Ugly girl only wants to farm

Chapter 197 Sister-in-law, I have an incurable disease

Xu Chaoyan smiled somewhat guiltily: "It's not that you won't come out, so I can only use these kid-baiting words to fool you. What's wrong with you? Even pine nut candy can't attract you."

The lump on the bed slowly wriggled a few times, and then a muffled voice came out: "Sister-in-law, I'm really fine. You can go out first. I'll rest for a while."

Seeing that Meng Jiuxia still refused to speak, Xu Chaoyan had no choice but to give up. Now that the child was older and had her own ideas, she couldn't force her.

"I've put the candy on the table. If you want some, get up quickly."

After she finished speaking, she went out and gently closed the door behind her.

After listening intently for a while and finding no sound, Meng Jiuxia wiped away her tears and started crying again.

Xu Chaoyan was still confused when she came out, so she went to the old lady and helped her hang up the clothes.

"What's wrong with Xia'er? Is she feeling unwell?" The old woman asked with concern.

Xu Chaoyan wrung out the water from her clothes, shook them out, and draped them over a bamboo pole before speaking: "I don't know what happened either. We were fine when we left, but something happened at home, or what?"

The old woman was also bewildered: "After you left, she swept the yard and then suddenly ran back. Yue Niang and I asked her several times, but she didn't say anything. She just mumbled something in the house, saying that she was too tired and wanted to rest for a while. I was just waiting for you to come back so you could go and see how cold it is in the dead of winter. The house is a bit drafty, so don't let her get cold."

At this moment, Yue Niangzi also spoke up: "Sister, don't help us with these things. My mother and I can handle this little thing. Be careful not to let your hands get cold."

Xu Chaoyan was suddenly drawn to a few bumps in the corner of the wall. She put on her last piece of clothing and ran over with a look of delight. She was still a little surprised to find such a thing here.

Seeing her staring at the lumps with great curiosity, the old woman casually said, "Look, when we first moved in, there were a lot of these lumps piled up here. We thought they were blocking the way and were planning to take them out and throw them away. But the landlord said they grew from the plot of land behind their house. He dug some up from that plot and just threw them here."

Seeing Xu Chaoyan's delighted expression, the old woman asked in confusion, "Meng family daughter-in-law, let me tell you, konjac is poisonous. You might accidentally poison yourself. You must not touch this thing, or your hands will itch and hurt."

The old woman thought Xu Chaoyan was curious and wanted to touch it to play with it.

Xu Chaoyan picked up a few lumps and examined them from all angles, as if she had found a treasure.

The old woman wanted to stop her, but the girl had already taken the konjac. She sighed several times and said, "What are you doing playing with this konjac? You'll end up with red, swollen, and itchy hands that will make you miserable. This stuff isn't common. I only saw it a few times when I was at my parents' house. Some people have even been poisoned by it. Be careful."

Uncle Zhang returned from outside the courtyard carrying a bag of soybeans. Seeing him covered in sweat, Aunt Zhang quickly went to greet him, and before leaving, she reminded Xu Chaoyan of some things.

"This stuff is really poisonous. Be careful not to spill the liquid and get it on your hands."

Xu Chaoyan nodded in agreement, and then tried hard to recall how she had handled and processed this thing before.

Seeing that she was deep in thought while holding the lump, Yue Niang came over and offered a few words of advice: "Sister Xu, my mother is right. This thing is very rare where we live. It would be bad if you got poisoned."

"I know, sister. I'll be careful. This is good stuff, don't worry, I'll handle it well. You go and help the uncle. He bought the soybeans, and we'll make some tofu and dried tofu to sell at a stall these next few days to earn some pocket money for the New Year."

Previously, because there were some miscellaneous items piled up in the corner, she hadn't noticed the pile of lumps at all. Now that she saw them, she couldn't suppress her inner joy. She had been worrying about what hot food to sell at the academy, but now she had a basic plan.

Winter is the perfect time to eat radishes. Radishes are like ginseng for the poor. When cooked with konjac tofu, it's an absolute delicacy.

Xu Chaoyan quickly fetched a basket and picked out all the slightly better ones, carefully placing them under the eaves to let them get rained on. The remaining misshapen and cracked ones could be cut into pieces and kept as seeds. They had previously discussed with the landlord about a vacant lot behind the house, where they could plant some vegetables and then plant these konjacs. Just thinking about earning a lot of money in the future, a smile appeared on Xu Chaoyan's face.

Meng Jiuhe was just coming out of Zhang Xuyang's room, holding a book in one hand and carrying a basket in the other, walking with great difficulty. He quickly ran over, took the basket from her, and asked with some confusion, "Wife, what are you doing? What is this?"

Xu Chaoyan looked at him mysteriously: "You don't know this, do you? This is called konjac. It can be used to make delicious food. Just wait and see, I guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised."

Meng Jiuhe thought for a moment: "Konjac sounds familiar, I think I heard my grandmother and the others mention it before, but I've heard that it's highly poisonous, so you should be careful not to get it on you. By the way, have you seen my little sister?"

Meng Jiuxia is probably in her rebellious teenage years at this age, and she didn't want Meng Jiuhe to worry, so she casually replied, "Yes, she rested in the room for a while. She's been tired these days. I'll go and wake her up for dinner."

It wasn't even dinner time yet, and Meng Jiuxia, with red eyes, was already in the kitchen helping her start a fire.

Xu Chaoyan swallowed her words several times before asking them. After dinner was ready, Meng Jiuxia stayed there silently tending the fire. Xu Chaoyan couldn't bear to watch any longer and went over to her, asking softly, "Sister-in-law, what's wrong? Tell your sister-in-law what's wrong that we can't resolve together."

She thought the little girl had quarreled with someone, since there were several families around the house with daughters of similar age.

Meng Jiuxia stammered and couldn't get anything out of her mouth several times, and finally she burst into tears.

Xu Chaoyan quickly pulled her into her arms and gently coaxed her, "What's wrong with you? You have to tell me, how can I help you solve the problem if you don't tell me?"

Meng Jiuxia sobbed for a while before raising her sleeve to wipe her tears and sniffle, her voice choked with emotion: "Sister-in-law, I might die. I won't be able to help you start the fire anymore. You and my brother must live a good life. Although my brother is cold-hearted and doesn't talk much, he is kind-hearted and sincere to you. I won't be able to help you take care of your nephew and niece anymore."

After saying that, she cried even more heartbrokenly, her snot and tears covering Xu Chaoyan's body.

Xu Chaoyan was also confused by her words, looking at her blankly for a while before she reacted: "What do you mean by that? How did you know?"

After Meng Jiuxia finished speaking, she sniffled and started crying again: "I knew you wouldn't ask. In the future, I won't accompany you to set up your stall in the dead of winter. You have to be careful and don't get cold. Also, if my older brother becomes the top scholar in the imperial examination, remember to tell me when you sweep his grave during the Qingming Festival. At least let me know that I've become the sister of a top scholar. If he fails the exam, there's no need to tell me so that I won't have to worry about him down there."

Seeing that her words were getting more and more outrageous, Xu Chaoyan turned her shoulders to face her, took out a handkerchief from her body to wipe away her tears, and looked at her seriously: "Who said you were going to die? Are you sick? Sister-in-law, I'll take you to see a doctor right away. Don't worry, even if you are sick, I will cure you. I will not give up on you even if I have to sell everything I own."

Hearing this, Meng Jiuxia cried even harder. Between sobs, she choked out, "Sister-in-law, it's no use, it's really no use. I have an incurable disease, and I don't want to be a burden to you and my brother. What's the point of wasting money?"

Xu Chaoyan glanced at her; her eyes were red and swollen like walnuts, but her complexion was alright. She checked her hands and feet again but found nothing unusual.

"What's wrong with you? Who told you you have an incurable disease? That quack doctor said so. Your brother and I are going to settle accounts with him." Xu Chaoyan also became anxious.

Meng Jiuxia grabbed her hand immediately. Because they got up so quickly, they almost fell to the ground, but luckily she steadied herself.

Xu Chaoyan pulled her to sit down and added some more charcoal to start a fire. She then thought about how she inexplicably knew she was sick and that she had gone out today.

Meng Jiuxia glanced at her several times before awkwardly saying, "There's a lot of blood on my pants, and it keeps flowing and I can't stop it."