Xiao Yi sniffed and rushed back to the house with his things.
In the dim courtyard, Old Qin was sitting at the door, mending his grandson's clothes in the moonlight.
Ho Hung and Su Ching were also sitting nearby, weaving baskets.
"Grandpa, aunt sent some buns."
The three adults sniffed the fragrance in a daze, their eyes gradually becoming moist, and their hearts filled with mixed feelings.
.....
Seeing the man helping to take out his foot washing water and pour it out, she couldn't help but joke, "If outsiders knew about this, you, a grown man, would still be at home getting foot washing water for your wife. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at to death~"
Song Guoliang raised his eyebrows expressionlessly, "What are you afraid of? My wife takes care of everything at home and outside. It's only natural for me to pour water for her feet."
“Tsk tsk tsk…”
Du Xiaoying didn't say it, but she felt sweet in her heart. This man was not like the men in the village. What kind of man would never go into the kitchen? When he came home, he would just stretch out his hands and wait for his wife to serve him.
"I always feel that He Zhiqing is a bit strange. Judging from his clothes and the bags he brought with him when he went to the countryside, he must come from a good family. Why is he still working so hard after going to the countryside? And he always runs towards the cowshed. I saw him talking to Xiaoyi today..."
Song Guoliang seemed to be lost in thought, and glanced in the direction of the cowshed inconspicuously.
Du Xiaoying recalled her memories of her previous life and racked her brains for a long time, but she had no impression of whether this He Zhiqing was alive or dead.
"Mom~"
Hearing her daughter's voice, she looked up and saw her hugging a pillow on the ground. "What's wrong, Xiaowu?"
Daya came over in her slippers, "Little Five, be good, let's go back to bed."
Wu Ya pouted her little mouth, "Xiao Wu wants to sleep with mom and dad~"
Du Xiaoying got off the kang and picked up her daughter. "Why did you think of sleeping with your parents when you were fine?"
Daya was helpless, "It's just Erya scaring Xiaowu."
"Oh, your second sister is so naughty. Let's ignore her and sleep with our parents today, okay?" Du Xiaoying winked at Erya who was peeking from behind.
Wu Ya held her mother tightly and only showed a triumphant smile on her little face after she got into bed.
.....
At noon the next day, when the sun was at its highest point, the river water was warm from the sun, and many women took advantage of this opportunity to wash clothes by the river.
As Du Xiaoying was carrying the big basin out of the yard, she ran into Wang Fenglai, Shuanzi's wife, who was also holding the big basin, and hurriedly called her to stop.
"Fenglai, wait a minute. I have something for you."
Wang Fenglai followed into the yard with a smile, "What's wrong, sister-in-law?"
Du Xiaoying took out a bag of brown sugar and handed it to Wang Fenglai, "Fenglai, you look so thin. Take this brown sugar back to replenish your body."
Although Wang Fenglai loved to take advantage of others, he was embarrassed and hurriedly declined. "Sister-in-law, no, I didn't even drink the brown sugar you gave me before. If I accept it again, my son Shuanzi will definitely scold me."
"No matter how thick-skinned I am or how much I love to take advantage of others, I can't do this, right? Sister-in-law, please stop embarrassing me. Take it back quickly and save it for Brother Guoliang and the children to drink slowly."
"What the hell? This is for your body. Look at you, you are already thin, and now it's the autumn harvest. You are so thin that you are almost unrecognizable." Du Xiaoying asked with a stern face, her brows furrowed so much that she could pinch a fly to death.
"From what you're saying, you didn't even drink the brown sugar I gave you earlier?"
Wang Fenglai smiled and touched her belly. "I'm fine. I can't waste something so precious."
"That Shuanzi kid doesn't care about you and drinks alone?"
"No, no, my Shuanzi isn't that kind of person." Wang Fenglai waved his hands. "I just thought I'd eat less and leave some for Shuanzi and the baby."
Du Xiaoying sighed helplessly and advised earnestly: "Silly boy, giving birth is like taking a step into the gates of hell for us women. You are so thin, if you are not careful, you may suffer from a difficult labor and heavy bleeding.
If something happens to you and Shuanzi and his son are left behind, what will happen to them? Even if you don’t think about yourself, you should think about the man and the children, right?
"Really?"
Seeing that Wang Fenglai's face was pale with fright, Du Xiaoying hurried into the house and made him a cup of brown sugar water.
.....
Du Xiaoying sighed. No matter what era it is, once a woman gets married and has children, her heart will be entirely on her man and child, and she can endure any hardship.
Song Guoliang pushed his bicycle to the eaves and asked, "Wife, why are you sighing when everything is fine?"
"Have you seen Shuanzi's wife recently?"
Song Guoliang shook his head. "I went home right after get off work. The villagers were so busy stockpiling firewood and other supplies lately that I barely even saw Shuanzi and Erniu."
"What's wrong?"
Du Xiaoying, "You didn't see Feng Lai. She's so thin she looks like a nobody. I'm afraid she'll have a difficult birth!"
"What?"
"I told you this because I wanted you to remind Shuanzi that Fenglai is obviously malnourished. If something really happens, it will be too late to regret. I couldn't bear to eat the brown sugar I gave her, so I thought of saving it for the man and the child."
Hearing this, Song Guoliang's face turned unhappy. He looked straight at his wife beside him, who looked worried, and spoke slowly.
"Back then, when you gave birth to several children, it was also very dangerous!"
Du Xiaoying paused, looked at the man beside her with guilt in his eyes, and recalled the situation when she gave birth to several children.
"When your eldest daughter was born, your parents disliked her because she was a girl and refused to even look at her. After your second, third, fourth, and fifth daughters were born, they didn't even want to look at them. They went to work in the fields the same day they gave birth.
Later, when Da Ya and Er Ya were older, they were able to help me take care of the little ones. Now I think about it, I don’t know how I managed to get through it.”
"Wife, I'm sorry for you. I couldn't come back to take care of you when you gave birth." Song Guoliang's heart ached, and he felt so distressed and guilty.
Du Xiaoying shook her head and said, "You are in the army. I don't blame you. I just hate the viciousness of the Song family."
"Back then, right after Erya was born and Daya was still little, your mother urged me to go to work, saying she would help me look after the children. But when I came home, only Daya was crying on the kang, and Erya was gone. I almost went crazy with worry.
Finally, I found Erya sobbing quietly from hunger in the pigpen. I couldn’t bear to think about it. In the past, there were not many pigs that ate children...”
Song Guoliang slammed his fist against the wall, his eyes bloodshot. "I've known since I was little that my parents favored my eldest brother, but I never thought they would be so cruel to their own children!"
....
Shuanzi looked at the depressed man and seemed to be back in his childhood. Brother Guoliang was beaten all over by Uncle Song and Aunt Song. Without saying a word, he pulled himself and Erniu to sit on the edge of the field to watch the stars in the sky.
"Brother Guoliang, I remember everything. It's me who is incompetent as a husband. I will stay longer to take care of my wife and children in the future."
Song Guoliang sighed, "Shuanzi, I don't want you to regret it later."
"Brother Guoliang, do you regret retiring from the army? No longer serving our country on the battlefield you loved so much."
"I'm 33 now. How many times can I be 33 in my life? For the rest of my life, I just want to take good care of you and make up for your sister-in-law and her daughter."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
