Chapter 59: Zhang Pengfei’s Mother

“I washed the clothes, I wanted to wash the sheets,” Lin Xiangyi said.

“Then give me the sheets, I’ll wash them for you, you just rest at home,” said Xie’s mother.

Since Lin Xiangyi and Xie Qingxiao went out to earn money, Xie’s mother didn’t dislike Lin Xiangyi’s being delicate or Xie Qingxiao’s laziness. She would even take the initiative to do housework, like cooking, except for lunch, the rest was done by Xie’s father and Xie’s mother.

But how could Lin Xiangyi be comfortable letting Xie’s mother help wash the sheets? Not to mention that Xie’s mother was her mother-in-law, just saying that the sheets… were very dirty, she was embarrassed to let Xie’s mother wash them, so she said:

“No need, mother, I’m bored anyway, I’ll just go for a walk.”

Xie’s mother heard this and thought it was true. Xiangyi had been busy with her business since she got married, and she hadn’t been out much. It would be good for her to walk around the village.

“Alright then,” Xie’s mother smiled.

Lin Xiangyi took the sheets and went to the well with Xie’s mother to wash clothes.

The wells in the village were all public, and the opening was built very large. Because of this, to prevent people from falling into the well when carrying water, the well mouth was square. Standing on the two sides of the corner to fetch water would make it less likely to fall down.

Next to the well, there were also several square small pools built to make it convenient for villagers to wash clothes there.

Generally, the people who come to wash clothes are women, and this place has become a gossip paradise. Every morning when you come here, you are sure to hear the latest gossip in the village.

And the latest gossip in the village is Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi going out to do business.

They went out to do business for the first day, and the villagers knew about it.

At that time, everyone was very surprised and also asked the same question that Xie’s father and Xie’s mother had when they first learned that Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi were going to do business, “Can they do business now?”

Day after day, Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi were fine, and they believed that it was really possible to do business outside now.

Then some people guessed how much money Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi made doing business outside.

Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi ran around the county all day, and they couldn’t catch the couple.

They asked Xie’s father and Xie’s mother, and although Xie’s mother really wanted to tell everyone how much money Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi made, to slap those who used to say her son was useless in the face, she held back.

Every household in their village was poor, and some people didn’t even earn 100 yuan a year.

Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi could earn a month’s salary in a day, wouldn’t that make people hate them?

They said they could barely make ends meet.

The villagers went to ask Xie’s aunt and Su Xiaomei again, wondering if Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi had hired them to work.

Xie’s aunt and Su Xiaomei were not stupid either. They didn’t mention the wages at all, only saying that they were relatives, and it was nothing to help out.

Of course, the villagers didn’t believe it.

Today, seeing Lin Xiangyi come to the well to wash clothes, they seized the opportunity to ask.

Lin Xiangyi couldn’t reveal her wealth either, and basically evaded the topic, leaving no loopholes.

So much so that Xie’s mother, who was listening from the side, was very impressed with her, and secretly gave Lin Xiangyi a thumbs up.

Lin Xiangyi smiled, and then saw Xie’s mother’s eyes light up, “Huifen, you’re here to wash clothes too?”

Lin Xiangyi followed her gaze and found a woman who looked a few years older than Xie’s mother. Her clothes were very old, and her face looked a little haggard. She smiled at Xie’s mother and said, “Yes.”

“Come, come, come, wash over here, I’ll chat with you,” Xie’s mother enthusiastically pointed to a small pool next to her.

But the other party didn’t buy it. She carried the basket of clothes to the farthest pool from Xie’s mother, and said with a wry smile, “The pool over there is too small, I have a lot of clothes, I’ll just wash them here.”

Lin Xiangyi looked closely at her clothes and found that she had a large basket of clothes, and they were packed very tightly. It was clear that she was washing the clothes of a whole family.

“But I want to chat with you,” Xie’s mother said with a smile, “Why don’t you come to my house later when you have time? We old sisters can chat. By the way, Pengfei is also here.”

Who knew that when the woman heard that Zhang Pengfei was also there, her face changed immediately, with fear and anxiety, and finally she gritted her teeth and said, “I don’t have time, don’t look for me.”

Xie’s mother couldn’t pretend not to see that Liu Huifen didn’t want to talk to her from the beginning, but she pretended not to see it. Now that she was so coldly rejected by Liu Huifen, she couldn’t pretend anymore either. She forced a smile and said, “Then, okay.”

Lin Xiangyi looked at her mother-in-law and then at the woman, full of puzzlement. On the way back after washing clothes, she couldn’t help but ask, “Mother, who was that woman just now?”

“She’s Pengfei’s mother,” Xie’s mother sighed.

“Zhang Pengfei’s mother?” Lin Xiangyi suddenly remembered what Xie Qingxiao had said about Zhang Pengfei’s background, and hesitated, “I know Pengfei was brought over by his mother when she remarried, but did something happen between them?”

She saw Zhang’s mother’s fearful expression when she mentioned Zhang Pengfei. A mother looked so scared when she mentioned her own child, something big must have happened between them.

“A lot of things happened, but I don’t know the details,” Xie’s mother said. She wasn’t really familiar with Zhang’s mother, they only greeted each other when they met. “I only know that Pengfei was a very rebellious child since he was young. I heard that he often stole money from his stepfather, beat his stepbrothers and stepsisters, and once… he even molested his stepsister, so he was kicked out of the house.”

Lin Xiangyi!!!

No wonder Zhang Pengfei had to live in the county. He worked at their house these days, but he never went home.

“Is there any misunderstanding?” Lin Xiangyi hesitated, “I don’t think Pengfei is like that.”

“Right?” Xie’s mother said, “People in the village used to spread rumors that Pengfei was a bad boy, and I believed it too. After getting to know him these days, I realized that his character is not bad, and he’s quite a good person. It’s just that he can’t keep arguing with his family like this. He doesn’t even know where he lives outside, it’s too pitiful. So when I saw his mother just now, I wanted to chat with her about this, but I didn’t expect… Oh.”

What Xie’s mother didn’t say was that she also hated Zhang Pengfei before. At least half of Xie Qingxiao’s reputation in the village was ruined because he hung out with Zhang Pengfei. She didn’t want Xie Qingxiao to play with him, but Xie Qingxiao wouldn’t listen to her.

Even a few days ago, when she learned that Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi were looking for Zhang Pengfei to do business, she wanted to talk to Lin Xiangyi to see if they could stop looking for Zhang Pengfei.

Now she was only glad that she didn’t talk to Xiangyi.

“…” Lin Xiangyi sighed and said, “Forget it, mother, this matter is a bit sensitive. Zhang Pengfei’s mother is like that… It must be a thorn in Zhang Pengfei’s heart. Mother, don’t get involved, it’s easy to please neither side.”

“You’re right,” Xie’s mother sighed. She was just soft-hearted for a moment, but thinking about it, it was really not good to get involved, so forget it.