Song Liyun seemed to have heard something amusing, raising her eyebrows and then chuckling softly after a long while: "Since your wife is ill, it's best to focus on recuperating. If she can't eat, feed her; if she can't drink medicine, force-feed her. She has to stay alive!"
After saying that, he flicked his whip and rode away.
As Master Xue watched Song Liyun lead her entourage straight towards Xiaoshi Village, he didn't even care about the dust still clinging to his face. He grabbed the attendant beside him and said in a hoarse voice, "Hurry up and go to the old house to invite Madam back. Also, have Hei Pi prepare some medicine so that Madam can drink it and recuperate in peace."
He gestured with his hand in front of his attendant, who immediately understood: "Don't worry, sir, I'll take care of it right away."
"Go now!" Master Xue roared sternly.
The attendant dared not delay and hurried to the town to find a donkey cart and find Blackie.
Master Xue steadied himself, supporting his back. He had been unsure of the Song siblings' attitude, but Song Liyun's words, "We have to save our lives," gave him a plan.
Take the person home and raise them well, but first keep them quiet and don't let them gossip. This will also save face for both families!
Blackie sells dog-skin plasters at a street stall. He has no special skills, but he does have a remedy for treating mute animals.
It has a remarkable effect; even a person who drinks it will become mute.
In Xiaoshi Village, the village head's wife held Song Liyun in one hand and Xiao An in the other, crying out, "My heart! My liver! My poor child!" as she sobbed uncontrollably.
The aunties and grandmothers from the neighborhood were wiping away tears. The courtyard was also crowded with onlookers.
Everyone wanted to see what Xiao An, who was so unsteady on his feet, looked like, and also to take a closer look at Miss Song, who had escaped from Xiaoshi Village and established a business in Suijin Town.
It was Yang Hua and Erlang's wife who persuaded everyone: "Second Sister and the others have just returned and are still hungry. Aunts, let's talk again tomorrow!"
Song Liyun also said, "Tomorrow, I'd like to ask all the aunties and grandmas to come and help with the cooking. I'll also ask the village head to help organize a banquet to thank the villagers for taking care of my family."
Upon hearing that there would be food and drink tomorrow, everyone inside and outside the courtyard responded enthusiastically. Song, the village head, quickly chased everyone out and began preparing tables, chairs, and benches.
Song Liyun and the others also took a bath and changed their clothes. When they came out of the house, the food was already on the table.
The village head's wife and Erlang's wife didn't leave; instead, they helped Yanghua pack her things. They had been staying at Song Zhenping's house these past few days.
With no one else around, Song Liyun thanked the village head's wife repeatedly: "Thank you so much for taking care of my sister-in-law, Auntie. My brother told me that she was vomiting so badly a few days ago that she couldn't eat, and she was only able to keep going thanks to the chicken soup without oil that my second aunt made."
With tears in her eyes, the village head's wife smiled and pulled her to sit down: "We wanted to help you three siblings before, but we didn't have the guts. We're just glad you don't blame your village head. What's this little thing we're doing now? It's just paying for the sins we committed in the past!"
She told Song Liyun to eat first, then couldn't help but whisper, "I heard from Daping that you're engaged, and he's from that side of the family. You're supposed to marry him at the end of this year?"
"I've heard that the barbarians on the grasslands all look like bears, eat raw meat, and kidnap people!"
The village head's wife looked worried: "Xiaoyun, if you have any difficulties, tell your uncle. Don't wrong yourself; it's your life!"
Yang Hua had met Zhao Tingduo. She said that Xiaoyun's husband was not like a bear, but just like an ordinary Wuchao man, but the village head's wife did not believe it.
In everyday conversation, people would often use the phrase "to frighten children into crying" to mean sending them to the barbarians to eat.
What's the use of being handsome? Maybe you'll look like a human during the day, but eat people at night.
Song Liyun was both amused and exasperated by the village head's idea. She couldn't explain that the Di people were also normal humans who ate cooked food and wore clothes, so she could only vaguely state that her business was inseparable from the Di tribe.
The village head's wife became even more worried: "So, you earned all your money from the Di people... Oh dear, how much suffering must you have endured to get that money!"
"It's better to find an honest man in Qingping Town to marry and live a stable life."
Song Liyun knew that the village head's wife meant well, so she couldn't hide it from her any longer: "Auntie, although that family are from the grasslands, their eating and living habits are similar to ours. They also travel around Yunzhou regularly. If I marry into that family, it will be just like living in the Wu Dynasty."
The village head's wife was skeptical: "Daping did say that, but she still married far away!"
Song Liyun didn't want to talk much about her marriage, so she smiled and changed the subject: "My sister-in-law should have been closer, but she came to Qingping Town with my brother, and it's like she's been kidnapped as a young wife."
Yang Hua's family home was only a little over an hour away from Suijin Town, but Song Zhenping wanted to stay in Xiaoshi Village, so she ended up marrying a man more than a hundred miles away from home.
Yang Hua was uncomfortable with her sister-in-law's teasing. She glared at Song Liyun reproachfully and shoved the egg drop soup she was holding into her hands: "Eat slowly. I see your brother and the others have eaten quite well!"
As she spoke, she held her large belly and moved to the next room to see how Abu and his group of men were eating!
Song Liyun jumped up and helped her up: "Alright, alright, I won't say anything. Sit down. With my brother here, don't worry about it."
The village head's wife also said, "These things don't need a pregnant woman like you to handle. I'll have your second aunt go and serve the men their meal!"
After the village head's wife left, Song Liyun also put down her chopsticks and looked at Yang Hua's clumsy belly, saying, "Sister-in-law, what did you and brother discuss? Are you really going to stay in Xiaoshi Village from now on and not miss your own family home?"
Yang Hua sat back down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), touching her belly, and said, "I'm not lying, I don't plan to go back to my parents' home."
I told your brother that I won't go back until my good-for-nothing brother matures. It's just a pity for you; you'll have to take good care of Xiao An!
Sigh! Every family has its own troubles.
Yang Hua's younger brother was born into poverty, but after encountering an unreliable in-law family, he became obsessed with taking advantage of his older and younger sisters' families.
My younger sister married into the same village; her family is of modest means, and she doesn't pay any attention to him.
So they set their sights on the married older sister, but Yang Hua never returned after leaving, it seemed she really intended to settle down in Xiaoshi Village.
Song Zhenping also said this.
No matter how good Broken Gold Town is, he still wants to go back to Little Stone Village; that's where his home is.
Song Liyun didn't say much.
Song Lao Er is no longer able to return from the grasslands, and Xiao Gu Shi and Song Xiao Bao have been sold to the south by the Wan family. There is no one here who can make things difficult for him anymore.
Being able to live in a familiar place is also a kind of happiness.
As for Xiao An's future, he can choose for himself when he grows up.
Song Liyun opened the box she had brought. Inside, besides the fine silk fabrics she had prepared for Yang Hua and the children, there were some ginseng and bird's nests she had bought in the prefectural city, as well as jars sealed with oilcloth.
"This time I brought you fabric and postpartum supplements, as well as baby formula!"
"Milk...powder, what is this?" Yang Hua was confused.
Song Liyun was in a hurry to go to the Balin tribe to deliver milk powder to Yang Hua.
"Milk powder is milk."
"Sister-in-law, my brother said you don't need to prepare a wet nurse. If you don't have enough breast milk, you can just mix formula with water, and that'll be drinkable milk. You don't need to feed your baby rice cereal!"
Yang Hua's eyes widened suddenly, and she clutched her belly, murmuring, "My child! You are so lucky!"
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