Chapter 345 Her belly was frighteningly large!
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In Lijiatun, Li Shiyue didn't wait for the people Qiu Yingxian and his group had brought; instead, she waited for Li Qingyun first.
Dressed as a merchant, Li Qingyun arrived at Lijiatun with a cartload of goods and even booked a superior room at the inn at the entrance of Lijiatun village.
Li Qingyun secretly inquired with the other merchants staying at the inn for several days, and also heard a lot about Li Shiyue from the women of Lijiatun who worked at the inn's lobby.
"She is much like what Jiu Niang described in her letter; she is a very capable woman."
Because of Yan Jiuniang, Li Qingyun finally knocked on Li Shiyue's door on the third day after the beginning of winter.
Unfortunately, when Li Qingyun arrived, Li Shiyue was just taking food up to the cellar on the mountain to visit Li Mingfeng.
Li's mother didn't pay much attention to Li Qingyun, who looked like a merchant, who came to their door. After all, since Li Shiyue returned, people had been coming to their house every day.
If it is an official, then they will meet in the council hall, just like when Zhou Yiran came.
If they weren't government officials, they would mostly meet at an inn, or they would be traveling merchants bringing gifts to pay their respects.
Especially those merchants who had good goods, once they found out that Li Shiyue was not only a military officer, but also had connections with the Turkic prince, they all came to his door with gift boxes in hand.
Because her uncle's whereabouts were currently unknown, Li Shiyue understood that merchants were always present, whether in times of chaos or prosperity.
Making friends with businessmen, whether it's for personal connections or something else, is generally more beneficial than harmful.
Therefore, Li Shiyue would always give face to any merchant who came to the Li family to see him, whether it was to say a few words or stay a little longer for a cup of tea.
In short, the goal is to ensure that people arrive in a good mood and leave with a smile.
If anyone comes to him asking about the sale of their goods, Li Shiyue will help them in any way he can.
Therefore, when Li's mother saw Li Qingyun arriving with a gift box, she assumed he was one of those merchants who came to pay their respects.
"Please wait a moment, my lord. She should be back in October."
Li Qingyun cupped his hands in greeting to his mother, then sat down comfortably in the main hall to wait.
After drinking two cups of tea, Li Qingyun sat in the house watching Shi Tou feed all the horses and donkeys in the livestock shed. Now, Shi Tou had even picked up a brush and started grooming the horses.
Before he had even finished combing half of the horse's rump, Li Shiyue returned.
As soon as Li Shiyue returned, her mother told her that someone had come to visit. She washed her hands and went to the main hall to meet the person.
The two exchanged greetings. Looking at Li Shiyue sitting at the head of the main hall, Li Qingyun immediately smelled the medicinal scent on Li Shiyue.
Just by smelling the medicine, Li Qingyun, a master of medicine preparation, guessed which herbs were in it and what it was used for.
Li Shiyue treated the person in front of him as an ordinary merchant, and continued to exchange pleasantries and discuss which goods were currently in high demand and most profitable in the trade market.
But as they talked, Li Shiyue also realized that something was wrong with Li Qingyun.
Because Li Qingyun's words implied that he didn't really understand the matter of selling the goods, he abruptly asked, "I apologize for being so abrupt. When Lieutenant Li came in, I smelled a hemostatic herb. I wonder if Madam Li is injured?"
"Haha, how could I be injured?"
Li Shang didn't know that I had just visited the village's traditional Chinese medicine clinic before returning home, which is why I had a slight smell of medicine on me.
Li Shang, on the other hand, seems to know so much about herbs? He can identify a herb just by its smell?
"Li Shang is so capable, why is he in the cloth business?"
The atmosphere was tense and ready to erupt at any moment. Li Shiyue always had a woodcutter's knife hanging from his waist, while Li Qingyun on the other side came empty-handed.
However, before Li Shiyue could get a reply from Li Qingyun with her forced smile, Li Xiatian's voice came from inside the courtyard.
"October?
Where are you in October?
You should talk to Jiang Huai right away; he listens to you the most!
Why can't I go to the city to watch the play?
"I'm just pregnant, it's not like I can't walk anymore!"
The tense atmosphere in the main hall was disrupted by Li Xiatian's loud voice in the courtyard. Li Shiyue's face changed immediately. Just a moment ago, she was frowning and looking at him with a questioning expression. Now, she had a smile on her face with a hint of helplessness.
Li Shiyue stood up and cupped her hands in greeting to Li Qingyun: "Since my elder sister became pregnant, she has become a bit more fiery. Li Shang, please don't take offense!"
"It's inconvenient at home today, but tomorrow—no, this afternoon—I'll go to the inn to see Li Shang, what do you say?"
Li Qingyun was also good at pretending. He verbally agreed to Li Shiyue's words and went out. Sure enough, he saw Li Xiatian, who was pregnant and had her hands on her hips, coming into the courtyard.
After seeing Li Qingyun out the door, Li Shiyue turned around and saw her mother looking at Li Xiatian with disapproval.
"Aunt, I..."
Li's mother glared at Li Xiatian without speaking to her. She then turned to call Shi Tou and asked him to help Li Xiatian into the house.
It wasn't that Li's mother didn't want to help Li Xiatian, but she still felt that Shi Tou was a man and had some strength.
Even though there wasn't much snow in their yard, Li Xiatian's belly looked frightening, so it was best to have Shi Tou support her.
Li's mother felt that if she supported Li Xiatian herself, she might not be able to hold him up and might even fall down herself.
Therefore, it's better to let Shi Tou help Li Xiatian. Shi Tou is tall, strong, and has good strength. If anything happens to Li Xiatian, Shi Tou will definitely be able to support him!
Under her mother's glare, Li Xiatian dared not say anything more and obediently put her hand on Shi Tou's arm.
Seeing that Shi Tou was helping Li Xia Tian away, Li Shi Yue, who was standing at the door, felt relieved. She glanced in the direction of the intersection and saw that the person running over in blue was indeed Li Qiu Tian.
"Where's Xia Tian? Has she come over yet?"
Seeing Li Qiutian sweating profusely even in the winter heat, Li Shiyue quickly said to her, "Sister, don't worry, Xia Tian is inside, she's perfectly fine."
After hearing Li Shiyue's words, Li Qiutian finally felt relieved.
“My mother and I went over to deliver some side dishes. Yesterday she said she wanted to eat the cabbage hearts that my mother made herself, mixed with lard.”
As soon as we entered the courtyard, we could hear her talking loudly to Mr. Jiang inside the house.
When other couples are arguing, my mother and I are caught in a dilemma: should we go in or not?
After all, in October, her belly was frighteningly large!
It was only after the dog in the yard barked twice that the two stopped arguing and fell silent, and then my mother and I went inside.
We pretended not to hear them arguing. I helped my mother tidy up in the kitchen. When we heard Mr. Jiang leave for the school, my mother and I came out of the kitchen.
When Xia Tian asked her, it turned out that she was just making things up on her own, insisting that she could go to the prefectural city for the New Year, and that her pregnancy was not a problem.
Mr. Jiang wouldn't let her go, and he also said that he wouldn't go himself either, so he would stay at home to keep Xia Tian company.
But what's wrong with Xia Tian's brain?
They actually got into an argument with Mr. Jiang over this theater-going matter!
My mother and I think she's childish and irresponsible. She's about to become a mother, yet she still has this playful attitude!
I couldn't stand it anymore and said a few words to her. She must have been upset, because while I went out to fetch water, and my mother was boiling water in the kitchen, she ran out by herself!
After hearing Li Qiutian's explanation, Li Shiyue raised her hand and slapped herself on the forehead.
"......"
"Don't worry, sister, I'll take care of this!"
It's just watching a show, isn't it?
After spending the money, I'll hire a theatrical troupe and set up a stage in the council hall so that the whole village can watch.
In that case, Sister Xia Tian shouldn't insist on going to the prefectural city to see the play.
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