CH 10

On the second day after returning from the county, Li Yuegui asked for He Xiaoyun to go back to her natal home.

Worried that something might have happened at her natal home, He Xiaoyun went back that very afternoon. 

She learned that the roof of the house was leaking when it rained for the past few days. Yesterday, when the weather was good, her father went to the commune to pick up tiles to repair the leakage when he accidentally slipped off the roof when he was fixing it. 

The house was not that high, the thing is her father's feet still got injured. The roof of the house is still unrepaired. Seeing that the rainy season is approaching, Li Yuegui wanted to ask Wei Jianwei if he can help them when he's free.

If it happened to an ordinary person; when the wife's family needed help, the son-in-law will go help without saying a word. He Xiaoyun felt that this was a bit difficult because she and Wei Jianwei are not a normal couple at all.

She only gifted him a book yesterday and today she wanted him to help. The relationship between the two of them is not harmonious. But the problem at her natal home had to be resolved. 

Throughout the afternoon, she was thinking about how to speak this request to Wei Jianwei. When the evening arrived, Wei Jianwei took the initiative to ask her.

"What happened?"

He Xiaoyun hadn't reacted at first but when she knew he was talking to her, she was a little flattered. This was the first time Wei Jianwei take the initiative to talk to her.

She didn't worry anymore and quickly seized the opportunity to talk about the situation, and finally said: "My mother wanted to ask you for help... If it isn't convenient..."

"Let's go tomorrow." Wei Jianwei has no other thoughts about the matter and directly agreed.

He Xiaoyun rejoiced: "Tomorrow, I will go with you."

As soon as her worry got resolved, He Xiaoyun's whole person relaxed and she hummed. Wei Yuanhang flattered on the sidelines, "Mom sings so nicely."

He Xiaoyun didn't even notice that she was humming, she was a little bit embarrassed when she heard his praise. 

She picked up the chubby child, slumped her hands quite laboriously, and said, "It's useless to flatter. When you grow up, I won't be able to hold you anymore."

"When I grow up, I will hug you instead!" The child proclaimed loudly and faithfully.

He Xiaoyun put him on the bed and pinched his little nose, "Who did you learn such glib tongue skills?"

"My mouth is not full of oil." The child pursed his mouth unhappily.

"Yo-yo, I didn't even say that. Why is there no oil?" He Xiaoyun teased him and even tickled his neck.

Wei Yuanhang immediately rolled over with a laugh: "Hahahaha it tickles...Dad help! Hahahaha tickles..."

The two of them had a lot of fun and Wei Jianwei seemed a bit deserted reading there, but he didn't seem to feel it much. After reading a few pages, he raised his head and glanced over the bed, and then continued reading.

The next day, while making breakfast, He Xiaoyun told Wang Chunhua the matter about going home.

Wang Chunhua said: "Go early. If you don't have enough manpower, come back and say, your elder brother is also free anyway."

"Don't bother big brother, my dad already repaired some yesterday, so we can fix it today." He Xiaoyun handed Wei Yuanhang to her. After breakfast, she went to her natal home with Wei Jianwei.

After arriving, they visited to see how her father's foot injury was. To make sure it was nothing serious, Wei Jianwei climbed the wooden ladder to the roof.

Li Yuegui asked He Xiaoyun from the bottom: "Have you eaten this morning? The fire in the stove hasn't gone out yet, I'll cook two eggs for Jianwei."

"Don't cook it now," He Xiaoyun pulled her back, knowing that today's eggs could not be saved. She didn't persuade her mother instead she just said: "We just ate before coming here. It's better to keep those two eggs for noon. You can fry him some poached eggs."

"Okay." Li Yuegui thought about it and agreed.

After returning to her natal's family house, Wei Jianwei was repairing up the roof with tiles. He Xiaoyun helped her mother chop off the cabbage in her plot and put it on the low stone wall for drying. After a few days, they could put it away and make pickles.

"After harvesting these vegetables, what else do you want to grow?" He Xiaoyun asked her mother as she peeled off the yellowed leaves.

"Grow some radishes and small rapeseed. Oh... this leaf is still edible." Li Yuegui picked up a leaf that He Xiaoyun had thrown and torn off the yellowed part of the upper head and set it aside. 

As for the leaves that are dropped, they won't be wasted, they will be fed to the chickens later.

"Is eldest sister coming back recently?"

Li Yuegui said: "She didn't come back, but your aunt did come to the house two days ago and said that she wanted to match your cousin a girl to marry."

He Xiaoyun recalled who this cousin was, and then asked, "Are you optimistic about it?"

"No, not so fast. It's not easy to meet a good girl and the two of them are eye-catching." Li Yuegui said.

After finishing the dishes, He Xiaoyun took a pot of tea and sent it to Wei Jianwei along the wooden ladder.

She stood on the wooden ladder and watched him sipping tea, the sweat on his forehead rolled down, she couldn't help but ask, "Should you come down and rest for a while?"

"No." Wei Jianwei shook his head, poured himself two bowls of tea, turned around, and continue his work.

At lunch, Li Yuegui took the spoon and He Xiaoyun started to stir-fry a piece of Chinese sausage left over a year ago. The cabbage just picked today was fried for a dish, and Wei Jianwei was also fried two eggs separately.

Wei Jianwei was covered in dust and felt that it was inconvenient to eat on the table. No matter what Li Yuegui said, he didn't get down. He Xiaoyun decided to send the dishes.

After eating, He Xiaoyun washed the dishes while Li Yuegui stood at the back door to feed the chickens, she turned to suddenly ask her: "Xiaoyuan is now so big, do you and Jianwei plan to have another one?"

When He Xiaoyun heard this, she subconsciously paid attention to the sound of the roof and made sure that Wei Jianwei was on the other side and couldn't hear their voices. She relaxed and smiled, "I think one is good enough."

Li Yuegui frowned, "Is it good to be alone? Just give birth to Xiaohang’s brothers and sisters. So when you two get old, he will have a helper. Why not give birth?"

He Xiaoyun sighed secretly. She had experienced the marriage urging routine that people often said in her previous life. 

Single women were urged to find a boyfriend, after having a boyfriend they urged you to get married, after getting married they will urge you to give birth to a child, after having a child they urge you to have a second child and even giving birth to a third child.

Some elders are thinking about having three grandchildren, anyway, in their opinion, as long as they have food, they can support them.

She is now a little grateful that Wei Jianwei and her is not a normal husband and wife. If others urge her, even if she is willing, he might not agree.

"Let's talk about it later." She diverted the topic. Anyway, she will wait for Wei Jianwei to return to the army. Let's see if there are people who still want to urge her then. She couldn't give birth alone after all.

Li Yuegui shook her head, still muttering to herself: "Your elder sister wants to give birth to a son, but you don't want to anymore. While you're still young now, you should give birth so your mother-in-law can also help take care of it."

The older generations like to have more children, especially in the countryside. When there are no brothers to help them, they will be bullied everywhere, so Li Yuegui can't understand her daughter's thoughts.

Before the evening, Wei Jianwei finished the work. Li Yuegui invited them for dinner. Seeing that they didn't agree, she forcibly stuffed a basket of cabbage and asked them to take it back.

On the way home, the sun slanted westward, and there were paddy fields on both sides of the road. The seedlings in the fields had only been planted for a few days, but they had begun to sprout.

"Hey, Xiaoyun, where did you and Jianwei come from?" Two women were passing by when they saw them, one of them asked.

He Xiaoyun smiled and said, "We just came from my mother, how about you?"

"Isn't it raining the other day? We went up the mountain today to pick some wild mushrooms. We were late and didn't pick much." The woman motioned to He Xiaoyun to her back basket.

He Xiaoyun take a look and said, "It's a lot. I haven't been up the mountain for a few days. I will go up with you in another day."

"Okay, I will call you then."

After a few more words, the four separate and gone to each other ways. When they were far away, one woman lowered her voice and said to the other: "He's back this time, have you seen them quarrel?"

Looking back at the two people in parallel, the other said: "No, the rice was planted a while ago, and the rice was delivered every day. You think it's rare?"

"Isn't this always the case for husband and wife? The head of the bed is noisy and the end of the bed is harmonious." The two of them whispered and exchanged knowing glances, and giggled.

At the other end, He Xiaoyun and Wei Jianwei walked to the river bank. Seeing that they would be home after a few steps, he put down the basket and crossed the embankment to the bank.

"What's the matter?" He Xiaoyun didn't know what happened so she followed.

But then she saw Wei Jianwei squatting down by the river and splashing cold water on his face. He Xiaoyun also washed her hands and squatted aside to look at him.

Wei Jianwei was holding the water and washed his head, face, and neck. His short hair was covered with drops of water. 

He Xiaoyun looked at his appearance and didn't know why but she suddenly thought of a duck playing in the water and plunging his head into the water over and over again, washing the feathers on its body.

As soon as this idea appeared on her head, the more it looked like it and the more she felt like it. Imagining a duck with Wei Jianwei's face while walking in all directions with a spirited posture, she couldn't help but laughed.

Hearing her laugh, Wei Jianwei turned to look at her.

The drops of water rolled down from his forehead, along the bridge of his nose, along with his cheeks, and then down to his neck. Most of it fell on the placket. The clothes on his chest were already soaked and pressed against his muscles tightly.

The last time she saw this familiar picture, He Xiaoyun lost a lot of momentum and failed miserably. This time she learned her lesson and straightened her waist.

She wasn't seen looking anyway, why is she feeling guilty? You can't lose in this round! You must hold on! It depends on this time whether you can find your place back.

After repeatedly cheering herself up in this way, He Xiaoyun turned her neck to him, not only did she not look away but also looked up and down at him. She suppressed the urge to blush and asked him, "What?"

Don't think that using the same trick twice can still be useful, she won't be tricked anymore! In the end, Wei Jianwei looked away first.

He Xiaoyun let out a big sigh of relief, only to realize that she had been holding her breath, her heart pounding because of poor breathing.

Before she could be relieved, Wei Jianwei suddenly pulled up the collar of his clothes, proceeded to take off his shirt, and plunged into the water with his bare sturdy chest.

He Xiaoyun exclaimed, hurriedly covering her eyes and running away.

This smelly rascal! Surely he did this on purpose! He Xiaoyun secretly smiled when she saw him entering the water.

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