Village Belle is Trying to Cause Trouble Again Chapter 19
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Proofed by The Buddha
Chapter 19: Buying Su Tao
Su Tao thought that cutting ragweed was tough enough. She didn’t expect a tougher task awaiting her.
Before dawn, she was woken up by that wretched old woman, Mrs. Su-Qian, to go to the neighboring village to peel the bark of trees.
The wages were based on the number of barks peeled, so the whole family went.
Su Tao had been walking for half an hour. It was still dark, and she could barely open her eyes. She yawned several times.
At this moment, she yawned again, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she was slapped in the mouth, which hurt so much that tears fell from her eyes.
Mrs. Su-Qian’s cursing was heard. “Wretched girl, why are you yawning so much? Walk faster."
Su Tao was bursting with anger, but she didn't dare to do anything. In the end, she scurried forward with a grim expression.
When she could no longer see the people behind her, she kicked a sapling on the side of the road angrily, and whispered in an enraged voice, "Wretched old woman, just you wait!"
Darn it, if she had to suffer, she would make that wretched old woman suffer too.
When Lin Sanzhu caught up with Su Tao, she happened to hear the wretched girl spouting nonsense. She quickly covered Su Tao’s mouth and scolded her in a low voice, "Wretched girl, do you have a death wish?"
"Don't let me hear those words again, or I'll smack your mouth hard."
Su Tao woke up early and was slapped for no reason. Of course she was in an angry mood. She complained, "Why must we tolerate her? Can't we move out and live independently?"
"What are you talking about, wretched girl? Shut up." Lin Sanzhu was afraid that her mother-in-law might hear Su Tao, so she dragged Su Tao forward.
Su Tao shrugged her off and said with a little incomprehension, “Why are you afraid of her? We do the most work at home but eat the least."
“It’s better that we move out...”
Before she could finish her words, Lin Sanzhu slapped her in the face with a "smack" sound. "Shut up! Do you think moving out to live independently is that easy? Your grandma won't give us anything if we move out now."
"Your father and I might be capable, but without any resources, how do we produce any food? Even if we open up the wasteland, we will only have food next year."
“If that happens, you won’t even get to see a grain of rice, let alone eat leftovers and bad rice.”
"Last year, the second child of the Wang family and his family starved to death in the cold winter. Do you want the same? If you want to starve to death, then get out of here. Don’t drag us down." Lin Sanzhu’s voice was choked with sobs after she finished speaking.
It was indeed easy to move out and live independently, but it was difficult to survive after that.
There wouldn’t even be any shelter from the wind and rain.
If they moved out in a few years, the house would be theirs, and they could get an acre of land, some rice and vegetables.
Even if it was a small amount, it was enough for the family to survive for a while.
Su Tao got another slap but she calmed down. Yeah, if they moved out, where would the family live? What could they eat?
Although she suffered beating now, she had a place to sleep and food to fill her stomach.
She had a breakdown.
Lin Sanzhu heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that Su Tao was quiet once again. She didn't know what was wrong with Su Tao recently. Her behavior was abnormal.
One could say that she was crazy, yet she craved for meat.
……
An ax was needed to peel the bark of trees. The Su family only had three axes, so of course they were used by the men, while the women had to peel the bark by hand.
Mrs. Su-Qian was not stupid. She wore gloves and threw two pairs of gloves to Mrs. Su-Jin. Then she said sharply, "Work efficiently. If you don't peel enough, you won't get to eat."
Lin Sanzhu glanced at the gloves, without saying anything. She lowered her head and started to peel the bark, pulling off a large piece efficiently.
Su Tao resigned herself to her fate and started peeling the bark, but it wasn’t as easy to peel as expected. After she peeled two pieces of bark, her fingers were already swelling.
She shook her hands in pain, and quickly wrapped her sleeves around her hands to peel the bark. Even so, her fingers were already bleeding after peeling all morning, and they hurt when touched.
Her hands were shaking subconsciously.
She was not the only one. Su Zhi's hands were in pretty much the same condition as hers. Then she turned to look at Lin Sanzhu. Her fingers were also red, but her movements were still fast, as if she didn't feel the pain at all.
Of course Lin Sanzhu felt the pain. However, she had to endure it no matter how painful it was. She had to work so that her family could have food.
Su Laicai couldn't peel the bark anymore and was rolling on the ground. Mrs. Su-Qian didn’t sympathize with him. She caught him and beat him up. Su Tao watched from the side, her eyebrows twitching.
Then, she ran a little further away.
To slack off.
Even though she was slacking off, her hands hurt terribly. She shook her hands, and then glanced at the others. Lastly, her gaze fell on Mrs. Su-Qian. That wretched old woman was really efficient at work.
Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of the bark at her feet, and thought of a naughty idea. She walked over and stealthily kicked the bark over with her feet.
She quickly returned to her spot. Then, she glanced at Mrs. Su-Qian's feet from the corner of her eye, and began to say silently, “Three, two, one.”
As soon as she finished counting, an "ouch" sound was heard. Mrs. Su-Qian tripped and fell down, sitting down on the ground.
Perhaps it was a little painful, so she didn't get up for a while. She yelled “ouch” a few times.
Su Tao arched her eyebrows. That wretched old woman deserved it for beating her all the time.
Mrs. Su-Jin, who was nearest to Mrs. Su-Qian, quickly helped her to her feet. "Mom, are you alright?"
"What do you think? Who told you to pile the bark at my feet?" Mrs. Su-Qian vented herself on Mrs. Su-Jin, and hit her arm.
That pile of bark was indeed Mrs. Su-Jin’s. She shrank back and said, "Mom, I didn't do it on purpose. I'll support you over there to have a rest."
When Mrs. Su-Qian stood up, she accidentally stepped on a piece of bark again and swayed suddenly. Fortunately, Mrs. Su-Jin supported her.
Mrs. Su-Qian began to curse and said, "You can't do anything I ask you to do. I don't know why I let you marry into our family!"
Mrs. Su-Jin was angry, but she didn't dare to say anything and just endured it.
……
To save time, Mrs. Su-Qian and the others didn’t go home for lunch and worked until dark.
Mrs. Su-Qian scooped out a bowl of rice for the first time and cooked it. This time, one could see the rice in the porridge, but Su Tao was no longer happy.
The pain in her hands made her want to cry. She grimaced in pain at the slightest touch.
Crappy system, couldn’t you find someone else to do this job?
Crappy system! Say something!
Crappy system, you’re downright perverse!
Only dead silence answered her.
It meant that her suggestion was absolutely not possible.
……
Xie Yuntang was a little disappointed when Su Tao hadn’t snatched his pancakes for the past several days.
He had asked his mother to make a lot of pancakes.
The pancakes had all gone bad.
Mrs. Xie-Qin gave Xie Qing a nudge in the pavilion, looking at the boy standing by the door. She was a little confused and asked, "Why is Yuntang looking in the direction of the Su family’s residence?"
He had been doing so for the past few days. He refused to tell the reason when he was asked.
Xie Qing put down the book in his hand and followed her line of sight. He shook his head in confusion as well. "I don't know. Maybe he wants to play with Su Tao."
"He was even asking me yesterday if I had seen Su Tao."
Mrs. Xie-Qin said, "Oh. Then, have you seen Su Tao? I haven't seen her these days. The Su family has been quiet for the past few days."
“No. I heard that they’ve gone to peel the bark of trees.”
"Huh? Su Tao has to peel the bark of trees at her young age? She has such a miserable life."
Xie Qing nodded in agreement and sighed. "You know the way the Su family is. They don’t treat children as human beings."
Mrs. Xie-Qin didn't say anything. She looked at her son who was still watching at the door, thought for a moment and said, "Why don’t we buy Su Tao over to play with Yuntang?"
"Let’s ask Yuntang."
Xie Qing waved at Xie Yuntang to come over. After he came over, Xie Qing touched his head and asked kindly, "Do you want us to buy Su Tao over so that she can play with you?"
Xie Yuntang's eyes lit up, but he soon shook his head and said seriously, "You can't buy her. If you do, she will become a slave."
If the Xie family bought Su Tao, they would have to go to the government office to change her status.
Once someone became a slave, the status would become permanent. They would be traded for the rest of their lives.
Hearing this, Xie Qing was stunned for a moment. Then, he smiled quickly and looked at Xie Yuntang with relief. "I didn't think it through. How about us paying Su Tao to study with you? It's hot these days. With someone fanning you while you study, you can focus better.”
Xie Yuntang didn't want Su Tao to fan him. He wanted to give her pancakes to eat so that she could recover from her illness.
Xie Yuntang raised his head slightly and said, "Then, you guys can't beat her. She's sick and won’t get well if she’s beaten again."
Upon hearing that, Xie Qing and Mrs. Xie-Qin looked at each other. Mrs. Xie-Qin smiled and said, "Why would we beat her? We just want her to study with you. If she doesn't do a good job, we will simply stop hiring her."
“We won’t beat her.”
Then, her almond-shaped eyes slightly crinkled up and she asked curiously, "Why do you care so much about Su Tao?"
Xie Yuntang thought about it seriously and shook his head. "I don't know."
He simply wanted to give her pancakes to eat.
Mrs. Xie-Qin touched his head and joked with a smile, "My Yuntang is too kind-hearted and will suffer in the future."