The next morning, when Li Mai opened her eyes, everything in front of her was blindingly white.
She closed her eyes briefly and moved back a little before realizing that it was Zhou Quan's undergarment. She was currently nestled in his arms, her face against his chest.
Feeling her move, Zhou Quan asked softly, "Awake? Is there anything still bothering you?"
Li Mai quickly sat up and realized that she was resting her head on his arm.
"No, were you alright when you had the needles removed last night?" She remembered last night and grabbed his wrist to take his pulse.
"It's alright, I removed them as you said, but the silver needles are all on the cabinet, you'll have to deal with them yourself." He remembered that she would soak the silver needles in alcohol after each use.
"Hmm!" Li Mai nodded, her eyes fixed on taking the pulse, using this to cover up her embarrassment.
How did I end up rolling into his arms while I was sleeping?
"That's good. Don't take a medicinal bath today, or your blood and qi might get messed up again." Li Mai said, letting go of his hand, then turned around, got out of bed, and went to get dressed.
"Okay!" Zhou Quan replied and got up.
He was worried about her late last night, so he stayed close to her and kept an eye on her, afraid that something might happen to her.
Who knew that he would fall asleep while watching him? When he woke up in the morning, the two of them were snuggled together, with Xiaomai still nestled in his arms.
Hearing that her breathing was even, there shouldn't be any major problems.
He didn't dare move and could only wait for her to wake up naturally.
This was the first time in a long time that the two of them had been so close, and they looked more like a married couple after getting up.
Zhou Quan was delighted; he loved the way she slept with her head on his arm.
After breakfast, Zhou Lin left, taking a few clothes with him. Zhao also gave him two taels of silver.
Let him eat at his master's house, and remember to pay for the meal.
Zhou Lin agreed, and also instructed his father to take good care of his elder brother's side, which his father accepted.
Worried that Zhou Lin might be stopped by the Pan sisters on the way, Zhao asked Zhou's father to escort Zhou Lin. He accompanied him all the way out of the village and only returned home after confirming that it was safe to do so. He then picked up Zhao, Zhou Lei, and Zhou Tao and took them to the fields.
In the morning, Li Mai doesn't go to the fields; she massages Zhou Quan and gives him acupuncture. At noon, she cooks lunch, and in the afternoon, she goes to the fields with them to work.
Zhuzhu took her books and returned to Zhou Quan's room. She sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), and Zhou Quan taught her to read, while Li Mai massaged and gave Zhou Quan acupuncture.
"Mom, can Zhuzhu live with Dad and Mom?" During a break, Limai was braiding Zhuzhu's hair when Zhuzhu looked up and asked her.
Li Mai was taken aback and subconsciously glanced at Zhou Quan, who nodded.
He was the one who brought the child back, and his mother and sister had been taking care of her for two years. If Li Mai also liked Zhuzhu, he felt that it was time for them to take her back and raise her themselves.
After all, it's about time my younger sister started dating, and it's not appropriate for our parents to keep Zhuzhu around any longer.
Li Mai smiled and said, "Sure, if Zhuzhu wants to live with her parents, Mom will pick you up tonight, okay?"
"Okay." Zhuzhu was happy.
"Zhuzhu, is Grandma's room too crowded?" Limai asked.
She felt she needed to figure out why Zhuzhu said that—was it simply because she wanted to spend more time with her parents, or was there another reason?
Zhuzhu thought for a moment and said, "Grandpa and Grandma snore at night, and sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back asleep."
"Mom, please don't tell Grandpa and Grandma, okay? Otherwise they won't like Zhuzhu." Zhuzhu pleaded with Limai.
Li Mai smiled and said softly, "Okay, Mother will tell you that Mother wants to spend more time with you and bring you back to live with us."
Zhuzhu was overjoyed, flashing a sweet smile, and said in a clear, crisp voice, "Thank you, Mom!"
"No need to thank me. Since you've called me 'Mother,' we're now the closest mother and daughter. If you have anything to say, just tell me, and I'll do my best to raise you." Li Mai said solemnly as she squatted down in front of Zhu Zhu.
Zhuzhu nodded emphatically and hummed in agreement.
Li Mai tenderly patted Zhu Zhu's head. This child was much more sensible than other children her age, and even more heartbreaking. In particular, the wise look in her eyes sometimes made her feel that she was not a three-year-old child, but a teenager.
Zhou Quan looked at Zhuzhu and said softly, "Yes, your mother is right. You should spend more time with your parents in the future. But you should also remember how good your grandmother and aunt have been to you these past two years. You should treat them well in the future and not let them feel that you have forgotten their kindness and care for you these past two years."
"Zhuzhu knows, Father, don't worry," Zhuzhu replied with a smile.
Li Mai used all her skills to give Zhu Zhu a hairstyle with a head full of little braids, changed her into the pink dress she bought yesterday, and looked her up and down with a smile, "Wow, so pretty!"
Zhuzhu looked at Zhou Quan, and Zhou Quan quickly nodded, "Our Zhuzhu is the cutest."
Zhuzhu was happy and gave Limai a kiss on the cheek, said thank you, Mom, and skipped off to play in the yard.
"Zhuzhu, don't go outside!" Li Mai shouted as she went to remove the needles from Zhou Quan.
After removing the needles, she told him to lie down and rest, then went out to see Zhuzhu.
But then they saw Zhuzhu secretly hiding inside the gate, looking out.
"Zhuzhu, what's wrong?" Li Mai walked towards the front door.
"Mom, I saw someone peeking around at our front door, so I came to see where they went!"
Li Mai went over and looked around, but didn't see anyone.
"Did you see men or women? How many were there?" Li Mai asked curiously.
"A pretty young lady, about the same age as my aunt," Zhuzhu said after thinking for a moment.
Li Mai looked around but didn't see anyone, so she stopped caring.
"Never mind, if they're looking for our family, they'll come in. Mom's going to cook. You play in the yard, don't go out!"
"I'm going to see the bunny!" Zhuzhu really liked the little bunny, so she went to see it.
Li Mai went to make lunch. The pork ribs she bought last night were still soaking in water. She turned on the stove and started washing and blanching the pork ribs.
After the pork ribs were stewed, a large plate of rice was steamed on top.
Then I'll go and process the meat I bought yesterday.
She cut up the pork belly from ten pounds of meat and put it in a small bowl, preparing to make braised pork tomorrow.
She chopped up some of the other meat into minced meat, intending to make dumplings for dinner.
The rest was cut into large pieces and placed in a bowl, to be rendered into oil in the afternoon, to be eaten slowly.
In this era without refrigerators, the only way to store meat was by high-temperature rendering of oil, mixing it with the meat, and storing it in a cool place, where it could be eaten slowly for a long time.
Having prepared all that, she went out into the yard, but Zhuzhu was nowhere to be seen.
"Zhuzhu!" Li Mai called out, but there was no response. She quickly ran back into the house, but Zhuzhu was not there either.
Zhou Quan also became anxious, "Isn't Zhuzhu in the yard?"
"It's not here, don't worry, I'll go out and look for it!" Li Mai said, and quickly ran out towards the gate.
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