Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

“I don’t know who they are, they didn’t say …” Little Cui’s voice trailed off.

Liu Sisi’s head was a bit dizzy, but in a moment she understood that it must have been that person from Heilong Mountain who arranged this.

They actually dared to reach out to the people around her! It was really infuriating!

Her mind turned quickly: “How often do you meet that so-called ‘Master’ every few days? Also, what’s going on between Ye Lei and you?”

“Last night I went to see the master. As for who the master really is, as someone of low status I’ve never seen him, so I don’t know. I didn’t pay attention to what was behind me when I went. I didn’t know when Third Brother started following me. Not until later did I hear that someone was found trespassing on the mountain at the checkpoint, and then a fight broke out. Someone slapped me twice. I was driven down the mountain, and then I ran into Third Brother again…”

Little Cui had a face full of distress, and couldn’t help but wipe her tears.

Although the other party’s words seemed reasonable, Liu Sisi felt intuitively that there was a problem, but it seemed that there was no point in further questioning.

“However, Third Sister-in-law, there’s nothing between me and Third Brother. Nothing at all. I… I lied to you before…”

Little Cui stuttered and lowered her head.

“I know.”

Little Cui was very shocked: “You know? Do you really believe that Third Brother wouldn’t…?”

“I believe Ye Lei is not the kind of person who would have impure thoughts about his sister-in-law. He’s too honest and simple, such twisted thoughts are not something men like him would have!” Liu Sisi said with full confidence.

Instead, Little Cui laughed: “Third Sister-in-law! Men in this world are really unpredictable.”

Liu Sisi bent over to help her up, but she wouldn’t tell her that what she believed in was her own intuition.

“Stop beating him! If you continue, he will…die!”

The angry roar of Elderly Mr. Di suddenly came from outside.

Liu Sisi couldn’t help but look outside through the window, taking in the scene outside.

“You should leave! If you don’t get out now, I’m afraid there will really be trouble.”

Little Cui was immediately overjoyed! She quickly knelt down and kowtowed three times: “Thank you, Third Sister-in-law! Thank you for understanding Little Cui’s predicament…” After she finished kowtowing, she wiped her tears and quickly got up to run out the door.

“Wait!”

The sudden call from behind made Little Cui stop in her tracks and look back at Liu Sisi: “Third Sister-in-law, you… what does this mean?”

Liu Sisi took two steps forward, staring straight at her, making Little Cui’s heart skip a beat.

“I won’t mention this incident again considering you are my sister-in-law. However, from today onwards, all you need to do is to take good care of the old house. That would be the greatest care you can give to me. Understand?”

Did she want her to stay away from her?

Little Cui gave a bitter smile, then bowed: “Third Sister-in-law, rest assured, Little Cui understands.”

She let out a sigh of relief after she left the room. She had narrowly avoided catastrophe this time, but how she should report to the Master in the future was a big problem.

Liu Sisi breathed out a long sigh of relief, praying that Little Cui would take her words to heart.

Di Ah-bao, although he might not have been perfect, didn’t bear her any ill will after all. Ultimately, he was Ye-lei’s brother and with Little Cui keeping him in line, she could worry less. Of course, this was all contingent on Little Cui staying out of her sight.

Through the window, she watched Little Cui quickly moving out, desperately helping Di Ah-bao up, ceaselessly apologizing to the father and Ye-lei. She even half-carried Di Ah-bao and dragged him away.

As she was leaving, Little Cui caught Di Ye-lei’s gaze completely by accident. His eyes full of wary warnings made her nearly trip and fall.

It seemed he really was difficult to appease.

As if he felt her thoughts, Di Ye-lei glanced at the window only to meet Liu Sisi’s gaze. He hastily smiled at her, but was met with a harsh glare from Liu Sisi, whose figure then disappeared from the window.

The smile on Di Ye-lei’s face faded, but in the next moment, YingEr rushed out from the house and bolted straight into his arms, tears streaming down her face.

Di Xuan stood a little distance away, still holding Da Mao’s hand and looking towards the entrance, clearly still not recovered from the earlier scuffle.

Elderly Mr. Di was still scolding Di Ye-lei, his intermittent voice combined with the occasional movement of his crutch gave off the impression of a scolded child.

Liu Sisi actually laughed!

Good for her father for disciplining him. It felt more satisfying than if she had done it herself. It was much more cathartic, no?

Because of the injury on his face, Di Ye-lei spent several days recuperating at home.

On that day, Di Ah-bao was helped back to the old house by Little Cui, unexpectedly being seen by someone.

Even though everyone was unaware of what exactly happened, some had heard the commotion at Di Family that day. Various versions of gossip swiftly propagated.

The most common version was that Di Ah-bao had done something bad again and was disciplined by Di Ye-lei!

Yet, unlike his usual slandering of Di Ye-lei, Di Ah-bao maintained an atypical silence this time, refusing to provide any explanation.

Liu Sisi didn’t care about Di Ah-bao’s abnormality, what she cared about was why everyone was hiding the fact that she had a pregnancy scare this time.

Although everyone didn’t tell her, how could Liu Sisi not feel the unusual signs from her own body?

She definitely heard Little Cui’s voice while she was unconscious, and it was she who saved her pregnancy. She also felt a warm flow from somewhere during the time Little Cui gently pressed on her abdomen. The flow circled around her lower belly three times before receding.

But when she regained consciousness, everyone unanimously insisted that Little Cui did nothing more than visiting her.

The inconsistencies raised many questions in her mind. If it were indeed Little Cui who saved her pregnancy, then her previous statement about not understanding the harm the sachet could do was a lie!

After resting for a few days, and apart from some pregnancy sickness, she didn’t experience any other discomfort. This allowed her a trip to the small town and county to check the accounts. She also brought back a pile of account books, intending to read them during the times she rested for her pregnancy.

With the carriage and coachman available, it became much more convenient for Liu Sisi to go in and out.

As for Di Ye-lei, he started cutting Moso Bamboo into bamboo strips and began making lanterns for the upcoming Lantern Festival, using his time resting at home productively.

The locals here place great importance on the Lantern Festival. Only after the Lantern Festival is over do they consider the New Year’s celebrations to be truly complete.