The Farm Life Of a "Fool"

Chapter 37

That day from the town, Zhang Yue ran back to his own home, the Zhang Family, in front of Xu Cheng. Soon after, however, he was directly taken back to the Xu Family by Xu Cheng.

Zhang Yue's dad and daddy just watched everything happening there. Zhang Yue ran back in a hurry, followed by Xu Cheng closely. Then Zhang Yue was caught by Xu Cheng. Finally, Xu Cheng even took Zhang Yue away without even saying hello to Zhang Yue's dad and daddy.

Zhang Yue wanted to say something to his father and daddy, but he didn't have the opportunity. His father and daddy assumed the pair had a disagreement and didn't think it was a big deal for a couple to have a minor squabble, so they didn't give it much thought.

Zhang Yue knew that returning to the Xu Family would be difficult, but what he didn't expect was for Xu Cheng to completely forget about their good old days and want to beat him to death. Zhang Yue tried but failed to explain anything. He had been beaten to the ground and was unable to move. In the end, if it wasn't for Xu Cheng's fear of being charged with murder, he might have wanted to go on with the beating.

Xu Cheng started cursing Zhang Yue after he stopped being aggressive, claiming he was cheap and shameless. In other words, he blustered whatever he didn't want. Zhang Yue had no choice but to lie down on the ground. Everyone in the Xu family was at home, but no one came to stop Xu Cheng or look at him, even his two children.

Zhang Yue had been lying in bed, unable to move since then. No one in the house, however, went to find him a doctor. They would simply provide him with food and water on a daily basis to ensure that he did not die.

Xu Cheng also tried to divorce Zhang Yue, but he was stopped by Xu Houcai, who believed that no matter what, Xu Hui and Xu Qiang were Zhang Yue's children, and that if Zhang Yue was divorced, Xu Cheng would be unable to marry another spouse due to their family's current circumstances.

Time flies, and the eleventh lunar month will be over before we know it. Since their chestnuts were nearly gone, Xu Ran instructed Wu Mei and the others not to sell chestnuts at their market stalls any longer. Instead, they started cutting down trees to make handcarts in the mountains.

This winter, by cutting trees in the mountains, they could not only keep themselves warm, but also take the dried-up branches home for firewood.

Xu Ran, on the other hand, did not take part in the tree-chopping. At home, he was studying and reviewing. The Imperial Examinations will take place in the early spring of the following year. He'd like to give it a shot, whether he should move or not. Fortunately, the fool's brain was still full of information, so Xu Ran didn't have to put in too much effort in preparation.

The Laba Festival took place on the eighth day of the 12th lunar month. Early in the morning, Liu Tong went out and bought the ingredients for Laba congee. He started working in the kitchen early the next morning on that particular day. There was a tradition in this period that on the Laba Festival, children would go door to door asking for Laba congee, so even the most frugal people would try to improve the congee.

Because children always said what they liked at will. They might express themselves anytime they were tasting the Laba congee. Thus, in order to gain a good reputation, every family had to work hard on the cooking of the congee.

Liu Tong's cooking skills were not particularly good, but the congee he cooked this time was not bad. Xu Ran remembered the ingredients of the eight treasure congee he used to eat and told Liu Tong about it. In the end, Liu Tong's congee this year was excellent. Sure enough, it was still extensive and profound in the realm of food. Xu Ran even taught Tangtang and Guoguo to sing the children's song of the Laba congee.