On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Li Zhen returned to her parents' home.
Ye Su arrived again, riding a tall horse. His arrival attracted a lot of attention as soon as he entered the village. The village chief's wife stopped the two of them at the door of Wang Li's house and eagerly asked, "Li Zhen's wife, I heard you went to Linshui County a few days ago? How was it there?"
Li Zhen then remembered that her mother-in-law had told her about the village. The village chief's two sons and grandson had all gone to Linshui County and had not returned or written to her. Ye Su's trip to Linshui County was not a secret in Xiulou. It was likely that Wang Yehong had found out about it and told her grandparents.
Ye Su remained expressionless. "Linshui County is now safe, and the bandits have been wiped out."
"Everything's settled now? Everything's settled now!" the village chief's wife rambled on. "Have you heard anything about Fuxing Restaurant in the county town? How's the manager doing?"
Ye Su shook his head. He rarely paid attention to these things when he was fighting. He wouldn't even glance at restaurants and teahouses if he passed by them.
The village chief didn't have time for pleasantries and turned to run home.
Wang Li heard the noise early on, opened the courtyard gate, and saw her son-in-law all safe and sound. She smiled broadly and said, "Come in quickly, Daya, your mother is here."
Daya skipped and hopped out, but when she saw Ye Su, she was a little scared and called out "Uncle" shyly.
Wang Li led the person in, pouring tea and moving stools for them. "It's good that you're back. I can finally put my mind at ease."
Ye Su took out a bag of peach blossom pastries and gave it to Daya, saying only two words indifferently, "Eat it."
Daya was timid and hesitant to accept the offer. She was very afraid of her stepfather and always kept a stern face and didn't like to talk. Her grandmother said that people who had served in the army had all killed people. After her mother married into the family, she had nightmares for several nights. In her dreams, her mother was beaten and scolded by her stepfather, covered in blood, and was shouting for help to her.
In her dreams, she always ran to save her mother, but her stepfather would always beat her to death.
I wake up in a cold sweat every time.
Fortunately, when her mother returned home, she was relieved to see that her mother was healthy and unharmed. Later, her stepfather would occasionally come to the house, and each time he would fill the water tank and chop a pile of firewood. This year, she did not suffer from the cold during the Spring Festival.
But she was still afraid.
She loved going to her mother's house, especially on days when her stepfather wasn't there.
Li Zhen patted Daya's head, "Catch it quickly."
Only then did Da Ya dare to take it. Ye Su still didn't say anything, but went out to fetch water. Li Zhen smiled and went to the kitchen to help cook. Wang Li Shi looked down and watched him leave before whispering to Li Zhen, "The son-in-law is a good person, but he doesn't talk much. He's tall and strong, so it's normal for Da Ya to be scared."
Li Zhen nodded. Her family was poor. Even when her ex-husband was still alive, they were the target of ridicule from the villagers, both openly and secretly. After the death of the family's breadwinner, they were bullied even more openly. The clansmen coveted their small piece of land and often came to make trouble. It was Wang Li who was willing to risk everything. She took a kitchen knife and went to their door, chopping off the finger of one of the clansmen's uncles before they stopped.
However, Daya still developed a timid and fearful personality.
Li Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Mother, I'm pregnant. I'm already two months along. I was thinking, why don't you and Daya come and live with me? Tanshui Village isn't far from here. We can just come back every few days to check on the land, and if necessary, we can rent it out."
Wang Li was stunned, unable to describe her feelings. Her former daughter-in-law was pregnant, and the child she was carrying had no blood relation to her. But this was someone she had cared for as her daughter for several years. She was both happy and regretful. She had longed for her daughter-in-law to carry on her son's family line, but after so many years, she only had one daughter, Daya, and her son's lineage was cut off.
Now, her daughter-in-law is pregnant less than four months after remarrying.
She sighed, "It's all fate."
After a long pause, he shook his head. "You've remarried and are pregnant again. You two should live your lives happily. Da Ya and I won't interfere. You're a filial son and visit me often. I won't be afraid of having no one to take care of me when I'm old."
In no time, the news of Li Zhen's return to her parents' home had spread throughout Wangjia Village.
"Hey, Li Zhen is really lucky. I just saw the new son-in-law heading south towards the river. He must be going to fetch water again. He's always chopping wood and fetching water."
"Most of the firewood that Li Zhen's family needs to get through the winter this year was chopped by him."
"If I had known that jinx was so good at managing his money, I should have married my daughter to him back then."
As for the old bachelors in Tanshui Village, some people in Wangjia Village have heard a thing or two about them.
Everyone here was envious. As soon as the village chief's wife entered the house, she told him what she had found out. Wang Li reassured his elderly parents, "Don't worry, I'll go to Linshui County to find my second and third brothers and my eldest nephew right now."
Wang Xiaoman stepped forward and said, "Dad, the family can't do without you. I'll go. I'll go find my second uncle, third uncle, and eldest brother. Linshui County isn't far. It only takes five or six hours to get there. I'll set off early tomorrow morning and get to the county town before dark."
The village chief leaned against the headboard, took a drag of his cigarette, and pondered for a moment. Wang Li was his eldest son, and he was thinking of getting in touch with the village head in a few days to make Wang Li the village chief. Xiao Man was the second grandson in the family, and he had two younger brothers. The Wang family was not afraid of having no descendants. "Let Xiao Man go."
"Dad." Wang Li didn't want his son to go. Wang Xiaoman was only seventeen years old this year. Compared to his third brother's son, Wang Chao, he was simple-minded and didn't like to study. He had been strong since he was a child and worked hard to support Wang Chao's education. He had never had a good life. "Xiaoman is reckless and not suitable to go."
The village chief waved his hand, put down his pipe, lay down, and said no more.
After learning about this, Wang Li's wife made some sarcastic remarks. She said that Linshui County was supposed to be stable now, but there had been trouble just a few days ago. How could she bear to let her eldest son go to such a place? This made Wang Chao's mother very unhappy. Her son and husband had gone with her second uncle. When they went there, it was the most chaotic place. Now that everything was stable, what was wrong with going to find someone?
The Lu family didn't leave their house, but the villagers who came to visit spread the gossip. They talked about it for almost half an hour. Qin Xiaozhou listened from the side and noticed that in addition to the undisguised envy between the lines, Li Zhen and Ye Su also came with the gossip.
She also brought gifts. Li Zhen took out a packet of dried tofu and two plasters. "These plasters were brought back by my husband from the military doctor. He said they are very useful for treating fractures."
Wang Lan pulled her along, saying, "Alright, alright, the things in the army are definitely the best. You've gone to so much trouble." After looking her over carefully again, she noticed that Li Zhen had become much fairer, with delicate and rosy skin, and bright eyes. She no longer had the timidity and weakness she had a few months ago. She was clearly well-cared for. "You've married a good man. Live a good life from now on."
Li Zhen stole a glance at Ye Su in the courtyard and nodded slightly. She hadn't expected to remarry so well in her second marriage; she couldn't believe it herself.
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