097 – Being an Elder Sister-in-law Is Hard Ah…
Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli came from the farm with hoes on their shoulders, sleeves rolled up to the arms, and sweat on their flushed faces.
“Eldest Brother and Eldest Sister-in-law.”
Qin Mian nodded and casually asked, “You went to the farm?”
“Yes. We went to the vegetable garden to weed. Our family planted vegetables on three mu of land. The crops are growing well.” Lei Xiangyi’s face filled with joy.Lei Xiangli was very calm. Without separating the family, the money earned is not your own.
Qin Mian touched his chin. He seldom saw Lei Xiangren go to the farm, so he sympathized with Lei Xiangyi. However, it was the old house’s affair, after all. He and Lei Tie had no right to intervene since they had separated.
“If you have time, you can pick some good vegetables and send them to our wine house. A-Tie and I will inform the management in advance,” he said kindly.
“Aye,” Lei Xiangyi responded. Instead of saying too much ‘’thank you’’, which might hurt their relationship, it was better to remember in the heart.
Qin Mian and Lei Tie had just taken a few steps when Lei Xiangyi quickly caught up after hesitating for a moment.
Lei Xiangli halted and also walked over.
“Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law.”Qin Mian turned around and asked suspiciously, “Is there anything else?”
Lei Xiangyi said with a bitter smile, “Eldest Sister-in-law, I won’t beat around the bush with you. Fourth Brother and I, we want to separate from the family. I have mentioned it with our parents several times, but they disagreed. I know that Eldest Sister-in-law has always been a man of ideas. I wonder if you can show us the way?”
Qin Mian frowned. Lei Xiangyi asked them for help, which was understandable, but he should not mention it on the way. If others saw them and told Lei Daqiang and Du Shi, at that time, when Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli talked about separation again, Lei Daqiang and Du Shi would surely suspect him and Lei Tie. He didn’t want to draw Du Shi’s and Lei Daqiang’s attention back.
Lei Xiangli was more alert. He looked around and said to Lei Xiangyi disapprovingly, “Second Brother, you are too bold. If other people see us talking with Eldest Brother and Eldest Sister-in-law for such a long time, they will get into trouble.” The brothers tacitly knew what kind of people Du Shi and Lei Daqiang were.
When the realization came over Lei Xiangyi, he was stunned and quickly apologized, “Eldest Sister-in-law, it is my negligence.”
Qin Mian looked around to make sure there was no one else nearby. He shook his head and said, “Tomorrow morning, you will pick some vegetables and send them to the wine house with us.” Ah, being an elder sister-in-law is hard.
Lei Xiangyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. In this way, Qin Mian agreed to give them advice. In the name of delivering vegetables, Lei Daqiang and Du Shi had no reason to suspect.
“Thank you very much, Eldest Sister-in-law,” Lei Xiangli said happily.
To avoid being noticed, the four men quickly separated.
After returning home, Qin Mian enthusiastically gave Lei Tie training ideas.
–
After dawn and morning exercise, Lei Tie took Lei-Qin Le and the armed servants to start training. Uncle Fu and Aunt Fu picked vegetables in the garden and piled them up to transport to the wine house.
Qin Mian made a few pancakes for breakfast and left them in the wok covered with the lid. He would eat it together with Lei Tie when he came back. In the meantime, he took White Spot to the garden.
In the open space beside the grove, Lei Tie instructed the future armed servants to bind 2 Jin of sandbags to their wrists and ankles and run three circles around the open space. Tied with heavy burdens, Lei-Qin Le and the others were not used to it, but they gritted their teeth and persisted. It was their honor that the master was willing to teach them skills. It was also a rare opportunity, so no one was willing to give up.
After the run, Lei Tie showed a set of boxing. Lei-Qin Le and the other nine people attentively watched him while taking the opportunity to rest.
“Practice half of it today,” Lei Tie said with an expressionless face and demonstrated the first half of the boxing set at a relatively slow speed.
After the demonstration, he said in a low voice, “Try it.”
Lei-Qin Le and the nine people repeated the memorized boxing technique together.
Lei Tie discovered that Lei-Qin Le and Lei-Qin Hui were the fastest learners, so he slightly nodded. He remembered that Lei-Qin Hui was the most outstanding teenager at the time he bought them; he could cultivate as an important subordinate. “Are you literate?” Lei Tie asked.
Lei-Qin Hui came forward and said, “Back to Eldest Young Master1, I’m literate.”
Lei Tie took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to him, “Afterward, train according to these contents. Lei-Qin Le is in charge of supervision.”
Lei-Qin Le and Lei-Qin Hui said respectfully, “Yes, Eldest Young Master!”
“Today’s boxing. Lei-Qin Le and Lei-Qin Hui are responsible for teaching others. The inspection will be the morning after tomorrow.”
Lei-Qin Le and Lei-Qin Huiqi said, “Yes!”
Lei Tie didn’t personally supervise, which made them felt more pressure after a little relief.
Qin Mian watched from afar. He didn’t go over but went to the garden.
Lei Tie strode over and stood by him. In addition to imparting boxing and palm techniques, the rest of the training did not require him to be present all the time. He also couldn’t spend all his time training the armed servants.
Aunt Fu and Uncle Fu squatted in the garden, harvesting vegetables. At the side of the vegetable plot, there were several large baskets filled with eggplant, tomato, cucumber, chives, and green pepper.
Uncle Fu patted off the mud on his hands and came over, carefully avoiding the vegetables on the ground. “Eldest Young Master, Little Young Master, we harvested a lot of vegetables. It’s just that we only have one cart. I’m afraid it’s not enough.”
Qin Mian looked at the fresh and tender vegetables and was very satisfied, “No fret. You go to the village to borrow a cart for an emergency. I’ll buy another cart when I get to town.”
“Yes, I will go.”
Qin Mian and Lei Tie went back through the peach forest.
Qin Mian chatted with him, “I haven’t been to the wine house for several days. I don’t know how the business is.” Although he had confidence, he still worried if he didn’t see the situation in the wine house with his own eyes.
Lei Tie’s calming voice contained the power to calm him down. He said, “It won’t be bad. Two new dishes launch every day in the first month of business. It will surely attract customers.”
Qin Mian restored his confidence, “En, I’m confident!”
He patted Lei Tie on the back, “You’re sweating. Go home and take a bath. After breakfast, we’re going to town.”
They went to the gate after breakfast. Uncle Fu had loaded all the vegetables into the carts where more than a dozen baskets filled in.
Uncle Fu and Lei-Qin Le each drove a cart, while Qin Mian and Lei Tie rode on horsebacks.
Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli waited at the entrance of the village early. There were also several baskets of green vegetables on the borrowed donkey cart.
“Eldest Sister-in-law, check our vegetables first,” Lei Xiangli said. Eldest Brother and Eldest Sister-in-law took good care of them, so they were very grateful. They did not cheat and carefully picked out the rotten and damaged ones.
“No, I believe you,” Qin Mian said with a smile.
He signaled Lei-Qin Le and Uncle Fu to drive ahead.
Lei-Qin Le was a person with tact, and Uncle Fu was not silly. Seeing that they had something to say, the two drove the carts and pulled their distance apart.
“Eldest Sister-in-law, we’ve troubled you and Eldest Brother with what we said yesterday.” Lei Xiangli cupped his hands in obeisance first.
Qin Mian waved his hand and did not beat around the bush, “The actual reason why you want to split up is mainly because of Second Brother?”
Neither Lei Xiangyi nor Lei Xiangli denied it.
“Yes.”
Lei Xiangli explained, “We are naturally affectionate with Second Brother, but Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law often go too far. Once or twice, we brothers can tolerate, but in the long run, they will polish the rest of our affection. It is better to divide our family as soon as possible.”
Qin Mian said slowly, “You have two options now. First, only separate Second Brother’s family.”
Lei Xiangli and Lei Xiangyi were shocked. They had only wanted to thresh themselves out and didn’t think that they could make Lei Xiangren split instead. If Lei Xiangren did, it would be great, but it would difficult with Lei Xiangren’s character.
Lei Xiangli asked, “What about the second option?”
Lei Xiangyi didn’t speak as he looked down and wondered. He felt a little excited. Truthfully, he didn’t want to separate from Lei Xiangzhi. It would be fine if only the Second Brother split. Lei Xiangzhi had a bright future. It didn’t matter whether he and Qian Shi could bask in his light, but he still hoped that his children could receive Lei Xiangzhi’s light. He was sure to have a son in the future. Whether his son took the imperial examination or his daughter got married, they would not have a bad life if they had an influential uncle.
“The second option is both of you split.” Qin Mian’s lips flashed a scornful smile. His tone was very flat as he said, “I believe you also understand that Second Brother can’t agree to separate from Fifth Brother.”
Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli had a helpless look and nodded at the same time. Lei Xiangren was a mindless person, but he was not stupid. On the contrary, he was a bit clever. It was impossible not to see that Lei Xiangzhi had a bright future.
“What should I do if I choose the first option?” Lei Xiangyi asked.
Qin Mian chuckled, “The reason why Second Brother is so unscrupulous in the family is that he is the only one of your brothers who gave the old man and the old lady two grandsons, and the other reason is Mother.”
Lei Xiangyi’s voice was a little dull as he said, “Yes. Mother thinks highly of Second Brother.” It was a euphemism. Among Du Shi’s four sons, she liked the fifth son the best and followed by the second son.
“So, as long as you can change Mother’s view on Second Brother…” Qin Mian didn’t say it in detail. He couldn’t teach Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli hand in hand. It was up to them to decide what to do.
Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli were thoughtful.
Lei Tie didn’t speak all the time but looked at Qin Mian. His wife was so smart.
Qin Mian continued, “Of course. You still have a strong helper.”
Lei Xiangli’s heart jolted, “Wei Shi.”
“Right.” Lei Xiangyi also started to see solutions, and his spirit rose. “Wei Shi, I’m afraid that she dislikes Second Brother more than we do. If we want to separate Second Brother, she will be happy to help us.”
Regardless of their specific plans, Qin Mian only said what he could say, “It is more difficult for you to choose the second option. Mother is very clear of Second Brother’s character. If you both also separated from them, who would do the work at home?”
Lei Xiangyi hesitantly said, “Then, we can only choose the first?”
Lei Xiangli frowned. He wanted to be by himself. The days in the house were too noisy. He was afraid that when he married, the family might become more ‘’lively’’.
“Not really…”
With a sentence from Qin Mian, both Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli looked at each other.
Note:
Footnotes
- He used the subordinate way of talking to the superior.
