Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

Di Yelei hugged Liu Sisi tightly and whispered in her ear, “Good Sisi, since you don’t allow me to speak during the day, I will slowly tell you at night.”

“Let go quickly! YingEr is about to come in, and it’s not good for Nanny Hu to see us like this.”

Liu Sisi pushed him away and gave him a glare.

This Di Yelei was becoming more and more improper when he was with her.

He appeared to be well-groomed and serious in front of others, but once they were alone, he changed completely. He would take advantage of her without a care in the world, and looked as if he wanted to devour her completely, transforming into a wolf.

“YingEr must be sleepy, and we would know from far away if she’s coming in. As for Nanny Hu… If she wants to watch, let her watch.”

He smirked, a wicked smile on his face.

“Stop messing around! Do you still want to go to the county town or not?”

Seeing Liu Sisi’s face tighten up again, Di Yelei stole a few more kisses on her small mouth before reluctantly letting her go.

Feeling an unfamiliar sensation in a certain place, he realized that if he continued, he might end up being the one at a loss. His tall figure made a turn in the room and bent down to fold the quilt.

“Alright! I’ll go early and come back early. Remember to take Ah-Hua and Ah-Huang back too; these two little fellows have been cooped up lately.”

Since Ah-Huang and Ah-Hua were brought to the courtyard, they have followed Di Yelei to his hometown once and were tied up in the courtyard every day, not to mention going hunting. Of course, the main reason was that Di Yelei had been too busy since the start of the spring military recruitment.

“I know.”

Liu Sisi casually pinned a magpie on a plum hairpin, grabbed the hem of her skirt embroidered with large pomegranate flowers, and then turned to look at Di Yelei quickly tidying up the room.

Her heart shook, and it seemed as if a stream flowed through her heart, making her feel exceptionally comfortable and warm.

Di Yelei treated her so well that sometimes, when she woke up, she was afraid that everything was just an illusion. But everything was so real. If they could hold hands like this until they grow old and raise a few more little turnip heads, her life would be perfect.

After the two of them left the room, the cooked dishes were already prepared. The family ate breakfast and went about their own tasks.

Di Yelei didn’t delay and, after the meal, jumped on a horse with Zhang Peng, heading straight to the county town.

Guihua’s family also stayed at Di’s family last night, so a group of people decided to take a detour from the village school and send Di Xuan and Zhang Yun there.

“Mom! Today is a good day. Can we not go to the village school? We can catch up with our studies even if we skip a day.”

Di Xuan mustered up the courage and finally spoke.

“No!”

Liu Sisi didn’t even think about it before objecting! She couldn’t stand this kind of behavior where they didn’t want to go to school at every opportunity. When she heard Di Xuan wanted to take a leave, her smile immediately sank.

“For you now, the most important thing is studying. How can you take a leave because of the matters of the adults? Go!”

“…Yes!”

Di Xuan’s smile disappeared, and his face quickly turned red. He grabbed his school bag and ran out of the courtyard at lightning speed.

“Young Master, Young Master, wait for Le Ping!”

Le Ping saw the situation and hurried to catch up, not bothering about anything else.

“Di Xuan! Di Xuan, wait for me!”

Zhang Yun had originally wanted to stay, but seeing Liu Sisi’s darkened face, he also followed and ran away.

Guihua beside her stepped forward: “Sisi, today is a good day. It wouldn’t hurt to let Di Xuan have a day off…”

“Sister Guihua, it’s not about giving him a day off or not, it’s about… I don’t know how to explain to you so you can understand.”

Liu Sisi was also a little disheartened, as her tone had indeed been too harsh just now.

“Good! Good Sisi!”

Elderly Mr. Di beside her gave a thumbs up: “This child can’t be spoiled… this is how he should be disciplined! Good, very good!”

Elderly Mr. Di understood that it was because Liu Sisi truly loved Di Xuan that she was so strict with him.

After getting her father’s approval, Liu Sisi felt a lot better.

The crowd headed to their old home in high spirits. Ah-Huang and Ah-Hua also frolicked around front and back, running around like they knew they were going back to their old home.

Other than their own carriage, Liu Sisi also rented another one, buying a lot of things that would be needed, and headed towards Upper Village in a grandiose manner.

Today, when shopping, Liu Sisi found that the prices had obviously increased.

Originally, the rice that cost 3 taels of silver per dan now required an additional 1 mace of silver, while the pork that used to sell for 15 copper coins per catty has now risen to 16 copper coins.

Don’t underestimate this 1 copper coin difference. After the Lunar New Year, the price of meat should have dropped, yet it strangely increased by 1 copper coin, causing a sense of unease to once again emerge in Liu Sisi’s heart. However, today was a day of great joy, so she suppressed this uneasiness and buried it deep in her heart.

Upon arriving at Upper Village, Uncle Land Officer had already received the news and personally greeted everyone at the entrance of the village. He even set off two strings of firecrackers that crackled for quite a while.

Everyone rejoiced, continuously offering congratulations as Liu Sisi supported the elated Elderly Mr. Di, returning home surrounded by the crowd.

In an instant, the originally deserted courtyard was filled with people.

Elderly Mr. Di stood up and looked around the crowd, then said happily.

“My younger son Ye Lei has had the good fortune of being appointed by the Imperial Envoy as a seventh-rank sub-captain in charge of weapons manufacturing. Today, I want to express my gratitude to our fellow villagers for their continuous care all this time. Therefore, the Di Family has decided to host a feast for everyone in the village for a day. Everyone, eat to your heart’s content!”

Elderly Mr. Di spoke very slowly, his words trembling, but the entire room was quiet, with no one interrupting him.

Liu Sisi also stepped forward with a smile and added a few words: “Today is a day of celebration for both the Di Family and Upper Village. Everyone, men, women, old folks, and children alike, are all welcome to come and party with us. There’s no need for any gifts. We’re grateful for everyone’s good intentions.”

These words naturally won a unanimous cheer from the crowd.

Liu Sisi continued, “Furthermore, Ye Lei has gone to the county for the handover and won’t be back until dusk. If anyone wants to eat or drink anything, just feel free to do so when the dishes are served later! Don’t be shy! Everyone, help yourself!”