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The courtyard gate was wide open, and at the entrance of the hall stood an elderly woman, gesturing and scolding Meiniang.
However, Meiniang kept her head down, sorting through the wild vegetables in her hands without saying a word.
“My cousin is a young bachelor. If you hadn’t intentionally seduced him, why would he marry a widow with a burden?”
“Aunt, you’re a distant relative by blood, and this is the fourth generation since our families connected. My family matters are none of your business. The only thing you can manage is your own children and grandchildren.”
Wan Changsheng’s face darkened. This aunt was truly vexing; if it were any other time, he might not have cared, but now was different.
If he allowed this aunt to insult his wife now, he could guarantee that even if his wife had a good temperament, their son would never truly regard him as his father.
After spending a few days together, he understood that the child was smart enough, but beneath his gentle appearance lay a stubborn character. He wouldn’t ruin the father-son bond they had just begun to form for someone unrelated.
Especially considering he might not have biological children of his own in this lifetime.
When the elderly woman heard Wan Changsheng speak, her face quickly shifted to one of grievance, which was truly painful for Ping’an to witness.
“Mother, please get me some water to wash my hands,” Ping’an said.
Meiniang understood her son’s desire to avoid the situation and quickly took his small hand to the kitchen.
She didn’t want to deal with such nonsense, but she was eager to hear how her husband would confront the woman.
If she let her off lightly, she would surely return, and perhaps even become more insistent.
In the past few years, Meiniang had gritted her teeth and endured, especially when Ping’an was still young and she was a widow.
Now, things were different. She had a husband, and he was not a pushover.
So, there was no need to endure any longer.
“Changsheng, how can you speak to me like this? I’m your elder; we’re still relative, and I haven’t done anything wrong. I was going to stay at your cousin’s house for a few days, and now you’re married?”
“Aunt, I’m already twenty-six years old. Getting married is a normal matter.”
“Changsheng, I told you last time that I would help you find a match. I’ve already spoken to someone about it. What should I do now? If you can support a burden, why can’t you adopt a child with land? That child is your second cousin’s, poor thing, having lost his father young, and his mother has remarried. What do you want me to do?”
“Aunt, you should go home. First of all, I never agreed to your matchmaking, nor did I agree to adopt your grandson. His father is gone, but he has uncles and relatives who can take care of him; it’s not my responsibility to raise a distant relative’s child.
Also, this is my legitimate wife. The child is mine, Wan Changsheng’s eldest son. I don’t want to hear any more unkind words. We’re busy, so please go back if you have nothing else to say.”
The elderly woman was stunned, “Wan Changsheng, is this how you treat your elders? If word gets out, how will you be seen?”
Wan Changsheng’s voice grew colder. “It’s spring, Aunt. My family has only one mu of land, and we can’t grow enough vegetables to fill our stomachs. I really don’t have time to discuss useless matters with you. If you want to lecture a younger generation, do it at your home.”
He didn’t look at her again. How dare she insult his wife and child?
The elderly woman’s face turned pale. “Fine, you think you’re so clever. I’ll go tell the clan elder. Is this how you treat your elders?”
Wan Changsheng remained silent. He didn’t care about his reputation; his son hadn’t even started school yet, and if he waited until the exams, that would be ten years down the line.
This aunt, Wan Cuiying, was the daughter of his father’s cousin, and she was somewhat unreasonable. She had little contact with her family.
Now that she saw him building a house in the village, all alone, she wanted to foist her deceased son’s child, Wan Youtian, onto him.
This way, her nine-year-old grandson would have someone to care for him, and even if Wan Changsheng married and had children in the future, he would have to provide for him.
She was worried that once he married, he wouldn’t take care of her grandson and wanted to marry off her unmarried daughter to him.
What a ridiculous thought.
“Wife, don’t let this kind of person anger you. In the future, if you see her, don’t open the door. Let her take out her frustrations on me.”
Meiniang washed the wild vegetables, planning to make a wild vegetable and mushroom pancake for lunch. It would taste good with porridge.
She was pleased with her husband’s earlier actions and smiled at him. “You didn’t forget to bring back the herbs, did you? Go get them quickly. After lunch, we should prepare to dry them. Don’t worry, I don’t have the time to deal with people I don’t want to.”
Wan Changsheng smiled, “Wife, I’ll go collect the herbs. The villagers know I collect herbs, but I rarely go to the eastern mountain. There aren’t many people here, so it’s unlikely anyone will bother me. I’m afraid if my aunt sees my full basket of herbs, she might get greedy and come every day asking for me to teach her grandson.”
He wasn’t being selfish; he couldn’t even support his own family, so how could he be a good Samaritan?
Ping’an didn’t follow him. He watched as his mother fried the pancakes, blanching the tender wild vegetables before chopping them up and mixing them with some flour to make small cakes, frying them until golden brown, filling the air with a delicious aroma.
These pancakes were fragrant when fresh, but they didn’t taste as good once cooled.
Meiniang busied herself with three bowls of porridge. The men’s bowls were noticeably thicker, while hers was just enough to get by.
Ping’an felt a twinge of discomfort, thinking that there was no need for her to worry about these things anymore.
Ultimately, it came down to the family’s lack of wealth. There wasn’t much money or food. He dreamed of the day he made a fortune and filled the granary; then, would they still be reluctant to eat?
Sure enough, Wan Changsheng was displeased and scooped a generous portion of thick porridge for his wife. “Wife, there’s no need to be too frugal with the meals. I forgot to bring a rice bag this time, but next time, I will buy more grain and fill our cellar as much as possible.”
Meiniang smiled, “Fill it? What nonsense! Our family is only three people; one cellar would last us two to three years.”
Deep down, she felt very happy. When they were newlyweds, her late husband rarely treated her so kindly.
With her husband treating her this way, what more could she ask for?
Wan Changsheng turned to Ping’an. “Ping’an, this afternoon I’ll help your mother plant the vegetables, and after lunch, you can read. You don’t need to dry the herbs; feel free to use the writing supplies. I’ll find time to make you a sand table later.”
“Thank you, Father.” Ping’an remained his usual composed self.
His decades-long career as a physician in his previous life had made him indifferent to many things; he truly couldn’t emulate a child’s innocent playfulness.
Yet, Wan Changsheng found it very satisfying; his son was becoming increasingly comfortable calling him “Father.”
That was more important than anything else.
Boys aged six or seven can be a handful, but this child was polite and clean, seeming to be inherently different from the village children, and he evoked an inexplicable fondness in those who saw him.
“Father, why don’t we plant some herbs on our land? There aren’t any other families around.”
Wan Changsheng was taken aback. “I don’t know how to grow herbs.”
He had never considered that.
“Father, next time you go to Baicaotang, you could ask Doctor Sun about planting some high-value herbs and what to pay attention to. The ‘Baicao Collection’ has many herbs and their properties detailed in it. We can’t venture into the deep mountains, and the foothills will eventually run out of herbs. What will we do then?”
He realized that small game in traps was still very scarce, catching only one or two every few days, hardly worth any money.
As for planting herbs, he had plenty of theoretical knowledge.