Chapter 8 Mom will definitely be with Xiao Yu...

Song Xinran's forehead vein throbbed, but she still held back and said, "No, I don't want to look for one."

Fang Cuimei slapped her thigh: "How can that be? You need a man to rely on, someone to make the decisions at home. There's a suitable one on my family's side. The young man is not even forty yet. His wife died and he has a child who is still in junior high school. His family is much better off than Chunjun's. He has three older sisters, and they just built a new house. Goodness, a three-story house with tiles on the outside. If you marry him, you'll be destined to live a life of luxury!"

Song Xinran's fist, which was pressed against her knee, hardened, and she smiled slightly: "Second Aunt, is Xiaolan twenty?"

Fang Cuimei was a little confused by the question. Xiao Lan was her third daughter, and she was indeed twenty years old this year, but how did this come up?

“Yes,” Fang Cuimei said.

Song Xinran smiled and said, "Xiao Lan works in another province, right? She only comes back for the Spring Festival every year. Second Aunt, why don't you introduce such a good man to Xiao Lan? If Xiao Lan marries him, she can enjoy a good life and won't have to go out to work. She can also take care of her parents by your side all the time. Isn't that better than introducing him to me?"

Fang Cuimei was speechless for a moment, and looking at Song Xinran's smiling face, she felt a little uneasy.

What's going on? Wasn't Song Xinran usually so quiet and unyielding? Why is she so sharp-tongued today?

Fang Cuimei brushed it off, then scolded playfully, "You're just doing this for your own good, Second Mother."

Song Xinran smiled and stood up: "I know, Second Aunt means well, but I have things to do today."

Fang Cuimei quickly pulled her aside: "Girl, don't rush. Your second aunt has some things she wants to tell you from the bottom of her heart. Xiao Yu is being raised at your sister's house now, right? Do you know what kind of life Xiao Yu usually lives at home?"

Song Xinran paused slightly.

Fang Cuimei said, "Your sister's son, Cai Yang, is very famous in our village. He instigates a group of kids every day, making a ruckus all over the place. I've seen them chasing after Xiao Yu several times. Usually, when Cai Yang buys snacks, Xiao Yu can only stand by and watch. Poor Xiao Yu, he lost his father at such a young age, and no one in his family stands up for him."

As she spoke, Fang Cuimei glanced at Song Xinran out of the corner of her eye and saw that she had lowered her head. Fang Cuimei smiled smugly to herself and continued, "It's inevitable that there will be some closeness and some distance between two children in a family. Daughter, it would be better if you let Xiao Yu be raised in a family without children."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "Look, it's just me and your second uncle at home, no kids at all. It's so quiet and lonely every night. Xiao Yu is a good boy, and I quite like him."

Song Xinran sneered inwardly, already fully aware of Fang Cuimei's purpose.

But she kept her head down, twisting her fingers, and said in a weak voice, "Xiao Yu is living quite well at my sister's place. My sister even prepared a separate room for him. Xiao Yang is about the same age as him, so he has a companion."

Fang Cuimei was still not giving up: "As the saying goes, you learn to be a good person by following good people. Xiao Yu is so well-behaved now, so we must not let Cai Yang lead him astray."

Song Xinran quickly waved her hand: "No, Xiao Yang is just a bit mischievous, but he's not a bad person."

Fang Cuimei's smile vanished completely. She stared at Song Xinran for a few seconds, and seeing that Song Xinran kept her head down and wouldn't look at her, she simply stood up and said, "Alright, since you've made up your mind, your second aunt won't try to persuade you any further. Sit down for a while, and I'll go cook."

Fang Cuimei walked towards the dark kitchen, her open rubber shoes stepping on the ground, each step leaving a puddle of chicken droppings, her movements incredibly precise.

Song Xinran turned her head and took Song Yu's hand: "Xiao Yu, let's go back."

Song Yu nodded. He also wanted to go back. Although he couldn't understand everything his second grandmother said, he knew that she was saying bad things about his younger brother Xiao Yang and his aunt.

Song Yu was not very happy. Although Xiao Yang sometimes liked to take his things, his aunt was still very kind. When his uncle and Xiao Yang were not at home, she would give him cookies to eat and would also help him mend his torn clothes.

Before they could even stand up, Fang Cuimei, who had just entered the kitchen, returned and poked her head in, saying to them, "Oh dear, girl, I saw that we're out of rice. It's so late today, so I won't keep you here. I don't want you to have to go back in the dark. Come to my second aunt's house for dinner next time you come back."

Fang Cuimei cursed inwardly. He didn't want the matchmaker she introduced, nor would he let her raise his child so she could earn that four hundred yuan, and he still wanted to stay at her house for dinner. There was no such thing as a free lunch!

Song Xinran chuckled inwardly and stood up: "Alright, then we'll be going now, Second Sister."

*

After Song Xinran took Song Yu back to her hometown, she packed for a while and decided on some things that she could take with her when she went to town later:

Ten porcelain bowls, five stainless steel basins, a pot, a spatula, an enamel basin, and several enamel cups for drinking water...

Finally, there was a new cotton quilt weighing six pounds, which was part of the original owner's dowry. The original owner and her husband cherished it and hadn't used it much, intending to give it to Song Yu when he grew up.

After calculating the costs, Song Xinran thought that she could save a lot of money this time. She was happy and locked the door before leaving.

Before leaving, she glanced at the scattered corn stalks but ignored them.

When the two arrived at Song Xinwen's house, it was just getting dark.

Song Xinwen waited for them at the door: "I was thinking of bringing a flashlight to pick you up since you hadn't come back yet."

"Thank you, sis. I made sure I was back by the right time, so I won't be in the dark," Song Xinran continued. "I want to sleep with Xiao Yu tonight."

Song Xinwen nodded: "Of course. I thought of all this since you're finally coming back to stay one night. I just changed your blankets because Xiao Yu's was too narrow."

Song Xinran: "Thank you, sister."

Song Xinwen waved her hand: "You're too kind. There's no need for thanks between sisters."

Song Xinwen gave Song Xinran a new towel and a new enamel mug for her to wash up: "There's water boiling in the aluminum pot, you can use it to take a shower. Your brother-in-law carried your things to the inner room for you, he didn't touch anything. If you want to take them to Xiao Yu's room, ask your brother-in-law to help you carry them."

Song Xinran agreed.

Song Xinwen gave her a few more scattered instructions, and just as he was about to bring up the topic of resigning from the glass factory again, Song Xinran quickly made an excuse to slip away: "Sister, I'm going to wash up first. I'm so tired after coming back today, I want to rest early."

Song Xinwen: "Go."

Song Xinran was about to take a shower, but there was no private bathroom in the house, so everyone was taking showers in the toilet.

In rural areas, toilets are often placed next to pigsties, with the pigsties on either side and the toilet in the middle. Sometimes you have to be careful when using the toilet, because a pig might just wriggle out.

Song Xinran couldn't make do with it, and finally saw that there was a toilet on the second floor. Although it was simple, at least there were no livestock and it was relatively clean, so she went to the trouble of carrying water up to the second floor to wash.

After washing, she was going to give Song Yu a bath, but Song Yu had already finished washing, was wearing clean clothes, her hair was slightly damp at the ends, her eyes were dark, and she sat obediently on the bed: "Auntie gave me a bath."

His voice sounded soft and clear.

Song Xinran then knew that she had taken a shower in the first-floor restroom. She asked, "Isn't Xiao Yu afraid of pigs?"

Song Yu's shoulders trembled. He wanted to say that he wasn't afraid, but he was actually a little scared.

He whispered, "Only a little bit."

Song Xinran said, "Then next time Mom will take you to the city to wash."

Song Yu looked up at her with her little face: "Mommy and me?"

Song Xinran smiled and said, "Yes, Mom will definitely stay with Xiao Yu."

Song Yu blinked, remained silent for several seconds, and then suddenly uttered in a very soft voice, "I don't want new clothes or candy anymore."

His voice was very low, and Song Xinran didn't hear him clearly: "What did Xiao Yu say?"

Song Yu refused to speak. He climbed onto the bed, lifted the covers, lay down beside her, taking up a small space, clutching the covers with both hands, and staring at her expectantly.

Song Xinran smiled and said, "Xiao Yu will sleep with her mother tonight."

The bed is 1.35 meters wide, more than enough for an adult and a child to lie down in. The newly changed quilt is even wider, but the cotton is already stiff. It's not cold now that the temperature is not low.

Song Xinran doesn't like to move when she sleeps; she lies quietly on her back, and Song Yu also sleeps obediently.

Song Xinran was having trouble sleeping. She had come to a strange world and was sleeping in an unfamiliar place. The bed was hard, and the mattress under the sheets was made of dry straw, which smelled of dried grass.

She was thinking about what to do tomorrow. First, she would go to town to look at rental properties; second, she would go to the market to see if she had any ingredients to make something to sell at a stall; and finally, she would consider which locations would be convenient for setting up a stall...

Just then, the other side of the bed moved slightly, and a small body carefully moved toward her.

Song Xinran opened her eyes and looked into the darkness. Song Yu was trying to get close to her but didn't want to be discovered, so he kept his eyes closed.

Finally, he snuggled close to her, his little hand quietly grasping her arm, his head tilting slightly, his breathing gradually calming down.

Song Xinran's lips curved into a smile, but she didn't move, pretending that she was already asleep.

As a result, she easily fell asleep.

*

Song Xinran was awakened by a commotion downstairs, with the sound of people running and a man and woman arguing.

She opened her eyes and was about to get up when someone gently tugged at her arm.

She turned on the light and saw Song Yu grabbing her hand, his eyes wide open, looking somewhat panicked: "Aunt and Uncle are arguing."

Song Xinran patted his head and took his hand, saying, "It's okay, let's go take a look."

After thinking for a moment, Song Yu obediently hummed in agreement. However, as she was about to leave the room, she leaned close to Song Xinran and whispered, "Aunt and Uncle are arguing fiercely. Let's not talk."

Song Xinran was speechless for a moment, then said softly, "Okay."

As soon as Song Xinran got downstairs, she saw Cai Yang, the chubby boy who had been so lively and energetic that afternoon, now lying on the cool couch, groaning and moaning.

Song Xinwen and Cai Yongde were extremely anxious. Song Xinwen had only put on half of his clothes as he hurriedly went to fetch water, while Cai Yongde frowned deeply: "Hurry up, it's taking so long to fetch water!"

Song Xinwen rushed over quickly, carrying an enamel mug: "What's the rush? Can't you do it yourself?!"

Song Xinran stood at the top of the stairs and asked, "Sister, brother-in-law, what happened to Xiaoyang?"

As soon as Cai Yang, who was lying on the cool couch, heard her voice, he immediately opened his eyes. His eyes were red and his face was covered in snot. He pointed at her and shouted, "It's all Aunt's fault! Aunt poisoned me!"

A note from the author: