“Comrade Xia, you have no idea how cunning Yun Qinghuan is. She actually seduced Bai Naihan into buying her a pair of leather shoes from the town’s mall. Those leather shoes in the town’s mall are so expensive; I can’t even bring myself to buy them. Moreover, Bai Naihan is injured now and has lost his job. There will be many expenses in the future, but he didn’t even blink an eye spending so much money on Yun Qinghuan. Aren’t you angry? Did he ever buy you anything when you were dating?”
Like an arrow through the heart!
Even though Xia Yuhua knew that Wang Shufeng might be trying to sow discord, she couldn’t help feeling stifled in her chest!
She forcefully pushed Wang Shufeng away and walked forward. As Wang Shufeng tried to catch up, Xia Yuhua turned around fiercely and glared at her, “If you dare say one more word, I’ll go back and tell my dad to get you a job!”
A threatening tone.
Wang Shufeng, who had taken a step forward, hesitated, and only when Xia Yuhua was far away did she angrily cut the pigweed with a sickle!
Her hands were shaking from anger!
What kind of airs did she put on?
Wasn’t it all because of having a dad who was a leader? What was the use of having a good dad when you couldn’t even keep a man?
She couldn’t even compare to Yun Qinghuan, a widow!
Although she was angry, she didn’t want to miss the drama.
After the others had walked far away, she quickly carried her basket and sickle, quietly following behind.
When she saw Xia Yuhua heading towards the pigsty, her spirits instantly lifted, and she followed even more cautiously.
On the other side, Yun Qinghuan and the others arrived at the pigsty. They placed the grass on the chopping board, chopped it up a bit with an axe, and then poured it into the pig trough.
As Yun Qinghuan expected, Bai Naihan’s basket had significantly more grass. When poured out, it felt like three times more than hers.
Qiao Yue had already finished cleaning the pigsty and, upon hearing some noise, came out to see. Observing the amount of grass they had gathered, she couldn’t help but remark, “You cut quite fast, and there’s quite a lot. At this rate, if you’re quick, you might finish the work by noon. In the afternoon, you’ll just need to come and feed them.”
Yun Qinghuan smiled, “We should be thankful for Naihan; otherwise, relying on just me, I’m afraid I would have to work until it gets dark.”
She rubbed her wrist, and her arms ached from carrying the basket.
Bai Jin’an on the side was a bit dissatisfied, “Mom, what about me? An’an is also helping cut grass.”
Yun Qinghuan chuckled, “Yes, we also have An’an helping Mom. Thank you, An’an.”
The little one pursed his lips and smiled, “You’re welcome.”
With his childish voice and a demeanor resembling a little adult, it was quite amusing, causing some of the people present to suppress their laughter.
Qiao Yue praised, “Qinghuan, your child is raised so well!”
In the village, many children would help their families with chores, but most of the time, it was the girls assisting. Boys were often cherished treasures in their families.
Some boys had hot tempers, which Qiao Yue found a bit unusual.
“Our An’an is sensible,” Yun Qinghuan praised the child generously.
If in her previous life, she had encountered a child like An’an, perhaps she wouldn’t have been so steadfast in her decision to remain unmarried and childless.
The little one blushed from the praise, happily rubbing the corners of his clothes.
Yun Qinghuan glanced at the pigsty; perhaps Qiao Yue had already cleaned it up, and there was no lingering smell. She asked, “Is the pigsty all set now? Can we rest in the afternoon?”
Qiao Yue put the shovel aside, pounded her arms, “How could it be? The pigs, having eaten their fill, will keep defecating until the afternoon. After resting and having lunch, I’ll have to come back for another cleanup.”
Otherwise, if pig manure were left in the pigsty for these pig ancestors to trample all night, it would be even dirtier and harder to clean the next day.
“That’s not an easy task.”
“It’s alright. At least, doing this job gives me some break time, and it’s peaceful.” Qiao Yue didn’t like interacting too much with people in the village anyway.
After chopping and pouring the pig grass into the trough, Yun Qinghuan and Bai Naihan rested for a while and planned to continue cutting pig grass. The pigs in the nearby pen, seeing the other pigs happily eating grass, started squealing hungrily, making somewhat miserable sounds.
Yun Qinghuan glanced over and asked Qiao Yue, “Has Wang Shufeng not returned from cutting pig grass yet?”
Considering the time that had passed, even if Wang Shufeng worked slowly, she should have finished cutting a basket of grass by now.
Qiao Yue shrugged, “Who knows? Every time she’s dragging her feet, she can’t cut a basket of grass until the afternoon.”
In the morning, the pigs should be the hungriest and most in need of food, but Wang Shufeng always fed them in the afternoon. By that time, the pigs had already passed the peak of hunger, ate less, but lost weight quickly.
Qiao Yue couldn’t criticize Wang Shufeng openly. Although she was offering a well-intentioned reminder, Wang Shufeng always felt targeted by her.
Yun Qinghuan looked sympathetically at the group of hungry pigs, blaming their fate for having such a caretaker. Although she found cutting pig grass tiring, she would do her best to take care of the pigs under her responsibility.
“Alright, let’s go cut pig grass first.”
After a short rest, Yun Qinghuan regained her composure and intended to cut pig grass again. The empty basket wasn’t heavy anyway, and she decided to bring Bai Naihan’s basket as well; after all, it wasn’t convenient for him to wheel a wheelchair with one hand.
Bai Naihan refused, saying, “Sister-in-law, I can manage it myself.”
He avoided the arm carrying the basket.
However, due to Yun Qinghuan leaning forward, from a distance, it appeared that the two were standing a bit too close.
Not far away, Xia Yuhua’s face darkened as she walked briskly over. Taking advantage of Yun Qinghuan and Bai Naihan’s inattention, she abruptly bumped into Yun Qinghuan and exclaimed, “Let everyone judge for me! I’m still officially Bai Naihan’s partner. Today, I came to check on him, considering he’s injured. But what do I see? This shameless girl openly clinging to my younger brother-in-law in broad daylight. Why can’t she endure loneliness? Disgraceful!”
Xia Yuhua’s sudden shove caught Yun Qinghuan off guard. Since there was no support around and Xia Yuhua had applied some clever force, she was being pushed directly into Bai Naihan’s arms. Seeing that she might press onto his injured leg, Yun Qinghuan had no time to react except to use her hands to support herself below, avoiding putting pressure on him.
During the recent follow-up examination at Uncle Zhang’s place, Bai Naihan’s leg injury had already started scabbing, and any additional injury had to be avoided at all costs.
Closing her eyes, expecting a hard fall to the ground this time, she was surprised to find no imagined pain. Instead, a strong pair of hands caught her, and, in the panic, her hands touched something…
A low, deep hum came from the man.
Suddenly, silence.
The entire air seemed frozen in stillness.
Even Xia Yuhua, who was aiming to stir up trouble, stopped. She stared in shock as the man’s face suddenly turned red.
Then, his face twisted in anger!
She had intentionally pushed Yun Qinghuan, hoping she would fall into Bai Naihan’s arms, creating a scene for everyone to witness her shamelessness. However, she didn’t anticipate that Yun Qinghuan, the cunning woman, would end up in such an awkward position with the man!
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Translator Note
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