Chapter 18 : Each Has His Own Thoughts

Now that Mother Xiao was back, she naturally took charge of the cooking. Jiang Sui thought she was good at cooking porridge, but in reality, she was not very skilled. So she followed Xiao Lanlan to wash the black mushroom.

They didn’t go to the river but washed it in the yard. They afraid that others will see it and start gossiping, being jealous, and talking behind their back?

Secondly, they didn’t want to reveal it to others. They were still waiting for the rainy season in the second half of the year to continue picking up bargains. If others asked about it, they would feel embarrassed if they didn’t tell them. But if they did, wouldn’t there be more to share?

The mushroom they picked this time would weigh more than 20 kilograms even after being dried. It was said that the dry goods shop charged at least 18 cents for this mushroom.

The amount of dried mushrooms needed to be halved, but there were different varieties. Some were more expensive, while others were cheaper. After all, the taste differed.

The second sister-in-law, Zhou, and the third sister-in-law, Liu, returned home one after another in the afternoon. It was clear that the two had different feelings after returning to their parents’ homes.

The second sister-in-law came back carrying a lot of bags with a smile on her face, while the third sister-in-law looked unhappy and had a sad expression.

At night, in second brother room, Zhou brought in two bowls of black medicine. The pungent smell of Chinese medicine could be smelled from a long distance away.

Xiao Mian had just washed his feet and was about to lie down on the kang when he heard his wife, Zhou, shout

“Don’t rush to sleep yet. Drink this medicine while it’s hot. I’ll drink it too. After we finish drinking it, we’ll work harder and try to get pregnant as soon as possible.”

As Zhou said this, her face turned red with embarrassment, and she acted shy.

Xiao Mian knew at a glance that this time, when she went back to her parents’ home, she might have found some folk remedy from somewhere, and he was no longer surprised by the claim that taking the remedy would help one get pregnant.

But given the previous lesson, he really didn’t dare to drink

“Don’t do that. Last time your mother made me sick for three days after I drank it. Who knows what it will do this time? Don’t make me die.”

“Pooh, pooh, pooh, what’s the point of talking about life and death? Can my mother really harm us? I’m just hoping that we can get pregnant soon.” Zhou was not happy to hear this and retorted immediately.

“Yes, she doesn’t want to harm us, but didn’t my mother say that we should just let things take their own course? She’s not urging you to have a baby, it’s just that we’re not destined to have a child yet. Anyway, I won’t drink it, so you’d better not drink it either, or you’ll end up with something wrong with you.”

There was nothing wrong with what Xiao Mian said, but it was hard for Zhou to accept. In an instant, her eyes turned red and she was about to cry.

“Yes, your mother didn’t urge me, but look at the one from the third brother’s family. She relies on the fact that she is pregnant and wants to be better than me in everything. Who is she showing off to? She keeps talking about how she is pregnant and how much she has worked hard. She is so proud of herself. Look at those gossipy women in the village. How can I go out without being laughed at behind my back, being called a hen that doesn’t lay eggs?”

“So as long as I can’t get pregnant, I can’t hold my head up in this village, I can’t hold my head up in this family, I can only work obediently, dare not complain. I’ve had enough, you know? Xiao Mian, if you are willing, just do what I say!”

Zhou was very angry, but she did not dare to raise her voice for fear that her family would hear her, so she gave off the impression of being extremely depressed.

To be honest, Xiao Mian was also very annoyed at this time

“Do you think I don’t want a child? But what if I just can’t get you pregnant? You’re not the only one with no face, but you can’t just rush to seek medical help, right?”

“Didn’t I tell you that when we save enough money, we can find a better doctor? But you insist on torturing yourself, not taking your own health seriously, taking random medicines. What’s the matter, your mother’s words are more effective than the Queen Mother’s? How many times have I asked you if you’re pregnant?”

Anyway, Xiao Mian was determined not to take the medicine. Zhou was speechless and buried her head in the quilt, crying.

On the other side, the third son of the Xiao family, Xiao Yi, was not very quiet either.

Since dinner, Liu had been sighing, so he asked.

Liu was waiting for him to ask, so she took the opportunity to tell him the story

“I went back to my mother’s home yesterday, and I happened to see my mother arranging a marriage for my brother. She said that my brother had fallen in love with a girl from a certain village, so my mother sent someone to ask for the marriage. The girl was willing, but her family wanted a dowry of four taels of silver, two feet of red cloth, and two big roosters.”

“You know I have a big family, and my father is weak and can’t do much work. The gifts and cloth are easy to come by, but we’ll have to spend some money on the wedding banquet. My parents are too embarrassed to ask me for help, but they’ve borrowed everything they can. Life is hard for everyone, so I was thinking, can you talk to our mother and borrow a tael or two so that my brother can hold the wedding?”

So that was what happened. Xiao Yi knew that there must be something bad going on with his wife’s behavior. It turned out she wanted to borrow money.

Liu had an older brother named Liu Jiang and a younger brother named Liu He.

“Do you think our family still has money? Hechuan got married a few days ago. You saw it with your own eyes. We spent a lot of money. When we got married last year, we also gave your family three taels of silver as a betrothal gift. It’s only been half a year, and the money in the family has long been spent. How can we have spare money to borrow?”

Seeing that she was rejected directly by her husband, Liu immediately turned her face away

“I’m not saying anything, but what does your mother want? She spent five taels to marry a skinny wife to your stupid brother, and she even made such a fuss about it. She’s just trying to be wasted money on the wrong things.”

When she asked for help a second ago, it was ‘our mother’, and when she was rejected, it was ‘your mother’. Liu was very realistic, and what she said was truly unpleasant. Xiao Yi couldn’t help but slam his fist on the table. The loud bang startled Liu

“What did you say? Say it again. What has my brother done to you that makes you despise him so much? Also, my mother’s money is hers. She can spend it however she wants. Is it your business?”

“Your family’s affairs are the most important, so just focus on your own family, right? I’ll tell you this: you can say I’m bad, but you can’t say anything bad about my mother and my brothers. No one owes you anything!”

Liu was also frightened by Xiao Yi’s expression and tone. She instantly shrank her neck like a quail and spoke in a lower voice

“I just mentioned it. I didn’t say anything. If you don’t want to do it, then don’t. Why are you so angry? I still have your child in my belly. If you scare me and something happens to it, you’ll regret it!”