Chapter 67: Bustling

  Qī Zhēn ér and Yè Bái zhǐ carried a large bucket of water to the yard to wash dishes. The things borrowed from the village were many and miscellaneous, and they had to be sorted out before use. These things that needed to be used still had to be rinsed with water first, this task was meticulous and required careful handling.

  Qī Zhēnér and Yè Báiqiáo were both busy in the courtyard, as there was no conflict at this moment. Except for Yè Báiqiáo occasionally rolling her eyes and staring, they got along harmoniously.

  "Bai Ji, wipe this table clean." Ye Bai Zhu carefully moved a stool over and pointed to an unwiped table, instructing Ye Bai Ji. These things were too dirty, with oil stains on them, and if you weren't careful, they would stain your clothes. Ye Bai Zhu looked at the embroidered flowers on her own lapels, then at the greasy table, frowning in distaste.

  Ye Baiji's crisp voice responded, and she came over with the basin, shaking out the cloth inside. She slightly bent her waist, gave a quick tug and twist, and water splashed up instantly.

  Ye Baihe was splashed onto her body in an instant because of the proximity, scaring her into a loud shriek, and with a flick of her hand, she was about to lash out at Ye Baichen.

  Jiang just came out of the kitchen and saw Ye Baihe's raised hand, and immediately opened his mouth to stop him: "Baihe, what's wrong? What happened?"

  She turned around and looked at her mother, ready to tattle, but seeing the look in her mother's eyes, she swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and glared fiercely at Ye Baiji, saying "Nothing."

  Jiang didn't know her own daughter's temperament, lifted the basket in her hand and said: "I want to go to the creek to wash vegetables, Bai Miao you come help me." Ye Bai Miao was not happy to do this greasy work, but now hearing her mother say so, she happily ran over.

  Ye Baiji saw Ye Baizhou running away and subconsciously wanted to follow. Ye Baizhou turned back with a glare, and she immediately wilted, obediently wiping the table.

  When assigning tasks, Ye Baiwei made it very clear that whoever was assigned to do something and didn't do a good job shouldn't blame her for not being considerate. If Ye Baichi also ran away with them, who would do their work?

  Qī Zhēn ér's hands and feet moved quickly, she didn't need Yè Bái zhǐ's help. She splashed around in the water for a while, washing one plate clean. She washed and dried Yè Bái zhǐ. It was actually faster than two people washing together.

  Two people did not slack off and worked efficiently. In about two minutes, they had washed the borrowed bowls and plates clean.

  She looked up and saw that there were only seven or eight tables, and Ye Baiji and Ye Baizheng had been wiping them for some time, but it was already late afternoon and they still hadn't finished. The ones they had wiped clean didn't look very clean either, with streaks of dirt all over them. The courtyard was uneven, and some of the table legs were still suspended in mid-air, wobbling back and forth, and they hadn't even thought to find a stone to prop them up with.

  Ye Baiji and Qi Zhen'er both flashed a hint of helplessness in their eyes. This was indeed the young lady who had never done anything!

  "In the words of Ye Baiji: 'Grandfather wants them to go and help out. The intention behind this is good, but we also need to see if they have the heart for it, if they're made of the right stuff. This thing hasn't been done much, yet we still need to be grateful to them.'"

  Qī Zhēnér just smiled after hearing that. Yè Lǎo Yé Zi thought they should mend their relationship and get along in the future, which was what she truly wanted too. But things didn't necessarily go as planned. She had no idea where she offended Yè Bái Jí, but from the start, Yè Bái Jí always had an opinion about her, every time they met it wasn't just a cold face, but also harsh words. It was as if there was some deep-seated hatred between them. However, they didn't provoke each other, considering they shared the same surname "Yè". Qī Zhēnér wouldn't initiate any conflict with them either.

  Ye Baiji took over Ye Baixi's chores, and she didn't have that kind of proud temperament, thinking that she didn't need anyone else's help. Instead, she happily threw away her cloth and went to find Ye Baixia, who had been washing vegetables by the stream and had disappeared for a long time.

  Qizhen'er and Ye Baiji finished their chores in the courtyard and went to the kitchen to clean up. As soon as they entered the kitchen, they heard Ye Baiwei's voice coming from the doorway.

  Qizhen and another person ran out, just in time to see Ye Baiwei carrying a ceramic basin, leading a woman in her thirties who was chatting and laughing as they entered the door.

  Ye Baiji saw the woman and happily called out: "Seventh Aunt is good." She whispered to Qi Zhener, explaining that she was the wife of Ye Qishu's family.

  Qī Zhēn ér carefully took a look, and saw that the woman's eyebrows were very similar to those of Yè Lù Yuǎn. She also called out: "Seventh Aunt."

  Ye Qiuniang didn't need anyone to introduce her, she knew at a glance that this little girl was indeed Qizhen'er. She took a closer look and although the girl looked a bit frail, her eyes were bright and clear, and she seemed quite pleasant to behold.

  Ye Qiuniang held one hand of Qi Zhener and the other of Ye Baiju, walking inside while laughing: "Zhener, don't be polite with your aunt, just like Baiju, consider me as a close aunt. Come on, let's go inside to make dumplings."

  Ye Baiwei also smiled and walked in together. The basin she was holding contained glutinous rice flour and lotus root starch, all of which were for making dumplings. Just now, Ye Qiuniang wanted to go help, but her mother felt that the kitchen was too hot and stuffy, so she didn't let Qiuniang enter, and instead found this task of making dumplings for them to work on in Zhen'er's room.

  A group of people in the house were rubbing and laughing, while outside, Ye Lao's father, who had closed the clinic early, was also playing with Hu Zi and Ye Su Qi in the courtyard.

  The laughter and chatter in this house are so loud that even the birds in the sky can't help but fly down to take a peek.

  Everyone here is bustling with activity, lively and extraordinary, and the Liao family in the city is also very lively.

  Today is the day of Liao Wujie's return, although she is a second wife, but she has an elder brother who loves her dearly. In consideration of her elder brother, many people from the clan came, and those who have business dealings with her elder brother also came in large numbers. As a result, this return banquet was also held in a lively and bustling manner.

  Everyone ate and drank well, and then sent off Liao Wujie. Madame Chen, Liao's wife, supported the drunken Liao back to their room, ordered the servants to prepare a hangover soup, and while washing his body, she scolded: "How did you get so drunk?"

  Liao Dangjia was also soaked in the wine jar, and his drinking capacity was still there. Although he drank a lot, he was still very sober now, but his tongue was not agile when speaking. After hearing Chen's words, he spoke with a thick tongue: "I'm happy, my sister is getting married again, and she's still the legitimate wife, not that kind of concubine who can't show her face."

  Chen's family was both angry and amused, wasn't this the idea she had come up with to make Liao Wujie a concubine? He didn't even think about the situation at that time, what other way out did Liao Wujie have?

  "Is Master blaming me for suggesting that Fifth Sister become a concubine in the Ye household?"

  The words were spoken with three parts of blame, three parts of grievance, and four parts of accusation. Liao Dangjia hastily shook his head, and in his daze, he shook off the remaining seven parts of his clear-headedness. "Whatever you say, you're also doing it for Fifth Sister's own good."

  What you said is not wrong. At the beginning, when Liao Wujie had that incident, without mentioning outsiders, even within their own family, there were many people who were dissatisfied with their solution. For the sake of the women in the Liao family who were already married or unmarried, they forced Liao Wujie to either become a nun or drown herself to save the reputation of the Liao women. Under pressure from the clan members, Chen Shi was unable to do anything and came up with an idea: let Wujie marry into a respectable family as a concubine, and wait for this storm to pass before making further plans. The head of the Liao household agreed to all these ideas, letting Chen Shi handle it, just as long as his sister wasn't wronged.

  The Chen family carefully considered their acquaintances from past to present and set their sights on the Ye family.

  As for why they set their sights on the Ye family, firstly, Old Master Ye used to run a pharmacy in town and often gave out free medicine, earning him a reputation for kindness; secondly, Madame Sun had met her before and thought she was someone who could be easily controlled; thirdly, after Ye Shixian and Ye Shiyan were driven back to the countryside, they would have to rely on the Liao family, so they would definitely agree to this marriage and treat Liao Wujie well.

  As for whether the Ye family agreed with this marriage or not, Chen smiled coldly and said that the Liao family had enough power to make them agree.

  Madam Chen felt a warmth in her heart when she heard this: even if the master was fond of Eldest Sister, he couldn't deny her own merits. Pretending to sigh, she said: "Now that Eldest Sister is living like this, it's also good; she has her own separate household, and Master is taking care of her, with no mother-in-law above or sister-in-law below, and having several maids and servants waiting on her, her life is quite comfortable. Isn't it better than being a concubine in the Ye family? Master really knows what's best."

  Liao Dangjia's family heard her praise and immediately felt that they were wise for finding a good way out for their daughter. At first, he said to let his sister be a concubine to avoid trouble, but in his heart, he was still very unhappy. However, for the sake of his sister, he still carefully planned it out.

  To force the Ye family to agree to let Ye Shi Xiao take his fifth sister as a concubine, he had someone design a plan using the Ye family ancestral hall to coerce everyone. Who knew that before Ye Shi Xiao even responded, the marriage was already settled? However, he was still angry at the Ye family for being so slow in responding to his sister's proposal, and he ordered someone to seize the ancestral hall. Unexpectedly, this plan was also ruined by a little servant girl. At the time, he was very angry, but later on, he just let it go. Anyway, his fifth sister's reputation wasn't as bad as they thought, and many people came to ask for her hand in marriage. The Ye family was like a chicken rib to him - who would want to be a concubine when they could be the main wife? He chose an orphan from among the many suitors and arranged for his sister to marry this man who had come to their door, and now he's living a very comfortable life.

  Thinking of his own wise decision, Liao Da's tongue was thick and loud, shouting: "Who said my sister ruined her reputation and couldn't get married without virtue? They're all blind, those who came to propose trampled the threshold, which family has a better daughter? My fifth sister is the best!"

  Chen listened to her boasting, and followed along, but it was like trying to reason with a drunk person. Those who came to propose marriage were clearly after the wealth and status of the Liao family, and they admired how much Chen loved his younger sister, not because of Fifth Sister herself. Moreover, what kind of people were those who came to propose? Either they were rascals from the streets or poor men who couldn't afford a wife, and some were even beggars. Only she, as the head of the household, didn't realize how bad her precious younger sister's reputation was.

  After feeding the sobering soup, she saw that Liao's family was asleep. Chen Shi couldn't help but sigh. Fortunately, she only had three sons; if she had a daughter, this astonishing and unconventional aunt would have ruined her chances of getting married.