As soon as Dong ihua set the kettle down, she began to work, feeling rather disgruntled. She had been married to He Xuexiang for less than a month, yet the focus was already on her belly, which was truly infuriating.
Beside her, the won couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "Li Shengi, perhaps your daughter-in-law is already carrying a child," one teased.
Li Shengi rushed to say to Dong ihua, "Then you rest, I’ll do it. But you know, us country folks aren’t so delicate—even if we’re pregnant, we still have to work in the fields. Every household is the sa, with no exceptions."
Dong ihua wanted to say that when Yang Hua was pregnant, she had been well taken care of at ho, but since she was a new bride and the n were not at ho, Dong ihua held her tongue.
Xia Xiao and the others were not far away, listening to Li Shengi’s words. Xia Xiao silently sympathized with Dong ihua and felt grateful for her own circumstances.
Li Shengi always expressed her care for Dong ihua in front of others, making it seem as though the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were as close as a real mother and daughter, maybe even closer.
But occasionally, the words she said and the things she did made one feel it was all just for show.
Xia Xiao was reminded of a saying: Pretending is easy, but the hard part is pretending for a lifeti.
However, this was already quite good. Sotis Xia Xiao couldn’t understand those mothers-in-law who mistreated their daughters-in-law; weren’t they worried that when they were old, the daughters-in-law might mistreat them or be unfriendly in return?
Sun Yuhua looked over at Dong ihua and said to Gao Jiazhi, "Look at how well Li Shengi treated Dong ihua before she got married. Now, saying such things in front of everyone, isn’t she just making Dong ihua embarrassed?"
"Don’t worry about their affairs," said Gao Jiazhi. Although he was good friends with He Xuexiang, he preferred to keep his distance from the affairs of the He family, as long as they didn’t involve his own.
Sun Yuhua said, "Your mom treats well now, but will she change in the future?"
Gao Jiazhi replied, "No, my mom is kind-hearted. Look at how well she gets along with Xia Xiao. She’s not the sa as Li Shengi."
Sun Yuhua glanced again at Zheng Xianghong and Xia Xiao and said, "I feel like your mom plays favorites, favoring your brother and Xia Xiao. She treats Xia Xiao better than she treats ."
Gao Jiazhi shook his head, "You’re overthinking it. My mom has always been close to Xia Xiao. With Jiaxing not here, it’s natural for my mom to help Xia Xiao a bit. Besides, you have my help; don’t worry too much about it."
Sun Yuhua pouted and said no more, and Gao Jiazhi didn’t take it to heart. Even without knowing his own background, he never felt there was anything to fuss over. After learning about his true heritage, he felt even less concerned.
He wasn’t their biological child, but his parents treated him so well, supported his high school education, and aside from not allowing him to join the army, Gao Jiazhi didn’t feel there was any wrongdoing—in fact, their refusal was out of concern for his safety.
Gao Jiazhi’s thoughts turned to the death of his oldest uncle and considered his mother’s guilt towards the Gao family and his father. Many previously unclear matters were now becoming clearer.
Once the work was finished, everyone gradually packed up to leave, but Li Shengi and Dong ihua were among the last.
Gao Guoqiang, fearing that so people might slack off, usually assigned tasks based on headcount, sotis by group, and sotis individually.
Li Shengi and Dong ihua rushed to finish their tasks until nearly dark before heading ho, with Li Shengi chiding Dong ihua all the way. When they arrived, Li Shengi urged Dong ihua to quickly start cooking dinner.
At the team headquarters, Ning Hui confronted Li Zhenchuan, "I’ve co all this way. What are you going to do now?"
Li Zhenchuan replied, "Then go back."
"I’ll go back if you marry ," Ning Hui insisted, looking at Li Zhenchuan stubbornly. "If you don’t marry , I’m going to stick around and haunt you for the rest of your life."
"Well, just keep waiting then," Li Zhenchuan said as he walked away.
Ning Hui watched his retreating figure until it was distant, tears plopping down as her heart ached unbearably.
Over at the Youth Point, Xia Xiao was cooking, with Wang Aihua, Sun Yuhua, and Yang Xuehua all gathered around, and Fang Yuejin had joined them too.
After Yao Wangchun and Xu i got married, they started cooking for themselves, and Gu Weiguo ate with them, no longer coming to Xia Xiao’s for als.
Following the New Year, Gu Weiguo grew much quieter; once an arrogant young master, he beca a lancholic one. Apart from Yao Wangchun and Xu i, he didn’t get close to anyone else.
Suddenly, while everyone else was chatting and laughing, Ning Hui ran back in a hurry, and the sound of sobbing could be heard as soon as she burst into the room.
"What happened, what’s this about?" Xia Xiao whispered.
Wang Aihua said in a low voice, "She must have faced a setback at Secretary Li’s. It’s an everyday occurrence, so we’re all used to it by now."
At this mont, Xia Xiao and the others were cooking outside the door on a makeshift stove built from bricks, so the sight of Ning Hui in that state silenced them all.
Though no one spoke of it, everyone knew Ning Hui must have faced a setback at Secretary Li’s again. However, considering Ning Hui’s temperant, they found it hard to sympathize.
Once the food was ready, Xia Xiao and the others naturally brought it inside their dormitory to eat. Before Xia Xiao ca back, everyone ate in the cafeteria, but now with Xia Xiao’s presence, they all started cooking in their dormitory.
By the ti Xia Xiao and the others had brought in all the dishes, Ning Hui’s crying had subsided, and eventually, there was no sound at all.
Xia Xiao’s gaze turned towards Ning Hui’s bed, where Ning Hui had now covered her head with the blanket and was curled up under it, silent and still.
"Do you want to co over and eat sothing?" Yang Xuehua still spoke up.
There was no response from the bed, and everyone else continued with their al, Xia Xiao said, "Sister Xuehua, let’s eat."
Then everyone started to eat. Despite Ning Hui’s presence, it didn’t affect their appetite, as they were all exhausted from a long day’s work.
Suddenly, Ning Hui sat up, glared at Xia Xiao and the others, and then walked over to look at the dishes on the table, saying, "I want to eat."
"Serve yourself," Xia Xiao finally said, noticing Ning Hui’s red eyes.
Ning Hui imdiately got her bowl and joined everyone for the al. Although the sudden change in atmosphere was a bit unsettling for the dorm, no one said anything.
"Did you make this?" asked Ning Hui after eating.
Xia Xiao nodded, and Ning Hui comnted, "It’s delicious. I didn’t expect you to have such skill."
Everyone laughed, and Xia Xiao pulled at the corner of her mouth, saying, "If it tastes good, eat more."
If Ning Hui was willing to get along well with everyone, Xia Xiao was very welcoming. After all, they were tired from working all day, and who would want to engage in strife?
Moreover, having an engagent set up with Li Zhenchuan, arranged by the elders, and coming from a decent family, it was good not to offend her. If they could be friendly, who would choose enemies over friends? If they could all get along, Xia Xiao was naturally happy.
What Xia Xiao didn’t expect was that just one al would have Ning Hui sticking to her and even considering her a best friend. This quick turnaround was sowhat difficult for Xia Xiao to adapt to and even took her by surprise.
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