room.

Han Juniang, observing this sequence of events, realized that Chen Boyuan’s wife also despised her. She was both sad and angry about it.

She was upset that ever since Han Juniang had been released from prison, her husband Chen Changping would sometimes not speak to her for an entire day. He never spent the night with her, even when she gave birth to their son. He did nothing more than give him a name, never even holding him once.

What made her angry was that everyone was avoiding her.

Whenever the impoverished neighbor encountered her, he would take a detour, as though she were some kind of dangerous beast.

So, she had no choice but to speak with her cousin, Han Miaoniang.

However, to her surprise, even her cousin’s sister-in-law, Mrs. Sun, gave her the cold shoulder.

Han Miaoniang noticed her cousin’s displeasure and softly said, “Why should you bother about her? Her son is crippled, so she’s in a bad mood.”

Han Juniang gave a weak smile, picked up her son and stood up. “It’s getting late. I’ve been here for so long, I should go home.”

Han Miaoniang also rose and said, “I also need to go to the vegetable garden and pick some vegetables. I’ll go with you.”

With that, she picked up a vegetable basket, and walked out of the courtyard with Han Juniang.

Halfway there, Han Miaoniang suddenly seemed to remember something and said quietly, “Hey, I almost forgot to tell you. Yesterday my husband came home and said that the Jiang family’s boy saw your daughter, Chen Wan, in the county town.”

Han Juniang was taken aback, “Wanwan? Where did he see her?”

“At the Wa Market. It seems she’s become a dancer, performing on the stage.” As Han Miaoniang spoke, she surreptitiously observed her cousin’s expression.

Han Juniang held her son a bit tighter, and responded coldly, “They must be mistaken. My daughter couldn’t be a dancer.”