Having solved the problem, Aunt and the others were relieved of their burdens, and everyone couldn’t just sit around—there were many things to prepare. Jas Brown and Emily Berns also went out to help.
"So, how did I do? Not bad, right?" Emily Berns asked with a smile while she and Jas Brown were packing wedding candies and sunflower seeds.
Jas Brown smiled and said, "You did really well."
"Am I qualified to be your wife?" Emily Berns asked proudly.
Jas Brown let out an awkward laugh, not daring to answer that question.
"Hmph, forget it if you’re not going to say it." Emily Berns pouted, but didn’t get angry with Jas Brown. She was in an exceptionally good mood today and didn’t bother arguing with him.
At this mont, Little Violet ca running in, her once beautiful clothes now covered in dust and grass. Emily Berns was startled and exclaid, "Daughter, what happened to you?"
Little Violet giggled and said, "I was playing hide and seek with so kids. I hid in a pile of grass, and no one could find . I won in the end. Am I aweso or what?"
Emily Berns hurriedly patted the dust off her daughter’s body, frowning, "That’s so dirty."
Jas Brown laughed, "Don’t be so cautious. Kids benefit from interacting with nature; keeping them in a bubble all the ti ans they’ll have no immunity."
Emily Berns glared at Jas Brown and said, "You’re the kind of father who doesn’t care about his daughter."
"How could I not care about my daughter? But our Little Violet is usually cooped up in the room. She rarely gets a chance to bond with nature. Here, the air is good and there’s no pollution. Even the dust is better than the smog in our city. Just let her go out and play."
Emily Berns pouted and said to her daughter, "Sweet daughter, you can go out and play, and I won’t fuss if you get a little dirty, but just be sure to stay safe."
Little Violet wiped the sweat from her forehead and said, "I know, Mom. Dad, I’m going out to play!" With that, she ran out again.
"You, letting your daughter get so filthy, and you’re fine with it." Emily Berns gave Jas Brown a sidelong glance and grumbled.
Jas Brown chuckled, "This kind of thing, I will definitely indulge my daughter. It doesn’t affect her character and it will help her get to know new people. It’s beneficial for her future."
"You always have an argunt ready. I can’t win against you, but you’re washing her dirty clothes tonight."
"Okay, okay, I’ll wash them." Jas Brown replied with a grin.
Emily Berns and Jas Brown bickered a bit but weren’t truly upset. Instead, there was an indescribable sweetness. Being with Jas Brown today really felt more and more like being a married couple, a feeling Emily Berns had always longed for.
At dinner ti, almost everyone in the village ca to Aunt’s house. The courtyard was packed with people sitting under the canopies. Kids ran around the tables, and the mischievous ones even sneaked into the kitchen to steal a bite.
Jas Brown and Emily Berns were arranged to sit inside with Aunt Mary and another aunt, as it wasn’t quite appropriate for Emily Berns to be too conspicuous outside.
So initially worried that Emily Berns would find the rural feast unappetizing, but she ate heartily, which greatly improved everyone’s impression of her. They kept praising Emily Berns and urged Jas Brown to take good care of her.
Jas Brown agreed without hesitation. Here, if he showed any reluctance, these aunts would scold him to no end. No matter how capable he is, in front of his relatives, he is just a junior.
After dinner, Jas Brown was dragged by Uncle John and another uncle to play Landowner, with Emily Berns smiling beside him as they played.
Jas Brown could easily win against the two uncles, but since it was just for fun, and he didn’t want to win, he deliberately lost. By nine o’clock, he had lost over a thousand bucks.
The two uncles wanted to give the money back to Jas Brown, but he quickly said, "Uncle John, Uncle, the casino has no father and son; losing is losing. If you give it back, it’ll be embarrassing for ."
The two uncles were also embarrassed, winning money from a junior. But under Jas Brown’s insistence, they accepted it.
By this ti, Emily Berns was no longer by his side; she had taken their daughter to bed.
"Jas, hurry up and wash up. You need to go with the wedding party tomorrow morning," Aunt called Jas Brown over to give him water to wash up.
After washing up, Jas Brown asked, "Aunt, where am I sleeping tonight?"
Aunt pointed to a nearby door and said, "That’s our little room. You’ll sleep there with your wife and daughter. Our conditions are like this; talk to your wife and don’t find fault with us."
"Of course not!" Jas Brown quickly agreed and, without hesitation, pushed open the door and went in. He knew that if he didn’t sleep with Emily and their daughter tonight, Aunt wouldn’t let it go.
The room was dark, but there was so light. Jas Brown could see that the room wasn’t big, with only a small bed less than two ters wide. Emily Berns and their daughter were lying on the bed, the daughter at the head and Emily in the middle.
"Not playing anymore?" Emily Berns turned over, lay on the bed with her hands under her chin, and spoke softly.
"Not playing anymore." John Brown replied, sitting on the edge of the kang.
Emily Berns said again, "Then let’s hurry to sleep. We all have to welco the bride tomorrow morning, and I’m part of the welcoming team too."
John Brown had long known this. For Aunt’s family, Emily Berns was an esteed guest, and in rural weddings, only the most distinguished people would be part of the welcoming team.
Taking off his shoes, John Brown sat on the kang but frowned, saying, "Why are there only two quilts?" The two quilts on the kang, one was relatively small and was covering their daughter, while the other was covering Emily Berns.
Emily Berns blinked at John Brown and said, "With so many guests, it’s good enough they prepared two quilts for us. Besides, do you think even if there were more quilts, they’d give them to us?"
John Brown realized it made sense. They were a family of three: one quilt for the child and one for the couple. That was the norm. It would be odd to give them three quilts.
"Well... how about you and our daughter share a quilt?" John Brown cautiously suggested.
Emily Berns chuckled softly and said, "Our daughter really loves her blanket. She said it’s fluffy and very comfortable."
John Brown didn’t believe it and leaned over Emily Berns to try and take the small quilt from their daughter.
But who knew, the little hand their daughter had placed on the blanket was now tightly gripping it.
Sarah Evans imdiately burst into laughter and said, "See? I’m not lying to you. Our daughter just fell asleep, and if you wake her up, you’ll have to put her back to sleep."
John Brown had no choice but to release his hold, saying disappointedly, "Alright then, I’ll just make do for one night."
Emily Berns snorted, saying, "Suit yourself." Then she turned her back to John Brown, facing their daughter.
Emily Berns doing this actually made John Brown sigh in relief. If Emily had insisted on sharing a quilt with him, that would have been troubleso.
All John Brown had was the suit he was wearing, and wearing it to sleep would surely leave it wrinkled by morning, making it inappropriate for the wedding. So he had no choice but to take off the suit and place it at the end of the kang.
There, Emily Berns’ clothes were also placed. Like him, her outer clothes were also her day’s attire, and she had to take them off as well, leaving only their undergarnts.
John Brown looked at the shirt he was wearing, hesitated for a mont, and took it off too. Besides the dress pants, he wasn’t wearing anything else underneath. His good constitution made him not feel cold, but now he found he had nothing to wear while sleeping.
"Hmph, if you’re not afraid of the cold, freeze for a night. If you catch a cold and it affects the wedding tomorrow, don’t bla for not warning you."
"It’s fine. It’s not that cold, and you know how fit I am."
"Hmph, who knows if a woman has worn you out."
John Brown had no choice but to play deaf once again.
A knocking suddenly sounded, with Aunt Mary asking at the door, "Jas, are you sleeping?"
"No!" John Brown quickly responded.
"I’ll co in to tell you sothing." Saying so, the door was pulled open.
When John Brown entered, he saw that the door wasn’t locked but didn’t expect Aunt Mary to just co in. If she saw he wasn’t sharing a quilt with Emily Berns, she would probably think the couple was having a spat. So he quickly lifted the quilt and slipped into Emily Berns’.
Rural folks aren’t so particular, especially since Aunt Mary was John Brown’s elder, she was even less attentive to such things. After pushing the door open, she ca straight to the kang side and asked, "Is the child asleep?"
Emily Berns quickly said, "Asleep," but her heart was pounding. She didn’t expect such a situation; John Brown had not only co into her quilt but now Aunt Mary was watching them.
"Haha, this rural kang is not as comfortable as the beds in the city. I’m worried you delicate folks will find it unbearable."
Emily Berns sweetly smiled and said, "Aunt Mary, it’s fine. The kang is warm and comfortable."
"That’s good, that’s good." Aunt Mary nodded repeatedly and actually sat down on the edge of the kang, on John Brown’s side.
The small kang was already crowded, and with Aunt Mary sitting, it felt even more cramped. John Brown had to move closer to Emily Berns, causing his ribs and thigh to touch her.
Emily Berns’ body visibly tensed. Their relationship with John Brown could only be described as unusual. They had a child together, yet she felt distant from him. Even this simple body contact made Emily Berns’ heart race, like a young girl experiencing such closeness with a man for the first ti.
Both of them were lying flat at that mont. John Brown’s arm was outside; if he hid it under the quilt, it would seem disrespectful to the elder. anwhile, Emily Berns only had her head exposed. Being so close to John Brown, they appeared, in Aunt Mary’s eyes, to be a loving couple.
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