TGDW – Chapter 20 Come over looking for trouble

The General's Delicious Wife Chapter 020: Come over looking for trouble

Early in the morning, Xia Yue Chu and Madam Sun are both in the yard feeding chicken, feeding the pigs, sweeping the ground, busying to no ends.

Madam Sheng stands under the jujube tree in the yard combing her hair, nagging over something once in awhile.

"Are you blind, the area in the corner is not swept cleanly!"

"Shovel all the dung in the pigs' pen out and pile up at the back yard, those are all fertilizer, we will still need to depend on those for this year's farming!"

There is a voice calling out from beyond the gates. "Madam Sheng sister, are you busying?"

Madam Sheng follows the sound and looks out, only to see Madam Zheng from the west tip of the village walking in slowly.

"Aiyo, this is such a rare guest, come in quickly, take a seat." Madam Sheng says it warmly but ponders in her heart.

This Madam Zheng is not well in her health, walking three steps require a rest for two steps and rarely goes out in the usual days. Their two families, one is at the east tip, one is at the west tip of the village, such a far distance, why does she have the time to come over.

Thinking aside, whoever comes in is a guest, she cannot possibly neglect her.

"Madam Zheng come in and have a seat quick, what good wind blows you over here today, it has been a while since you came over to our house." Madam Sheng invites the person into the room to seat down and dispatches Xue Qin to pour her tea.

"Don't busy yourself, I am eating medicine so dare not drink tea, Xiao Qin* just give me a cup of warm water will do." Madam Zheng leans on her side while sitting at the edge of the brick bed. "This body of mine is no good for going out usually, so I'm used to not moving, sister you don't mind me."

"How can I, I should be the one going over to visit Sister instead but there is so many people in the family and so many things to do, now that the third's wife in pregnant, Da Zhuang has also came back, it is truly too busy to walk away for long."

Madam Zheng hears Da Zhuang these two words, instantly breaks into a smile, finally she finds the conversation starter to draw out her intention for coming today.

"Sister, your words are not said honestly, Da Zhuang's wife is such a capable person, what do you have to worry about when she is around!"

Madam Sheng is so puzzled hearing that.

This is referring to Xia Yue Chu? She is capable?

Madam Zheng seeing how confused Madam Sheng is, exaggerates her surprised. "Aiya, Sister, you couldn't possibly not know?"

"Know about what?"

"Da Zhuang's wife went to the Cui family two days ago and made a good amount of money back!"

"Ai, I thought it was something big!" Madam Sheng makes a face. "How much can she make by helping in the kitchen, it is not even enough to get medicine for Da Zhuang. But the Cui family is indeed generous, they came back with a basket of jujube steamed buns, it is considerably sumptuous for them."

"Aiya Sister, you don't have to be humble. How is that wife in your family a kitchen help, she went in as the head chef." Madam Zheng displays her mouth full of big yellow teeth. "I heard from my daughter, the whole kitchen has to listen to her, so impressive. Heard that within half a day, she made a few hundred coins, your family must be making a fortune soon!"

Madam Sheng is stunned when she hears this, then she feels that her lungs are filled with heat and are about to burst.

She does not know how she has sent Madam Zheng off and does not care to go back to her own room, she rushes to the room in the west wing straight away.

Earlier when Madam Zheng has entered the door, Madam Sun has discreetly alerted Xia Yue Chu.

In fact, Xia Yue Chu has been mentally prepared even earlier. They are all in the same village, this matter would have been spread to Madam Sheng's ears sooner or later.

"You little wench, I was still wondering why you are being so easy going. Giving me that big portion of jujube steamed buns that day, as it turns out, you have kept to yourself a few hundred coins. You have grown so daring now, dare to secretly keep so much money, I see that you are looking for a beating. Three days without beating, your roof goes flipping!"

Madam Sheng starts scolding immediately as soon as she enters, kicking over the small stove of medicine that is bubbling over.

The herbal liquid and the herbal dregs are spilled out, a good portion splashing on Xia Yue Chu's foot.

Xia Yue Chu is scalded and she takes a few steps back in response. She does not care enough to entertain Madam Sheng now, pulling off her shoe and her sock in a rush, and ladling cold water to rinse the back of her foot.

It is good that the weather is cold, the socks and shoes are pretty thick. The back of her foot is only scalded red.

Qin Zheng hears the commotion and runs out, seeing Xia Yue Chu's bare foot, he suddenly becomes red faced, turning his sight away and seeing the floor of medicinal soup and dregs, immediately getting angry. "What is happening, Big Brother is still waiting to drink his medicine!"

"Drink medicine drink medicine, still got the shame to drink medicine!" Madam Sheng is so angry that she cannot think straight, yelling loudly. "The house spends money like water for him to grab medicine and see the doctor. He is good on the contrary, just coming back and sharing one pants with his wife, earns some money and still dares to hide it from the family. All of you are so capable now!"

Xia Yue Chu is standing there with one bare foot, flaring in her temper after hearing this. "Da Zhuang has two prescriptions in total, the first time two hundred and seventy coins, the second time three hundred and two coins, adding them together is not even one tael of silver. Not even mentioning that these few days after Da Zhuang has come back, what he eats and what he uses are not from the house, they are all given by my maternal family and from what I earned while working outside. Mother why don't you say, which bit of advantage have we taken from the family?"

Upon hearing this Madam Sheng loses half of her indictment, but still is not willing to back down. "You earn money and don't give it to the family, why should the family feed you cloth you! Now not only do we have to support a paralysed useless person, still need to feed a seventeen eighteen young lad, you have the capabilities you support them yourself, the family don't have spare to keep them!"

Xia Yue Chu has been completed triggered. Whatever Madam Sheng scolds her with, she will not take it to heart. If her mood is good she will ignore, if her mood is bad she will argue back.

But now hearing Madam Sheng as she opens and closes her mouth, calling out crippled, useless person, the fire in her heart cannot be supressed and overflows at the top.

"Mother, the wives of every household earn their personal savings, it is natural that they keep it personally, which family in the village is not like that? Also, I respect you as an elder, besides there are things that happened before I married into the Xue family, so it is not my place to say much." Xia Yue Chu holds on to her rage as she speaks. "But if you say in this manner like this today, we should bring the subject out to light and reason it well."

Madam Sheng responds with a wariness, looking at Xia Yue Chu, she feels an unspeakable sense of desolation in her heart, but forcefully rebukes. "The family has raised you for nothing for so many years, what more do you have to reason with me."

"That time when the imperial army is seizing up abled man, the family has three sons, none of which are old enough for the age limit, what is the basis that Da Zhuang must be forced to sign up for the army?" Xia Yue Chu stares at Madam Sheng as she ask word by word. "Only the sons you gave birth to are precious, and other person's son should be treated like grass?"

Madam Sheng has not expected that Xia Yue Chu will dig out something so old in the past to say. She is exasperated to the point of having a headache, her breathe is jammed up at her throat and she is unable to say a word.

Xia Yue Chu continues. "That time how much did each soldier get for signing on? Although I don't know this, but surely someone from the village would know, it is not impossible to find out. The money that was given at that time all went into whose pocket and is eventually spent on who? These questions do you want me to continue? You are also considered a believer of Buddha, how do you not know the principle of retribution concerning the cause and effect?"

This incident has passed for so many years, Da Zhuang has not mentioned it after coming back. Madam Sheng believes that she has long forgotten it as well.

But hearing Xia Yue Chu mentioning it at this moment, she feels dizzy, starts having an unfocused eyesight, and pulsates strongly in her heart. That time, the cries and shouts of Da Zhuang when he has been dragged off seems to come back to her once again, ringing in her ears.

After scolding Madam Sheng away, Xia Yue Chu feels so refreshed, but upon turning around she sees Xue Zhuang sitting on his wheelchair, stops at the inside room door, looking at her with a complicated expression.

Xia Yue Chu does not know how much he has heard just now, and dares not ask, so she meekly mentions. "That, medicine is all spilled, I have to rebrew it again, you have to wait a little."

Xue Zhuang wheels himself out, bends his back down and holds up Xia Yue Chu's foot, lifting it for closer inspection and notices that her skin has only turned red. Then he becomes relieved. "Just let Ah Zheng brew the medicine, you go back, rub on some ointment and rest well."

Xia Yue Chu then remembers that she has her foot bare, the feeling of being grabbed in the palm by another is too intimate, the heat from the other party's palm is sticking to the bottom of her foot. It is truly even more scalding hot than being splashed by the medicine just now.

She retracts back subconsciously, but before she is able to retract her foot back, she loses her balance and almost falls down,

Xue Zhuang's legs may be immobilized but many years in the army has trained him in his instant reaction.

His right hand grabs onto her ankle and pushes it outwards, his left hand instantly fasten at her waist, stabilizing Xia Yue Chu's body.

Xia Yue Chu lands completely into Xue Zhuang's embrace.

Two people have their four eyes met, totally filling with awkwardness.

"Sister-in-law, do we have to start the fire anew to brew the medicine!" Qin Zheng carries an armful of firewood and runs into such a scene, his hands loosen and the firewood drops all over.

Xia Yue Chu shoots out from Xue Zhuang's embrace in a flash, she cannot care to wear her shoe and she runs back into the room with one foot bare.

Qin Zheng's line of sight slowly moves to Xue Zhuang and, under his glare that is full of murderous intent, shuts his mouth up obediently.

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Translator Notes:

*Xiao means little and Da means big. So calling Xue Qin as Xiao Qin (Little Qin) is a gesture of friendliness from an elder to a younger person. And calling Xue Zhuang as Da Zhuang (Big Zhuang) is also a way to be friendly by cutting down on formalities. In the Chinese culture, it is common for people to be referred dearly as "Xiao" or "Da" with their names, same goes for adding "Ah" in front or "Er" at the back.

Translated by Yellow. Aug 2022.