Chapter 12

“Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear what I said?” Zhao Guifen scolded angrily.

Looking at her eldest daughter-in-law, she couldn’t help but feel irritable!

Among all her daughters-in-law, only the eldest one refused to listen. Wasn’t it just because she had a pretty face, constantly clinging to the eldest son and making him spoil her?

How could a married woman not obey her mother-in-law?

Bai Xiuxiu placed the two children in Wang Qinghe’s arms, then glanced at Zhao Guifen: “How could I be the deaf one? Isn’t it you and Fifth Sister-in-law who are deaf? How am I lazing around at home? I’m recuperating at home!

If people in the village saw me not working but wandering around the mountains instead, wouldn’t they accuse me of faking illness to avoid work?

What about the family’s reputation?”

“You!”

Zhao Guifen was left speechless by her retort, glaring at her furiously.

Bai Xiuxiu didn’t even want to spare her a glance and walked out with the kids.

Zhou Jiaojiao, seeing things hadn’t gone her way, felt irritated. “Mom, what Eldest Sister-in-law said makes sense. Why don’t we wait until after the harvest to go? As for the job matter, I’ll talk to my family later. We shouldn’t miss out on this opportunity.”

“You’re the sensible one,” Zhao Guifen sighed, comforted by Zhou Jiaojiao’s plan to involve her family.

Now that’s what a daughter-in-law should be like!

As for Bai Xiuxiu, she was nothing but trouble! Dressing neatly all year round, wearing clothes without patches, and even getting a new outfit every year!

What did a woman need so many clothes for?

Look at the men in the Wang family—they wore patched-up clothes!

That woman should just drop dead sooner rather than later!

Bai Xiuxiu and Wang Qinghe returned to their room with the children. Wang Qinghe tidied up the bed and poured her a cup of hot water.

As usual, Bai Xiuxiu gave each of the children a White Rabbit candy, then handed one to her husband, stuffing it into his mouth. “From now on, don’t listen to anything they say. Don’t help them with work, and we don’t need to go hunting in the mountains for money.

The most important thing now is for us to live our own little life well. That’s all that matters!”

Hearing her caring words, Wang Qinghe’s expression softened even more.

He hugged her and nuzzled into her neck before letting go after a while. “I’ll do as you say. I’ll go work now, but at noon, I’ll go with you to see Uncle Zhang. We can’t ignore your sudden fainting spell.”

“I’ll go myself,” Bai Xiuxiu refused decisively.

Staying idle at home was boring, and she didn’t want to wait another ten days for the medicinal herbs.

She planned to try her luck with Uncle Zhang. Any herb seeds she could get to bring back home would be good.

She had to confirm whether this golden finger worked just as well for her as it did for Zhou Jiaojiao.

Wang Qinghe looked worried.

Recently, he’d been having the same recurring nightmare—seeing Xiuxiu die and experiencing a crushing loneliness afterward. The dreams drove him to the brink of madness. After those nights, he couldn’t bear to be apart from her during the day.

Only when she was in front of him could he feel at ease.

“Are you planning to disobey me now?” Bai Xiuxiu asked, displeased, seeing the look on his face that said he insisted on staying with her.

“I’ll listen to you, but you must promise not to go near any water,” Wang Qinghe reminded her once again.

“Big Brother? What are you standing there for? Get to work already!” his mother, Zhao Guifen, shouted from outside.

Despite the morning’s commotion, there was no way Wang Qinghe would be excused from work.

“Alright, I know. Go to work, and remember to finish only our tasks and come back right away. Don’t bother with theirs,” Bai Xiuxiu instructed him, glancing at his thin frame and recalling what he looked like when he was well-off later.

She felt he was suffering too much now.

Out of pity, she handed him a piece of honey cake. “Eat this before you go.”

Wang Qinghe ate it in two bites, his long, attractive eyes sparkling with charm as he smiled.

Not long after he left, Bai Xiuxiu also headed out with their two children.

The Wang family’s courtyard gate was usually left unlocked. However, every room inside had its own lock.

Bai Xiuxiu locked their room and took one child by each hand.

The children were dressed in clothes she had made just last year. The brightly patterned fabric had been hard to find! Looking at her two adorable babies, Bai Xiuxiu felt especially happy.

But… their clothes were a bit too eye-catching. She decided she’d find some other colors for them later.

Since these outfits were becoming too small, she planned to repurpose them into something else for the winter.

When she arrived at the village clinic with her children, she ran into the captain’s wife, Chen Poundshua, who was collecting medicine. As expected, she was here! Starting this year, the captain’s wife had come to get medicine for her younger sister every morning. Her sister had developed a chronic illness years ago and had been childless after five years of marriage.

Everyone in the village knew about it!

Seeing Bai Xiuxiu, Chen Poundshua looked surprised. “Xiuxiu? I heard yesterday that you fainted. Are you still unwell?”

Chen Poundshua was a straightforward woman with her hair tied in a low ponytail. She looked like she was in her forties, with large eyes and a quick manner of speaking. She was warm and approachable.

Bai Xiuxiu nodded, looking troubled. “Exactly! Uncle Zhang says I need to rest for another ten days or so.”

Uncle Zhang, who was busy preparing medicine nearby, stayed silent. But since he owed Wang Qinghe a favor, he decided to go along with the story.

Besides, everyone knew that the Wang family favored their other sons and treated their eldest like a stepchild.

If the eldest son’s wife wanted a few days’ rest, so be it.

After some thought, Uncle Zhang backed her up, saying, “Her body is extremely weak and overworked. If she doesn’t take care of herself, it could even affect her ability to bear children in the future.”

The captain’s wife gasped at this. “That’s a lifelong issue—you definitely need to rest! Don’t worry, I’ll explain to the villagers so they don’t think you’re shirking your labor.”

“Thank you, Auntie Poundshua,” Bai Xiuxiu quickly expressed her gratitude. This was exactly what she wanted!

Her husband didn’t talk much to others, so no one would gossip about him. As for her in-laws? If they weren’t badmouthing her, they wouldn’t be the Wang family!

“What’s there to thank me for? I’ll head back now. Make sure you listen to Uncle Zhang and rest well!”

Once Chen Poundshua left in a hurry, Bai Xiuxiu finally stated her purpose. “Uncle Zhang, I need your help with something.”

Uncle Zhang was recording something and looked up at her curiously. “What is it?”

“Uncle Zhang, do we have any medicinal herb seeds here? I want to teach my two kids how to plant things and thought a few seeds would be perfect—any kind of herb would do.

“Actually, vegetable seeds would be great too, but if I buy vegetable seeds during this season, it’ll be hard to explain to my in-laws.

“So, I was hoping to buy a few seeds from you instead.”

Bai Xiuxiu casually came up with an excuse.

Even if she grew something, she wouldn’t sell it in the village, so there was no need to worry about being discovered.