Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Having eaten her fill, Xu Yuqing rummaged through her trunk for paper and pen, beginning to map out her future life.

Firstly, she must leave the Xie household; only then could she freely execute her plans.

And that plan was—Xu Yuqing would open her own confectionery shop in this era of the seventies!

Previously, Xu Yuqing had been managing a confectionery shop. Though she couldn't be hands-on, it was her heart and soul that had seen it grow bit by bit into its current state.

Thus, in this era, she would continue to pursue her passion.

But the initial stages of establishing a business...that would be quite challenging.

After much scribbling, Xu Yuqing finally had a rough outline of her thoughts. At the top of the page, the first step was—Xie Junli.

There was no way she could accomplish anything here. Moreover, someone like He Xiuhua, who was insatiably greedy and selfish, could do anything without a second thought.

But would Xie Junli take her with him when he joined the military? If not, Xu Yuqing looked at the two large characters at the bottom of the page: divorce.

This was the last resort.

In the seventies, divorce was still a rather sensational affair. Xu Yuqing knew that she still had some beauty left, and without anyone to protect her, doing business might prove difficult.

Hence, this was the last resort, one that needed to be handled with caution.

In the blink of an eye, night had deepened. The cicadas nearby chirped incessantly, creating a paradoxically noisy yet tranquil atmosphere.

Lying in bed, Xu Yuqing touched her stomach. Having gone a whole day without warm food, it was somewhat unbearable. She had to cook something tomorrow. Thinking about food, she couldn't help but imagine cakes, fried chicken...slowly, Xu Yuqing's eyes began to blur, her consciousness gradually fading.

She tilted her head and fell asleep.

In the small room, shallow breaths echoed in harmony with the cicadas outside, warm and peaceful.

However, in another room, things weren't so pleasant.

He Yuezhu sat on the bed, tears streaming down her face as she glared hatefully at the man on the bed, half-asleep.

"Xie Qunli! What do you mean by this? I'm six months pregnant, and you want me to drink rice gruel! Look at your brother, a strong man, and he has the audacity to scoop whatever he wants. There's only so much rice, yet he scoops happily. What about me? What about the child in my belly! This is your Gu family's eldest grandson!" He Yuezhu whispered angrily. He Xiuhua's room was next door, and if she were to come over, there would be no good outcome for He Yuezhu, a fact she was well aware of.

That old hag had always been so selfish, favoring her third son.

Treating the other two like weeds.

Thinking about how she had ended up with Xie Qunli, a useless man who wasn't favored by the old hag and didn't know how to fight for benefits, He Yuezhu felt a wave of despair.

Xie Qunli, also known as Xie Lao Er, blinked groggily, yawning continuously. "Tomorrow, I'll go up the mountain and hunt a rabbit for you, to give you some meat. Alright, let's sleep. I'm exhausted today."

Without further ado, he ignored He Yuezhu sitting at the edge of the bed, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

The next morning, just as dawn broke, Xu Yuqing woke up.

She yawned and scooped a ladle of cold water from the bucket to wash her face. The icy water instantly refreshed Xu Yuqing.

Gazing at the boundless blue sky, her gloomy mood brightened immediately. Xu Yuqing headed to the kitchen, ready to rustle up something to eat.

The kitchen lacked rice and oil, which were locked away in her mother-in-law He Xiuhua's room. Only before cooking would she begrudgingly take out some. Xu Yuqing surveyed the area and found sweet potatoes in a basket, looking delightfully sweet and glutinous.

She picked out a few medium-sized ones, peeled them carefully, washed them, cut them into small pieces, and placed them in a pot with water, then covered it to wait for them to cook.

Once the water boiled, she sprinkled a little salt and scooped out a bowl of steaming sweet potato soup.

It was simple yet delicious. The faint saltiness of the broth accentuated the sweetness of the sweet potatoes. Xu Yuqing took one mouthful after another, finishing the bowl with beads of sweat on her forehead.

With a full stomach, she felt warm inside, finally feeling satisfied.

Xu Yuqing stood up, intending to wash the dishes. Just as she stepped out, she heard a 'creak' as the door opened.

He Xiuhua held a small basket filled with grains. Seeing Xu Yuqing's bowl in hand, she immediately strode over and questioned her, "What did you cook! Ah, did you steal rice! You wretched girl, not only lazy but now stealing from your mother-in-law! I knew my rice jar had gone down by half a finger!"

Before she finished speaking, He Xiuhua quickly walked into the kitchen, as if to catch her in the act. However, the clear sight of half a pot of sweet potatoes in the pot made her pause, her face turning suspicious as she turned to Xu Yuqing.

"Did you eat it all?"

Xu Yuqing put the bowl away, shook her hands, and said lightly, "I don't do underhanded things. You should look at your own son instead."

He Xiuhua froze in place. She naturally wouldn't suspect her son, so she immediately thought of He Yuezhu. Indeed, she knew it. Because of last night's incident, she stole rice. Even if it was her own kin, anyone who stole her He Xiuhua's rice would have their skin peeled off by her!

"He Yuezhu! Get out here!"

In the eastern room, He Yuezhu slept soundly. Last night, she couldn't fall asleep until late due to her anger. Now, she was in the deepest slumber.

"He Yuezhu!!!" Bang bang bang, He Xiuhua pounded on the door loudly, waking up Xie Lao Er. As soon as he opened his eyes, he heard his mother's voice, assuming something major had happened. Without even putting on his shirt, he rushed to open the door.

"Mum!"

"Get out of my way, He Yuezhu! Did you steal rice! My rice jar is missing half a finger, half a finger! A whole bowl of rice! Was it you who took it!" He Xiuhua berated them mercilessly, leaving the couple stunned. Outside, Xu Yuqing, watching the scene, found it somewhat amusing.

Last night, when Xu Yuqing went to the toilet, she saw Xie Lao San sneakily coming out of He Xiuhua's room. In this impoverished household, any items were easily noticeable. True to He Xiuhua's words, it was neither more nor less than a bowl of rice.

It was likely still in Xie Yunli's room.

However, He Xiuhua's favoritism was indeed obvious. In her original memories, Xie Lao Er was described as a foolishly strong person. Once, when someone lost a fish, he chased it for half a mile and returned it. Upon returning, he was scolded by his mother-in-law for a long time.

"Mum!! What have we, the second branch, done to you? Last night, one of us worked while the other, pregnant, drank rice gruel. It was fine that we were hungry and couldn't sleep, but now, just as we finally fell asleep, you come barging in with accusations! What have I, He Yuezhu, done to deserve such injustice in your Xie family?"

Upon waking up, He Yuezhu was momentarily confused. But she wasn't stupid. Hearing He Xiuhua's words, she knew who was responsible.

Her sister-in-law had money and wouldn't know where the rice jar was. That left only the old hag's doted son!

"And I don’t even know where the rice jar is, how could we steal from it!" she roared, her spine stiffening now that she knew who was responsible.

Worst comes to worst, she would just return to her mother's house for a few days.

He Xiuhua closed her mouth which had been agape; yes, she herself had hidden the rice jar in the cabinet and locked it. These past two days had been idle ones, with no farming to be done, and she hadn't left the courtyard. He Xiuhua wasn't foolish; the only one who could treat her room as his own was her youngest son, Xie Yunli.

She didn’t feel guilty at all. "Shut up, you old hag! Since you came to the Xie family, if you don’t listen to me, get out of here!"

With that, she turned on her heel and walked straight to her youngest son’s room, forcefully pushing the door open. Sure enough, there was a large bowl on the table. He Xiuhua quickly approached it, but it was already empty, not a single grain of rice left.

"Are you trying to die? You black rat, stealing from your own mother!" He Xiuhua grabbed Xie Yunli’s ear, her anger boiling over.

Xie Yunli was still dreaming when the sharp pain in his ear jolted him awake instantly. He opened his eyes and heard He Xiuhua’s words, but he wasn’t the least bit nervous. Impatiently, he swatted away her hand. "Mom, what are you doing! Mei Yu wanted to eat, and there wasn’t enough rice, so I gave her some. Is that a problem?"

Wanted to eat?

He Xiuhua mulled over these three words, growing angrier the more she thought about them. Fine, she wanted to eat, but even her own mother didn’t have food to eat. She wanted to eat after getting married—was she going to rule the sky now?

She couldn’t hold back, slapping Xie Yunli’s back. "I don’t even have food to eat, yet she wants to eat, and you just give it to her without telling me. Am I marrying a daughter-in-law or a golden bowl!"

Xie Yunli sighed, knowing that any chance of sleep was gone. He sat up. "Mom, you don’t understand. Mei Yu said that her father is preparing a permanent job for me. It’s a permanent job! In the future, I’ll be a worker! What does a little rice matter?"

"Hiss~" He Xiuhua’s eyes lit up. "Really!!"

"Of course, Mei Yu said it herself." Xie Yunli said proudly. He had long tired of being a temporary worker in town, always having to watch people’s faces. Now, everything was better—he was about to become a permanent worker!

"Good! Good! You’re making something of yourself. Is there enough rice! If not, Mom will add some."

"There’s enough, enough. Save it for Mom to eat. Once your son becomes a worker, Mom will enjoy good fortune from then on!"

"Hahahaha!"

Mother and son were envisioning their future when suddenly, Xie Yunli looked at He Xiuhua and quietly asked, "Mom, did you ask Eldest Brother? The dowry is 128 yuan."

He Xiuhua froze. She had sent a telegram several days ago, but they said they were on a mission and wouldn’t be back for half a month. By then, it would be too late. They had originally planned to discuss it after the wedding, but now, there was a worker position at stake. He Xiuhua pondered, "Mom will find a way."