Yan Qingqing glanced at Li Yueniang. Needless to say, the child was moved again. She hadn't wasted her time with these two adopted daughters these past two days. At least they had both grown much closer to her.
Yan Qingqing patted Li Yueniang's head and said, "When we have money in the future, Mom will buy you meat buns every day and make sure our Yueniang is well-fed and plump."
Upon hearing this, Li Yueniang grabbed Yan Qingqing's sleeve and called out "Mother" again in a tearful voice.
Yan Qingqing immediately got goosebumps and quickly said, "Alright, alright, let's hurry home, otherwise your sister-in-law will worry again."
Li Xin's mother, who was standing to the side, laughed and said, "I feel like Mother treats my sister-in-law better than my sister and me. People who don't know the situation might think that my sister-in-law is Mother's biological daughter."
Yan Qingqing hadn't realized it until Li Xinniang pointed it out, but now that she thought about it carefully, she realized that she was indeed close to Yuan Huiniang, probably because Yuan Huiniang was the first person she met after coming into this world.
However, Yan Qingqing would never admit this to her two adopted daughters, so she said with a smile as she walked, "I treat you two the same as I treat your sister-in-law. You two are my children, and your sister-in-law will be with me for many years to come."
Yan Qingqing felt that she should be a good mother-in-law and not be as mean and cruel to her daughter-in-law as Old Mrs. Li.
The mother and her two children walked home chatting and laughing. Yan Qingqing didn't really want to walk, but at this hour, there probably wouldn't be any more oxcarts going back to the village.
Li Xinniang and Li Yueniang were very excited, talking about their experiences in the city along the way.
It was completely dark when the three of them arrived home. Yan Qingqing had good eyesight and could see a group of people gathered in the dark outside her house from afar.
Just as Yan Qingqing's heart sank, thinking something terrible had happened, she heard Old Madam Li's harsh voice shout: "I knew Yan was a restless slut. Erniu has only been dead for a short time, and she couldn't stand the loneliness and ran away."
She ran away on her own, and then she kidnapped two of our Li family's granddaughters! My eldest granddaughter was engaged to that cripple. If you ask me, we should report her to the authorities and have her arrested.”
Yuan Huiniang, who was standing nearby, explained in a low voice, "Grandma, my mother and sister really just went to the city. They might have gotten lost. Grandpa Village Chief said he would send people to look for them first."
Old Mrs. Li persisted, "Shut up! Who gave you the right to speak here? What good did that jinx do to you that you're always defending her? I haven't even said anything to you yet! You've even given birth to a son, what right do you have to..."
The little girl in Yuan Huiniang's arms was so frightened that she cried loudly.
Seeing that Mrs. Li was becoming increasingly absurd, Old Master Li shouted, "Zhao, shut up!"
Turning to the village chief, he said, "We'll have to trouble you to send more people to search for the mountain. Although we've separated our families, the Yan family is still part of the Li family."
Upon hearing this, Li Kaishan quickly replied, "Brother, don't worry, I'll send someone to look for it right away."
One of the sharp-eyed people spotted Yan Qingqing and the others and immediately shouted, "Look! Isn't that Xiang Pingniang and the others back?"
Upon closer inspection, everyone realized it was indeed Yan Qingqing and her group.
Upon seeing Yan Qingqing, Yuan Huiniang quickly came up and said, "Mother, you're finally back."
Yan Qingqing patted Yuan Huiniang's hand and said, "I'm fine, I'm sorry to have worried you."
Yuan Huiniang shook her head and didn't say anything more. Yan Qingqing looked at the group of people standing at her door and said, "I'm really sorry to have worried everyone."
We were running low on food, so my two maids and I went to town to buy some. Because we left late and were willing to take the oxcart, we came back late.
Seeing that Xiang Pingniang had returned safely, the village chief said, "Alright, alright, now that Xiang Pingniang is back, everyone can disperse."
After the village chief finished speaking, he left first. Some people who were curious about what Yan Qingqing had bought in the city that made her return so late felt embarrassed to stay any longer, and after exchanging a few words, they all left one after another.
In the end, only the Li family members remained.
After a long day, Yan Qingqing was indeed quite tired and didn't have the energy to argue with Old Mrs. Li. She simply said, "If you care about me, I am very grateful. But if anyone comes to my house and starts cursing, I, Yan Qingqing, am not someone to be trifled with."
After speaking, she gave Old Mrs. Li a sharp look, and Old Mrs. Li felt a chill run down her spine. When did this daughter-in-law, whom she disliked the most, become so formidable?
Grandpa Li glared at Grandma Li, then slowly said, "It's good that you're back. If you have to go out in the future, try to come back as soon as possible. Everyone in the family is worried."
Yan Qingqing had heard what Old Master Li said, and considering that he had just spoken up for her, she didn't want to offend him. So she nodded to indicate that she understood.
After the Li family left, Yan Qingqing asked Yuan Huiniang to close the courtyard gate, and then took out the pastries from the basket by the dim firelight.
Niu Niu, who was still sobbing, finally stopped crying and smiled when she saw the pastries in Yan Qingqing's hand.
While stuffing pastries into her mouth, she said, "So delicious."
Yan Qingqing looked at Niu Niu with affection, then took another piece and handed it to Li Xiangkang, who was standing to the side, practically drooling.
Li Xiangkang took the pastries but didn't eat them. Instead, he stuffed them into Yan Qingqing's mouth and said, "Mother, I don't want to eat anything delicious. Please don't come back so late in the future, or Silang will be scared."
Yan Qingqing felt a pang of heartache when she saw Li Xiangkang's aggrieved expression. What a sensible child he was.
Yuan Huiniang quickly explained, "Mother, you came back so late, and with what Grandma said, Silang must have been terrified."
After listening, Yan Qingqing hugged Li Xiangkang and comforted him again. After a while, when Li Xiangkang's emotions had stabilized, Yan Qingqing took out all the things she had bought that day.
Looking at the table piled high with things, Yuan Huiniang asked in surprise, "Mother, how much did all this cost? Where did we get so much money?"
Before Yan Qingqing could answer, Li Yueniang replied, "Sister-in-law, you don't know how amazing Mother is. We made a lot of money from selling those woads, and then Mother took us shopping and we bought a lot of things."
There are also many delicious foods and fun things to do in the city. I even saw a sugar figurine maker…
Li Yueniang vividly recounted her experiences in the city, and whenever she mentioned something interesting, Li Xiangkang and Niu Niu would exclaim in surprise.
When Li Yueniang had finished speaking, Yan Qingqing interrupted her, saying, "Alright, it's getting late. Let's hurry up and get ready to go to bed. We can talk about it tomorrow."
After the younger children left, Yan Qingqing lay in bed and began to consider the birthday gift for Master Ding's elderly mother.
The birthday gift needs to be both novel and affordable for her.
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