Chapter 114

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

Earning money, a bit of tiredness is nothing to fear.

Chai Mi and her father Chai Youqing went out to work before four in the morning.

Farmers rise early; by a little past four, the sky was already bright.

Right now it's the season of unbearable heat; only mornings and evenings are a bit cooler. Working at noon is sheer torture, so leaving earlier means we can return earlier by noon.

It took three or four busy days straight to finish that family's work.

These few days Chai Mi was exhausted to the point of numbness — sore waist, aching back, couldn't sleep well, the little toe on her foot was rubbed raw, every step hurt unbearably; fortunately she gritted her teeth and endured it all.

Farm work is like that — dirty, messy, exhausting.

Not to mention wind and sun exposure, it's all physical labor.

And the earnings aren't much either.

Three days earned a little over nine hundred yuan.

Still, that was with two people — Chai Mi and her father Chai Youqing — plus one ox and one ox cart.

But in this era, a little over nine hundred yuan counts as quite a sum.

In her previous life Chai Mi worked several part-time jobs and never felt particularly drained; result: a few days of farm work and she was half-dead with exhaustion.

Sigh.

Chai Mi couldn't help but lament: it's all poverty's fault.

The family is poor, the house old and dilapidated, Mother's postpartum hospital stay cost money, daily meals for the whole family, plus they had to scrape together tuition for Chai Xiu...

Even in a few days, Laosan Chaxin's full-month celebration will cost money.

Money is needed everywhere.

Earning money is an urgent matter.

Chai Mi's thoughts are sometimes very simple — she just wants to earn more money so her family can live good lives.

With money, the family would be more harmonious.

But whatever you do, you need some capital. In these times, there are empty-handed white-wolf schemes...

But they're likely to get you sent inside...

And Chai Mi doesn't have that kind of buy-sell-without-capital, empty-handed-white-wolf talent. In her previous life she just did odd jobs; although she knew many crafts, right now there's no proper factory that needs her skills...

Chai Mi's greatest skill in her previous life was working several years at a porcelain factory in Jing De Zhen in the South, learning some painting skills, but right now that's a hero with no place to display his prowess.

She can't exactly go out and sell paintings...

Who would buy?

Chai Mi isn't a master; no matter how nice the paintings look, they're just industrial products, not artworks.

As for the rest, Chai Mi makes dumplings that are unforgettable once eaten, but she has no money to open a dumpling shop...

That business requires a lot of capital, which Chai Mi doesn't have right now.

Chai Mi was worrying herself sick when Chai Xiu came running back from outside in a rush, urgently telling Chai Mi: "Sister, bad news. Chai Lao San has been discharged from the hospital..."

Chai Mi isn't busy today; it's still morning, she was in the room thinking things over. Hearing Chai Xiu say this, her brows knitted tight.

Chai Lao San, discharged from the hospital.

Indeed, major trouble.

Because Chai Mi's grandfather Chai Zhongxiao will be coming back along with him.

If Chai Zhongxiao returns home and sees his wife was beaten by her daughter-in-law, his reaction...

Chai Mi shook her head, not daring to imagine what Chai Zhongxiao's face would look like right now.

Chai Zhongxiao has always liked to curry favor with the powerful, his mouth full of benevolence and ethics... open his mouth and it's filial piety, close it and it's loyalty.

Quite the style of an ancient clan's clan leader.

In the Chai Family, his word is law.

Several sons are all grown adults, married with children, but Chai Zhongxiao still scolds or beats them at the slightest disagreement.

And Chai Zhongxiao spends all day upholding so-called family harmony...

Very contradictory, also quite interesting.

Chai Mi poked fun at Chai Xiu, narrowing her eyes at the distant Chai Youqing: "Xiu'er, look at your dad — hearing Grandpa's coming back, he's so scared his mind's gone abnormal."

"Ah... it's your dad whose mind is abnormal."

"Mm-hmm, my dad's mind isn't normal either."