Chapter 20: Return

Liu Yinyin and Liu Hongmei were about the same age and were cousins, so they had a good relationship.

Liu Yinyin had once asked Liu Hongmei what kind of partner she would like to find in the future. To her surprise, the young girl blushed and said she wanted to find someone from the city, or even a scholar would do.

Liu Yinyin didn’t comment much. Everyone had their own aspirations, and who wouldn’t want a good life?

After Liu Hongmei finished cutting a basket of sweet potato vines, she greeted Liu Yinyin and left an egg before leaving.

Liu Yinyin picked a basket of long beans, washed them, blanched them in water, and then hung them on a bamboo pole to dry.

By the time her long beans were dried, the village was ringing with drums and gongs, signaling the start of the autumn harvest.

To quickly get the crops into the storage, everyone in the village had to work hard for the next while.

At such a critical time, Liu Yinyin felt it wouldn’t be right to stay at home, so she quickly went to the fields to work.

Her pregnant belly was almost seven months along, so she couldn’t do any heavy or strenuous work.

The village first began harvesting rice. Seeing her belly getting bigger, Liu Changquan assigned her a lighter task.

What was it?

She was assigned to dry the rice on the threshing ground!

The harvested rice needed to be dried before it could be stored.

So, Liu Yinyin’s job was to repeatedly turn the rice on the drying ground to dry it, while also keeping an eye on the birds to prevent them from eating the rice.

This job was much lighter compared to the others who were busy harvesting rice in the fields, as she could take breaks from time to time.

On the threshing ground, apart from Liu Yinyin, the others were all elderly people who had difficulty walking.

Liu Yinyin: “……”

Wearing a straw hat, she took a leisurely sip of water. In her eyes, this job wasn’t really light.

The main issue was the scorching heat.

As the name “threshing ground” implied, there was no shade nearby. The area was exposed to the blazing sun, and by the end of the day, she was left feeling dizzy from the heat.

Pregnancy in these times was really not friendly. Liu Yinyin sighed softly, drank her water, and continued working.

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In Shili Village.

It was midday, and the village was quiet. The villagers, tired from the morning’s work, were now resting at home for lunch.

In the empty village, a tall figure was walking along the narrow country road with a large bag on his back.

The person was very tall, at least 1.88 meters, with long legs and a sharp, handsome face. His short, neat hair and his aura exuded a sense of righteousness.

He walked straight to the Gu family’s door and stopped. He knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Gu Dajie shouted irritably as she came out to open the door, thinking, “Who on earth would come visiting in the middle of the day when it’s this hot?”

“Big Sister-in-law,” Gu Cheng called out.

Gu Dajie: “……”

Her back suddenly felt cold…

Oh my, was she dreaming?

When she saw her younger brother-in-law, Gu Cheng, her soul nearly left her body from shock.

Seeing the shock on her face, Gu Cheng frowned and entered the house while asking, “Is Father and Mother here? What about Yinyin?”

“Gu… Gu Cheng?” Gu Dajie entered the house, her hands trembling. She stammered, “You… are you a person or a ghost?”

Wasn’t it said that her brother-in-law had died?

Heavens! She was so scared, especially in the middle of the day.

“Oldest sister-in-law, who are you talking to…” Gu Mu walked out from inside, and the next moment, her palm fan fell to the ground with a thud. She froze, completely stunned.

“Mother, I’m back,” Gu Cheng said.

At this moment, the rest of the family also came out. Upon seeing Gu Cheng, they all froze in shock, staring at him in disbelief.

Gu Cheng frowned when he saw their reactions. Why did they look at him as if they were seeing a ghost?

He put his bag down and glanced around at the people in the room before raising an eyebrow and asking, “Mother, where’s Yinyin?”

Gu Mu was stunned for a long time before she came to her senses, her voice filled with excitement. “My son… you’re not dead?”

“Who said I was dead?” Gu Cheng asked, confused.

“They… everyone outside said you died,” Gu Mu replied, tears welling up in her eyes. “You don’t know, when I heard you were gone, my eyes nearly cried blind. Son, so you’re really not dead?”

Gu Cheng looked at Gu Fu.

Gu Fu’s eyes were clouded with shock, and he looked Gu Cheng up and down before sighing with relief. “It’s good you’re back, it’s good you’re back.”

Gu Cheng casually replied, “I was injured before, but it wasn’t life-threatening. Once I recovered, I came back.”

Gu Mu wiped away her tears and, turning from sadness to joy, said, “It’s good that you’re fine. I knew my son was lucky, you have good fortune. Son, are you hungry? Let me make you something to eat.”

Gu Cheng replied, “Mother, don’t worry about it. I’m not hungry. I’ll just rest in my room for now.”

Gu Mu nodded eagerly. “Alright, go rest. If you need anything, just say the word.”

Gu Cheng didn’t respond and walked towards his room.

However, he immediately came back out and asked, “Mother, isn’t Yinyin at home?”

He had noticed that Liu Yinyin hadn’t been around. He thought she might be resting in her room, but when he went in, the room was empty, and it was obvious no one had been there for a long time.

Gu Mu’s heart sank, and her eyes flickered as she said, “Yinyin… she… she went back to her family.”

Gu Cheng raised his foot to leave, saying, “I’ll go pick her up.”

Seeing this, Gu Mu hurriedly stopped him, saying, “Son, listen to me. Liu Yinyin isn’t a good and obedient wife. Don’t think about her anymore.”

She regretted it; she shouldn’t have chosen such a beautiful daughter-in-law for her son. She wasn’t someone who would settle down and live a proper life.

Gu Cheng, feeling utterly speechless, asked, “Mother, what happened at home?”

Gu Mu avoided his gaze and mumbled, “Nothing happened… it’s just… everyone said you died, and Liu Yinyin is a young woman, she wouldn’t stay a widow for you. So, after you left, she packed up and went back to her family.”

Everyone else, except for Gu Mu, was silent, but their eyes kept shifting, clearly looking guilty.

Gu Cheng glanced at Gu Fu and asked, “Father, is what Mother said true?”

Gu Fu looked extremely guilty, but given how things had developed, he could only try to comfort Gu Cheng. “Yinyin really did go back to her family… you… sigh, just think of it as you two not having the right fate.”

He wasn’t sure how things had turned out this way. When the news of Gu Cheng’s “death” had spread, he thought that since Liu Yinyin was young and had no children, it would be fine for her to return to her family. She could even find another husband to marry.

But who could have known… who could have known that Gu Cheng would come back alive?

If he had known, when his wife had suggested that the second daughter-in-law leave, he would have stopped her.

“Father, we were married and had a certificate,” Gu Cheng said, feeling exasperated. Marriage was not a joke.

How could his wife, whom he had left for just a few months, have disappeared so carelessly and without explanation?