Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"How deaf are you? Didn't you hear what I said?" Zhao Guifen cursed.

Looking at her eldest daughter-in-law made her irritable!

Among all the daughters-in-law in the family, only the eldest one was disobedient! Wasn't she just relying on her pretty face to hook the eldest son every day and have him indulge her?

How could a married woman not listen to her mother-in-law?

Bai Xiuxiu carried the two children into Wang Qinghe's arms before casting a glance at Zhao Guifen. "How can I be the deaf one? Aren't you and Old Fifth's wife the deaf ones? How am I idling at home? I'm recuperating from my illness here!

If the villagers see me not working and instead wandering around the mountains, won't they say that I'm faking my illness to avoid work?

Do we want to lose face?"

"You—"

Zhao Guifen was left speechless by Bai Xiuxiu's retort and glared at her fiercely.

Bai Xiuxiu didn't even spare her a glance as she left with the children.

Seeing that things hadn't gone as planned, Zhou Jiaojiao felt displeased. "Mom, Big Sister is right. We should wait until after the autumn harvest to go. As for the job, I'll talk to my parents about it later. Please don't refuse."

"Only you understand," Zhao Guifen said, feeling relieved when she heard that Zhou Jiaojiao would seek help from her family.

This was what a good daughter-in-law looked like!

Bai Xiuxiu was just a nuisance! She dressed herself neatly throughout the year, always wearing clothes without patches and buying new ones each year!

What did a woman need to dress up for?

All the men in the Wang family wore patched clothes!

She might as well die sooner!

Bai Xiuxiu and Wang Qinghe returned to their room with the children. Wang Qinghe folded the quilt on the bed and poured hot water for her.

Bai Xiuxiu gave each child a White Rabbit milk candy as usual, glanced at her husband, and stuffed a piece into his mouth. "From now on, you're not allowed to listen to whatever they say. Don't do any work for them, and we don't need to hunt in the mountains to make money.

The most important thing now is for our family to live a good life together, no matter what!"

Hearing her heartfelt words, Wang Qinghe's expression softened even more.

He hugged her, nuzzled her neck, and let go after a while. "I'll listen to you. I'll go to work first, and I'll accompany you to Uncle Zhang's place at noon to check on your condition again. You suddenly fainted, so we can't be careless."

"I'll go alone," Bai Xiuxiu firmly refused!

She had nothing better to do at home during the day, and she didn't want to wait another ten days for the herbs.

She planned to try her luck with Uncle Zhang first, regardless of what kind of herb seeds she could get.

She needed to confirm if the golden finger worked as well in her hands as it did in Zhou Jiaojiao's!

Wang Qinghe was a little worried.

He had been having the same dream recently, where he saw Xiuxiu die and experienced an overwhelming sense of loneliness afterward, which almost drove him mad. The nightmare made him want to stick closer to Xiuxiu during the day after seeing her safe and sound.

Only when she was in front of him could he feel at ease.

"Do you already want to be disobedient?" Bai Xiuxiu asked him, discontented, when she saw his insistence on accompanying her.

"I'll listen to you, but you're not allowed to go near water," Wang Qinghe repeated his warning.

"Qinghe? What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go to work!" Outside, Zhao Guifen called out.

Despite the morning's commotion, Wang Qinghe couldn't miss work.

"Alright, I got it. Go to work quickly, and remember to finish our share of the work before coming back. Don't bother with them," Bai Xiuxiu reminded him, looking at his slender figure and thinking about how he would look once he became wealthy.

She felt that he was being too hard on himself now!

Feeling sympathetic, she shared a piece of cake with him. "Finish this before you leave."

After Wang Qinghe finished eating, his eyes seemed to sparkle with affection.

His long and beautiful eyes were mesmerizing when he smiled.

Not long after he left, Bai Xiuxiu also went out with the children!

The gate of the Wang family's courtyard was usually unlocked.

However, each room had its own lock.

Bai Xiuxiu locked her room and led one child with each hand.

The children were wearing clothes made last year from hard-to-find crushed flower fabric! Looking at her adorable babies, Bai Xiuxiu felt particularly happy!

However… these clothes were a bit too eye-catching. She decided to find some other colors later.

Anyway, the clothes would soon become too small, so she would alter them for other uses once winter arrived.

When she arrived at the village clinic with the children, she found Captain's wife Chen Jinhua getting medicine. Sure enough, she was here! Starting this year, the captain's wife came every morning to get medicine for her sister. Her sister had developed a chronic illness a few years ago and had been unable to conceive after five years of marriage.

Almost everyone in the village knew about it!

Seeing Bai Xiuxiu, Chen Jinhua was a little surprised. "Xiuxiu? I heard you fainted yesterday. Are you still not feeling well?"

Chen Jinhua was a straightforward woman with a low ponytail, looking to be in her forties. She had large eyes and spoke quickly, exuding warmth.

Bai Xiuxiu nodded, looking troubled. "Isn't it so, Uncle Zhang said I need another ten days or so of rest."

The old man writing the prescription fell silent for a moment, but what could he do? His family owed that boy, Wang Qinghe, a favor.

Moreover, Old Wang's family favored their other sons, treating the eldest son as if he were raised by a stepmother.

If his wife wanted to shirk work for a few days, should she not be allowed to?

After some thought, Old Zhang went along with her story: "She is terribly weak and overworked. If she doesn't rest properly, it might even affect her ability to have children in the future."

When the captain's wife heard this, she was startled. "This is a matter for life, she must rest. Don't worry, I'll explain things to the villagers, so they don't think you're trying to avoid work."

"Thank you, Aunt Jinhua," Bai Xiuxiu quickly expressed her gratitude. This was exactly what she wanted!

Her husband didn't talk much in front of others, and people wouldn't gossip about him. As for the rest of the family? They weren't true Wangs if they didn't slander her!

"What's there to thank me for? I'll be going now. You must listen to Old Zhang and take good care of yourself!"

Once the woman left in a hurry, Bai Xiuxiu explained her purpose: "Uncle Zhang, I have something I'd like to ask for your help with."

Old Zhang was making notes and looked at her curiously when she mentioned needing help. "What is it?"

"Uncle Zhang, do we have any medicinal herb seeds here? I've been teaching the two kids how to plant, and I want a few seeds. It doesn't matter which kind of medicinal herb. Actually, vegetable seeds would be fine too, but buying vegetable seeds at this time of year wouldn't sit well with my in-laws.

I was thinking of buying a few from you."

Bai Xiuxiu offered an off-the-cuff explanation.

Once the plants grew, she wouldn't sell them in the village, so she wouldn't have to worry about being found out.