The Exiled Life of the Noble Girl-Chapter 98: Growing Vegetables

Dong Lei held his completed homework in his palms and respectfully handed it to Li Mingwei. This was his last assignment to make up, and soon he could finally go out to play.

Li Mingwei turned her head and met his eager, shining gaze, hmphed, then took the paper from him, carefully inspected it, found no flaws, and set it aside.

Dong Lei asked eagerly, "Auntie, how is it?"

"It's alright."

"Auntie, can I go out to play now?"

He had already made plans with his friends on where to go, but this make-up work had taken several days, and his hand was sore from all the copying.

"Yes, Auntie will take you out to play."

Although he didn't really want to play with Auntie, at least he could go out. Dong Lei nodded, agreeing, "Okay."

Li Mingwei got up, went to the courtyard to bid farewell to Old Lady Wang, then left. The two, one big and one small, left the town and soon arrived at the land recently bought by Dong's family.

Old Lady Wang had cultivated some radish seedlings in the backyard and wanted to move some over to plant. These days, Dong Shan had been plowing the land, and now there was a small patch ready. They estimated it was enough, so today they decided to bring over some seedlings to give it a try.

Actually, the weather wasn't very suitable for planting vegetables now, but they had bought the land late and had no choice. They couldn't just wait until next year to plant, so they decided to plant some casually to see how it would go.

Dong Shan fetched water from the nearby stream, pouring it onto the ground in buckets. He planned to wait for the land to soak up the water before digging holes to plant the vegetables.

Wang Chunhua was sorting out the seedlings in the shade of a tree. When she saw them coming, she quickly called them over to sit down.

"Why are you two here?" She looked at Dong Lei, pulled him over, and asked sternly, "Is your homework done?"

"Sis, it's done. I came over to see if there's anything I can help with."

"What help could you possibly offer!"

Wang Chunhua found a few leaves, spread them on the ground for Li Mingwei to sit on. Dong Lei felt hot and wanted to go play by the water, and since it wasn't very deep, and his dad was there, Wang Chunhua didn't refuse, letting him go.

Li Mingwei watched her sort the seedlings and couldn't help but lend a hand, only to be pushed away, "It's all muddy."

"Just wash it off."

Li Mingwei wasn't too concerned about this, so she helped sort the seedlings while watching Dong Shan pour water. "It's so hot. Will these vegetables survive?"

"Let's give it a try." Wang Chunhua pointed to the patch of ground at Dong Shan's feet and drew a circle. "I've seen it. Your brother-in-law plowed this small piece of land. It gets some sun in the morning, but once it's noon, the sun is blocked by the bamboo forest behind, so it won't get too hot."

"I have nothing else to do anyway. When it gets too hot, I'll quickly pick some leaves from here to cover them. It should be fine. We'll still get some harvest."

For the sake of planting these vegetables, Wang Chunhua had squatted here for many days. If they succeeded, that would be great; if not, at least they would gain some experience for next year. It had been many years since she and Dong Shan had planted anything, so they didn't expect it to be perfect on the first try.

"By the way, aren't you here to help?" Wang Chunhua pointed to the nearby grove of trees. "I'll plant the vegetables in a while, and you and Xiao Lei can help me pick some leaves to shield them. Since they were just planted, the roots are not stable yet, so we need to be careful."

"Alright."

Li Mingwei agreed, calling back Dong Lei, who was playing with water, to join them in picking tree leaves. It wasn't a random selection; they had to specifically find larger pieces.

Dong Lei, uninterested in this activity, spread his small hands and complained, "Auntie, there aren't that many big leaves. I only found a few."

"Yeah."

Li Mingwei looked around and set her gaze on a cluster of banana trees on the other side of the stream. She went back, fetched a sickle, and cut a few leaves. After slicing them into smaller pieces, she arranged them neatly on the seedbed.

Though it was just cutting leaves, in the hot weather, Li Mingwei still broke a sweat. Wang Chunhua finished digging the seedbed and returned to find Li Mingwei's forehead damp, her face flushed. Wang Chunhua quickly took a leaf and fanned her, helping her up from the ground and directing her to sit on the side.

"Your brother-in-law is going to fertilize; you should go a bit farther."

"Fertilize again?"

"Yeah, we have to. We don't have any at home, so we buy it from the family across the way."

Li Mingwei sniffed the indescribable odor in the air and walked further away. She still wanted to eat dinner tonight.

While Wang Chunhua planted vegetables, Dong Shan fertilized, and Dong Lei covered leaves. The family of three worked together, quickly finishing this small piece of land. Dong Shan wanted to take Dong Lei to swim by the stream, while Wang Chunhua packed up her tools and went over to sit with Li Mingwei.

She sat down on the ground with a sigh. "I need a break too."

Li Mingwei wiped the sweat off her face and used a leaf to fan herself. Wang Chunhua smiled as she looked at her. "You worked hard today."

"I didn't do much. It's boring at home, so coming out for a walk is good."

Wang Chunhua thought about it and agreed. Liu Yizhu wasn't around, and the school was on break, so she spent the day with Old Lady Wang. Probably not much conversation happening there.

Wang Chunhua nudged Li Mingwei. "Liu Sucai only comes back once a month. Don't you miss him?"

"Why would I miss him?"

"You're just being stubborn."

Dong Shan was with her every day. Except for when he went away for about ten days during the spring and autumn harvests, she would miss him then. They were newlyweds, seeing each other only once a month was quite frustrating.

Li Mingwei hugged Wang Chunhua's arm, leaning on her. Suddenly, she sighed, "There's nothing I can do. He has to study. It's nice being with my mother-in-law every day now. Besides work, she cooks for me every day and sometimes even insists on doing my laundry, making me feel a bit embarrassed."

Wang Chunhua couldn't believe it. "Wow, Old Lady Wang is that good?"

Not only couldn't she cook, but when she was at Dong's house, Li Mingwei used to wash her clothes herself. Wang Chunhua only occasionally helped when she was busy.

"You don't believe it either. She used to dislike me a lot, but now I said I wanted to learn how to cook from her, and she flatly refused, saying I'd be a burden and hinder her."

"Her mouth is still the same."

Wang Chunhua had never really interacted with her mother-in-law, but she had encountered quite a few neighbors. Some treated her like their own daughter, while others seemed to be sworn enemies. According to her sister, Old Lady Wang was relatively decent.

"Pay no mind to what she says. Actions speak louder than words."

Seeing her sister looking a bit unhappy, Wang Chunhua comforted her, "Just be patient. I heard Old Lady Wang say he's well-educated. Once he establishes himself, you'll be secure."

"Sigh."

Wang Chunhua laughed at her sister's expression, "Weren't you just arguing with a tough front? Now you're sighing."

Li Mingwei snorted, "It's not for him. He's only been gone for a few days. I'm heading to the county town in a few days, and I'll see him then."

"Going to the county town? Just to see him?"

"No." Li Mingwei glanced at Wang Chunhua, making a request, "I told you, don't tell Aunt Meng."

With that remark, Wang Chunhua knew it had something to do with Yun Sister. However, ever since they returned and Aunt Meng found out about the man's disability but still married Yun Sister off, Wang Chunhua distanced herself from Aunt Meng. Today, Xiao Yan was even sent to Aunt Lin's house.

Wang Chunhua, free from any burden, gleefully exclaimed, "Spill the beans, spill the beans."

"Yun Sister asked me to accompany her to a medical appointment."