Chapter 188: 186: The Mid-Autumn Temple Fair, People Get Rounder Under the Full Moon (3)
Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family
âZhang Peng and I are an old married couple, even though we also have⦠whatâs it called, but it only lasts for a while, and then heâs so tired he falls asleep right away. Itâs nothing like you guys, even your walking posture doesnât look right.â
Guihua couldnât help but cover her mouth and giggle as she spoke.
âGuihua, stop laughing at me, I⦠I donât know what to say,â Liu Sisi said, at a loss for words.
âWhat happened? Did youâ¦?â Guihua whispered into her ear.
Liu Sisiâs head hung even lower, barely managing to nod in affirmation.
Guihua had a grin on her face, but didnât dare to laugh out loud, feeling a little embarrassed.
âYou brought a handkerchief with you, right? Not far ahead, thereâs a small pavilion, and under that, on the left, is a restroom. Iâll go with you and you can use the handkerchiefâ¦â
Her words made Liu Sisi even more flustered.
âEh! So the two of you are resting here! No wonder it took a while to find you all,â Di Yelei said as he strode onward, coming up to the two and smiling innocently.
âBrother Ye Lei, you came just in time. Sisi is feeling tired; why donât you carry her on your back and continue the journey?â
Guihua stifled a laugh and hurriedly got up to leave before them.
âWhatâs wrong, Sisi? Are you not feeling well? Let me carry you.â Di Yelei squatted down, ready to carry her on his back.
âGet away! Itâs all your fault!â
Liu Sisi pushed him away with force before getting up and walking forward. Naturally, this brought about a new round of torment for her.
âSisi⦠what did I do wrong this time?â
Di Yelei had a puzzled look on his face.
It wasnât until after using the restroom that they realized how far theyâd been left behind by Zhang Peng and Di Xuan. So, they hurried along to catch up.
Today, to attend the temple fair, Liu Sisi brought all of her familyâs savings with her.
Within the ten days that Di Yelei was away, the bookstore had made a net profit of more than 30 taels of silver, after paying rent and other expenses. When Di Yelei had gotten into trouble, Liu Sisi had given him 10 taels he never used. With the money theyâd all earned hunting bears, plus the extra silver the others had given him, Di Yelei handed her a total of 58 taels, shocking her!
With a naive grin, Di Yelei couldnât help but scratch his head: âI contributed more in hunting the bears, so I got a bigger share of the bounty. Each bear was worth 20 taels of silver. The other 8 taels are from the small game we caught along the way.â
âStop scratching! Have you forgotten about the wound on your neck?â
Liu Sisi glared at him, feeling the heat in her eyes. The simple man in front of her had risked his life to bring back the money, how could she be happy about it?
Angry, she shoved the silver back into his hand: âDi Yelei, listen! If you go hunting and get hurt again, donât expect me to care about you! By then, you can go live in the doghouse with Ah-Huang and Ah-Hua.â
âNo! Sisi, take it, as a man, itâs my duty to make money and support the family. Come onâ¦â
âI wonât take it, unless you promise me that you will never get hurt again!â
âSisi, be goodâ¦â
âNo!â
âSisi, itâs inevitable to get hurt when hunting. I⦠as your uncle, I promise you, Iâll put my safety first, okay?â
He was also troubled, as ensuring no injuries while hunting was nearly impossible!
Liu Sisi also realized that it was indeed true!
âAlright! From now on, you can just hunt in the shallow mountains. Weâve saved some money now, so as long as we get some game for ourselves to eat, itâs enough. If anything happens to you⦠think about Yingâer and Xuanâer, theyâre still so young, what would they do?â As she spoke, her voice couldnât help but lower a bit.
Her words made Di Yelei unable to resist hugging her into his arms, rubbing his chin back and forth on her head, and laughter emerged in a low voice from his mouth.
âI know my Sisi, my little kitty⦠is the one who worried about me the mostâ¦â
âDi Yelei âââ
Unable to hold back, a blushing Liu Sisi stretched out her crab-like hand, pretending to pinch him, causing Di Yelei to burst into laughter.
Recalling this moment, the taels of silver in Liu Sisiâs arms had not come easily. She secretly cheered herself up to later check out the temple fair and buy some new treats for the two children to try, as well as to reward the hardworking man beside her.
The three of them walked and stopped along the way, with Liu Sisi and Guihua as if they had endless topics to talk about. The two of them held hands and walked side by side, discussing the scenery along the way.
Close behind Liu Sisi was the tall figure of Di Yelei, his strong and masculine stature giving a strong sense of oppression. He wouldnât let Liu Sisi out of his sight for a moment, the radiance in his eyes firmly locking on her. Bashful, Liu Sisi glared at him when there was no one around, but he just grinned and followed closely behind the two of them.
Finally, before noon arrived, everyone reached the foot of Black Pond Mountain.
âAuntie, dad! Mom, hurry up! Hurry up!â
Yingâer waved at them from afar and quickly ran towards them. In Yingâerâs hand, she held a swiftly spinning pinwheel.
âMom, look, a pinwheel! Zhang Yun bought it for Yingâer.â
Di Ying proudly showed off the pinwheel in her hand.
Liu Sisi took it and saw that the pinwheel was made from colorful letter paper, spinning rapidly as the mountain breeze blew, and was truly beautiful.
âItâs really pretty! Has Yingâer thanked brother Zhang Yun?â
âYingâer said thank you. Zhang Yun promised to take Yingâer to the Sansheng Bridge later, and he said thereâs a lot of delicious food and fun things there! Mom, do you want to go? Please, letâs go!â Yingâer clung to Liu Sisiâs sleeve, blinking her big eyes and looking at her expectantly.
Sansheng Bridge?
Was it the bridge from the legend that could determine oneâs fate for three lifetimes?
How old was Zhang Yun, yet he was already trying to lure away her precious Yingâer?
Liu Sisi felt a churning in her stomach, and a sour taste spread throughout it as she couldnât help but let her smile waver. She looked up at Di Yelei.
Even Guihua, who was beside her, looked at him nervously.
Di Yelei remained grinning, scratching his ear when facing several pairs of eyes simultaneously staring at him.
âThat brat Zhang Yun wants to take you? The height over there isnât low. If he wants to take you, he has to come and ask me personally. You canât decide by yourself!â
The meaning behind Di Yeleiâs simple words was profound.
Guihuaâs face immediately lit up with joy at his response!