"Cry, cry, cry! Crying like this all day long will even ruin your luck!"
As they passed through the village, A-Mian heard an old woman cursing coming from the Zhang family's house.
There were also the loud cries of babies.
"How unlucky I was to marry a wife like you! You gave birth to a boy, bringing bad luck to my son. Otherwise, how could he have missed the exam by just one place?! I should have never believed your family's nonsense and had my son marry A-Mian instead!"
Ah Mian immediately felt the large hand holding hers tighten.
Looking up at Meng Chijian again, his face was darker than charcoal at the bottom of a pot.
Actually, one night last year, A-Mian had already confessed everything to him honestly. That night, A-Mian was the one who asked first, and she made Meng Chijian tell her in detail whether he had ever had other women in his heart before.
Meng Chijian found that her body was as soft as cotton, but her mouth was very stubborn, and her tone was full of threats: "If you dare not say it, you will be slapped; if you say it, you will be slapped ten times."
However, he didn't actually have one. The main reason was that when he was a teenager, he took his second brother's place and went to serve in the army with his eldest brother (which is why the blacksmith shop was passed down to Meng Chijian instead of Meng Er when the family divided the property). After returning, he was depressed and his relationship with his family and villagers reached a freezing point. Even his youngest sister was afraid to talk to him.
Rumors of his brothers killing each other were rampant in the village. Several years passed, and Meng's mother was so heartbroken that she threatened suicide to force Meng San to get married.
This is the last resort; they hope to find someone who can bring back the soul of her youngest son.
After that, he met Ah Mian, who was the first young woman he came into contact with.
Amian asked suspiciously, "When everyone in the barracks talked about these things, didn't you think about them?"
"Back then, I was single-mindedly focused on making great contributions, bringing honor to my ancestors, and even dreaming of becoming a general. As the saying goes, 'A great reward will surely bring forth brave men,' but later... I discovered that we weren't brave men, just some kind of firewood. The higher-ups would just casually take the firewood and burn it."
After A-Mian finished asking her question, she was suddenly turned the tables and became hesitant. Before long, she was forced by someone to vomit everything up.
She had been betrothed to the Zhang family when they were children, but the Zhang family and her father went back on their word. Zhang Yixing had confessed his feelings to her and even held her hand once.
A-Mian felt she was being wronged.
However, Meng Chijian punished him by making him stay up all night, and he also whispered many names in his ear that he would never normally use.
Unlike other married women, A-Mian still calls Meng Chijian "Third Brother" most of the time and rarely calls him "husband" in front of others.
Seeing his expression, Ah Mian knew that she would have to behave for at least three days to appease this petty man.
Unexpectedly, after the woman finished scolding, it was Zhang Yixing's voice that retorted: "Mother, don't say that. It was my own fault for not passing the exam. It has nothing to do with Weiwei and Baobao."
"But, but, a girl is just a money-loser..."
Lu Weiwei's voice rang out: "Mother, aren't we all daughters? One more or one less won't make a difference. Won't we still be able to take care of you in the future? Does the Zhang family not have the capacity to support one more child?"
"That's not what I meant at all! You two are now on the same page... Fine, I'll mind my own business and I won't be responsible for your expenses from now on!"
"Mother, slow down, be careful not to fall. Alas, it's such a pity that my husband was just a little bit away from becoming a scholar."
Listening to their back-and-forth chatter, Ah Mian felt dizzy and urged, "Let's go home quickly."
"Um."
The donkey cart slowly started moving forward. Ah Mian glanced back as if possessed and saw Lu Weiwei carrying a child out for some fresh air. The child was dressed in linen, probably hand-woven, but still had some chubby cheeks and fleshy arms, so he was doing quite well.
Ah Mian was worried that her belly was small, and what if the little Mian was too thin and weak when she was born?
However, that booklet explicitly forbade pregnant women from overeating, saying it was detrimental to childbirth.
What if the baby is only the size of a kitten when it's born?
Meng Chijian said, "No, we'll fatten them up gradually."
"Uh-huh."
"Oh, right, there's something else. In two months, Mother's eyesight isn't very good, so we'll definitely need to hire someone for the family, and also for her postpartum care. I've already talked to two people. One is the matchmaker in our village; she says she's very experienced and has taken care of many young women. The other is Aunt Wang from next door; she's taken care of daughters-in-law who have had several children, and she lives close to us. Who would you like to hire?"
A-Mian couldn't make a decision right away. After thinking for a while, she said, "Let both of them cook a meal. I'll taste it and see whose cooking suits my taste better."
"good."
Somehow, Aunt Liu found out that A-Mian's family wanted to hire a woman to take care of her during her postpartum period.
"Young boss, you only rented this tofu pudding stall until May. I'll be free after that! I've been through this before, and you've tasted my cooking skills. We're acquaintances, so you'll feel more at ease, right?"
Ah Mian said, "Two other women are coming to my house in a couple of days to let me try their cooking. If you'd like to do this job too, you can cook a meal for me."
“Isn’t this being too polite? I’ve always worked diligently and conscientiously under you, and you’ve seen that. Besides…” Aunt Liu stamped her foot, “No matter how much they earn, I’m still a hundred coins less than them!”
Despite her greed, Ah Mian remained unmoved. "This isn't about money. My husband said this is a big deal. We can't just hire people to move the goods; we need someone reliable."
Aunt Liu was getting impatient, knowing she wouldn't get paid next month. "It's not that bad. We didn't have what you have back then. We just gave birth and raised our own children, and we got by just fine. It's not as complicated as you think..."
"Everyone has to taste the dishes."
"..."
No matter how much Aunt Liu pleaded, she couldn't persuade A-Mian to be chosen directly.
Finally, he shrugged in frustration, "It's just cooking, I've been cooking for decades."
Although her daughter-in-law had stayed in extremely expensive postpartum care centers both times she gave birth, Aunt Liu is now determined to work hard to get this job.
Two days later, the three women arrived at A-Mian's house one after another.
The matchmaker was a multi-talented person. She greeted everyone cheerfully as she entered the room, immediately enlivening the atmosphere.
Aunt Wang was a bit tongue-tied, but she nodded to Ah Mian while clutching her apron.
Aunt Liu entered the room, sized up her two rivals, and seeing that they were both surrounding Ah Mian, she couldn't help but have a thought.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
