Chapter 6: A New Beginning

When she didn’t answer, Ye Song ran up to Ye Tao with a worried look.
“Second Sister, what are they doing? What’s going on?”

Ye Song was born late in his parents’ years. After his birth, Father and Ye’s mother became rather hands-off, leaving most of his care to Ye Tao. Because of this, he was much closer to her than to Ye Xuan.

He hadn’t seen his eldest sister all morning. His second sister, too, hadn’t shown up. At breakfast, he had called several times outside her room but no one responded. Mom said Second Sister had a cold and was sleeping.

He originally thought she was resting in her room. But now, seeing her return from outside with Second Brother Huo, a bold thought surged in his mind, filling him with unease.

“I’ve married your Second Brother Huo. These things are to be moved to his house,” Ye Tao said.

His premonition came true. His hands and feet instantly turned cold. Thinking back on his parents’ strange behavior, he was certain—they knew about this. Everyone knew. Only he had been kept in the dark.

“Second Sister… will you come back?” His throat tightened as he looked at her, restless and anxious.

Ye Tao gave a slight shake of her head.

His eyes dimmed. His second sister must have been too disappointed in this family.

“Brother-in-law, you must treat Second Sister well. If you dare to mistreat her, I won’t let you off!” he clenched his fists and warned Huo Tingwu.

Brother-in-law? Not a bad title. Huo Tingwu raised an eyebrow. He patted the shoulder of the boy who was a whole head shorter than him.
“Don’t worry, you’ll never have the chance to say that.”

Ye Tao shot him a glance but said nothing. “Xiao Song, if you’re ever free, you can come find me. Your second sister will always be your second sister—nothing will change.”

The half-grown boy’s eyes reddened, and he gave a low reply. “Mm.”

The wristwatch was nowhere to be found—it must have been taken by Ye Xuan.

Meanwhile, Ding Yuxiang was surrounded by the crowd. Helpless, she had no choice but to write an IOU and hand it to Liu Wenxiu.

Liu Wenxiu passed the IOU to Ye Tao. “In the future, just repay Ye Tao.”

Ding Yuxiang clenched her back teeth, her gaze toward Ye Tao sharp enough to cut.

“Captain, are you folks moving house?”

Someone standing on the wall called out loudly. They had watched everything from afar. Though they couldn’t hear the words clearly, the actions were obvious.

More than one person saw Ding Yuxiang hand Ye Tao a wad of money.

The original bride, Ye Xuan, hadn’t appeared. Instead, it was Ye Tao with the Huo family, moving away the three rounds and one sound (the prized bicycle, sewing machine, watch, and radio). What had happened was all too clear. Still, hearing gossip from the people involved was always juicier.

Since everyone lived in the same brigade and saw each other daily, Liu Wenxiu wasn’t afraid of gossip.

“From today on, Ye Tao is our Huo family’s daughter-in-law. As for anyone else, they have nothing to do with us.”

Huo Xiaolin kept silent. Matters like this were better handled by women. He simply followed behind his wife like an attendant.

The family had come empty-handed and returned fully loaded.

Regardless of the murmurs behind their backs, they went home in high spirits.

Once home, Liu Wenxiu directed everyone to move the belongings into the new bridal chamber. The once bare room instantly became crowded.

She told Ye Tao to rest and that they would call her when it was time to eat.

After such a turbulent day, Ye Tao hadn’t had proper rest. Now that she had the chance, she quickly agreed.

She slept dreamlessly, and when she woke again, it was already evening.

The room was unlit. She fumbled to put on her shoes, and as soon as she opened the door—she bumped into a wall.

“Ow!”

She covered her nose and stumbled back a step. Tears welled up from the pain, and she glared at the culprit. “That really hurt!”

Had she broken her nose? Was this man made of stone? He was so hard!

“You okay? Let me see.” A flicker of nervousness—so subtle he himself didn’t notice—passed through Huo Tingwu’s eyes. He hurriedly switched on his flashlight.

The kerosene lamp gave off dim light, far less clear than the flashlight.

He examined carefully. “It’s just a little red. The bone’s fine.”

Ye Tao felt unlucky. Since arriving here, nothing good had happened—today alone she’d been hurt more times than ever before.

For once, Huo Tingwu didn’t argue. This time, it truly had been his fault for not noticing her coming out.

“Hungry? Mom’s made dinner.”

Ye Tao rubbed her stomach. “A little.”

“Let’s go.”

The table in the main hall was already set, but no one had sat down yet. Feeling embarrassed to take a seat first, Ye Tao wandered idly in the courtyard. Seeing her Mom-in-law and sister-in-law in the kitchen, she went over to see if she could help.

“Mom, Sister-in-law, is there anything I can do?”

The Huo family’s homestead was spacious, so each room was fairly large.

The kitchen had two big woks, a small stove, and a coal briquette stove. A large cupboard was filled with bowls and dishes.

What surprised her most was how clean it was—no scraps on the chopping board, no garbage on the floor. It was better than some farm stays she had visited before.

Liu Wenxiu ladled out soup. “Take the bowls and chopsticks out. That’s all. Just this soup left—we’ll also have some of the dishes from the banquet earlier.”

There were still leftovers from the wedding banquet, but it wouldn’t look good for the new bride to eat only leftovers on her first day in the house. So, Liu Wenxiu had quickly stir-fried a plate of scallion eggs and stewed a pot of loofah soup.

Carrying rice, Cao Shuya walked alongside Ye Tao. She had stayed home in the afternoon to look after her daughter and hadn’t gone to the Ye household. But after hearing from her husband about how her sister-in-law had lived there, she felt a pang of sympathy for the girl ten years younger than her.

Huo Xiaolin was still on duty at the brigade office, so Liu Wenxiu left his meal warming in the pot.

Huo Xiaofeng had work the next day, and with his father-in-law ill and his wife away caring for him, he had returned to the county early to help. Thus, tonight only the immediate family was at dinner.

“Come on, let’s eat!”

Huo Tingjie hoisted his little niece Miaomiao onto his shoulders and raced into the room.

“Slow down!” Huo Tingwen shouted worriedly from behind. His younger brother was already twenty, yet still acted like a child.

“Third Uncle, again, again!” Miaomiao giggled, spreading her arms, wanting him to play more.

But Cao Shuya stopped her. “No, it’s time to eat. Did you wash your hands?”

Miaomiao shook her head in disappointment. “No.”

“Sister-in-law, I’ll take her. I haven’t washed either.”

So Huo Tingjie carried his niece out again, promising her they would play tomorrow. After dinner, her belly would be too full for flying games.

Tomorrow would be fine. Miaomiao nodded obediently.

“Taotao, eat more. Take whatever dish you like. I don’t know your tastes yet, so I just made some homestyle dishes. If you crave anything later, just tell me, and Mom will cook it for you.”

Ye Tao’s eyes grew misty. Whether in the past or now, she had never experienced true family care. So this was what it felt like to be cherished.

“Thank you, Mom. I’m not picky—these all look delicious.”

And she meant it. The aroma alone had woken her. Simple homestyle dishes were the most comforting to the soul.