Chapter 34 : Feeling Good About Yourself

For a while, the sun was shining brightly every day, and the mushrooms and black fungus in the yard were gradually drying up. I guessed they could be packaged and sold in town after drying for a while.

Zhou also listened to Xiao Mian and started to actively get along with Jiang Sui and Xiao Lanlan.

She was good at needlework, especially at embroidering shoe pads.

She taught Jiang Sui and Xiao Lanlan how to embroider shoe pads when she had some free time. Jiang Sui knew nothing about needlework and often pricked her hand while holding the embroidery needle.

Sometimes, the pricks were too deep, and blood would ooze out.

When Jiang Sui pricked her middle finger again, she couldn’t help but hiss, and a bright red drop of blood appeared on her finger.

Xiao Hechuan, who was watching his nephew Goudan write, immediately ran over to Jiang Sui and squatted down when he heard the sound.

“Fourth sister-in-law, why did you prick yourself again?” Xiao Lanlan looked at her helplessly.

It seemed like her fourth sister-in-law was really not suited for needlework.

She had been studying it for a few days, but not only had she made no progress, but now her hands were pierced like a sieve.

“Fourth sister-in-law, don’t be impatient. Take your time. Needlework is delicate work, and you can’t rush it,” Zhou smiled and comforted her.

Jiang Sui smiled embarrassedly. She thought she was quite smart, but she just couldn’t do needlework well. It was really strange.

“Got it. I’ll pay attention.”

As she was talking, Jiang Sui suddenly felt her fingers getting hot. When she turned around, she saw Xiao Hechuan holding her pricked finger in his mouth.

He was so focused that Jiang Sui’s face and heart both became hot.

After watching, Zhou and Xiao Lanlan exchanged a glance and secretly laughed, enjoying the scene from the side.

“Ah, Hechuan, my hands are dirty,” she quickly pulled her hand back.

But she wasn’t as strong as Xiao Hechuan. He exerted a little force with his big hands, and she couldn’t pull it away. Seeing that her second sister-in-law and Lanlan were laughing at her, her face almost turned as red as a cooked shrimp.

Xiao Hechuan let her go only after he was sure there was no more bleeding. Then he held her hand and looked at her with a distressed expression.

“Wife, stop embroidering. Your fingers are all pricked,” he frowned, feeling conflicted.

He looked at the insole embroidered by his wife. It wasn’t a flower at all, but a centipede. It wasn’t pretty at all.

But he didn’t dare to say this, as he feared being scolded if he did.

“What’s wrong? Is the embroidery not pretty?” Jiang Sui looked at it repeatedly, maintaining her rhythm.

She felt good about herself.

Xiao Hechuan scratched his head, unsure whether he should say something or not.

Jiang Sui saw his tangled expression and already knew the answer in her mind. She shrugged helplessly.

“I know I don’t have the talent, but it’s too boring to do nothing at home.”

It had been almost a month since Jiang Sui married into the Xiao family, and a lot had happened in just that short time.

Recently, the third brother, Xiao Yi, had gone to Liu’s house again to deliver something, but he was still not welcomed.

Liu said that if he gave her five taels of silver, she would come home with him.

Xiao Yi was furious, and his face looked especially bad when he came back. He used to go up the mountain to chop firewood every day, but now he had switched to chopping bamboo, preparing to weave a few new dustpans for the family.

He was cutting bamboo at that moment, and when he heard Jiang Sui’s words, he interrupted

“Fourth brother’s wife, if you feel like you have nothing to do, I know a place with a few wild apricot trees. I think they’re ripe now. You can go there with Lanlan to pick some wild apricots. That place is quite hidden, not many people know about it, but the wild apricots there are a bit sour. You might not like them if I pick them for you.”

When Xiao Hechuan heard about picking wild apricots, he immediately became excited.

“Picking wild apricots? I want to go!” Xiao Hechuan was the first to raise his hand in agreement.

Not to mention, Jiang Sui was also a little interested, so she glanced at Xiao Lanlan, who knew that she couldn’t sit still. She nodded: “Then let’s go!”

“Okay, let’s go pick wild apricots. It’s okay if they’re sour. We can make them into dried sour apricots, which can be preserved for a long time.”

Jiang Sui was actually thinking that since there was a pregnant woman at home, the sour dried apricots might come in handy.

If she didn’t say it was for Liu, then there was still the second sister-in-law, and she might get pregnant someday.

Don’t pregnant women love sour food?

With that, Jiang Sui, Xiao Lanlan, and Xiao Hechuan put on their clothes and went to look for the wild apricot tree.

Xiao Yi had told them the approximate location. It was indeed a bit remote, at the bottom of a cliff, and it would take about half an hour to walk there.

It was already afternoon.

“You guys should come back early. It’s not safe after dark,” Xiao Yi reminded them before they left.

Mother Xiao went to the vegetable garden, and when she came back, she found out that they had gone to pick wild apricots, but she didn’t take it seriously.

Anyway, these kids can’t sit still, so let them be.

This time, they only carried a basket, not expecting to pick many wild apricots.

The wild apricot tree was hidden in a mountain stream, and there was a small pond with spring water flowing down in several streams.

In May, the mountain flowers were in full bloom, and you could always see a few clusters of red in the mountains, making the scenery beautiful.

The scenery in this mountain stream was even more unique, and the wind blowing over it felt sweet.

After Xiao Hechuan arrived at the place, he scooped up a handful of water from the pond and drank it. The spring water was sweet and clear, and he felt refreshed after drinking it.

Jiang Sui followed his example and drank a handful. Wow, she could never drink such good spring water in modern times, only mineral water.

Xiao Lanlan had already discovered the wild apricot trees. The number of fruits on the trees wasn’t too many, but not too few either.

Xiao Hechuan was in charge of climbing the tree. After he got up, he picked an apricot and threw it to Xiao Lanlan.

Xiao Lanlan took the apricots, washed them, and broke them in half. A sour taste immediately filled her mouth, making her drool. It wasn’t because of greed, but because of the sourness.

She took a bite, and immediately her face twisted in pain, making her shudder.

Jiang Sui, seeing that she had her back to her approached her and asked

“How is it? Is it delicious?”

When Xiao Lanlan heard Jiang Sui’s words, she thought of playing a prank on her and immediately adjusted her facial expression

“Not sour, not sour at all, look.” She took another bite in front of Jiang Sui, trying to control her expression, and then handed the other side to her naturally.

Jiang Sui believed her lies and took a big bite out of courtesy. After taking a bite, her mouth was full of saliva, and her facial features twisted.

She immediately spat it out because it was too sour, and most people couldn’t handle it.

“Bad Lanlan, you are so annoying~” Jiang Sui came to her senses and gave her a scolding look.

Xiao Lanlan succeeded in her prank, and her laughter was loud and clear, like a silver bell.

The sour taste in Jiang Sui’s mouth lingered for a long time, but she felt very happy at the moment and liked this simple little beauty very much.

During the month she had been at the Xiao family, her appetite had improved greatly. She ate a lot every day, and even ate meat from time to time. She now looked much better than when she first arrived, with more flesh on her face and a rosy complexion.