Chapter 81: Chapter 80: Competing for Favor

Hongji had just started listening about earning money, and a joyful smile appeared on his face. His eyes looked at Mrs. Li and the three children as he spoke, “The children already work so hard at home, what will happen to the three children and the younger kids if I am not there?”

“Housekeeper, look at our family situation, I’m afraid I can’t handle the job you’ve given me. If I follow you to the factory, the pay is a bit more, but there’s no one to look after the kids at home.”

“This… your situation is indeed special!” The housekeeper listened to Hongji’s words and also felt the concerns he voiced.

“We have us at home,” Hongji’s father said while exhaling smoke from his bamboo pipe.

“It still won’t do. There are fields at home, mainly Mrs. Li has gone to be a wet nurse, and I am accustomed to caring for the children. I am not comfortable leaving them; it’s about to get cold, what if they freeze outside?”

These days, Hongji, playing both the role of father and mother, felt even closer to his daughters. He knew how the family treated the children when left at home; they might fare slightly better with him around. What if they were mistreated when he wasn’t there?

Hongji thought even more about his youngest daughter. Such a small child, if not taken proper care of, the consequences were unimaginable. He was even more worried about his family, what to do if they discovered his little daughter’s secret?

Hongji was very clear in his mind, earning more money outside couldn’t be more important than protecting his little daughter.

Mrs. Li, the mother, didn’t even know her daughter’s secret; Hongji chose to not tell her for the time being.

Hongji’s father felt it was a pity not to earn more money; his son made a valid point. He knew his wife’s character, and besides, over the years, their family hadn’t been warm to these girls.

It was indeed not appropriate for the son to go out to work and leave the children at home.

Xiu Zhi, listening to the housekeeper and Mrs. Li’s husband chatting, felt anxious fearing the housekeeper might introduce a business opportunity to this farmer, allowing him to earn more money, which would mean better days for Mrs. Li; how could this be permitted?

She quietly chatted with the maid Mei Zhi.

wuxiaworld.site

Mrs. Li, not paying attention to what her husband and the housekeeper were saying, took her daughters to wash their hands, then holding their hands, they entered the room.

During the process of washing her daughters’ hands, Mrs. Li cleaned their dirty little hands and also their mud-streaked faces, noticing the girls’ complexions had become whiter and rosier after the farming season, and their hair was no longer dry and yellow but shiny and black.

She felt somewhat consoled that the children were looking healthier, possibly due to better meals at home, making her feel less ashamed and pained as a mother.

“Mom, who is this?”

Daya saw a little boy in the room, sitting with two sisters, sharing some food.

Daya, Er Ya, and Sanya, at that moment, couldn’t resist swallowing their saliva at the sight of candy and pastries, feeling hungry.

“Daughters, this is the young Master of the family where mom works, and he said he wanted to come and see you,” Mrs. Li responded to her elder daughter, her gaze resting on the children, a maternal glow in her eyes.

“Miss, my name is Tang Shunyan. I heard you guys do not have names yet, I’ll give you names when I grow up.”

Tang Shunyan said grinning, at that moment he remembered the gifts the wet nurse brought back.

“You don’t need to give us names, we have names now,” Sanya said to Tang Shunyan, very wary of him, feeling that this boy had taken their mother away.

“The names you are talking about are Daya, Er Ya, Sanya? And this little sister Siya, luckily the youngest sister has a name, Ye Shiqi.”

Tang Shunyan felt that Sanya’s refusal to let him choose a name was a sign of disrespect, as if she thought he was uneducated.

“Hmph, we don’t like you…” Er Ya joined in, her eyes also hostile towards Tang Shunyan.

“Wet nurse, bring in the gifts I want to give to my elder sisters and younger sisters. I want to give them gifts to make them like me,” Tang Shunyan, despite his young age, had noticed that the three sisters who had just arrived didn’t like him.

“Young Master, those gifts are too valuable, the young Ladies can’t accept them.”

Mrs. Li, who had been following and guarding at the door, noticed Jufeng, maids Mei Zhi, and Xiu Zhi glaring at her.

“Mrs. Li, mind yourself, don’t mess things up. If the young madam blames us, you won’t be able to bear it,” Xiu Zhi finally couldn’t resist threatening her.

“Young Master, Xiu Zhi is right. Those are gifts from your elders, you can’t give them to your sisters,” Mrs. Li was also worried about punishment.

“Get away from me, I want my wet nurse to handle this. What are you blabbering about?” Tang Shunyan’s temper flared, feeling that Xiu Zhi was being too meddlesome and that he, as the young master, had no freedom at all.

Xiu Zhi, scolded by the young master, was annoyed and pouted, glowering even more at Mrs. Li.

Ye Shiqi looked at the people Tang Shunyan had brought with him. It seemed her mother had been bullied in the Tang Family, but fortunately, Tang Shunyan still stood up for his mother.

No wonder her mother didn’t come back last month to visit; definitely, these people had been creating obstacles, and her mother must have suffered a lot while working in the Tang Family.

Ye Shiqi’s eyes darted around, and when no one was paying attention, she imagined out the animal toys her father made for her every night, which were wrapped in their quilts.

“Mmm mmm mmm,” Ye Shiqi tugged at Tang Shunyan’s hand, then dug out the toys one by one from the quilt.

“Wow, is that a panda? Monkey, lion, tiger, frog, wow, so many enlightenments.”

Having seen some animal images in a picture book, Tang Shunyan could name these animals.

He liked these wooden toys, especially one of the Heavenly Gods with a majestic armor, holding a long saber in his hand.

“Uh… Wuwa, where did these toys come from?” Mrs. Li, seeing Wuwa take out so many toys, looked surprised. She couldn’t believe her husband would buy toys for the children to play with and guessed that they were made by her husband.

“Mom, these are the toys dad made for Qing. I didn’t know where sister had put them; turns out they were in the quilt,” Siwa was delighted to see the toys and started playing with them.

“Mom, dad can make toys, and he has made a lot of money for the family. Talk to dad, tell him we have enough money now, he doesn’t need to work as a wet nurse anymore,”

Upon hearing Siwa’s words, Daya expressed the thoughts her sisters had for the past two or three months, telling how hard it was to have a mother at home, and even harder without her.

“No, that’s my wet nurse, she needs to stay by my side,” Tang Shunyan, holding a toy in one hand and clinging to one of Mrs. Li’s arms, wanted to compete with his sisters for affection.

“You’re a bad guy, stealing my mom,” Sanya cried, pointing at Tang Shunyan and accusing him.

“Mrs. Li, control your daughters, how can they insult the young Master? If you don’t want to work, you don’t have to,” Jufeng said angrily, glaring at Mrs. Li.

“You’re also a bad person, you definitely bully my mom all the time,” Daya couldn’t bear to see her mother bullied.

“Lack of upbringing, is this how you teach your children, Mrs. Li?” maid Mei Zhi accused, pointing a finger at Mrs. Li with her right hand.