Word Spirit Farming System

“It’s better to let this fool marry someone else.”

When they arrived at the Yang family, it happened to be mealtime.

Although Cheng Yun didn’t like Li Fengjiao, he still had to show proper etiquette to prevent her from causing trouble. He even went to the backyard to catch a rooster and handed it over to Yang Hongcai’s wife, Du Yueqiong, as soon as they entered the house.

But Li Fengjiao, upon seeing this, not only didn’t restrain herself but also sarcastically remarked, “Oh, so you finally decided to come home. I thought you’d moved out after getting a house. I guess we’re considered separated now.” Then she walked up to Du Yueqiong’s side, looked at the rooster from left to right, and said, “You brought such a good rooster with you. I wonder how much money you’ve made. It’s a pity that we still have to squeeze into this small house, five people in one room, barely having enough to eat every day.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Hongcai frowned and signaled to Du Yueqiong to go inside and not linger here. Then he turned to Li Fengjiao and said, “Mother, Hongjin and his wife rarely come back. Please say less.”

Only then did Li Fengjiao react as if she had just seen Cheng Yun and the others. She raised an eyebrow and said, “Look, who’s this young master? Our house is so small, I’m afraid it can’t accommodate such a grand Buddha.”

Cheng Yun rolled his eyes in his mind. In the past, he really didn’t want to pay attention to her, but after all, she was Yang Hongjin’s mother. Even as a stepmother, she couldn’t be treated casually in this era.

He pretended not to hear her sarcastic remarks, greeted each person one by one, and when his gaze fell on Yang Hongbao, he waved at him and said, “Come, Hongbao, I have a jar of Sauerkraut from Yueqiong Tower that is about to be launched. Take it and eat, just be careful not to eat too much at once and upset your stomach.”

Yang Hongbao, who had always been close to Yang Hongjin, was a bit unfamiliar with this new sister-in-law. Since Cheng Yun entered the house, he had been staring at him intently. As soon as he heard his name being called, he immediately ran over, and Li Fengjiao couldn’t even stop him.

Li Fengjiao was filled with anger, but she couldn’t say anything to her own son. She could only snort coldly and turn around to scold Du Yueqiong.

Cheng Yun and Yang Hongcai exchanged a helpless look, and they all sat down together.

Yang Dashui sat on the side, smoking his pipe, without saying a word from beginning to end. Cheng Yun thought for a moment and decided to pour a cup of tea, which he handed to Yang Dashui with utmost respect. He said, “Father, have some tea. I haven’t been able to come back much during this time, and you’ve been working hard at home.”

With this one sentence, he made it clear why he hadn’t been home and showed the appropriate respect to the elder.

Yang Dashui accepted the tea, nodded, and raised his eyebrows as he looked at Cheng Yun. He took a sip of the tea and only after a while did he say, “You’ve also been working hard.”

Soon, dinner was ready, and when Cheng Yun went over to take a look.

With seven people in the house, they had made two scrambled eggs, a plate of plain boiled cabbage, a stir-fried radish with chili, and a dish of stir-fried loaches. Cheng Yun didn’t know what to say when he saw it.

Having been used to eating big meals, he suddenly encountered this situation and lost his appetite instantly. He remembered that even his family’s idiot used to eat these kinds of dishes, and he couldn’t help but feel sorry.

While everyone was serving the meal, Cheng Yun leaned over to Yang Hongjin’s ear and whispered, “Eat a little less. When we get home, I’ll make another meal for you.” Yang Hongjin, who had been listless, immediately brightened up after hearing this and smiled in response.

“Let’s eat, why are you so happy?” Li Fengjiao had been secretly observing them, seizing every opportunity to find fault. Although she didn’t like the fool and his wife, the chicken Cheng Yun brought made her very envious. Afraid of being called stingy, she deliberately said, “The chicken you brought can’t be cooked in time, so let’s eat these dishes tonight. We can cook it next time you come back.”

In her mind, Li Fengjiao was thinking, “I’ll slaughter and eat that chicken tomorrow. Next time they come, I won’t leave anything for them.”

Cheng Yun didn’t mind this. The meal was tasteless, and after eating a few bites, he couldn’t eat anymore. Seeing that his wife wasn’t eating, Yang Hongjin also put down his chopsticks.

“What’s the matter? You’re not eating? Isn’t this wasting food?” Li Fengjiao heard Cheng Yun say he had no appetite and immediately scooped the rice from his bowl into Yang Dashui’s bowl. She continued to complain, “It’s a waste of food to have money in your pocket and not appreciate the food we have. It’s not easy to feed so many mouths in the family.”

Throughout the meal, Li Fengjiao kept on talking non-stop, while everyone else remained silent. At first, Yang Hongcai was afraid that his younger brother’s wife wouldn’t like it and would end up arguing with Li Fengjiao. But he was surprised to see that Cheng Yun remained calm and showed a good temper no matter what Li Fengjiao said.

Li Fengjiao felt like punching a cotton ball. She was frustrated everywhere. She hadn’t forgotten the embarrassment Cheng Yun had caused her last time at the village entrance. This time, on her own territory, she had to make a comeback.

After the meal, she asked Du Yueqiong to clean up. Du Yueqiong looked impatient and was glared at by Yang Hongcai before reluctantly carrying the dishes to the kitchen.

Li Fengjiao sat there like an empress dowager, picking her teeth, with her legs crossed, trying to put on an air but failing to do so convincingly. She pretended to complain but actually directed her words at Cheng Yun, saying, “Oh, the days of being a mother are getting more and more difficult. I have to take care of all the big and small things at home. I come home and don’t even have a cup of hot tea to drink. The children in the family have some ability but even after earning money, they don’t know to show filial piety to their elders.”

She patted Yang Dashui, who sat silently beside her, and complained, “You, why don’t you have any skills? If our family were a bit wealthier, we wouldn’t need to bow down to others.”

Yang Dashui was long used to her behavior and didn’t even bother to respond. He picked up his pipe from the side, went outside, and started smoking.

Li Fengjiao cursed at his departing figure, but no one in the family paid any attention to her words, so she couldn’t summon up the energy to curse more vigorously. However, the purpose of inviting Cheng Yun today was not just to speak to him; the most important part was yet to come.

After thinking for a moment, Li Fengjiao kept giving signals to Yang Hongcai with her eyes. Unable to resist, Yang Hongcai sighed and started the conversation, “Cheng-Ge’er, I heard that you’ve been collecting vegetables recently?”

As soon as Yang Hongcai finished speaking, Li Fengjiao couldn’t hold back and interrupted, “What are you collecting so many vegetables for? Are you going to sell them to Yueqiong Tower in town?”

Cheng Yun knew this was the moment she had been waiting for. He maintained a calm expression and answered directly, “I mentioned this last time when I met you near Aunt Lin’s house. I’m doing business with Boss Liu from Yueqiong Tower. They need these vegetables, so I help collect them. It’s not about selling for profit. We negotiate fair prices, and the village head is aware of this.”

Li Fengjiao snorted and didn’t know what she was thinking. Her eyes glanced around, and then she said, “How long do you plan to keep collecting? Even if we wanted to, we don’t have the vegetables you’re collecting. Why didn’t you tell the family earlier so that Hongcai could also join in and collect our own vegetables? Isn’t that better than collecting for others?”

Li Fengjiao said this with an air of righteousness. It wasn’t her who would be doing the work, nor would she be paying for it. But if they really collected vegetables, the money would go into her pocket. She had already calculated the gains.

Cheng Yun was straightforward in his response, just as he was with every villager who asked about collecting vegetables. “We’ll be collecting for a while. The specific vegetables to collect will depend on the needs of Yueqiong Tower. We may make adjustments in the future. If the family has any, they can bring them over. I’ll collect whatever is needed.”

“Then how do you calculate the money?” Li Fengjiao was most concerned about this issue. “I heard from others that the price you’re collecting at is even lower than the town’s. You’re really unfair. Don’t you know that I’ve been questioned by others outside, asking why our family’s son is taking advantage of them when collecting vegetables?”

Cheng Yun smiled and didn’t say much else. He simply replied, “The price was set by the village head.”

Li Fengjiao glared at his words but couldn’t come up with any refutation. The atmosphere became tense for a few seconds. Li Fengjiao couldn’t keep her mouth shut and couldn’t bring herself to lower her face, so she winked at Yang Hongcai.

Yang Hongcai was exhausted in his heart but had no choice. He could only put on a forced smile and asked, “If we send vegetables in the future, will you still pay us the same price as others?”

“Yes, yes,” Li Fengjiao quickly seized the opportunity. “How could it be the same? We’re family!”

The mention of family was emphasized loudly, and Cheng Yun thought to himself how he usually treated his family. He responded, “As long as there is a need, we will definitely pay the same as others. Besides, everyone knows that if I pay my family more than others, it wouldn’t be fair. Moreover, some people might take advantage of that and sell through you, and if others find out, my business will suffer.”

Yang Hongcai hadn’t thought about this point. When Cheng Yun brought it up, he nodded and agreed, “That makes sense…”

Li Fengjiao gave him a glare. This was exactly what she had been thinking. That’s why she had Yang Hongcai invite Cheng Yun back home to discuss this matter. Now that Cheng Yun had exposed her intentions and hinted at her taking advantage, and Yang Hongcai was foolishly agreeing with him, how could Li Fengjiao not be angry?

Seeing that this approach wasn’t working, Li Fengjiao thought of something else. “So, how much money can you make by collecting vegetables once? Do you have enough manpower? I see that it’s almost the farming off-season, and Hongcai and his wife don’t have much else to do. They can help you out.”

Li Fengjiao said, “Look at the fool… cough, I mean, Hongjin can’t help much. It’s better to let family members help and relieve some of your pressure.”

Cheng Yun coldly snorted in his mind but maintained a polite smile on his face. He politely declined, “Harvest season is approaching, and everyone will be busy then. Second brother has a lot of work in the fields, and I don’t want to trouble him. Besides, Hongjin is doing much better now. He eats well, sleeps well, and doesn’t work as hard as before. He has learned to do calculations, and he helped me with the money today without making any mistakes. Everyone in the village says he has become much smarter than before.”

After saying that, he patted Yang Hongjin’s head. The idiot knew his wife was praising him, and with his wife’s support, he wasn’t as afraid of his stepmother anymore. He happily laughed.

No matter what Li Fengjiao said, Cheng Yun deflected it like practicing Tai Chi, not allowing her to take any advantage. It made her itch with anger, but she had no way to deal with it.

Cheng Yun repeatedly embarrassed her, benefiting his own family, and the more Li Fengjiao thought about it, the angrier she became. In her eyes, everything Cheng Yun had belonged to his husband, and everything that fool had belonged to the Yang family. That’s how it had been in the past, and that’s how it should be in the future.

But Cheng Yun was not a pushover. Li Fengjiao had been used to being domineering at home for too long. This was the first time someone had stood up to her like this, and it made her feel very uncomfortable. Therefore, after sitting for about half an hour after dinner, when Cheng Yun wanted to go home because it was getting late, Li Fengjiao still couldn’t figure out a way to get something out of Cheng Yun. In her frustration, she muttered, “If I had known he was such a wolf in sheep’s clothing, I should have let Yang Hongjin marry the butcher’s daughter in the village!”

When this remark came out, it not only surprised Yang Hongcai, but even Cheng Yun’s expression changed.

He turned around, squinted his eyes, and looked at Li Fengjiao, causing her to flinch under his gaze.

Cheng Yun had dealt with different people many times and was no longer the recent graduate who knew nothing. His gaze carried a hint of authority, making Li Fengjiao inexplicably afraid.

But when she snapped back to her senses, she remembered that she was their mother. Why should she let him walk all over her? Just as she was about to retort, Yang Hongcai timely intervened as a peacemaker, “Alright, alright. It’s getting late, Cheng-Ge’er and Hongjin should go home first. It’s not safe to walk on the road at night.”

He turned around and gave Li Fengjiao a stern look, and his tone carried a rare severity. “Mother, you should also say less. Cheng-Ge’er and Hongjin came all the way here for a meal.”

Li Fengjiao pursed her lips and said nothing. After Cheng Yun left, her face immediately turned sour. She found fault with everything she saw and even scolded Yang Dashui, who was sitting outside smoking, saying he couldn’t do anything and couldn’t do anything well.

The Yang family felt bitter in their hearts, and the only one who escaped her scolding, Yang Hongbao, had long gone back to his room with the jar of Sauerkraut to enjoy his delicious food!