To Be the Male Lead's Deceased First Wife in a Historical Chinese Exam-focused Novel - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: How to Protect Her Waist

“Don’t wait a few days, ask her tomorrow!” Yan An saw through her delaying tactics and emphasized with a frown.

“I have to go to the county town tomorrow,” Wen Ying said.

Yan An: “…”

She wanted to say, “Tell Yi Shuhua to come over early tomorrow and choose the books. Then, with the money, we can buy everything we need at once, so we don’t have to make another trip later.”

But she knew that even if they wanted to do that, Yi Shuhua might not agree. So she swallowed the words for now and said, “Then talk to her after you come back from the county town.”

“Mmm,” Wen Ying agreed calmly.

Only then did Yan An fully smile, feeling like eating was waving at her.

…

After breakfast, the two went back to the fields. Since there wasn’t much rice left to harvest, they managed to finish it in one morning. After bringing it to Aunt Zhao’s house, Aunt Zhao smiled and paid them the 135 coins without any hesitation.

Back home, Yan An was thrilled, holding the 135 coins in her hand.

It wasn’t easy! It took two and a half days for two people to earn 135 coins. She was so happy she wanted to worship them like ancestors!

But of course, she couldn’t. If she worshipped them, she and Wen Ying would become enshrined tablets themselves.

Wen Ying couldn’t help but smile at her money-loving expression. When she returned to the room and came back out, there were four more coins on the table in front of Yan An.

Yan An looked at the four coins Wen Ying had placed on the table and then looked up at Wen Ying.

“This is what I earned from selling firewood in town,” Wen Ying said.

“Selling firewood?” Yan An was surprised.

“Mmm,” Wen Ying sat across from her and patiently explained. “The town is not like the village. If they want firewood, they have to buy it from someone. I cut firewood from the mountain, carry it to town to sell, and one bundle can sell for 25 coins.”

Yan An: “…”

She turned her head to look at the two bundles of firewood Wen Ying had brought back this morning. She asked, with a look of disbelief on her face, “For a bundle that big, 25 coins?”

She hoped the prices in this world matched the income, or Yan An would be furious.

Wen Ying shook her head, her features softening slightly. “It’s a little smaller than that.”

She thought about how they needed to store more firewood for the winter, so she had naturally tied the bundles as big and as many as she could.

“Oh,” Yan An felt a little better after hearing that. Otherwise, the labor was ridiculously cheap!

Yan An was now on the side of the laborers. She felt it was very! Very cheap!

“So we’ll go up the mountain to cut some firewood later. When we have enough for the house, if we still have energy, we’ll cut some more to sell in town.” No matter what time of year, firewood always sold well in town.

Yan An: “…Okay.”

She let out a long sigh, glanced in the direction of the study, and said with a look of heartache, “Why don’t I recognize any of the words!”

“If only the original owner had left me some memories about this,” she thought. “Or if I had some kind of cheat that would allow me to read any characters I see.”

Wen Ying felt a little like laughing at the expression on her face.

Yan An calmed herself down. When she looked at Wen Ying, she discovered something rare.

“You smiled!”

She slowly widened her eyes, a look of utter disbelief on her face. This was the first time she had seen Wen Ying smile since she came to this world! She was finally not so numb from the hardships of life!

Wen Ying’s eyebrows slowly lifted, revealing a slightly puzzled expression. “Can’t I smile?”

Yan An immediately shook her head and said with a bright smile, “Of course not. It’s just that you always have a straight face. I’ve never seen you smile before.”

“You look great when you smile!” Yan An said with certainty.

Wen Ying: “…”

She turned her head and no longer looked at Yan An.

After praising her, Yan An didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she pushed the money on the table toward Wen Ying. “You take it. I’ve touched it enough.”

She had had her fill of touching it. Of course, she couldn’t just leave it lying around.

Wen Ying was stunned for a moment at her action. “Aren’t you going to put it away yourself?”

“Huh?” Yan An was confused by her question. “It’s not mine, why would I put it away? Besides, there’s no use for me to keep it anyway. I don’t know the specific prices, and I don’t know what to buy. I can’t manage it.”

After all, the five mu of land belonged to Wen Ying, and she did most of the work. Yan An didn’t have the audacity to ask her to hand over all the money.

Seeing that Wen Ying was still silent, Yan An simply stood up and patted her butt. “Just take it. If I need money later, I’ll come and ask you, okay?”

Wen Ying looked at her relaxed expression and finally nodded, putting away the only money they had. But as she was about to go out to cut firewood, Yan An stopped her.

“Wait, go later. Alter the clothes first.” Yan An took out the clothes Wen Ying had put back in the cabinet last night.

Wen Ying frowned at the clothes in her hand and said, a little unwillingly, “I’ll alter them later. It’s still early, so I can cut more firewood.”

“Nonsense!” Yan An swore. She pulled Wen Ying back and pushed her down into the chair, shoving the clothes into her arms. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do. When you come back after cutting firewood, are you going to say it’s too dark to see?”

After all, the family was so poor, there was no way they had oil lamps. As soon as the sun went down, it was completely dark.

Wen Ying was stunned. She clearly didn’t expect Yan An to use such vulgar language for a scholar.

“Don’t just sit there. Start altering!” Yan An didn’t give her a chance to argue and clapped her hands in front of her.

Wen Ying was startled back to her senses by the sound.

“…”

She didn’t dare to make Yan An angry again. But she still stood up with the clothes. “I’ll go change into a different set.”

The clothes Yan An had given her were still good. Yan An could still wear them later, and it would be a waste to alter them for her. Yan An’s closet had a few other clothes that she had outgrown and couldn’t wear anymore. She could use those.

Yan An stood with her arms crossed, watching her coldly. She didn’t say anything more when she heard this. As long as she sat down and altered the cotton clothes, she was fine with it.

Wen Ying went back to the room and found the clothes Yan An had outgrown. They were a little small for Yan An now, but they were the perfect fit for Wen Ying.

Yan An’s expression softened considerably when she saw that Wen Ying was finally sitting down and diligently altering the clothes. While Wen Ying was busy, she took a hoe and began to pull weeds in a corner of the courtyard.

Although she had never done this kind of work before, she knew the basic common sense of weeding and loosening the soil before planting anything.

Wen Ying, in the midst of altering the clothes, saw Yan An squatting on the ground, pulling weeds. Her slender back was constantly busy, and she would occasionally rub her lower back with her hand, a clear sign that she was not comfortable either.

Looking at Yan An’s movements, Wen Ying began to think about how she could protect her waist in the future.