Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

“Sisi, how are you? Are you having pregnancy discomfort? I just got home and heard from my father that you were at the clinic.”

Di Yelei wiped his forehead, unclear whether it was sweat or rainwater.

“I’m fine, it’s not me who’s in trouble! It’s just too cold out here; let’s get back home first.”

As she spoke, her teeth were chattering uncontrollably.

The temperature difference between inside and outside was simply too great!

When they returned home, Liu Sisi found everyone unloading box after box from the carriage and moving them into the kitchen.

“Come on in quickly, look at your hands, they’re freezing.”

Di Yelei quickly ushered Liu Sisi into the house– the inside was considerably warmer, which prompted Liu Sisi to rub her hands together and stamp her feet, which were already stiff from the cold.

“You stay in your bedroom for now; I’ll fetch some hot water for you to soak your feet.”

As soon as Di Yelei said this, he didn’t wait for Liu Sisi to refuse– he headed straight for the kitchen, leaving Liu Sisi with no chance to stop him. Helpless, she returned to her bedroom.

She took the hairpin from her hair, placed it in the dressing box, let her hair down, and it fell loosely over her shoulders. She then got up to shake out the quilt and carefully spread it out.

Finally, she sat at the head of the bed, lost in her thoughts.

The room door creaked slightly as Di Yelei returned carrying a water basin.

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring in the brazier as well. When we rented this place, we didn’t notice it wasn’t as well insulated as the old house. I’m afraid you might get cold.”

While speaking, he had already stepped out again. After a moment, he came back in with the brazier, casually shutting the door behind him.

Noticing Liu Sisi still daydreaming, he curiously smiled: “What’s the matter? Is it related to where you went tonight? Father said something which I didn’t quite understand. It seemed to be about Constable Zuo. Has there been any good news from his side?”

As he spoke, he bent down, picked up a towel from the washbasin, carefully rubbed it clean, wrung it out, and handed it to Liu Sisi.

Liu Sisi raised an eyebrow in surprise but didn’t say much. She just opened the towel and wiped her face.

“Mother Zuo has had an accident. Didn’t you tell Zhang Peng to go to Zuo’s house to check on them? The moment he entered…”

It was only then that Liu Sisi narrated the rest of the incident to Di Yelei in detail.

“Mother Zuo is seriously ill? Should I go to the clinic too? We can’t afford any mishaps.”

“There is no need, she was already asleep when I left.”

Liu Sisi hastily stopped him, passing back the towel to Di Yelei as she did so.

“What exactly is Zuo Xingyu doing? He can’t possibly be so indifferent to his mother’s well-being. He was away for so many days, over New Year as well, and he didn’t even arrange any food for his mother. Didn’t your office disburse the year-end wages? Or did he not receive his?”

Di Yelei received the towel and gingerly washed it in the hot water, then wrung it out.

“How could that be the case? As a constable, he received almost 50 taels more in silver than any of us. I find it strange too. With the money he’s made from being a constable in a year, he could easily afford a courtyard in the city, but he continues to live in that thatched hut…”

Their conversation halted here, and both of them hesitated.

“… Where did all his money go?” Liu Sisi asked softly.

She had long sensed that there was something off about Zuo Xingyu, but Di Yelei trusted him implicitly. She felt it was imperative to point this out so that he could think more deeply about it.

There was some hesitation in Di Yelei’s movements. He put down the towel, poured the water from the washbasin into a larger basin, and then started to remove Liu Sisi’s shoes.

“Perhaps he has his own unavoidable difficulties!”

In the meantime, he had already taken off Liu Sisi’s shoes and began to help her remove her socks.

“Don’t… I can take them off myself!”

Feeling the intent of the other side, Liu Sisi’s face turned red all at once and she hurriedly resisted.

“Do not move! Your husband has never had the chance to help our little kitten warm her feet before, today fulfills my wish.”

His movements were gentle yet firm, firmly holding Liu Sisi’s small foot, taking off her shoes and socks, then he carefully looked at it and began to pour hot water to warm her feet.

“Yelei… that tickles! Stop it…”

Liu Sisi bit her lower lip, looking at his movements somewhat helpless, feeling his rough fingers brushing over the soft soles of her feet, leading to a tingling sensation.

He was actually warming her feet?

This is not just warming feet, it was like warming her heart! It instantly warmed her heart! It also wetted the corners of her eyes, making them especially dry and uncomfortable.

“Relax a bit, our kitten’s feet are white, small, and they are soft and chubby, incredibly cute.”

Di Yelei praised sincerely, continuously playing with her small foot in his hand, he simply couldn’t put it down.

Liu Sisi was completely embarrassed and couldn’t speak, her face flushed, her soul seemed to have fled to the heavens!

Although the other party was just playing with her small feet, it made her feel more embarrassed than if she were to lie naked under his gaze!

A man who warms his woman’s feet…

Should be a man who truly treasures her from the bottom of his heart, right?

“By the way, how long did Old He say it will take for Mother Zuo to recover?”

As he spoke, he took a clean towel and carefully dried her small foot.

Liu Sisi quickly withdrew, not caring about not having taken off her outer robe, she immediately retreated to the head of the bed, pulling the quilt over herself completely.

“I don’t know, Old He didn’t say, just said it would cost quite a bit of silver.”

Her voice came from under the quilt.

“Hmm! Where money should be spent, it must be spent. Not to mention that she is Constable Zuo’s mother, and Constable Zuo is helping us find Er Mao and San Mao, even if she was a stranger, knowing her situation, we can’t let her freeze to death, can we?”

As Di Yelei spoke, he picked up the basin of water and left the room.

A moment later, he came back, took the washbasin and towel, and went out: “You go to sleep first, there are many things I brought from home that haven’t been sorted out yet, I need to get them in order first. I’ll go to sleep after that.”

“Alright, don’t stay up too late, there will always be things that can’t be done. Go to sleep earlier, don’t wear yourself out.”

Liu Sisi said worriedly.

“I know!”

His reply was already outside the room door.

Only then did Liu Sisi get up to undress, and slowly laid back down on the bed.

Zuo Xingyu and Second Sister have also been gone for half a month, I wonder how things are going on their end, whether they’ve found the children and rescued them?