Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 564 - 290: The Forced Method_1

"Ah, here I am." Lian Shouxin, who had been standing at the doorway somewhat distractedly, responded and walked into the room.

"Dad, roll the dough thinner," Lian Manman said with a smile.

Lady Zhang was kneading the dough and handed the rolling pin to Lian Shouxin without even looking up.

Lian Shouxin took the rolling pin and stood in front of the cutting board to start rolling out the dough.

"I thought you didn’t need me anymore," Lian Shouxin complained as he rolled out the dough. "Manman, how could you let your grandma strangle me? Is that how you treat your dad?"

Lian Manman chuckled without a word. She took the rolled-out dough from Lian Shouxin, scooped some filling onto it, and began busily forming the dumplings.

"Don’t blame Manman. If she hadn’t said so, who knows what her grandma would have ended up doing," Lady Zhang said as she continued to knead the dough. "Look at you, we’ve already divided the family and set up our own household. You don’t dare say a word in front of your mom. The truth is clear, it was Xiuxiu who bullied our Zhizhi. Your mom made a fuss, why couldn’t you stand up for us justly?"

Lian Shouxin hung his head low. Old Master Lian had just taken Lady Zhou away and, when he left, he didn’t even glance at him, while Lady Zhou did—but her look made him feel cold all over. Then, Lady Zhang and Lian Manman, along with the children, returned to the room, leaving Lian Shouxin alone outside.

At that moment, he indeed felt a sense of being discarded and abandoned. Only when Lian Manman called him in to roll dough and he returned to the company of his wife and children did he feel warmth and come back to life.

"How could I, how could I stand up for justice?" Lian Shouxin said feebly. "I was not disbelieving your mom’s words... You know her temper as well as I do. If I really dared to side with you, she surely would have never let it rest... Didn’t I defend you by saying that?"

"How could you really abandon me and let her strangle me..." Lian Shouxin grumbled.

"Dad, I apologize to you. It was my fault," said Lian Manman quickly, seeing his hurt expression and smiling.

"Enough with that. It was just words said in haste," Lady Zhang elbowed Lian Shouxin lightly.

With his dear little daughter apologizing so earnestly and his wife behaving like this, the small knot in Lian Shouxin’s heart dissolved instantly. He didn’t really blame Lian Manman for what she said; he just needed confirmation that his family cared about him. After all, the feeling of abandonment he had just experienced was truly unpleasant.

"Dad, you looked quite frightened when grandma dragged you away. You scared mom and us," Lian Manman sneakily glanced at Lian Shouxin who seemed to have recovered and spoke again.

"Indeed," said Lady Zhang, still shaken, "My dear husband, you scared me so much, my heart was thumping wildly. Remembering what happened to your Third Uncle that day, I’m still scared after the fact. My dear husband, next time your mom pressures you, no matter what, think of us. Even if you don’t think of me, you have to think of our children. If something happened to you, with all of them being so young, what would they do?"

"Yeah, dad, please don’t leave us behind," Xiao Qi said.

"You all think too far ahead. What could happen to me?" Lian Shouxin quickly reassured Lady Zhang and the children, saying, "Nothing’s wrong with me. I was just... just scaring your grandma."

"Really?" Lian Manman immediately asked.

"Really," Lian Shouxin nodded emphatically. Though truly, at that time, there was... a bit of unease. But now, asked by his family, he could only say so.

Lian Manman secretly chuckled. She didn’t believe for a second that Lian Shouxin was faking it back then. However, since Lian Shouxin was saying this, she might as well go along with it.

"Dad, you were so smart this time," Lian Manman praised with a slightly exaggerated tone.

"Yes, really?" Lian Shouxin felt a bit guilty.

"Absolutely," Lian Manman immediately said, "Dad, look, every time there’s an issue, if grandma is in the wrong but still forces us to do something, she always corners you with those words. And you never have a way out. After that time Third Uncle went mad, grandma calmed down for several days. In the future, if something like this happens again, dad, you should just act mad like you did today; then grandma won’t have any way to deal with you."

Since Lian Shouxin couldn’t directly confront Lady Zhou, playing mad seemed to be a good strategy.

"I think this might actually work," Lady Zhang got inspired by Lian Manman’s words, "My dear husband, look, your second brother... How come your mom can’t handle him..."

"Second Uncle can play dumb," Xiao Qi continued Lady Zhang’s thought.

Lian Zhizhi, Lian Manman, and Wu Lang all started to chuckle quietly.

"Right, just like that," Lady Zhang laughed as well and added, "No matter what his mom says, your second uncle listens in one ear and lets it out the other, never taking it to heart. Let his mom say whatever she wants, he just does what he needs to do. Look at how relaxed he lives, and how healthy he is. My dear husband, you should learn from him. Not for anything else, just for your own health, so you don’t suffer from keeping everything pent up... Third Brother might look better, but I can tell, he doesn’t have the same vigor as before. I’m afraid he may have lingering ailments, and that would affect him for life. My dear husband, please don’t end up like Third Brother."

"I can’t," said Lian Shouxin, and after hearing Lady Zhang and the children say so, he truly started contemplating the feasibility of pretending to be mad.

"Or, the next time your mom acts up, should I just let her strangle me?" Lian Shouxin thought for a moment and, not sure why, blurted out such a line.

Lian Manman was pleasantly surprised.

"Dad, if you could really do that, then grandma definitely won’t come to bully us anymore," Lian Manman said. As long as Lian Shouxin wasn’t swayed by Lady Zhou, Lady Zhou wouldn’t have the confidence to bully Lady Zhang and the others over and over again.

"But if grandma really gets worked up and does hurt dad, what... what would we do then?" Xiao Qi was still young and took this seriously, expressing his concern.

Lian Shouxin turned his face away and wiped a tear, touched by his youngest son’s concern for him.

"Xiao Qi, whatever you want, just take it out of my wages. Buy whatever you like!" Lian Shouxin said generously, moved by the moment.

"Dad, if Grandma tries to pinch you, I’ll definitely come to your rescue," Xiao Qi immediately said with stars in his eyes.

Everyone laughed again.

"Don’t take it as a joke, when there’s no other way, this really could work," Lady Zhang finally said.

"Hmm," Lian Shouxin nodded solemnly. He had to survive and couldn’t always let his wife and children suffer with him. Next time, if Lady Zhou pressured him again, he really would have to try these two methods.

The family joked and laughed as they finished wrapping all the chive-filled pancakes, which they then fried in the pan until they were fragrant and placed them on the table.

"...Should we send some to the Upper Room before we start eating?" Lady Zhang asked Lian Shouxin before anyone moved their chopsticks.

"What did the Upper Room have for dinner?"

"They had chive pancakes with meat too," Xiao Qi answered.

"Then forget it. If we’re all eating the same thing, there’s no need to send any," Lian Shouxin said.

If the Upper Room had eaten better than Old Master Lian’s family, it would have been natural to send some over. But since both families had the same meal, there was no need.

"Hmm," Lady Zhang agreed and called the children to the table for dinner.

...

The next day, the Lian Manman family began planting the forty-five acres of land to the north.

The first crop they planted was corn. The method of planting corn and sorghum was pretty similar, and simpler than planting peanuts. It only required plowing the ridges open with a plough stick, scattering in the corn seeds, and then covering the ridges back up. Corn seeds did not need to be sown at intervals like peanut seeds, but were scattered at random. The thinning would be done later when the seedlings emerged.

Because the corn seeds in hand were precious, they did not dare to waste any and were very careful when sowing. Due to the value of the corn, rows were left empty on both sides, and a distance was also left at both ends of the field.

"We’ll plant soybeans in the empty spaces when the time comes," Lian Shouxin said.

This was a theft-prevention measure, not an invention of Lian Shouxin. Generally, tenant farmers, when planting green-stemmed crops like sorghum or millet, would leave a patch of empty ground at the edge of the field to plant beans. This was quite effective in preventing people from stealing the green stems to feed livestock.

After three days of continuous planting, just as the Lian Manman family was leaving the field, it began to drizzle. No one went back to take shelter from the rain; on the contrary, everyone’s enthusiasm increased, as they wanted to take advantage of the rain and plant a few more acres.

"The crop yield is looking good this year!" Joy was written all over the faces of the seasoned farmers.

Although the rain made the fields muddy, it ensured the germination rate of the newly sown seeds and added security for the upcoming cultivation. The spring rain is as precious as oil, and that’s precisely what it means.

The Lian Manman family was naturally also very happy, even though the rain mixed with sweat soon soaked their shoulders and backs.

"Xiao Qi, go home and get the straw hats," Lian Shouxin told Xiao Qi to fetch the straw hats from home.

Getting wet wasn’t a big concern, but their heads needed to be properly protected. Besides, their family only had straw hats; raincoats, although not considered luxury items, were not something every household possessed.

"Okay," Xiao Qi agreed with a nod and ran out of the field.

"Slow down, watch the ground, don’t fall," Lady Zhang hurriedly instructed.

"Got it," Xiao Qi called back while already running away.

The drizzle gradually became denser, and Lian Manman raised her head and wiped her face. Across the field, several people were walking quickly, carrying plough sticks.

"Dad, look who that is, it looks like they’re heading to our field," Lian Manman said to Lian Shouxin.

"Huh?" Lian Shouxin was startled and followed the direction Lian Manman was pointing. His face relaxed from tension as he saw who it was.

"Third Brother Wu, what brings you to this part of the field?" Lian Shouxin called out with a smile to the approaching Wu Yugui.

"Uncle Four, we came to help you plant the field."

**...***

Here’s an update. It’s the end of the month, so I’m asking for your pink support (to be continued. If you like this work, welcome to support it with your recommendation and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)