Chapter 41: Watching Over Him

Hu Yao had indeed given him the cold shoulder that night, refusing to sleep with him.

But how could Jiang Han agree to that? It was one thing for him not to sleep with her, but it was unacceptable for her to refuse him.

However, he had accidentally bumped into Jiang Xiaochao, and seeing the poor boy’s innocent expression, Jiang Han still felt a fatherly love for him. He generously took him to bed with him that night.

The next day, noticing a bruise on his nose, he applied some medicinal wine to it.

The Jiang family’s house was old, and taking advantage of the recent roof repairs, Jiang Han decided to rebuild and install electricity.

He bought new bricks and tiles and hired many workers.

He was basically demolishing and rebuilding the entire Jiang family house. Before construction began, he asked Hu Yao to pack a few clothes, and the family of three temporarily moved to town.

It was then that Hu Yao learned that he had a house in town.

The Jiang family’s new house was being built with all the latest materials, including new tiles and glass windows, which were being transported to the village. This grand gesture once again attracted the attention of the villagers, who whispered among themselves that Jiang Han had truly made a fortune outside.

Others, filled with envy, said that Hu Yao was lucky to have a good life. Not only was Jiang Han rich, but he had no messy relatives, and even more importantly, he had no troublesome mother-in-law, a common source of headaches and suffering for women.

Hu Yao was unaware of these envious remarks. However, when Jiang Han had spanked her on the Mid-Autumn Festival, a few children outside had witnessed the scene. Somehow, the story spread, and it became known that Jiang Han had beaten his wife and child on that night. The reason, according to the rumors, was that Jiang Han’s mistress was pregnant, and Hu Yao had discovered it and confronted him. Jiang Han, unable to bear her nagging, had resorted to violence.

When Lin Zhaodi told Hu Yao about this, she was confused and bewildered. Later, she realized that it must have been about Xu Xuzhu.

Xu Xuzhu’s child wasn’t Jiang Han’s. Indeed, rumors spread and multiplied, making it difficult to discern the truth.

Hu Yao couldn’t explain why she believed Jiang Han when he said the child wasn’t his. Perhaps it was because of his nature. He simply wasn’t that cunning, and he didn’t have the time or the need to deceive her with such elaborate lies.

With the house under construction, Hu Yao and Jiang Xiaochao moved to town, and the gossip subsided somewhat.

Jiang Han’s house was located near the market, making it convenient for shopping. However, the house was bare, lacking even basic kitchenware. It was spacious, but apart from a bed and a few chairs, there was nothing else.

They didn’t plan to stay there permanently, but the construction would take some time. Eating at restaurants every day was expensive, so Hu Yao wanted to cook her own meals. Jiang Xiaochao also preferred her cooking.

Jiang Han readily agreed, generously handing her a bundle of brand-new banknotes, telling her to spend freely.

When it came to money, he was truly generous with her.

The town was much better than the village in terms of environment, but it wasn’t necessarily more convenient. The water room and kitchen were shared, and people had to queue up at specific times.

Hu Yao was a kind and easygoing person, and she had made good friends with her neighbors in the short time she had been there.

Jiang Xiaochao was fearless and made friends with other children within a day.

Jiang Han was not a good person to mess with. People who had interacted with him in the past knew he wasn’t a nice guy, and they usually avoided him. But they never expected his wife to be such a pleasant person.

After getting to know Hu Yao, the neighbors found her to be very kind.

Jiang Han also had a wine shop on the street. His parents had passed away when he was seven or eight years old. It was said that his father was a skilled winemaker, and it was this skill that allowed him to build the Jiang family’s brick and tile house.

Jiang Xiaochao had previously told Hu Yao that the various wines stored in the house were made by Jiang Han himself.

It seemed that his father’s skills had been passed down to him.

But if he could brew wine, a profitable skill, why did he have to engage in such reckless behavior and earn such a bad reputation? Hu Yao couldn’t understand.

The townspeople knew more about Jiang Han’s wealth than the villagers. Seeing Hu Yao being so frugal and saving money for him, they teased her.

“Women are so foolish. They have money but don’t want to spend it. In the end, their husbands will spend it on other women!”

Someone else also said something similar to Hu Yao.

Jiang Han was surrounded by both men and women. Everyone had seen Xu Xuzhu many times, and their ambiguous relationship was anyone’s guess.

Proper wives and aunts couldn’t stand those flamboyant, shameless women who didn’t respect themselves. Xu Xuzhu was undoubtedly one of them.

The neighbors chatted and gossiped, urging Hu Yao to keep a close eye on Jiang Han, not just Xu Xuzhu but also other women.

Hu Yao didn’t know what to say. Life was now peaceful and uneventful. There were no more troublesome incidents from before. She had started to think about settling down, having food and clothing, a sweet and obedient son, and Jiang Han wasn’t too bad to her either.

Compared to her previous life in the Hu family, it was a thousand times better.

But was she supposed to watch over Jiang Han? How could she? He was always like that. Without Xu Xuzhu, there might be other women.

She was his wife, but she had no right to control him.

Thinking about this, Hu Yao felt an inexplicable discomfort in her heart.

She smiled at the others, saying nothing, and continued washing the vegetables.

The letter she had sent out a few days ago had not received a reply. Xu Xuzhu’s affair didn’t affect her, and Jiang Han wasn’t as cruel as she had imagined. She no longer had the urgent desire to leave that she had felt before. However, she hadn’t been in touch with her neighbor’s sister for a long time, and she still hoped to receive a reply from her.

But there was none. She had heard that her sister had gone to her husband’s family and hadn’t returned in years. She rarely contacted her family.

After all, four years had passed, and many things had changed. Hu Yao felt a little disappointed.

She had passed by the wine shop on the street a few times. She could smell the strong, rich aroma of wine even before getting close. Business was good, with people constantly coming and going, carrying wine jugs.

Jiang Han was a clever man. He had many ways to make money, was willing to try new things, and was not afraid of failure.

When he first started planting tea, he couldn’t get it right for the first year. More seedlings died than survived. He lost money on the lease of the mountain and fields, labor costs, and everything else. But even though he seemed impatient, he didn’t give up and persisted. Now, his harvest was increasing every year.

He seemed to be outstanding in some aspects.

These days, he had nothing to do in his spare time, so he either went back to the village to check on the progress of the house construction or went out to drink and play cards.

Hu Yao didn’t care about him, anyway, he won or lost with his own hard-earned money, and he didn’t feel bad about it himself.

However, his luck in cards was always good, he didn’t lose many times, and he even threw all the money he won back to her.

He gambled pretty big, and the money he won from playing cards for a day was enough for a normal factory worker’s salary for several months, even a year.

Gambling is ultimately bad, Hu Yao hesitated and told him not to play cards anymore.

“People who lose haven’t said they won’t play, it’s not polite for me to say I won’t play.” He said casually.

Hu Yao didn’t expect him to really listen to her, so she didn’t say anything more after hearing him say that.