Chapter 15 - 15 15 It's Not Easy to Work

Words : 1264 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

15: Chapter 15: It’s Not Easy to Work 15: Chapter 15: It’s Not Easy to Work “Everyone has to grow up,” Chuxia said softly with a sigh, “Many other families’ children start working at sixteen. It’s no wonder the villagers look down on me.” Xiaoqiong pouted discontentedly, “You told me before that the village rules say you have to work every day once you turn eighteen. We should enjoy each day of leisure we have, why are you saying this now? I’m the same age as you, and I haven’t started working either.” “We are different...” Chuxia said as she pulled her toward the field, “I see Fat Auntie, she’s with my dad and mom.” “Meiying came to see your mom? And Chuxia is there too?” “...” Along the way, the villagers working in the fields greeted them cheerfully, but when they mentioned Chuxia, their tone was filled with deep mockery. Although Chuxia wasn’t sure about the exact reason behind everyone’s differing attitudes toward her, she could somewhat guess the truth. Given her lazy and soft-eared nature, it would be odd if she actually liked working in the fields. She knew it, but pleasing the villagers was out of the question; moreover, impressions couldn’t be changed in a day. She just needed to be true to herself. On the way, she simply quickened her steps toward the area where her parents and Fat Auntie were working, not bothering to greet anyone. Naturally, this led to more murmurs behind her back, causing Xiaoqiong to worryingly glance at her face, “Chuxia, they’re just mean, don’t get angry.” “What do I have to be angry about? I’m not living off their earnings. Besides, if they say I have no humanity, does that make it true? They say my parents regretted having me for the past eight generations, but my parents think I’m a blessing.” Xiaoqiong breathed a sigh of relief, “Exactly, we shouldn’t bother with them. They’re just jealous, jealous that you’re going to marry my brother! No, if they knew you were marrying my brother, they wouldn’t dare talk like this. Hmph, I’ll be waiting to see how they try to please you once they find out about you and my brother!” Chuxia was speechless... Fat Auntie and Lin Baohe had seen them coming from a while back but kept working in the fields as it wasn’t right to make too much of a display. So they waited until they were close before putting down their hoes and shovels to come over, “What brings you two here?” asked Fat Auntie. Xiaoqiong hurriedly whispered something into her mother’s ear, causing Fat Auntie’s face to subtly change as she muttered, “I didn’t expect your father to actually be so harsh.” “Fat Auntie, you go back. I’ll stay here and help my parents,” Chuxia said. “Pfft!” As soon as Chuxia finished speaking, Xiaoqiong burst out laughing, “Chuxia, can you even lift that heavy shovel? Make sure you don’t end up hurting yourself instead of flipping the soil.” Fat Auntie glared at her daughter, “What kind of talk is that? You stay; Chuxia will go back with me.” “Alright,” Xiaoqiong deliberately crumpled her face, “Actually, I’m not much stronger than Chuxia.” “Look at how strong you are and then look at Chuxia. Do you really think you’re about the same as her?” Fat Auntie pushed her daughter. “If you don’t finish, you’re not allowed to come home for meals.” She then turned to Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan, “Come to my house for dinner this afternoon, and let Chuxia help me with the cooking.” “No need! No need!” Zhao Yulan quickly declined, although she didn’t know what had happened, a bit of thought led her to guess that it must involve Luo Hongqi. Her daughter had been at odds with Brother Hongqi not just for a day, and it wasn’t likely that their arranged engagement would suddenly make them see eye to eye. Chuxia felt that this wasn’t the right time to meet Luo Hongqi again, so she grabbed Fat Auntie’s arm and whispered, “Fat Auntie, Brother Hongqi must be angry with me right now. If he sees me again, with his temper, who could calm him down? Would you let me stay and help my parents and have Xiaoqiong go back with you? My parents and I will come over for lunch; is that okay?” When Chuxia unusually referred to Luo Hongqi as Brother Hongqi, a smile spread across Fat Auntie’s face. After thinking for a moment, she nodded, “Alright!” She took a few steps and then turned back to glare at her daughter, “Hurry up!” Luo Xiaoqiong waved at the family of three, “Uncle, auntie, I’ll go and grab a shovel then come back to help you all. Chuxia and I can together make up for one worker; it won’t delay lunch.” Zhao Yulan hurriedly refused, “No need, no need, Xiaoqiong, no need. We’ll finish this work before lunch; Chuxia will just help us even out the soil. You don’t need to come back over.” At the mention of “Xiaoqiong,” Luo Xiaoqiong felt completely refreshed and turned back, her smile emphasizing her resolution to come, then she briskly “sprinted” after Fat Auntie. It wasn’t until the mother-daughter duo had disappeared that Zhao Yulan quietly asked her daughter, “What’s going on?” Chuxia didn’t hide it from her and immediately spilled everything about Luo Gangshun beating Luo Hongqi. “Let’s not talk about it now, let’s discuss it back at home,” Lin Baohe whispered to the mother-daughter duo, “Other people are watching. Chuxia isn’t experienced with farm work, and if you two cluster there gossiping, people will start talking again.” Hearing this, Zhao Yulan quickly curbed her curiosity and followed behind Lin Baohe, breaking the large clumps of soil he had dug up with a hoe. Chuxia’s task was then to smooth out the broken clumps with a shovel—originally, Zhao Yulan did the same type of work as Lin Baohe, but thinking of her daughter’s frail figure, she had to rearrange the tasks, preferring to let Lin Baohe tire rather than let her daughter be ridiculed. Desires are ideal, but reality is cruel; the shovel that danced lightly in others’ hands, in Chuxia’s hands... Normally, when sweeping the yard or shoveling chicken manure, Chuxia also used a shovel, but usually, the Zhuang family cherished their tools, and what she had used was a half-worn, old iron shovel, nothing like the heavy, new long-handled shovel she held now. The moment she gripped the shovel handle, Chuxia was initially buoyant with enthusiasm. Previously, she and her parents had labored at suburban estates, but those trips were often cut short just as she was getting into the swing of things, and crucially, they cost money! But now? Not only did she not have to spend money, but she could also earn it and help her parents! With that comparison, Chuxia’s mood instantly lightened. The ideal is plump, the reality is stark! When Lin Chuxia swung her first shovel full of expectations, she realized she might have been overly optimistic. But the arrow was on the string, and she had no choice but to retreat. She took a deep breath, channeling all her strength into her arms, and followed behind Zhao Yulan with “grunt” “grunt” moving forward. Five minutes later, Chuxia felt her arms struggling to lift, and her throat uncomfortably dry...

Chapter 15 - 15 15 It's Not Easy to Work

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