Chapter 36: No Sleeping in the Room Tonight

When Jiang Yiyi arrived, she saw Gu’s mother’s temples throbbing, her whole body trembling.

She asked knowingly, “Who angered you?”

Seeing her, the aunt retreated slightly. She wasn’t afraid of Gu Yunze. Gu Yunze was a junior and a soldier; he wouldn’t dare to hit her in public. Jiang Yiyi was different; she dared to hit her. This was why the aunt hadn’t dared to make a scene when Jiang Yiyi had given her a cold reception that day.

“It’s this shameless woman!”

Gu’s mother’s voice trembled with anger. “She forced Yunze to agree to let you teach her how to make liangpi (cold skin noodles). When Yunze refused, she said he hit her.”

Jiang Yiyi didn’t question the aunt, instead looking at the onlookers. “Did Yunze hit her? Did anyone see it?”

The onlookers looked at each other, none of them speaking. The aunt wasn’t easy to mess with. If they dared to testify, the aunt would dare to block their doors and scold them for three days and nights. Although they wanted to curry favor with the Gu family, they didn’t want to offend the aunt.

The crowd’s reaction was within Jiang Yiyi’s expectations. She smirked slightly. “I was thinking that since we’re all from the same village, we shouldn’t be the only ones making money. I wanted to help the villagers by letting you wholesale the liangpi to sell. Now it seems…”

“I testify that Yunze didn’t hit her.”

A woman of about thirty spoke up. Her younger sister worked in the county town and said that everyone in the county town ate liangpi. Even the poorest families would occasionally buy some to try. Liangpi was very popular. She had long been interested in it, but she had little connection with the Gu family and hadn’t dared to approach them. Now that she had the opportunity, how could she miss it?

After the first, came the second.

“I saw it too. Yunze didn’t hit her at all. Instead, she hit Yunze several times.”

“Yes, I saw it too.”

“Me too.”

…

The aunt, furious, scrambled to her feet, pointing at everyone’s noses and cursing, “What’s it to you? Get lost!”

“You should be the one to get lost! You say your family can’t eat, but isn’t it all sent to your parents’ home?”

“Exactly, I saw her sneaking food to her parents’ home the other day.”

“And vegetables! I saw her take a big basket of vegetables to her parents’ home the other day!”

…

“You’re lying! I didn’t!”

The aunt looked nervously towards the village entrance. She had come back early to cook. Her husband was behind her. If he heard this, he would beat her to death.

After speaking, she didn’t dare to tangle with Gu Yunze anymore and hurried away.

The crowd eagerly looked at Jiang Yiyi.

Jiang Yiyi didn’t go back on her word. “If anyone wants to sell, you can come to my house this afternoon to discuss it. But let me make it clear: I’ll wholesale the liangpi to you. Whether you sell it or not is your own business. Don’t blame our family if you don’t make any money.”

“Also, selling liangpi requires a tricycle, which costs two to three hundred yuan. And the selling season is very short, only during the hot months. Once it gets cold, you won’t be able to sell it anymore.”

Hearing that they could only sell during the hot months and needed to buy a tricycle, many people hesitated. A portion of liangpi only sold for thirty cents, earning very little money. It wasn’t worth spending two to three hundred yuan upfront.

Gu Yunze silently gave Jiang Yiyi a thumbs-up. His wife was so clever.

The crowd dispersed. Tiantian and Yueyue ran over. The two girls, wearing pretty dresses, looked adorable. Jiang Yiyi wanted to squat down and kiss them. As soon as she moved, she frowned.

Gu’s mother saw this and happily hugged her two granddaughters, saying to Gu Yunze, “What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and carry your wife back.”

“No need.”

Jiang Yiyi wasn’t angry, she just wanted Gu Yunze to buy the medicine quickly. Gu’s mother didn’t know this and glared fiercely at her son, telling him to be careful.

Gu Yunze nervously touched his nose, picked up his bicycle, and after his mother and daughters left, he rode his bicycle quickly towards the county town.

Back home, Gu’s mother asked Jiang Yiyi to go to the room to rest. She returned to her own room, took off her new clothes, folded them neatly, and put them in the closet. Thinking of Jiang Yiyi’s discomfort, she let Tiantian and Yueyue play in the yard and went to a neighbor’s house to buy an old hen, which she slaughtered and stewed at home.

She also went to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables, washed them, and cut all the meat at home, setting it aside to be stir-fried at noon.

During this process, she was very quiet and didn’t let Tiantian and Yueyue disturb Jiang Yiyi.

…

Jiang Yiyi was awakened by the delicious smell. She moved slightly, the soreness in her body dissipating somewhat. As soon as she sat up, Tiantian, with sharp eyes, saw her and ran over with short legs, Yueyue following closely behind. Before they reached the door, Gu Yunze picked them up, one in each arm.

“Auntie is awake.”

Tiantian pointed inside the room.

Gu Yunze strode into the room with the two little ones. “Wife, Mother specially stewed an old hen for you.”

He had also just returned, not only going to the county hospital but also to the supply and marketing cooperative. He bought two bottles of wine, two packs of cigarettes, two boxes of pastries, two bags of milk powder, two fish, and six kilograms of meat, preparing to go back to Jiang Yiyi’s parents’ home in the afternoon.

They should have gone in the morning, but Jiang Yiyi was too tired to go, so they had to go in the afternoon. Fortunately, her father-in-law and mother-in-law were generous and shouldn’t say anything.

Jiang Yiyi glared at him angrily. Since she came here, except for her lunch break, this was the first time she had slept during the day. It was all Gu Yunze’s fault.

“Did Uncle make a mistake?”

Tiantian asked in a childish voice.

She saw Auntie glaring at Uncle. Mom said that only those who made mistakes would be glared at.

Yueyue immediately followed up,

“Uncle, you said you would change. Mommy said that knowing your mistake and changing is being a good child.”

Gu Yunze couldn’t help but laugh. The mistake he made couldn’t be changed. Not only couldn’t it be changed, but he would make it every day. But he couldn’t tell the children that.

“Uncle will talk to Auntie alone. Tiantian and Yueyue, tell Grandma that Auntie is hungry and will eat soon, okay?”

Hearing that Jiang Yiyi was hungry, the two little ones immediately got down from Gu Yunze’s arms and went to the kitchen with their short legs.

“Wife…”

Gu Yunze approached Jiang Yiyi. The man was tall and strong, his wheat-colored skin glowing in the sunlight, attracting people to involuntarily approach. Jiang Yiyi resisted this temptation, lifted the thin quilt and covered his head, quickly got out of bed, put on her shoes, and quickly went outside.

Gu Yunze smiled, folded the thin quilt neatly, and made the bed tidy. It wasn’t that he didn’t say he hadn’t bought that medicine; it was that his wife didn’t give him a chance to say it.

…

After dinner, Gu’s mother took Tiantian and Yueyue to take a nap, Gu Yunyang and Gu Yuncan also went back to their rooms to nap, and Jiang Yiyi and Gu Yunze returned to their room. Then he said, “Wife, the doctor said they don’t have that medicine.”

He hadn’t said it before dinner because he was afraid it would affect Jiang Yiyi’s appetite.

Jiang Yiyi had anticipated this. She had just been hoping, thinking that maybe there was some. But when Gu Yunze went to the county town, she had calculated that yesterday was the safe period, so she shouldn’t be so lucky as to win the lottery.

“You’re not allowed to sleep in the room tonight.”