Shumei came to her uncle's house and opened the door. Her aunt Wang Sufang welcomed her in with a smile.
"Shumei! Come in and sit down."
Shumei followed Wang Sufang into the house. Her sister-in-law, Bao Cuicui, was leaning against the headboard with her hat on, eating a bowl of poached eggs. It had only been ten days since they last saw each other, and Bao Cuicui had gained a lot of weight, which showed that she had done a good job during the confinement period.
It was a rare encounter. Wen Dazui was also in the room. Shumei didn't have a grudge against her, but she had seen her talk before. She usually avoided her as much as possible. Even when she occasionally went to her storage room to buy something, Shumei tried to speak to her as little as possible. She would hand over the money and the goods, then leave without staying for more than a moment.
Wen Dazui is the village's loudspeaker. She's the one who broadcasts every little news, as if afraid others won't know. She's always been thicker-skinned than a city wall. One day, she'll have a heated argument, and the next, she'll be chatting with someone with a smile on her face. Rather than being thick-skinned, it's more accurate to say she's heartless.
She ran the village's only store, grinding flour and rice and selling daily necessities. The mountain was dozens of miles from town, so her store was a popular haunt for the entire village. This bustling area, her territory, was a perfect backdrop for her penchant for gossip.
As soon as Shumei saw Wen Dazui, she felt a strong sense of uneasiness in her heart. She couldn't hide, so she could only bite the bullet and walk into the house.
"Hey! Isn't this Ji Zong's wife? It's been a while since I last saw you! Are you here to see your nephew?"
Before Bao Cuicui could speak, Wen Dazui took the lead, smiled, took Shumei's hand, and pulled Shumei to sit next to him.
Sitting next to Wen Dazui, Shumei always felt uncomfortable and her expression looked particularly embarrassed.
Perhaps Wen Dazui's voice was too loud and woke up the child beside Bao Cuicui, who started crying. Bao Cuicui picked up the child, opened her shirt, and put the nipple in the child's mouth. The child stopped crying immediately, and Bao Cuicui then spoke to Shumei.
"Shumei! How come you have time to come here today?"
"Congratulations to my sister-in-law on the birth of her baby boy. Mother, I was specially asked to come over to see her and the baby."
As Shumei spoke, she stood up and walked to Bao Cuicui. Looking at the fair and tender baby in her arms, she gently touched it with her hand, and the baby actually raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.
"Wow! He smiled! So cute."
Shumei, who was already a wife, was instantly overwhelmed with maternal love and burst into tears of joy, her eyes moist. She also wanted to have a child, and it would be great if the child in front of her was born after ten months of pregnancy.
Although Ji Zong did not mean to blame her at all, Shu Mei knew very well that he also wanted to have a child of his own.
Hearing Shumei's praise, Bao Cuicui, a new mother, felt very happy and stroked the child in her arms with a smile.
"Hey, Ji Zong's wife, if you love children so much, why don't you just give birth to one?"
Isn't this troublemaker Wen Dazui asking questions knowingly? What woman doesn't want a happy family? If she can have children, would Shumei deliberately pinch her belly to prevent the baby from coming?
At that time, in that small mountain village, there was no such thing as postponing childbirth for career reasons. As soon as a woman got married, having children was a given. A year into their marriage, and Shumei's pregnancy was still nowhere to be found, even a blind man could guess what was going on.
Bao Cuicui was so happy that she joined in the conversation.
"Yes! Shumei, since you like children so much, why don't you have one as soon as possible!"
Bao Cuicui spoke as if nothing had happened and patted Shumei's belly with her hand.
Shumei's expression suddenly changed with embarrassment. She lowered her head, no longer interested in looking at the baby. The words of these two people were like sharp arrows piercing her heart, making Shumei feel a pang of pain.
"Sister Shumei, I'm a straightforward person. I say what I think. Even if I say something unpleasant, please don't get angry. Is there something wrong with your body?"
"Problem?" Bao Cuicui realized that she had just said the wrong thing. Wasn't that a slap in the face to Shumei? "Shumei, I'm sorry, I didn't know you..."
Shumei lowered her head and rubbed her hands back and forth. She was so guilty that she didn't dare to speak.
"Sister Shumei! If you're sick, go to the hospital and get treated! I have some folk remedies here, I'll send them to you someday. It's useless for a woman to be unable to bear children, no matter how beautiful she is. This is extremely unfilial..."
Shumei only saw Wen Dazui with his mouth open, chattering incessantly. She couldn't hear a word he said. At this moment, Wen Dazui in front of Shumei was like a man-eating monster, roaring with his bloody mouth open, and he might eat her at any time.
This scene was witnessed by Aunt Wang Sufang, who came in with water. After all, she was an experienced woman and knew how difficult it was to be a woman. Why should women make things difficult for other women? It turned out that not all mountain people loved to gossip and spread rumors.
"Shumei, come and have a drink of water. Have you seen the children? Let's go to my aunt's room. My eyesight is not very good. Please help me thread my needle."
"Aunt Wang, can I join in the fun?" Bao Cuicui was still not satisfied. Seeing Wang Sufang trying to drag Shumei away, she hurriedly put down the teacup in her hand and wanted to follow.
"Alright! I like quietness, but I can't stand your chatter. Just stay here with Cuicui! She's bored staying in the room alone."
“This…this…”
Wang Sufang pulled Shumei into her room, shutting the door tightly. She held Shumei's hand and said earnestly, "Shumei! Don't take Wen Dazui's words to heart. She might not be sarcastic, though. Tell your aunt the truth. What's going on between you and Jizong?"
Shumei lowered her head shyly and stammered, "What's going on?"
"You're not an unmarried girl, why are you shy? Is it normal for two people to do that?"
"Everything is normal."
"Then why isn't your stomach responding? Why don't you talk to your Ji Zong and go to the county hospital for a checkup? If there's a problem, we have to find a way to solve it! There's no point in running away."
"Aunt, wouldn't that make it known to everyone? Not to mention my mother-in-law, even the villagers' spit would drown me."
"Silly child, truth will come to light sooner or later. You don't want Ji Zong to live with you feeling guilty about this, do you? Inheriting the family line is an eternal matter. Over time, it will affect your normal life. While you're still young, think of a solution."
Wang Sufang's heartfelt words woke Shumei up, giving her enough courage to face the joke that God had played on her, and the frown on her face also relaxed a lot.
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