She didn't want to do all the work by herself; with so many people in the family, she didn't want to take on everything.
She assigned tasks: Song Jianshe took Song Fang to deliver candy to the neighbors, Song Yongren cleaned up the dishes, and she and Xia Niu did the washing and scrubbing.
When the whole family works together, the process is quick, and Xia Niu is also quite capable, so the speed is even faster.
Working together, Song Lili and I quickly cleaned the kitchen.
Only then did Song Lili finally have some free time.
She pulled Xia Niu out of the kitchen, sat on a stool, and breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"Sister-in-law, you can sleep with me and Fangfang for the next few days. Once the house we've built for you and my brother is finished, you can move in."
Previously, Song Yongren had wanted to put a curtain between their room so that Song Jianshe and his wife could stay together.
Song Lili felt that this was inconvenient and not good, so she discussed with Song Yongren about building a house for the two of them, which would be a continuation of their current house.
After Song Lili's relentless persuasion, Song Yongren finally had no choice but to agree, but construction would still need to begin in two or three days.
Because the adobe bricks used to build houses for the elderly had all been collected, Song Yongren and Song Jianshe had to build them themselves.
The soil was prepared a few days ago, but it still needs time to dry properly. This way, the house won't shrink and will be sturdy.
Song Lili was afraid that Xia Niu would feel uncomfortable because she thought he was not being treated well, so she explained it to him.
Upon hearing this, Xia Niu immediately waved her hand, "It's okay, it's okay, it's fine to sleep with you guys." The smile on her face was really forced.
Song Lili smiled and said, "I'm married now. How can it be good to sleep with my sister-in-law?" It was just a polite remark.
Xia Niu saw Song Lili shaking her head and laughing, and thought that what she said had upset Song Lili, so she said hesitantly, "Really... really is very good."
Song Lili was speechless. How was she supposed to respond to that? She had only laughed to avoid embarrassment, and Xia Niu had actually picked up on that herself. Was she stupid?
But Xia Niu had no idea what Song Lili was thinking; in any case, she was quite afraid of Song Lili.
I don't know why, but whenever I see Song Lili, I always feel oppressed, and I always subconsciously want to back down and stay away.
Therefore, Xia Niu acted somewhat cautiously and timidly in front of Song Lili.
Song Lili noticed, but didn't take it to heart.
She doesn't eat people, so what's there to be afraid of?
Seeing that Xia Niu was uncomfortable, Song Lili simply stood up and said, "Sister-in-law, are you thirsty? I'll go get you some water, do you want some?"
If this continues with Xia Niu, I'm going to get so embarrassed.
Xia Niu quickly stood up. "No, no, Lili, are you thirsty? I'll go get you some water." She then turned to leave.
"Sister-in-law," Song Lili called out to her, "I can do it myself, you sit down."
She didn't have the habit of having Xia Niu serve her, nor did she have the idea of giving the new bride a hard time; in her view, those were low-class practices.
"Well... okay then." Stopped by Song Lili, Xia Niu didn't know what to do next.
Song Lili ignored him and went straight to the kitchen. She had been busy for so long and hadn't even had a chance to drink some water.
Before Song Lili had finished drinking, Song Jianshe and Song Fang returned, and Song Lili could clearly feel Xia Niu breathe a sigh of relief.
She found it amusing; it seemed that Xia Niu had developed a sense of dependence on Song Jianshe, which was why she subconsciously felt relaxed when she saw him.
That's fine too.
In the late afternoon, the Song family did their own thing, while Xia Niu stayed with Song Jianshe, clearly more familiar with him.
As dinner time approached, Song Yongren said to Song Jianshe, "Jianshe, take Xia Niu to your grandmother's house to meet your elders."
Today, neither Gu nor Song Yongli came, but Yang Weimin's family came to help.
Song Lili curled her lip. These relatives are not as reliable as neighbors. Going to recognize elders now? If it were her, she would not want to go at all.
Song Jianshe thought it was normal and didn't raise any objections. Perhaps he thought that what the Gu family did was perfectly normal.
Song Lili thought about it and realized it made sense. Given Gu's personality, it wouldn't be surprising if he did something like this.
When he left, Song Yongren took most of the remaining candy and wine that he had prepared for Song Jianshe's wedding.
Song Lili saw it but didn't stop them. As long as that family didn't cause trouble or make a fuss, she was still willing to part with these things.
However, Song Jianshe and Xia Niu returned looking very unwell.
"Big brother, did Grandma say something unpleasant?" It's obvious without even thinking.
"Sigh... Grandma's just like that. It's alright." Song Jianshe sighed dejectedly, looking listless.
"Never mind him, let's eat."
The Gu family definitely wouldn't let the two of them stay for dinner; this was something Song Lili had anticipated, so she had been waiting.
Now that the whole family was together and eating, Song Lili asked, "Did Grandma say there wasn't enough food and that we were just giving it to a beggar?"
"Lili, you're amazing! You guessed right." Song Jianshe gave a thumbs up, while Xia Niu looked at Song Lili with surprise, seemingly astonished that Song Lili could guess correctly.
"Ha, she had nothing else to say besides those words, you can tell without even guessing."
Gu Shi favored his eldest son and grandson, and it was common for him to squeeze money from his other children to subsidize his eldest son, so it was normal for him to complain about not having enough.
"Don't take his words to heart, as long as we're polite," Song Lili said nonchalantly.
She had absolutely no feelings for Song Yongli's family.
"Let's eat," Song Yongren said, seemingly in low spirits.
Song Lili stuck out her tongue, knowing that Song Yongren was unhappy, unhappy that Song Lili had said that.
But the facts were right in front of her, and Song Lili felt that she hadn't said anything wrong, but she didn't say anything more and continued eating with her head down.
Song Lili made a simple meal: a thin porridge and two cold dishes.
After the meal, Xia Niu insisted on cleaning up the kitchen, and Song Lili didn't refuse. It was fair that Xia Niu would wash the dishes since she had cooked.
At night, the three of them slept together. The two sisters were not used to having a third person around, and Xia Niu also seemed to have a hard time sleeping.
So, after the three of them entered the house, they went in silence, got onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and crawled into bed without exchanging a single word.
Xia Niu still seemed hesitant to approach.
Song Lili, however, remained aloof and indifferent. She neither took the initiative to get close to Xia Niu nor made things difficult for her.
There was a sense of going with the flow, and Song Fang naturally followed in her sister's footsteps, doing exactly what her sister did.
So the atmosphere in the room was rather somber. After the lights were turned off, Song Lili seemed to hear Xia Niu let out a long sigh.
Song Lili smiled, then drifted off to sleep. Before falling asleep, she was still thinking, "I hope the house is finished soon, this is too embarrassing."
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