Chapter 29: She Also Has a Son

“No,” Hu Yao said in a sullen tone, wanting to swat his hand away. But he saw through her intentions, his eyes flashing with a warning.

It was as if he was telling her to know her place.

Hu Yao pursed her lips, withdrawing her hand. “I’ll eat.”

Jiang Han was satisfied. He immediately opened a watermelon and personally fed her.

“Open your mouth.”

“Why are you taking such small bites?”

“It’s getting dark.”

“…”

He was in a good mood and even found her a spoon to feed her with.

Jiang Xiaochao watched them with blinking eyes, munching on a small piece of watermelon himself.

This meal was indeed cooked by Jiang Han. He roasted all the leftover beef at home, simply sprinkled with salt. It tasted pretty good.

The next day, Hu Yao woke up and her neck didn’t hurt as much. There were still many watermelons in the field. The weather was hot, so she and Jiang Xiaochao went to pick a few and cut them up to share with the villagers picking tea.

It was unclear who spread the word about Lin Zhaodi’s wages being two yuan and two jiao. Gradually, everyone knew that Li Zhen and Liu Jie were deducting their wages.

That extra one yuan and two jiao was more than half of their daily wages.

Everyone felt increasingly uncomfortable. They were surprised by Jiang Han’s generosity, but they also grew to despise Li Zhen and Liu Jie, unable to contain their anger and went to confront them.

Li Zhen was very arrogant, stating that she was only giving them that much, and if they couldn’t handle it, they could leave. There were plenty of people willing to work for one yuan a day. If they had any complaints, they could go talk to Jiang Han.

One yuan a day was not a small amount, but what made everyone feel unbalanced was that they were clearly given two yuan and two jiao. Li Zhen and Liu Jie could take a cut, but it was outrageous to take so much. It was simply unfair!

The argument escalated, and everyone became furious. They really did go to find Jiang Han.

Li Zhen was both anxious and impatient. She argued with them for a long time, secretly blaming Lin Zhaodi and Hu Yao.

It was all because of them that this mess happened.

Liu Jie had gone out to find people, leaving Li Zhen alone. The crowd surrounded her because of the wages, their expressions growing fierce, almost as if they were about to attack. She was a woman alone, and she couldn’t help but feel afraid.

Hu Yao happened to see this scene while delivering watermelons.

When everyone saw her, they started talking to her about the matter.

With Hu Yao present, they didn’t need to go directly to Jiang Han.

“Li Zhen said she’s in charge of giving everyone their wages, but I can’t control that. However, I will talk to Jiang Han. Everyone, calm down,” Hu Yao said softly, a gentle smile on her face.

Her kind and friendly attitude, along with the watermelons she brought for them, somewhat calmed their agitation. Li Zhen, on the other hand, practically gritted her teeth.

“Jiang Han’s wife is a kind soul. If she had been here earlier, Jiang Han wouldn’t have entrusted these matters to outsiders!”

“That’s right! With such a big face, she still dares to say she’s good friends with people. She’s deceiving both sides! This couple isn’t good at all!”

“If only we had listened to the people who said Hu Yao was a good girl back then. She’s a good fortune to marry Jiang Han. Now Jiang Han has the means.”

“That bitch Li Zhen really thinks she’s the one in charge. She always puts on that dead face. What’s she even doing? It’s not her who’s giving us our wages. It’s deserved that she can’t give birth. She’s done so many bad things! She doesn’t even know how to be a human being. It’s a wonder she can even give birth! Hu Yao hasn’t said anything, and she’s still kind to us. She’s so nice!”

“It’s no wonder Jiang Han loves her. A wife like that is sure to be loved.”

“…”

After Hu Yao returned with the watermelons, everyone continued to chatter, mostly criticizing Li Zhen, interspersed with praise for Hu Yao in comparison.

Jiang Han’s reputation wasn’t good, but he was their benefactor, so praising his wife was essentially praising him.

They didn’t hold back their words in front of Li Zhen. Her face turned from green to white, then white to green again.

With their faces now torn, the tea picking wouldn’t last long. To avoid making things even worse, Li Zhen gritted her teeth and gave them two yuan a day.

She refused to make up for the previous deductions.

This, however, was enough to quell their anger.

Knowing that Li Zhen had raised their wages, Hu Yao didn’t tell Jiang Han.

She had actually deliberately said it in front of Li Zhen. Li Zhen and the others could easily find out how much they were being paid. Hu Yao thought that Jiang Han couldn’t possibly not know. He had allowed Liu Jie and the others to do it.

Even if she told him, why would he listen to her?

Hu Yao knew that her words didn’t hold as much weight as others thought.

They called it a husband-wife relationship, but she was just someone he bought from Hu Guifen with money. He had the power over her, able to summon her at will.

Thinking about this, Hu Yao lowered her eyes, lost in thought.

“Mama, are you done yet?”

Jiang Xiaochao’s cheerful little voice pulled her back to reality.

Hu Yao raised her eyes, a smile appearing on her face. “It’s done. Take your time drinking, Xiaochao.”

Looking at his delicate and handsome little face, her heart softened.

She still had him.

A very good and protective son.

“What do you want to eat later, Xiaochao?” She spoke to him in a gentle voice, tidying up the house again.

Now that she was better, she didn’t need Lin Zhaodi to help with these small tasks. She could do them herself and even make them neater.

Both her husband and son were a bit messy. Jiang Xiaochao, perhaps learning from Jiang Han, would throw his clothes around carelessly. She had to pick them up for them.

Besides, there were many other small things that needed to be taken care of.

However, Jiang Xiaochao would watch Hu Yao busy herself and would obediently correct these bad habits. He didn’t even need Hu Yao to tell him.

On the contrary, his father seemed to take it for granted.

He seemed to quite enjoy watching Hu Yao do these things for him.

Jiang Han had gone out with Song Si Kai early in the morning and didn’t come back for lunch. He never reported his schedule to Hu Yao, and she didn’t know if he would be back, so she still made his meal.

He didn’t come back, naturally leaving a lot of food.

When he came back in the evening and saw Hu Yao eating leftovers from lunch, he took her bowl and exchanged it with his.

Hu Yao paused.

“What are you staring at me for? Eat yours.” Jiang Han naturally started eating.

“I’ve eaten from it.” Hu Yao’s hand holding the chopsticks didn’t move.

“You didn’t eat much saliva anyway, what are you being fussy about?” Jiang Han glanced at her.

“…”

It was true, he always bit her lips and had snatched her watermelon before, what was there to fuss about?

Hu Yao lowered her head and continued eating.

Jiang Xiaochao didn’t notice their actions. He was the most enthusiastic eater, his head was almost buried in the bowl, he was so focused that he didn’t even notice the white rice stuck to his cheek when he lifted his little face.

He was oblivious, chewing with his mouth full.