Chapter 20: I Want to Sleep on the Bed

Every move Liu Dani made was clearly seen by Zhang Xiulian and Zhao Lili inside the house.

Their faces turned bright red, and if they hadn’t quickly covered their mouths with their hands, they almost would have burst out laughing.

“Mom, do you think Grandma will ask us about the meat?”
After Liu Dani walked away, Zhao Lili asked with some worry.

Zhang Xiulian rubbed her smile-aching face and calmly said,
“If she asks, she’d give herself away. She definitely won’t ask, don’t worry. We’ve been busy all day—get some rest early. I’ll wash up and go to sleep too.”

In the west room, Zhao Debao had finished washing and was sitting on the bed waiting for Zhang Xiulian to come back.

Creak
Zhang Xiulian rolled up her pants, carried a basin with both hands, and pushed open the door.

She put the basin on the rack by the door, turned around, and fixed her gaze on Zhao Debao with dissatisfaction in her eyes.

Zhao Debao felt uneasy under her stare. He thought back and forth several times but couldn’t figure out what he did wrong.

Seeing he had no reaction, Zhang Xiulian sighed, walked quickly a few steps, stood in front of him, and pushed him aside.
“Move, you’re sitting on the towel.”

Only then did Zhao Debao notice that Zhang Xiulian’s face was wet.

Her earlier intense gaze was to hint that she needed the towel.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t thought of that at all.

“Oh, that’s what you meant.”

Zhao Debao immediately stood up, breathed a sigh of relief, and handed the towel on the bed to Zhang Xiulian.

“That’s not what I meant. What else could I mean?”

Zhang Xiulian didn’t give him a good look and continued to wipe her face by herself.

“Xiulian, sleeping on the floor feels kind of chilly. I’ve been sleeping with a sore back and waist these past two days. If I keep sleeping like this, my old back problem will probably act up again. Can I sleep on the bed?”

Zhao Debao smiled ingratiatingly.

Zhao Debao’s back pain was a long-standing problem caused by sitting too long playing cards.

Whenever the wind blew or it rained, his waist would ache painfully.

In the previous life, whenever Zhao Debao said his waist hurt, Zhang Xiulian would get very worried.

She would look everywhere for rural remedies and ointments to treat him.

She wouldn’t let him do any farm work.

She even specially sewed a thick cotton waist protector for him.

Zhao Debao thought secretly to himself: as long as I pretend to have a waistache, this silly woman will definitely fall for it.

Zhang Xiulian glanced at him coldly and sneered, “If you don’t want to sleep on the floor, then go sleep in your son’s room.

You know why your waist hurts, so don’t pretend to be pitiful in front of me. I’m not buying it!”

Actually, Zhao Debao’s waist had fully healed long ago after years of careful care.

It was just that Zhang Xiulian in the previous life was too naive and never noticed.

Rejected, Zhao Debao’s body stiffened, his smile vanished, and with a dark expression, he sat back on the bed.

“Zhang Xiulian, don’t go too far.

I have already been very tolerant of you. Today, when you treated my sister like that, I didn’t say anything.

Don’t get arrogant and act shameless!”

His “fox tail” had just been tucked away for two days, and now it was about to slip out.

Zhang Xiulian took off her shoes and stood on the bed, grabbed Zhao Debao’s quilt and threw it to the ground, then took out a butcher knife she had hidden under her pillow.

She shouted from above in a commanding voice, “Zhao Debao, you better behave.

If you dare hit me, I’ll dare fight you to the death.

Maybe I can’t beat you now, but even a tiger has moments of dozing off.

If you dare lay a hand on me, I swear I’ll chop off your head while you’re asleep!”

The sharp knife gleamed coldly under the lightbulb, and Zhang Xiulian’s bloodshot eyes added an extra fierceness.

After locking eyes for a few seconds, Zhao Debao looked away guiltily.

“Sleep on the floor if you want. I’m too lazy to argue with a crazy woman like you. But don’t come crying to me later!”

Saying this, he opened the quilt on the floor and sulkily crawled under the covers.

Zhang Xiulian opened the quilt and reached out to close.

The lights were turned off. “Get up early tomorrow morning to water the fields. From tomorrow on, you must do the housework. If you keep idling around like before, I will divorce you!”

Zhao Debao clenched his teeth, staring at the dark quilt, his hands gripping tightly until they clicked and snapped. “I haven’t worked in the fields for so many years, and now she wants me to do chores. This woman really thinks she can boss me around. I have to teach her a lesson.”

The bright moonlight shone through the window onto Zhang Xiulian’s face. Her eyes were wide open, completely sleepless.

Her mind kept recalling what Eldest Sister-in-law said earlier that day: Could she know about the second son’s matter?

Second son?

Zhao Wen?

The more Zhang Xiulian thought about it, the more uneasy she felt.

Zhao Wen was the first son in the family. Eldest Sister-in-law had always affectionately called him “big nephew.”

So the “second son” she mentioned couldn’t be Zhao Wen.

Second son.

Second son.

Zhang Xiulian kept silently repeating it in her mind. Thinking and thinking, she gradually fell asleep without realizing it.

In her dream, a frail little girl, tears streaming down her face, held tightly onto her hand and wouldn’t let go. “Mom, I am the second one. Have you forgotten me? Mom, I miss you so much, please don’t forget me.”

Zhang Xiulian suddenly woke up with a start, sweating cold sweat.

Zhao Debao’s thunderous snoring at this moment oddly comforted her.

Leaning against the headboard, she carefully recalled the dream she just had.

Could the “second son” actually be her second daughter who died young?

But hadn’t she already passed away long ago?

Why would Eldest Sister-in-law bring her up for no reason?

And why was Zhao Debao so nervous about it?

Her thoughts were tangled like a messy ball of yarn, impossible to unravel or sort out.

Zhang Xiulian’s head was splitting with pain. She grabbed handfuls of her hair at the roots, trying to relieve some of the agony, but it was useless.

“I must find time to ask Aunt Wang who delivered me back then, and get to the bottom of this.”

After some unknown time, she became vaguely. She fell into a deep sleep.

When she opened her eyes again, the sun was already hanging high in the sky. At the foot of the bed lay Zhao Debao’s quilt, but he was nowhere to be found in the room.

After quickly tidying herself up, Zhang Xiulian hurriedly went outside.

Just as she stepped down the stairs, she heard her mother-in-law Liu Danni’s nagging voice.

“It’s already well past morning and you’re only just getting up? The daughter-in-law over at Old Zhang’s next door has been out in the fields for two hours already. You’re really lazy!”

Early in the morning, Zhang Xiulian hadn’t planned on arguing with her, fearing it would spoil her whole day’s good mood.

But unfortunately, some people won’t behave unless they get a good scolding.

Zhang Xiulian approached Liu Dani and forced out a smile worse than crying, “Some people have already died young — why don’t you go compare yourself to them?

This is a new society now, I’m not your family’s child bride. Do you really have to control even when I sleep in?

I think your family must live by the sea with so much time to meddle!”

She spoke quickly, her voice getting louder and more emotional, spitting flecks of saliva onto Liu Dani’s face.

“You…”

Liu Dani trembled, pointing at Zhang Xiulian, a thousand words in her mind but not a single one coming out of her throat!

After releasing her anger, Zhang Xiulian felt her mood improve significantly.

She went to the kitchen, lifted the cloth covering the table, and saw a bowl of rice porridge and a steamed bun.

It was breakfast left by her daughter, Zhao Lili.

She had just glanced at her daughter’s room, which was empty.

“That silly girl must have gone out to the fields early.”

Zhang Xiulian picked up the porridge and finished it in a few mouthfuls, grabbed the bun, and headed out.

As she pushed open the door, Zhao Debao was coming in face-to-face.

“You’re just in time. Come with me to the fields.”

Zhang Xiulian munched on the bun with one hand and carried a shovel with the other.

Zhao Debao snorted coldly, his voice dark, “I don’t think you’re going anywhere today.”