Jiang Yuwei picked a whole basket full of mushrooms in one morning. When she returned to the courtyard, everyone had already finished lunch and continued working.
Jiang Yuwei took out the mushrooms she had picked that day and found an open space to dry them.
There are fresh mushrooms, so tonight Jiang Yuwei plans to kill the pheasant she used to raise and make chicken stew with mushrooms, and also make a mushroom soup. Since she's not planning to sell fried cakes anymore, and the family isn't using as much oil, she'll just add fried mushrooms to the meal tonight.
As Jiang Yuwei pondered this, her hands continued moving. Just as she had boiled a pot of water to prepare for plucking the chicken feathers, she saw a woman walking towards her from afar, someone she seemed to have seen somewhere before.
When the woman entered the courtyard, Jiang Yuwei recognized her as Xu Qianqian, the widow she had seen on the village road that morning. Just as she was wondering what she was doing in her courtyard, she saw her waddling straight toward Ning Huaizhi.
Xu Qianqian was already a married woman with a well-developed figure. In addition, she walked with a naturally alluring gait, and since entering the courtyard, she had captivated the men who worked there.
When Ning Huaizhi saw Xu Qianqian, he simply smiled slightly and said:
"Qianqian, what brings you here today?"
Upon seeing Ning Huaizhi sitting in a wheelchair, Xu Qianqian initially frowned, but then glanced at the six brick houses under construction in front of her. Her expression immediately changed; she knelt down beside Ning Huaizhi's legs, her eyes filled with tears, and looked up at him softly, saying:
"Brother Huaizhi, will your leg ever get better?"
Seeing Xu Qianqian shed tears, Ning Huaizhi frowned and said:
"My leg, I'm afraid..."
Before Ning Huaizhi could finish speaking, Xu Qianqian reached out and covered his mouth with her index finger, softly saying:
“Brother Huaizhi, now that my husband’s family is gone, I’ve become a widow. I came back to the village today to seek refuge with my parents. I heard about your situation from my mother, and I felt so heartbroken that I ran to see you. Seeing you like this now, I can’t bear it. From now on, I will come to this courtyard to take care of you whenever I have free time.”
Ning Huaizhi calmly pushed Xu Qianqian's hand away and said coldly:
"No need for Qianqian to worry. My leg is just like this. Now that your sister-in-law made this wheelchair for me, at least I can get out of bed."
Ever since Xu Qianqian entered the hospital, Jiang Yuwei has lost all interest in killing chickens, gripping the chicken-killing knife and staring intently at Xu Qianqian and Ning Huaizhi's every move.
When Xu Qianqian heard Ning Huaizhi mention her sister-in-law, she turned to look at Jiang Yuwei, and burst out laughing at the first glance.
"Wow, your sister-in-law looks quite fierce. She doesn't seem like a woman at all, doing all the work of a man."
Hearing Xu Qianqian speak of her like that, Jiang Yuwei could no longer bear it and raised the kitchen knife in her hand, walking towards her.
Xu Qianqian had never seen anything like this before. Startled, she took a few steps back and ran behind Ning Huaizhi, glaring at Jiang Yuwei with hostility as she said:
"What...what do you want to do?"
Jiang Yuwei glanced coldly at Xu Qianqian, then at the kitchen knife in her hand, and laughed:
"I didn't do anything, I was just killing a chicken. You're the widow who brought death to her husband's entire family, right? What are you doing at my house?"
Xu Qianqian's face flushed red with anger when she heard Jiang Yuwei say that to her. Pointing at Jiang Yuwei, she cried and said:
"Brother Huaizhi, the woman you married is too fierce! What a waste of you! Look what she said about me!"
Ning Huaizhi frowned and said:
"Yuwei, how could you say that about Qianqian?"
Seeing Ning Huaizhi's current state, Jiang Yuwei's heart sank. He didn't even call her "wife" in front of Xu Qianqian? Humph, men are actually siding with her. It seems that no matter the era, scheming women are always popular with men.
Thinking this, Jiang Yuwei suddenly lost her goodwill towards Ning Huaizhi. She looked coldly at the couple in front of her and smiled bitterly. What was she doing, acting like a clown in front of them? Ning Huaizhi probably never cared about her, and this marriage was just a joke. What right did she have to be jealous? With that thought, Jiang Yuwei went back to sit down and kill the chicken.
Seeing Jiang Yuwei's lost and dejected state, Ning Huaizhi felt a sudden pang of pain in his heart. He had just managed to utter a single word:
"Yuwei..."
He was interrupted by Xu Qianqian, who had already squatted down beside Ning Huaizhi's legs, looking at him with teary eyes and speaking softly:
“Brother Huaizhi, you know I’ve always been kind-hearted. I didn’t cause my husband’s family to die. I didn’t want them to die either. I only came back to rely on my family because I had no other choice. Now, I’m being humiliated like this in the village. I really don’t want to live anymore.”
Ning Huaizhi frowned as he looked at Xu Qianqian, who had a wronged expression, and unconsciously softened his voice:
"Qianqian, this is not your fault. I know Yuwei said something harsh just now. I apologize to you on her behalf. As for the life-or-death situation, don't think about it anymore. Now that you're back at your parents' home, just settle down and relax."
Seeing Ning Huaizhi say this, Xu Qianqian immediately took his hand and looked at him pleadingly, saying:
"Brother Huaizhi, may I visit you often in the future? If you still cherish our childhood friendship, please don't refuse me."
Ning Huaizhi pulled his hand away from Xu Qianqian's and smiled faintly at her:
"If you have nothing to do, you are welcome to come and visit often."
Hearing Ning Huaizhi say this, Xu Qianqian felt that she still held a place in his heart, so she smiled and stood up, saying:
"I knew Brother Huaizhi was the best to me. I'll be going now, and I'll come see you again tomorrow."
After saying that, Xu Qianqian turned around and gave Jiang Yuwei, who was still squatting on the ground killing chickens, a contemptuous smile, and then swayed out of the yard.
After Xu Qianqian left, Ning Zhao ran to Jiang Yuwei's side, squatted down, and whispered:
"Mother, I hate that person. Don't let her come to our house again."
Looking at Ning Zhao's sensible demeanor, Jiang Yuwei smiled faintly at him and said:
“Zhao’er, be good. Mother doesn’t like that person either, but your father does. If she wants to come here in the future, Mother can’t stop her.”
Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, Ning Zhao stared at Ning Huaizhi with a complicated expression.
Jiang Yuwei didn't care about the relationship between the father and son. Right now, it seemed that the only thing keeping her in this family was her two sensible children.
Jiang Yuwei was currently only thinking about how to give both children to her alone. As for that jerk Ning Huaizhi, since he liked someone like Xu Qianqian, she might as well let them be together.
With something on her mind, Jiang Yuwei used more force in her hands, and the chicken feathers were quickly pulled off. Jiang Yuwei was always efficient and clean, and soon dinner was ready. Only then did she ask Ning Zhao to invite everyone to eat.
Since Xu Qianqian left, Jiang Yuwei hasn't looked at Ning Huaizhi again, nor has she said a word to him. Ning Huaizhi was puzzled, but seeing that Jiang Yuwei seemed angry, he didn't dare to ask and could only silently help with the work.
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