The System Wanted Me to Be a Landlady (GL) - Chapter 11: Naughty Child

Chapter 11: Naughty Child

In the past, when Song Yuban spoke like that, the original host would have already jumped up and hit him. However, this time after he finished speaking, he waited for a while but didn’t feel any pain in his body. He opened his eyes and looked at Song Yuyan, but her deep gaze startled him.

Song Yuyan said, “If you’re afraid I’ll curse you to death, you’d better not play with fire, not eat random things, and not go to the river. Only then will you not be cursed to death. Is there anything I haven’t made clear?”

Song Yuban instinctively nodded and then shook his head.

Song Yuyan put down the food Aunt Fierce gave her and thanked Tang Zhi, after all, she saved Song Yuban’s life, which was a favor.

Tang Zhi didn’t know what to say for a moment and went home.

She knew the three Song siblings didn’t get along well. To be fair, what Song Yuban and Song Yuzhuan’s parents did was indeed unfair. If Song Yuyan hadn’t had the relief grain from the Song clan in those years, she probably wouldn’t have survived. Song Yuban and his sibling were her uncle’s children, so it was only human for her to hate them.

However, Tang Zhi also knew that what Song Yuban and Song Yuzhuan’s parents did wasn’t something they could decide. If it were just that, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but the problem was Song Yuyan had the reputation of being a jinx and a bringer of bad luck. The two kids, still young, heard gossip from neighbors and naturally believed the rumors, thinking it was all Song Yuyan’s fault.

Song Yuyan never explained herself; she just got angry and beat up the talkative Song Yuban, then went on with life as usual.

Later, Song Yuban spoke less about it, and Tang Zhi almost forgot there was always such a thorn in their hearts!

This was the Song family’s matter, and she couldn’t interfere.

…

After Tang Zhi left, Song Yuyan also left. Song Yuzhuan noticed her big brother was angry and knew it was because of her second brother, but she didn’t know what to do.

Song Yuban’s eyes were red. He wiped away his tears and said to Song Yuzhuan, “If you’re hungry, eat the food!”

Song Yuzhuan said, “But the food was brought back by big brother, and he hasn’t eaten yet!”

Song Yuban regretted hurting Song Yuyan’s feelings with his quick words but didn’t want to back down. Feeling conflicted, he said, “Then save some for him.”

After saying that, he went back to his room to continue weaving his straw mat.

Song Yuyan wasn’t actually angry because of Song Yuban’s words; she just had a headache about how to deal with two young kids.

Song Yuzhuan was fine, being young and perhaps because of her mobility issues, she was more introverted and obedient. But Song Yuban, at ten years old, was at his naughtiest.

Having grown up, she had never dealt with naughty kids and didn’t know how to raise them.

According to the original host’s wish, taking good care of them was enough. But the standard of “taking good care” was vague. Making sure they had food and clothes was “taking good care,” letting them grow up was “taking good care,” and helping them succeed or start families was also “taking good care”…

But analyzing the original host’s personality, as long as they had food and drink and grew up, that was enough. She didn’t need to put in so much effort.

However, Song Yuyan didn’t want to raise two lazy, ungrateful people. She didn’t expect them to achieve great success, but at least she wanted to raise them to be normal, independent, hardworking people. That way, her crossing over wouldn’t be in vain!

But the economic foundation determines the superstructure. She needed to build a solid economic foundation first to have the means to educate the little ones, so she had to work hard first!

Song Yuyan didn’t slack off because of family matters. Someone who had been watching her for two days mentioned it to Aunt Fierce, and Aunt Fierce said, “Alright, stop following her. You’re her clan uncle. If she finds out you’re following her, it might cause bad feelings.”

Aunt Fierce’s husband, Song Yuyan’s clan uncle Song Bing, was speechless. “Didn’t you tell me to follow her?”

Aunt Fierce scolded, “What, are you saying I was wrong?”

“No, I was wrong,” Song Bing said, shrinking back. He’d be crazy to argue with his wife.

…

Song Yuyan returned from work late at night and found some food from Aunt Fierce still in the kitchen, kept warm in the pot. She checked the room and saw the two little ones sleeping quietly.

They say boys and girls shouldn’t share a bed after seven, but poor families didn’t care about such things. No one in the Song family taught them this, so Song Yuban and his sister still slept in the same bed.

Song Yuyan thought this couldn’t continue. They needed to build at least one more room, so each of the three siblings could have their own. This added to her burden, but she didn’t see the two kids as a burden; instead, it fueled her enthusiasm for work.

Before dawn, when the rooster crowed, she got up, went through the straw-weaving process from start to finish, and began working. With tools and her quick hands, she wasn’t clumsy despite this body’s lack of experience. In half a day, she wove half a mat.

“Wow!”

When she came to, Song Yuzhuan, the little one, had been squatting beside her, watching for a long time, her eyes full of admiration.

And the naughty child Song Yuban? He stood nearby, looking awkward. His eyes sparkled as he stared at the half-woven mat, but his face showed he didn’t want to praise Song Yuyan.

“Did you eat the food in the pot?” Song Yuyan asked.

“We ate!”

“Did you brush your teeth before eating?”

The two little ones immediately fell silent.

Song Yuyan scared them, saying, “From now on, brush your teeth after waking up. If you don’t brush, you can’t eat. If you want to eat, come help me work.”

Asking them to brush morning and night was too much, so she settled for just mornings.

The two little ones thought about it and chose to help Song Yuyan work—mainly because the taste of the ginger mixed with willow sap for brushing was too weird.

Song Yuban was still amazed that Song Yuyan could weave mats. If he watched and learned secretly, would it help him weave straw mats? He was still young and could only weave mats, but when he grew up and got stronger, couldn’t he weave mats like her?

Song Yuyan didn’t care what he was planning; she was just a bit dissatisfied with her speed. But she knew not to rush.

After finishing work, she had to go to her job. After today, she’d probably be unemployed again, so she needed to plan carefully with the wages she’d saved over the past two days.

Song Yuban and Song Yuzhuan kept looking at the half-woven mat, even reaching out to touch it.

They’d heard people say that when you love an object, you can’t put it down. Now they understood that feeling. If only they could weave such a fine mat!

Song Yuban seriously taught his sister, “In the future, I’ll weave a mat like this—no, even better!”

“You can do it, Second Brother!” Song Yuzhuan cheered him on.

Of course, later they’d realize they could never surpass Song Yuyan in this!

Song Yuyan didn’t know her ordinary mat was treated like a treasure by the two little ones for half a day. She was only thinking about what new tricks she could use tonight to sell more food.

When Aunt Fierce had free time, she called Song Yuyan over and asked, “Yam, have you ever thought about going back to the village to study or something?”

Song Yuyan was stunned. “Huh?”

From her words, was there still a chance to go back to the clan school to study?

“What huh? You haven’t read much, but you’re acting like a bookworm!” Aunt Fierce said disapprovingly. “If you want to go back to study, your Uncle Twenty-One could speak for you in the clan.”

Song Bing ranked twenty-first among his generation in the clan, so Song Yuyan should call him Uncle Twenty-One.

Song Yuyan felt warmed, not expecting a distant clan uncle to speak up for her. Raising a scholar in ancient times was hard; there was no nine-year compulsory education, and with technical limitations, pens, ink, paper, and inkstones were all big expenses.

The Song clan school taught the clan’s children for free to start their education and trained scholars for the imperial exams, but the costs were high. Most expenses were borne by the scholar’s family, with the clan giving some subsidies at most.

Song Bing’s willingness to speak meant he knew Song Yuyan’s financial situation and was prepared to subsidize her. But Song Yuyan knew she might have to disappoint her clan uncle’s kindness.