RYEY – Chapter 59 Peeking at the Bridal Chamber

“You used me once, I slapped you once, we’re even. But remember to return my rations, otherwise I’ll still hit you.”

Rations? What rations? Xu Laidi’s memory suddenly cleared. Right—when she was so hungry that her eyes were going dark, it was Chai Jianmin who had taken out his own rations. Even though she had begged for it, he was the only one who had extended a helping hand.

Thinking of this, Xu Laidi’s anger subsided somewhat. She turned toward the kitchen. Since she couldn’t enter the dormitory, she might as well boil some water and wash up. Being pawed and hugged by Chen Dazhu today had left her feeling disgusted.

Chai Jianmin squatted at the dormitory door, listening to the splashing sounds from the kitchen. His heart grew restless. But then he thought about how Xu Laidi had probably already slept with Chen Dazhu, and bile rose in his throat. That slut… pfft.

Xu Laidi had no idea that she was already being thought of as a slut. After rinsing off briefly, she opened the kitchen door. She would have to wait for the other female educated youths to return before she could change clothes.

Finally, Zhang Yuefang and the others came back. Xu Laidi hurried over, about to speak, when Zhang Yuefang suddenly swung her hand hard across her face.

Slap!

“You—”

Xu Laidi was nearly furious to death. What was going on today? First she had been bullied by Chen Dazhu, then slapped by Chai Jianmin, and now even Zhang Yuefang dared to hit her? If she didn’t show her power, did they really think she was a sickly cat?

She was about to go back into the kitchen to grab a firewood stick and give Zhang Yuefang a proper fight when Han Chunmei’s words stopped her in her tracks. No wonder the villagers had been able to find their way to the grove—it turned out they had come looking for her.

It was just that everyone had been too shocked by Chen Dazhu’s actions at the time and hadn’t had the chance to say anything. And she had run too quickly, so she hadn’t realized the truth had come out.

“Don’t talk nonsense, I never said that.”

“Whether you said it or not doesn’t matter. Tomorrow, Chen Dalang’s mother will naturally come looking for you.” Han Chunmei said coldly.

“Xu Laidi, first you framed Cheng Qiao, and now you’ve framed me. Who do you plan to frame next? Our girls’ dorm doesn’t welcome you. Get out.”

“Ha! This is the educated youth spot, not your home. Why should I leave just because you said so? Besides, you accuse me of framing you—where’s the evidence?”

Xu Laidi marched into the dormitory ahead of them, even casting a disdainful glance at Zhang Yuefang. In her heart, she cursed Chen Dalang for being such a coward—he couldn’t even handle such a small matter properly.

As for Chen Dalang’s mother, Xu Laidi wasn’t worried in the least. That woman’s tongue wasn’t as sharp as hers, and Xu Laidi even had a hold on her. A few words would be enough to shut that old hag up.

She grabbed some clothes and went to the kitchen. She had to wash her dirty laundry today. Otherwise, when she went to work on the reservoir tomorrow, she wouldn’t have anything clean to wear. It was all Cheng Qiao’s fault for taking away her clothes.

After Xiaoqin and Xiaoping entered the dormitory, they moved the small cabinets around, deliberately isolating Xu Laidi.

“Good thing Cheng Qiao got married and freed up a bed. Otherwise, we wouldn’t even have space to separate her.”

Xiaofang shoved the cabinet a little closer to Xu Laidi’s side. Now, her sleeping space was less than two feet wide—it would be difficult even to turn over.

“Yeah, just thinking about sleeping next to her makes my skin crawl. Luckily she’ll be gone tomorrow, and we won’t have to see her for at least half a month.”

“Let’s sleep. It’s late. Tomorrow we have to go up the mountain to collect firewood.”

Seeing that Xu Laidi had gone to the kitchen, Han Chunmei didn’t even bother washing her face. She just took off her coat and went straight to bed. Zhang Yuefang did the same. Winter was coming soon, and they needed to gather as much firewood as possible.

Meanwhile, at the Li household, Li Huan was boiling water in the kitchen. Tonight was his bridal chamber night, and he had to wash himself clean, or else if Cheng Qiao despised him, he’d have nowhere to cry.

Seeing that the bridal chamber was empty, Cheng Qiao quickly entered her space. First, she took a good bath in her private room and changed into cotton pajamas before heading to the black soil field.

When she saw that the ridges and irrigation channels beside the black soil were filled with water, she was overjoyed. The last time she had sown seeds, she had tried to fill the channels with water.

But the water from the sundry shop couldn’t flow outside, and with everything going on around her, she hadn’t had the chance to divert river water in time.

Where had this water come from? Cheng Qiao searched around for an inlet but couldn’t find any. So it must have seeped out naturally from underground.

She looked at the clear water in the channels, scooped up a handful, and drank. Hmm… it wasn’t as sweet and delicious as she had imagined, but rather the same as the water from the sundry shop’s faucet.

“Ah, so this isn’t spiritual spring water, just ordinary groundwater. It can only irrigate the black soil.” With the answer in mind, Cheng Qiao stepped out of the space.

Li Huan had scrubbed himself clean and put on the cotton long johns Cheng Qiao had bought for him. His figure was fully revealed before her eyes, especially the bulge in the middle, which made her blush.

“Wife, did you miss me? Oh wow, your clothes look so pretty—I’ve never seen anything like them.”

Cheng Qiao’s heart stirred. The warehouse still had plenty of pajamas in different styles. In her previous life, people had given them to her to sell on consignment. She often hung them outside her shop on a clothes rack—anyone who liked them could buy them.

“Look, there are men’s, women’s, even children’s pajamas. Do you have a way to sell them? That could give us some extra cash.”

Cheng Qiao reached into her warehouse and pulled out a few new sets, placing them on the heated kang. Li Huan jumped in surprise and quickly picked them up to examine.

“These clothes are so soft, such good quality—they’ll definitely fetch a high price. But the season’s not right. No one here can wear these to sleep in winter. We’d have to wait until spring to sell them.”

“Then we’ll wait until spring.”

Cheng Qiao put the pajamas away. Just as she was about to lie down, Li Huan pulled her into his arms, looking at her with a mischievous grin.

“Wife, it’s already spring here with us. Why don’t we plant some flowers and grass, eh?”

“No way. Sleep.”

Cheng Qiao pushed him away, lifted the thin quilt, and slipped under it. Li Huan chuckled. He knew she was shy, so he quickly slipped under the covers too.

No one knew how much time passed, but eventually Cheng Qiao couldn’t stand Li Huan’s teasing any longer. She looked at him sternly, pointed to her belly, and said: “Do you still want your child or not?”

“Yes, of course! Wife, do you think we’ll have a girl or a boy?”

Cheng Qiao’s heart ached. In her previous life, she had given birth to a boy. If this time it was also a boy, then it must be the same child as before. She would have to protect him with even more care.

“I hope it’s a boy.”

“A girl would be nice too. As long as the child comes from your belly, I’ll love them.”