NOVPUB
Chapter 683: Chapter 688: Sorting Out the Man_1
At nightfall, Qin Clan sat on the edge of the bed.
"It’s so late, aren’t you going to sleep?" Li Er looked at Qin Clan curiously; it was time to fetch water to wash feet, wasn’t it?
Qin Clan lazily lifted her eyelids, "You go fetch the water."
Li Er frowned and said, "Have you grown too big for your britches, Gua Po Niang?"
"Bigger than yours. All year round, you just tend to those few acres of land. How much silver coin do you scrape together? I earn a few hundred Wen every month in the Embroidery Room. What are you being so proud about?"
Qin Clan said proudly, sitting up straight.
When the subject of Silver came up, Li Er felt a wave of shame. After the grain was used to pay taxes and set aside for provisions, only a little more than one Tael of Silver was left.
Yet his daughter-in-law could earn Thirty Wen in just one day at the Embroidery Room.
Li Er touched his nose and obediently went to the kitchen to fetch the foot-washing water.
"The water’s fetched."
Li Er poured the water into a basin and then sat down to the side, waiting for his daughter-in-law to help him wash his feet.
This happened every evening, and he had grown accustomed to it.
Qin Clan shifted from the edge of the bed to a chair and ordered, "Take off my shoes and wash my feet." 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝒸ℴ𝓶
Li Er said grudgingly, "You wish. Which husband washes his wife’s feet? Wouldn’t I be the laughingstock if this got out?"
He just couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing!
"How many years have I washed yours, and now you can’t wash mine just once?"
Qin Clan retorted with annoyance.
Still, Li Er did not agree; he just couldn’t get over it internally.
"Ah, I’m getting old and unwanted. You used to say you’d listen to everything I said, yet now you can’t even wash my feet. Why is my life so hard?"
Qin Clan wiped away her tears, sobbing pitifully.
"Nonsense! Hasn’t our household always followed your word since you married in?"
Li Er said earnestly, and of course, he didn’t mind that his daughter-in-law was better at handling things, not objecting to going along with whatever she said.
But Qin Clan didn’t respond, only bowing her head and shedding tears.
"Hey, can’t you speak nicely, is that too much to ask?" Li Er was so anxious he was scratching his head.
Qin Clan turned her head away, "You don’t care about me anymore, what’s left to say? Leave me be!"
Seeing that his daughter-in-law was truly upset, Li Er gritted his teeth and squatted down: "Fine, I’ll wash them for you, okay? But this stays between us, don’t go blabbering outside."
"I know." Qin Clan dried her tears.
In fact, she thought to herself that she had barely managed to keep from bursting out laughing.
It turns out her man could do chores after all; he wasn’t half-bad at washing feet!
Li Er felt utterly humiliated, not once in all these years of marriage had he felt so lowly, but what he didn’t know was that this was not the end of it.
Just before bedtime, Qin Clan came up with another idea.
"Don’t wander off aimlessly tomorrow; get up early and make breakfast. During the day, tidy up the house with the Child, and don’t end up an embarrassment when people come visiting."
"I don’t even know how to do those things. You can take care of it when you come back in the evening."
"I come back exhausted every day, not wanting to move a muscle. Let me tell you, if you don’t do a good job, I’ll take my Silver Coin and go stay at my parents’ house for the New Year. They certainly wouldn’t mind having me."
Qin Clan turned her back, her tone still sharp.
Li Er replied dejectedly, "Fine, I’ll do it, okay?"
The Yue Family loved to skimp on their daughter’s earnings to support their son. If his wife took her earnings to her parental home, surely not a One Wen money would be spared.
With their eldest son soon to bring a wife into the family, how could they manage without any Silver?
Qin Clan’s lips curved upward; this was a tactic she and the others had concocted in the Embroidery Room.
Hmm... it worked rather well!
After all, she had achieved all she set out to do.
Tomorrow, she would share it with her sisters, suggesting they all try the same approach.
