As soon as Yang Yuexiang arrived, she joined the old ladies' gossip circle.
She was just Zhao Jingyu's aunt, but the old ladies didn't hide anything from her and talked about the accident at sea in front of her without any reservations. They all believed that Zhao Jingyu would not be coming back.
The topic of discussion in the courtyard recently has been this accident. Even the news has reported on the storm at sea, calling it a once-in-fifty-year storm that was exceptionally fierce.
Everyone could tell from that that the chances of survival were slim.
Despite saying that, Wang Cuifen specifically instructed Yang Yuexiang: "Just keep this to yourself, don't go back and tell them. The two of them, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, one is old and the other is pregnant, they can't handle this blow."
These days, she has been avoiding her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and dares not speak to them.
Although they will find out sooner or later, we can keep it a secret for as long as possible.
"I understand." Yang Yuexiang's mind was also in turmoil. She was even somewhat relieved that she hadn't let Wu Huihui marry into the family. Zhao Jingyu's salary was quite high, but the risks were also quite high.
No one wants to see their daughter widowed at such a young age.
Especially Xu Qingning, who is pregnant...
“If your younger sister knew about this, she definitely wouldn’t be able to handle it.” Zhang Guoshi had no impression of Yang Yuelan, only sympathy for her. She reminded Yang Yuexiang, “As the older sister, you have to think about your younger sister. Quickly call Zhao Jingyu’s father over. After something like this happened, the family needs a pillar of support.”
A single sentence reminded Yang Yuexiang: "Yes, I'll call him over."
Yang Yuexiang went back and told Yang Yuelan that she had something to do at home and wouldn't be staying any longer. She packed up and left.
Yang Yuelan didn't try to keep her, only telling her to come back when she had time.
Last night, Yang Yuexiang talked to her all night about all sorts of trivial things at home, and she was getting annoyed just listening to it.
Xu Qingning was drawing in the room when she heard Yang Yuexiang say she was leaving. She didn't even look up; Yang Yuexiang should have left long ago.
Yang Yuexiang went directly from the Ocean Shipping Company's residential compound to the Langyatai Winery, found Wu Huihui, and asked her to send a telegram to Zhao Futang: "Your uncle and his family are in the countryside, they definitely don't know about this, we need to get them to come over as soon as possible."
"Mom, it's their family matter, you shouldn't interfere." Wu Huihui said impatiently, "Xu Qingning is such a capable person, she's not worried, why should we be?"
"Now is not the time to be stubborn. Listen to me, send a telegram to Nanping Township right away." Yang Yuexiang knew that Wu Huihui did not like Xu Qingning, so she advised her, "You don't need to care about Xu Qingning's attitude. If something happens to your cousin, she can just pack up and remarry. We and your aunt will still be family. This kind of thing should be handled by family members. Why are you arguing with an outsider?"
Wu Huihui thought about it and agreed.
He then sent a telegram to Nanping Township, asking Zhao Futang to come to the city immediately.
Zhao Futang had already received a call from Liu Dawei, who said that he had secured a job opening and that they should prepare to come to the city to work.
According to the original plan, he gave the spot to his eldest brother, Zhao Jingwen.
Although Zhao Jingwu and Zhou Chunyan had complaints, there was nothing they could do. There were too many monks and not enough porridge, so they could only arrange for them one by one.
He received Wu Huihui's telegram and was puzzled. Could something have happened at home?
Thinking about it, that doesn't make sense. If there was something at home, Liu Dawei wouldn't have kept it from him.
Zhao Jingwen and Wu Xiufang were very excited. They had been packing their luggage at home for the past two days. The couple had agreed that once Zhao Jingwen settled down in the city, she and their child would go with him.
Upon hearing that Wu Huihui had sent a telegram, Wu Xiufang assumed it was about work and urged the father and son to go to the city ahead of time: "There's nothing going on at home right now, so you can go two days in advance. It's not like you don't have a place to stay."
“Okay, let’s go tomorrow.” Zhao Futang felt a little uneasy.
Wu Huihui never sent them a telegram; it was either Yang Yuexiang's or Yang Yuelan's doing.
They wouldn't send a telegram unless it was something extremely important.
After Yang Yuexiang left, Xu Qingning felt that the whole house was finally quiet. She hoped that her strange relatives would stop coming, or she would really kick them out.
She and her mother-in-law lived a very comfortable life, and no one wanted to disturb their leisurely time.
At night, Xu Qingning took her quilt and went to Yang Yuelan's kang (heated brick bed): "Mom, I want to talk to you."
"Come up quickly." Yang Yuelan was knitting woolen pants. Xu Qingning had bought her the yarn for a sweater, but she couldn't bear to wear it herself. Instead, she knitted woolen pants for Zhao Jingyu, hoping that her son could come back soon and wear his woolen pants.
"Mom, Jingyu is fine, don't worry too much. I can see your eyes are all red from staying up all night." Xu Qingning looked at the woolen pants in her hand and comforted her. "I've been having dreams these past two days. I dream that he said they were safe and sound, and that he would call back after they returned to port and reached shore."
There have been rumors circulating outside these past few days, I wonder how far they've gone.
Even though they don't go out, they can still sense it.
“I know…” Yang Yuelan wiped her eyes and forced a smile, “I also dreamed that he was alright. I just feel sorry for him suffering so much outside…”
She longed to find a secluded place and have a good cry.
But in front of her daughter-in-law, she could only force a smile.
“Mom, believe me, he’s really okay.” Xu Qingning understood Yang Yuelan’s feelings. “He told me before that they often encounter storms at sea. Small storms can keep them tossed around for a day or two, while big storms can take longer. But they are experienced, and there are lifeboats and life jackets on board, so they can save themselves when they encounter storms.”
Zhao Jingyu did mention it to her, but he didn't go into such detail.
She just didn't want her mother-in-law to suffer day and night.
"That's good." Yang Yuelan seemed to hear a glimmer of hope, and she gripped the woolen trousers tightly in her hands. "Although Jingyu grew up in the Northwest, he can swim, and he swims very well. If there are lifeboats and life jackets, then there will be no problem at all."
“That’s why I said he’ll definitely be fine!” Xu Qingning said with a relaxed expression. “Don’t listen to what others are saying; they don’t know these things.”
Zhao Jingyu is positioned as a villainous male supporting character in the book.
The villains are the counterparts to the male and female protagonists.
If the villains are killed off early, how will the plot develop?
“Yes, they just talk nonsense. Ocean Shipping Company is a legitimate company. They've thought of everything we can think of.” Yang Yuelan’s mood improved a bit, and she started knitting woolen pants again. “If something really happened, Yaqiang and Dawei would have known long ago.”
"So Mom, for my sake and the baby's, you have to take good care of yourself." Xu Qingning looked at her with worried eyes. "What will I do if you don't get enough rest and get sick!"
"I'm fine, I understand." Yang Yuelan immediately put away the woolen pants and stopped knitting. "Let's go to bed early."
Yes, she can't fall down.
She also has her daughter-in-law and unborn grandson to take care of.
"Mom, lie down, I'll massage your head, you'll fall asleep soon." Xu Qingning was genuinely worried that Yang Yuelan wouldn't be able to sleep; once a person doesn't sleep, their body simply can't take it.
"No need, you should rest!" Yang Yuelan wasn't used to having her daughter-in-law do these things for her.
Xu Qingning insisted that she lie down, gently pressing her acupoints, and said in a tender tone, "Mom, close your eyes and imagine that you are on a boat now. Can you see the sea?"
She doesn't give massages, but her grandmother does.
When she was little, she couldn't sleep, and her grandmother would often massage her head like this, talking to her while massaging it, and she would fall asleep while talking.
"I see it." Yang Yuelan really saw the sea, bright and boundless.
"Jingyu is on this ship, have you seen him?" Xu Qingning asked again. Yang Yuelan tried hard to recall her son and truthfully replied, "I haven't seen him."
"You'll see in a little while." Xu Qingning continued to massage her, and soon Yang Yuelan fell asleep and started snoring.
Seeing that her mother-in-law was asleep, Xu Qingning took her blanket and went back to her own room.
She can't sleep at night, so she can sleep during the day.
Yang Yuelan couldn't sleep at night and didn't sleep during the day either. If she kept going like this, she would really fall ill.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law slept until after 10 a.m., which was unusual for them, and were still woken up by the knocking on the door.
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