Chapter 22

Li Yao carried Ning Jia to the bathroom.

Toilets in rural areas are all dry toilets, and you have to squat to use the toilet.

One of her feet was seriously injured and she couldn’t even touch the ground. How could she squat down?

Ning Jia couldn’t help but wonder, how would Li Yao help her?

Isn’t it like holding a child’s pee?

If that were the case, she might as well just run into the toilet and die.

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard Li Yao say, “I’ll put you down first. Just hold on with one leg. I’ll be there soon.”

“oh.”

He went in for a moment, then came out quickly and bent down to pick her up again.

It was only when he entered the toilet that Ning Jia discovered that he had placed a broken stool on the toilet.

This bench is usually thrown in the corner of the toilet because no one wants to sit on it because of its broken leg.

I didn’t expect it would be put to such a use right now.

“You can just use it for now.” Li Yao said.

“Okay.” Ning Jia agreed, “Then go out and don’t come in.”

As soon as Li Yao left, Ning Jia took off his pants and prepared to go to the bathroom.

Suddenly she heard Li Yao cough, and she felt a little embarrassed when she thought of him standing outside the door listening to her going to the toilet.

“Um… Li Yao, can you please go a little further away? If you stay at the door I… I can’t come out.”

Li Yao didn’t say anything, but he could hear his footsteps getting farther and farther away.

Ning Jia finally finished her work happily and called out softly, “Li Yao.”

Soon, footsteps came closer and closer, Li Yao came back, picked her up and walked out of the bathroom.

By the time I finally got to sleep on the kang, the sky was already getting light.

Ning Jia didn’t have to go to work anyway, so he just closed his eyes and fell asleep.

She slept until noon and was awakened by a noise outside the door.

She overheard and found out that it was Old Mrs. Xu who was complaining in the yard.

“What sin have I committed? I am almost sixty years old, and I can’t even get any help from my wife, but instead I have to serve her!”

The fourth son’s wife, Li Xuejiao, sat at the foot of the wall, cracking melon seeds and basking in the sun, while watching her mother-in-law working: “Didn’t the sixth son say that? Ning Jia injured her foot while working yesterday and couldn’t get out of bed!”

“I’ve never seen anything like her! Fishing one day, drying the nets 364 days!”

Li Xuejiao burst out laughing: “Maybe she doesn’t want this either.”

If it were in the past, Li Xuejiao really would not look down on Ning Jia at all.

Ever since Lin Zhiqing came home and had a meal, she deeply felt her mother-in-law’s favoritism, and she also clearly saw that only Ning Jia could deal with her mother-in-law.

At this moment, she was eager to see her mother-in-law jump three feet high in anger.

Old Mrs. Xu didn’t hear what she wanted to hear from her fourth daughter-in-law, so she shut her mouth angrily.

She packed two steamed buns, half a bowl of pickles and a bowl of porridge and brought them into the house for Ning Jia.

“Eat it! Daddy!”

Ning Jia struggled to sit up from the bed, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and asked lazily: “Who is this? Who made you angry so early in the morning? This kind of anger is harmful to your health and can easily shorten your life! Look at my grandfather, he has lived to be over 90 years old, but he is still a vigorous old man. Do you know why?”

The old man of the Ning family is indeed quite old, but he is still very energetic. The neighbors say that he is very smart.

“Why?” When Old Mrs. Xu heard what the Ning family said, she asked unhappily.

Ning Jia grinned: “Because my grandfather never meddles in other people’s business.”

Old Mrs. Xu could tell that she was making a veiled attack on someone else. She glared at her fiercely and said, “I think it’s not your grandfather who has become a spirit, but you!”

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were arguing when Aunt Niu from the next yard came over.

As soon as I entered the room, I saw Ning Jia lying on the bed.

“Oh my, you are so relaxed, while others are busy digging ditches! You said you didn’t lay any eggs, why are you sitting here?”

This is a rough and unpleasant statement.

Ning Jia snorted coldly: “At least I have a nest to rest in, Aunt Niu, how about you? When will your daughter-in-law rest in bed? Can you wait for her in this lifetime?”

“You…you are really bringing up things that are not relevant to the topic!” Aunt Niu was angry.

This little girl Ning Jia really stabbed her in the heart and rubbed salt into the wound every time.

“Okay, why are you arguing with her? Why didn’t you go to work today? What are you doing here?” asked Old Mrs. Xu.

“My waist hurts, the old problem comes back again. I might as well take a day off at home! At worst, I won’t get any work points today! I came here to see you and to discuss something with you.” Aunt Niu said.

“Look at me? What’s so good about me?” Old Mrs. Xu looked at Aunt Niu in confusion.

We are all neighbors, we see each other every day.

We meet eight times a day. It’s not like we don’t see each other, so why should I come to see her?

“Didn’t Ning Jia say that you had diarrhea in your trouser pocket? I came to see if you’re okay.”

“What? What nonsense are you talking about?”

“What? Where did I say nonsense? Are you embarrassed to admit it? The whole village knows about this. It was your Ning Jia who said it!”

Old Mrs. Xu was a person who cared a lot about her reputation. When she heard that the whole village knew that she had plucking her trouser pockets, her face turned red with embarrassment, and her head started buzzing and she almost fainted.

“Ning Jia, what nonsense are you talking about! You damn thing!”

Ning Jia looked innocent: “I didn’t say that. Aunt Niu, please don’t accuse me wrongly.”

“You said it yourself that you would wash your mother-in-law’s pants.”

“I only said I washed her pants, I didn’t say he pulled her pants pockets!”

Aunt Niu waved her hand and said, “This is not important!”

Old Mrs. Xu was almost pissed off: “Isn’t this important? You guys have ruined my reputation! Aaaaaaaaaa!”

“Okay, you’re an old woman now, what reputation do you want? Let’s not talk about this anymore. When I came here, I told you something else. Accountant Liu’s daughter-in-law gave birth to a big fat boy this morning! Others have gone to give gifts, they are all relatives from the same village, so what should we give?” Aunt Niu came to her to discuss this matter.

She would go along with whatever Old Lady Xu gave.

“What?” Old Mrs. Xu felt sour when she heard this. “She gave birth to a fat boy? How come Accountant Liu’s daughter-in-law is so good at giving birth?”

“Who said it wasn’t? What are you sending? I’ll go with you.”

Mrs. Xu said, “Give me some eggs.”

“Then I’ll go too. Wait for me to get ready and we can go together.”

As soon as Aunt Niu went out, Old Mrs. Xu followed her out.

“Aunt Niu, I want to ask you something.”

“you say.”

Old Mrs. Xu no longer cared about covering up her shame. After all, the whole village knew about what happened in her family.

She held Aunt Niu and asked, “Do you know about my son Lao Liu? He married his wife but he didn’t touch her. How can a woman get pregnant if he doesn’t touch her? Accountant Liu’s daughter-in-law was also unwilling to marry him at first, and she didn’t want to sleep with little Liu. How come she got pregnant later?”

Aunt Niu smiled mysteriously: “I have a trick.”

“What’s the trick?”

“Come here…” Aunt Niu whispered in Old Mrs. Xu’s ear for a while.

Old Mrs. Xu’s face turned into a smile again: “Okay, I’ll go ask tomorrow.”

Isn’t it that Ning Jia can’t work because of her sore feet? Then let’s help her raise a grandson on the kang!

The eldest and third sons both gave birth to daughters, but the fourth son’s wife’s belly doesn’t look like she’s pregnant with a boy.

Hopes rest on the fifth and sixth sons. As for the seventh son, he can hold off on having a baby for now. His goal is to marry Lin Xiaoxi and develop in Beijing in the future.

Let others see that a golden phoenix flew out of the grass nest of their Li family.

That’s it!

Li Yao and Ning Jia still had no idea what Old Lady Xu was up to.

Ning Jia was eating and was choked by a cornmeal pancake, so he stretched his neck.

She swore that she must work hard to make a lot of money so that she could eat fish and meat every day and enjoy herself.

Li Yao, who was shopping at the town’s supply and marketing cooperative, sneezed twice. He rubbed his nose, pointed at the vanishing cream on the shelf and said, “Comrade, give me a bottle of that!”