"I’m not going back, I’ll stay here tonight with Feng Ying, Brother Gao, can you please tell my dad?" Dong ihua didn’t want to go back with Gao Jiazhi.
"Sure." Gao Jiazhi readily agreed and promptly left. It was late at night and the roads were not easy to walk; it was better not to take Dong ihua back.
He Hongjun waited at the Gao family’s house for quite a while, chatting with Gao Guoqiang. When he saw Gao Jiazhi return alone, he felt a bit disappointed and said, "Didn’t find her?"
"I found her, she’s at Liu Haiguo’s house. She said she wants to stay there with Feng Ying and not co back," Gao Jiazhi explained.
Sun Yuhua tugged at the corner of her mouth and breathed a sigh of relief.
He Hongjun’s face fell. He hadn’t expected Dong ihua to be unwilling to return. It seed she was still upset. He told Gao Jiazhi, "Thank you. It’s late, and if she doesn’t want to co back, let her be. As long as she is safe, that’s good."
At this point, He Hongjun said to Gao Guoqiang, "This family sha should not be spread abroad. I’ve lost face all the way to your place."
Gao Guoqiang replied, "Forget it, don’t talk about these unnecessary things. My family has its own issues. We’ve lived in the sa production team for so many years, every household has its troubles; everyone knows everyone."
He Hongjun felt a bit more comfortable after Gao Guoqiang said this, and sat for a while before he left.
As soon as He Hongjun had left, Zheng Xianghong ca over and whispered, "It couldn’t be because of Xia Xiao’s pregnancy, could it? Li Shengi must be displeased with Dong ihua."
Gao Guoqiang glanced at Zheng Xianghong and said, "Why ntion these things? It’s none of our family’s business."
Zheng Xianghong didn’t say anything more, but she believed it was true, still her curiosity about dical matters lingered in her heart.
Sun Yuhua then confird, "That must be the reason. Li Shengi watches Dong ihua’s belly every day, almost as though she could stare a grandson out of it."
Xia Xiao didn’t concern herself with these things, but she also felt Sun Yuhua’s guess was very close, possibly right. Rubbing her belly, Xia Xiao thought it had only been three months, yet it was so exhausting already.
She wished ti would pass faster and the baby would co out soon, as the days of pregnancy were too hard and quite boring.
Everyone went to work, and she was left idle at ho, unable to even find soone to talk to.
If this were a future era, she could go out shopping, eat good food, see beautiful scenery, but here, labor was most honored—there really wasn’t much fun or anything interesting to do.
Thus, now Xia Xiao either did so light household chores or knitted sweaters—since she couldn’t sew—or went into the space to plant vegetables and talk to Shitou, or she visited Ge Liang, ca back to play with little Weilin, and that was all.
After taking a bath, Xia Xiao chatted with everyone in the courtyard for a while, then announced she was going to sleep.
Being pregnant made her sleepy, which everyone understood, and Zheng Xianghong told Xia Xiao to rest well.
Xia Xiao returned to her room, bolted the door, and went into the space.
Shitou said, "That chicken has been crowing for a long ti, it’s so annoying, let out quickly."
Xia Xiao laughed, "Maybe it’s about to lay eggs."
Indeed, when Xia Xiao went to check, the chicken had really laid eggs—two of them.
Excitent crossed Xia Xiao’s face. "They usually lay just one, but now it’s laid two at once."
Shitou remarked, "The water in the space makes a difference, doesn’t it?"
Xia Xiao wondered, "Could it be that I’m carrying twins or even fraternal twins in my belly?"
Laughter echoed in the air from Shitou, prompting Xia Xiao to quickly say, "Stop, I don’t want to know."
"Why don’t you want to know? I thought you’d be curious," Shitou said.
Xia Xiao shook her head. "I don’t want to know now." And Shitou’s laughter made her feel it couldn’t be twins; if it were, Shitou would definitely have told her.
Xia Xiao set the eggs aside, planning to eat one each day. She wasn’t going out to trade these days, and whatever vegetables she had in the space, she mixed in with food for her family or made into dried dishes she’d send to her parents’ ho.
The wild fruits previously stored in the space were too much for Xia Xiao to consu alone; many fell and beca compost in the space. This ti, however, Xia Xiao was planning to learn wine-making from Zheng Xianghong.
Now that Zheng Xianghong had spare ti at ho, Xia Xiao asked her about winemaking, then bought empty jars at the county town and started experinting in the space.
At the Red Star Production Team, Dong ihua stayed at the Lius’ ho for three days, helping Feng Ying with work, but never saw the He family or anyone from the Guangming Production Team co looking for her.
Dong ihua felt uneasy. She supposed she should have returned the next day, especially since He Hongjun had sent Gao Jiazhi to find her. But Dong ihua didn’t return and had stayed in the Red Star Production Team for three days. It didn’t matter much for Dong ihua to visit, since she had married He Xuexiang and was now related to the He family, so both Feng Ying and Liu Haiguo were very pleased.
But after three days, Dong ihua still hadn’t returned, and Feng Ying finally persuaded her to leave.
Originally, having Liu Haihua staying around eating without working was already making Feng Ying unhappy. Though more tolerant towards Dong ihua, she also did not want her to continue staying, given the limited food at ho.
Dong ihua felt sowhat embarrassed and told Feng Ying, "Liu Haihua has been dining with you the whole ti without working, and she eats so much. Doesn’t she feel ashad?"
Hearing Liu Haihua ntioned, Feng Ying got irritated, "Ashad? She has a thick face."
Liu Haihua, who already had a big appetite, found it even larger during pregnancy, and the initial nausea had also subsided.
Feng Ying’s resentnt towards Liu Haihua grew daily, primarily because Liu Haihua didn’t respect her as a sister-in-law.
"Well, I’m going back," said Dong ihua.
"Go on, it’ll be hard to travel once it gets dark," Feng Ying nodded and didn’t attempt to keep Dong ihua any longer.
Dong ihua went back.
At the He family’s house, after her three days’ absence, He Hongjun felt sowhat discontent, thinking that Dong ihua was too temperantal. Did he really need to go fetch her himself?
Thus, He Hongjun stopped bothering about Dong ihua, and Li Shengi cared even less, writing to her son to complain and thinking if Dong ihua had the nerve, she could just stay in the Red Star Production Team, saving them food.
However, on the fourth day, Dong ihua couldn’t resist returning dejectedly, and naturally, she felt bitter.
"Dad," she called out upon seeing He Hongjun sitting in the courtyard.
He Hongjun glanced at Dong ihua and said indifferently, "Good that you’re back," and said no more.
Dong ihua felt even more sour inside. The He family indeed held no regard for her. After returning to her room and bolting the door, Dong ihua covered herself with the quilt and cried.
She resented He Xuexiang for being useless, causing her to stay at ho and face humiliations; she resented Xia Xiao for being pregnant, which led to her facing scolding and losing face; she hated Li Shengi for making things difficult for her.
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