Chapter 237 – Waiting for Him to Finish Work
Lu Xia found it quite strange to see Zhuang Hongmei’s fleeing appearance. How could she have changed so much? Was it because she was scared off? Could she really be that timid? Or was she just feeling guilty?
Actually, Lu Xia had heard about the difficult times that Zhuang Hongmei had been going through after getting married. It could be said that there’s some truth to the saying that those who are pitiful must have some part that’s detestable.
She wasn’t interested in delving into Zhuang Hongmei’s emotional journey.
…
Recently, Kang Kang seemed to be more interested in new things. Lu Xia had taken him out a few times before, causing him now to look outside whenever he was full and satisfied.
Lu Xia knew he wanted to go out again. She smiled and carried him to the front gate, waiting for Jiang Junmo to finish work.
When Jiang Junmo returned, he saw his beloved wife holding their child and waiting for him at the doorstep. It was a simple scene, but for some reason, Jiang Junmo was deeply moved. He felt that he might remember this scene even decades later.
However, no matter how sentimental he felt, he didn’t show it. He simply asked in a natural tone, “Why wait at the door? Isn’t it tiring?”
Lu Xia shook her head and said, “Kang Kang wanted to see the scenery outside. Since you’re about to finish work, I thought I’d wait for you too.”
Jiang Junmo smiled at her response, then looked down at Kang Kang, who was nestled in Lu Xia’s arms and not paying much attention to him. “You little rascal, always giving your mom a hard time. I’ll come and pick you up after I wash up.”
Lu Xia chuckled, “Take your time showering and spend some time with him. I’ll go ahead and prepare dinner. It’s not convenient to cook with him around.”
“Sure!” Jiang Junmo agreed.
Lu Xia placed the child in the cradle, ensuring that Jiang Junmo could see him, and then went to prepare the meal.
After dinner, the two of them lay on the kang to rest.
With the recent planting of crops and the completion of the family’s vegetable garden planting, the workload had decreased, so they weren’t too tired.
Seeing Kang Kang fall asleep, Lu Xia whispered to Jiang Junmo, “In the afternoon, I need to go see Aunt Cuiyun to buy some chicken chicks.”
Jiang Junmo nodded, “Go ahead. By the time Kang Kang starts eating solid food, the chickens should be laying eggs.”
Lu Xia suggested, “Let’s buy five, and try to get all hens.”
“Your decision.” Jiang Junmo turned to look at Lu Xia, “Will taking care of the child alone be tiring for you?”
Lu Xia shook her head with a smile, “Not at all. Have you forgotten? I’m quite strong. I can still carry Kang Kang easily.”
Jiang Junmo, hearing her words, recalled how she had carried him back from the riverside in the past.
“Alright, but it’s not comfortable to carry him all the time. When I have time, I’ll make a sling, so you won’t have to keep holding him with your hands.”
Lu Xia nodded, “Sure, no rush. Take your time making it.”
“Mhm.”
The two chatted for a while. In the afternoon, Jiang Junmo went back to work, leaving Lu Xia bored at home. So, she took Kang Kang to sit under the big tree in the village.
At this moment, there were many elderly people who were too old to work, sitting here and chatting.
Young people like Lu Xia were truly a rare sight.
So, as soon as she arrived, whether they knew her or not, people were curious and struck up conversations with her.
“Oh my, which family’s young wife are you? You’re really good-looking!” an elderly grandmother with almost no teeth left asked.
Lu Xia smiled at her and said, “I’m not a village wife, I’m an educated youth and my partner is also an educated youth.”
“Oh, an educated youth, I see. No wonder, you clearly look like a city person. Different from us villagers.”
Lu Xia chuckled, “How are we different? Don’t we all have a nose and two eyes?”
The grandmother laughed too, “Different, it’s different. You all look good and fair-skinned!”
Lu Xia was amused by this simple praise.
*
Chapter 238 – Women’s Bicycle
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Then another grandmother spoke, “Yes, those educated youth who came from the city are different, very particular. Look at your child, so different from the village children, not criticizing though!”
Lu Xia was originally from the Northeast in her past life, so she could understand the northeastern dialect quite well. She knew that this meant her baby was not dirty.
Lu Xia didn’t argue either; she was very particular about her child’s hygiene.
She had seen village children before, in the dead of winter, wiping their runny noses with their hands and smearing it on their clothes as if nothing had happened. She couldn’t stand it.
But she couldn’t control others; she could only ensure her own child was clean.
Afterward, Lu Xia chatted with a few grandmothers for a while, then returned home when Kang Kang seemed a bit tired.
On the way back, she ran into Su Man. She had probably just returned from the town and was riding a bicycle – a women’s bicycle!
This surprised Lu Xia. In this remote county, they could still buy women’s bicycles?
Upon seeing Lu Xia, Su Man also stopped. She got off the bike and greeted while pushing it, “Did you take the child out?”
Lu Xia nodded, “Yes, just taking him for a stroll.”
Since the last time, their communication had increased. It could be said that Su Man had started actively interacting with them.
So Lu Xia asked directly, “Is this your new bicycle? It’s really nice! I wanted to buy a women’s model last time, but couldn’t find one. The county only had the men’s style.”
Su Man smiled, “Gu Xiangnan helped me buy this from Shanghai. It was delivered last night.”
“Ah, I see,” Liu Xia understood. “Educated Youth Gu is quite impressive, and he treats you well.”
Su Man smiled and didn’t say anything. Since their last disagreement, she knew she had suffered a great deal of injustice at the Gu’s home. She couldn’t easily forgive him, or he wouldn’t treasure her.
So Gu Xiangnan had apologized many times during this period, but she didn’t give him a good face. It was only after quite some time had passed and he had put effort into giving her a bicycle that she realized she couldn’t remain frosty. She reluctantly forgave him. Of course, these matters didn’t need to be shared with Lu Xia.
Later, when Lu Xia returned home, she couldn’t wait to gossip with Jiang Junmo after he finished work, “Su Man and Educated Youth Gu have made up again. Educated Youth Gu even gave her a women’s bicycle.”
Jiang Junmo felt a little helpless looking at his wife who was very excited whenever Educated Youth Su and Educated Youth Gu were mentioned.
“Oh, that’s good,” he said.
Seeing his attitude, Lu Xia felt disappointed and didn’t want to continue the conversation. In her mind, she secretly muttered: ‘Unexpectedly, Gu Xiangnan had such a bold plan. I wonder if Cheng Yujiao will make a scene when she finds out…’
After waiting for two days, Lu Xia realized that Cheng Yujiao hadn’t caused any trouble, which led him to speculate whether she had come to terms with the situation. Or perhaps she was planning to secretly employ other methods to deal with Su Man?
In any case, he felt that Cheng Yujiao probably wouldn’t give up on Gu Xiangnan so easily.
What Lu Xia didn’t know was that Cheng Yujiao had no idea that Su Man’s bicycle was bought by Gu Xiangnan through someone else. She thought Su Man had bought it herself, after all, Su Man always seemed well-off.
However, upon learning about their reconciliation, she got so angry that she dropped a bowl and scolded Su Man for being shameless.
But these matters were only known to the people from the educated youth spot and weren’t spread around.
Without delving into the conflicts between Cheng Yujiao and Su Man, one day the village chief suddenly informed the people from the educated youth spot that there would be a meeting.
Lu Xia didn’t know what it was about, but seeing that the weather outside wasn’t too cold and Kang Kang had just woken up and eaten, she figured he wouldn’t be able to sleep for a while. So, she took him along.
Upon arriving, they discovered that apart from those who had married locals, the rest were all present.
Thank you for the chapter (♡˙︶˙♡)