"Really?"
Li Aihua used a wooden-handled awl to poke hard into the sole of the shoe, and then used a needle with a hemp rope attached to it to pierce through the sole with the help of a thimble.
“Really,” said the gossipy auntie, “would I lie to you?”
"Who told you that?" another woman asked.
“Qian Yong’s wife,” the aunt said, “Chen Guizhen said that Sun Jiarou was not feeling well and asked Qian Yong to come to the house to check on her. As a result, Qian Yong diagnosed her as pregnant.”
"She's pretty fast," someone said while helping Xu Yan tear the cotton.
“Oh my god, that’s what I said at first too,” the aunt continued, “but you don’t know, Qian Yong’s wife also whispered to me that Sun Jiarou was pregnant before the marriage.”
"Huh? Really?" Li Aihua was so surprised she almost stuck the needle into her hand.
“Hey, how could I lie about something like this?” The aunt continued knitting her sweater, and after a while she said, “This can’t be kept secret. Everyone knew when she was born.”
Xu Yan did not participate in their conversation and remained mostly silent throughout.
At this moment, her mind was filled with comparisons between the original plot and the current situation. It seemed that ever since she transmigrated and married Xie Zhuo, the plot had gone off the rails like a wild horse, twisting and turning in countless ways.
But she still remembered the feeling of constraint she experienced in the first few days after she transmigrated, which rendered her speechless and even forcibly suppressed her actions of refusal. Could it be...?
All these changes were because of her?
That's not right either; there's no scene in the original book where the original owner goes fishing in the river.
That is, before she transmigrated, the plot had already begun to take a wrong turn, and then after she transmigrated, it completely changed the original development.
“Xu Yan,” Li Aihua gently touched Xu Yan’s arm.
"Huh?" Xu Yan came back to her senses.
"What are you thinking about so seriously?" Li Aihua looked at her.
"Oh, no, it's nothing," Xu Yan smiled.
"I don't think so," the aunt who had gossiped about Sun Jiarou earlier said with a smile, glancing at her. "You're just missing your Xie Laosan, aren't you?"
As soon as she said that, the others looked at Xu Yan with a hint of mockery.
Xu Yan usually stayed at home alone and didn't go out much. Today was the first time she had sat in the house with so many people, chatting and doing housework. However, the women mainly chatted about gossip when they were together.
It's either you or me that I'm gossiping about.
For those who are close, it's perfectly fine to tease each other a bit.
"I haven't thought of him yet," Xu Yan said with a smile, unfazed by their teasing. "He's only been gone a few hours."
“Oh, what are you saying?” one of the women laughed. “No wonder you’re from the big city. If it were me, I’d be so anxious.”
“That’s bullshit,” Li Aihua chimed in. “You’ve hardly ever been out of the brigade. Going to the city is like going on a long trip.”
She had a loud voice and answered quickly, which startled everyone in the room for a moment before they all burst into laughter.
The sister-in-law, who was being laughed at, wasn't annoyed. She slapped her arm and said, "You talk as if you've been to some faraway place."
“I’ve never been there,” Li Aihua said, “but our Zheng Er has been to the city before. He said there’s food and drink on the train, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
The group then chatted for a while about what was on the train.
The group chatted and worked together until lunchtime, when they finally took their things and went home.
Li Aihua was walking last. Just as she was about to leave the hospital, she stopped and turned to Xu Yan, saying, "Why don't you and the two children come to my house for a meal?"
"No need, sister-in-law," Xu Yan said. "Da Bao and Xiao Bao cried this morning when their third uncle left, and they're probably still in a bad mood at noon. I'll comfort them again."
After she said that, Li Aihua couldn't force her to go anymore.
“Anyway, if you don’t feel like cooking one day, just come over for a meal,” Li Aihua said. “Your Xie Zhuo gave you a lot of instructions before he left, just in case you went hungry.”
Xu Yan was taken aback. "He went to see you?"
“Sigh, when it comes to being considerate and loving towards his wife, no one can compare to him,” Li Aihua said. “He came after lunch yesterday, saying he wasn’t home and told me to come and see you when I had time.”
Compared to him, my Zheng Er is simply not worth looking at.
"If he ever has the chance to travel far away again, it's another matter whether he'll remember there are two people at home."
Li Aihua stood at the gate complaining to Xu Yan, but unexpectedly, Zheng Xiaopeng went to the mountain to collect firewood in the morning and happened to pass by the Xie family's gate.
Xu Yan coughed awkwardly, then quickly interrupted Li Aihua, turned his head to greet Zheng Xiaopeng, and said, "Second Brother Zheng."
Li Aihua then realized that her husband had returned.
However, she wasn't flustered at all. She calmly glanced at Zheng Xiaopeng and said, "Why do you walk like a cat, silently slipping behind people? Who are you trying to scare to death?"
Zheng Xiaopeng, carrying a bundle of firewood: "..."
After everyone left, Xu Yan went back into the room and tidied up the quilts on the kang (a heated brick bed). Seeing that Da Bao and Xiao Bao would be back soon, she washed her hands and went to the kitchen.
Actually, after these past few months, she has learned how to use the earthen stove, but Xie Zhuo feels sorry for her and basically doesn't let her cook.
But now that the main cook is gone, she can't go without eating. After thinking about it, she decided to cook a few dishes and eat them with steamed buns.
I steamed too many buns yesterday afternoon, so I can just reheat them and eat them today.
With that in mind, Xu Yan got busy in the kitchen.
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