Chapter 50: The Increasingly Severe Drought

Li Family Old Woman was so angry she wanted to curse.

Ever since Sun Shi's miscarriage, she had been lying in bed every day, doing no work at all. No matter how ugly the cursing outside was, she acted as if she didn't hear it.

"Mother, will Grandma break in and hit us?" Li Jinbao looked through the crack in the window at Li Family Old Woman, who was jumping with rage outside.

"Hmph, I've locked the doors and windows; she can't get in." Sun Shi sneered, took a sip from her medicine bowl, and couldn't help but frown at the bitter taste.

She forced herself to swallow the bitterness and gritted her teeth hatefully: "Hmph, that old woman, if she wants water to bathe, she can go fetch it herself. She wants to order me around? Dream on!"

Seeing the hatred on her mother's face, Li Jinbao couldn't help but lower her voice and ask: "Mother, are the red rashes on Auntie's face... you..."

However, before she could finish her sentence, she was stopped by her mother's gaze.

"I didn't harm her; she brought it on herself!" Sun Shi turned her head and sneered.

Who told her to smear those low-quality rouge and powder on her face every day!

Although she was the one who gave her those things, she never forced Li Xiufen to use them every day.

Besides, Li Family Old Woman caused her to lose her child, so she would make her daughter suffer too!

Looking at Li Xiufen outside the window, who was scratching her head and ears and couldn't stop complaining about the itch, Li Jinbao's gaze fell on the gold bracelet on her wrist.

That was one of the betrothal gifts sent by the Huang family.

For the past few days, Li Xiufen had been flaunting her gold and silver in front of her, and she had long been green with envy.

She couldn't help but say with a moved heart: "Mother, if I marry into the Huang family, will I also be able to wear such new clothes every day..."

"Hmph, a few sets of clothes and she's already flaunting herself like this; truly a mud-legged girl who has never seen the world!" Sun Shi was dismissive, "Feng'er, don't envy her. Once your father passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar, you can wear as many of these clothes as you want!"

Li Jinbao didn't speak; she pursed her lips tightly, still staring fixedly at Li Xiufen outside the window.

Li Xiufen was now covered in red rashes, and with the hot weather, her already mediocre face looked even more greasy and ugly.

Why.

In terms of looks, how was she inferior to Li Xiufen?

Why was she the one who could marry into the Huang family?

If Li Xiufen's face was disfigured, would the Huang family Young Master still marry her...

Li Jinbao stared fixedly at Li Xiufen's ugly face, and a bold idea gradually emerged in her heart.

Li Family Old Woman was cursing outside until her mouth was dry, but the doors and windows of the East Room remained tightly shut.

She was so angry she stomped her feet, and Li Xiufen kept crying and complaining on the side: "Mother, hurry and get me some water! I'm going to itch to death!"

In no time, there were many more red marks on her face, caused by her own scratching because she couldn't stand the itch.

But these scratch marks caused the skin on her face to start getting infected, and the surrounding red rashes spread even faster, burning with pain.

Li Family Old Woman had no choice but to let Sun Shi go for now and prepare to find Zhu Shi to fetch water.

But Zhu Shi had realized something was wrong the moment she stood outside the East Room cursing, and she had already slipped away, greasing the soles of her feet.

"Lazy women, one and all! I tell you to fetch water and you're unwilling; no one is allowed to eat tonight!"

Not finding anyone, Li Family Old Woman was so angry she went straight back to the Main Room.

Li Xiufen chased after her, begging: "Mother, please go fetch water, I really can't stand the itch anymore!"

Upon hearing this, Li Family Old Woman's previous doting on her daughter vanished instantly, and she said bluntly: "I, I'm at such an old age, what water am I supposed to fetch! Let your brother go fetch it for you!"

As she spoke, she climbed onto the kang, covered her head, and went to sleep, deciding not to care anymore.

"Mother!" Li Xiufen screamed in anger, "How can you be like this!"

She finally understood now: Li Family Old Woman was willing to dote on her at home, but that was on the condition that her own interests wouldn't be harmed.

Once she had to do something for her, she would reveal her true colors.

The person Li Family Old Woman loved most was always herself.

She began to miss the time when Jiang Shi was at home. No matter how bitter or tiring the work was, she would take it all on. As long as she opened her mouth, she would do it silently, never daring to complain or be lazy...

By the time the mealtime passed, no one in the family was willing to fetch water, and no one was cooking, so the whole family went hungry.

In the end, it was Li Family Old Man who climbed up angrily to fetch water.

When he arrived at the Ancestral Hall with his water buckets, there weren't many people gathered there anymore, but when he looked into the well, the water inside had already started to bottom out.

The Li Zheng was still guarding the side, seemingly to prevent anyone from wasting this scarce water due to conflicts again.

Seeing Li Family Old Man coming out to fetch water all by himself at such an old age, while his family of seven or eight people didn't have a single person willing to come fetch water, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh:

"I say, Old Li, look at the absurd things that have happened in your family these past few days! What kind of things are these! You really should govern the people in your family properly! And the Third Daughter-in-law, such a good person, being treated like that by your family—your family really deserves this now!"

"Old Liu, what do you mean by that!"

Hearing this, Li Family Old Man immediately widened his eyes, "When did it become your turn to lecture me about my family! You should manage yourself first!"

After saying this, he drew water in silence and ignored the Li Zheng completely.

Although he knew the character of the people in his family, he still couldn't stand an outsider lecturing him.

This would make outsiders think he had no ability to manage his family, and where would he put his old face?

The Li Zheng looked at Li Family Old Man, who was returning home angrily, and shook his head with a sigh.

Jiang Xiaoxiao had already left the Ancestral Hall and was heading home when Li Family Old Man came to fetch water.

Along the way, she passed many fields.

Without the irrigation of water, the fields were cracked and dry, and a large area of crops in the fields had withered and died.

If things continued like this, the agricultural harvest this year would likely be a total failure.

This wasn't even the most serious part; now that there was no water in the well, it would become a problem for everyone to even have water to drink in the future.

Along the way, she had already seen many old people in the village kneeling on the field banks, bitterly praying to the heavens for rain.

Jiang Xiaoxiao's mood was very heavy.

She dragged her heavy footsteps home and happened to see Jiang Wei returning from the mountain, carrying a two-to-three-hundred-jin river deer on her shoulder.

"Mother..."

She called out, and upon walking closer, she saw a dark hole in the river deer's head.

Jiang Xiaoxiao could recognize at a glance that it had been pierced by a bullet.

But she didn't feel the joy of catching prey like before; instead, she spoke with some caution: "Mother, today Uncle Li Zheng asked me to ask you, can our family's well be lent to the villagers to fetch water?"

This was what the Li Zheng had said to her before she left the Ancestral Hall.

In the entire village, only the well at her house still had water.

The Li Zheng was clearly at his wit's end, otherwise, he wouldn't have begged a child like her.

Jiang Wei dropped the river deer from her shoulder, patted the mud off her clothes, and then looked at the well in their courtyard.

The deep well wall had already exposed more than half, and there wasn't much water left inside.

But she still nodded: "Yes, we are all fellow villagers."

However, borrowing their well could not fundamentally solve the problem.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 51 =====