Chapter 221: Chapter 222: The Purpose of the Visit

Gu Yuanfeng stared at the swaddled infant, her eyes filled with resentment. Everyone had said she was carrying a boy, so how had it turned into a little girl?

’What good is a girl? The He Family won’t want her, and it’s even less likely that Seventh will agree to raise her.’

’If I had known this would be the outcome, I should have listened to Mother. One dose of medicine, and I wouldn’t have this problem now.’

Li Cuicui came in carrying a bowl of soup. Seeing Gu Yuanfeng’s tears still falling, she sighed. "Stop crying. You’ll ruin your eyes, and then you’ll really have something to regret."

"Mother, how did it turn into a girl? What good is this useless burden?" Gu Yuanfeng wiped away her tears. "The He Family definitely won’t want her."

Li Cuicui placed the bowl on the cabinet. "I told you long ago that their whole family was unreliable, but you refused to believe me. Did you really think I didn’t know you were secretly meeting with He Tiping?

I just couldn’t be bothered to interfere. Besides, I figured since the child is their He family’s flesh and blood, the best choice would be for them to take it back after it was born.

Now that the baby is here, I’ll have your brothers take her to them in a little while."

"But..." Gu Yuanfeng hesitated. "Let’s wait a little longer."

"Wait for what?" Li Cuicui said sarcastically. "For them to come and take you back themselves? Let me make this perfectly clear: if you go to the He Family again, don’t even think about coming back to this home."

"Tuping..."

"Shut up. Mention him one more time and you can leave right now."

The baby’s cries made Li Cuicui hold her tongue. "Hurry up and drink the soup. You need to feed the child."

"What kind of soup is this?" Gu Yuanfeng glanced at the pickled vegetable soup. "Mother, is there no meat in the house?"

Li Cuicui said, "No one went to the market, so where would we get meat for you to eat?

And the few chickens we started raising this spring haven’t even laid a single egg yet." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Gu Yuanfeng asked, "Can’t you just kill a chicken?"

"These chickens are about to start laying. It would be a waste to kill one. Besides, who was it that got greedy a while back? You and your father finished off all the roosters we had."

"Mother, haven’t my brothers come to see me today either?" Gu Yuanfeng asked, picking up the soup and drinking it.

Li Cuicui peeked at the little girl, noticing her small mouth sucking and her features faintly resembling Gu Yuanfeng’s. "What’s there to see? You’re just staying at home. They’ve been in the county town helping your seventh brother, so they’re probably not home right now."

"Then my sisters-in-law must be home, right? It’s just a short walk away, but they can’t even be bothered to come over and see me."

Seeing her put the bowl down, Li Cuicui picked it up and walked out. "You have me to wait on you, and you’re still complaining? You should be grateful. When you gave birth to Xiaocao, you were back to work and cooking for that whole big family on the very same day. You’re spoiled."

Gu Yuanfeng pouted and turned to stare at the swaddled baby. ’Truly useless. Why couldn’t you have been a boy? If you were a boy, I’d have a life of endless comfort ahead of me.’

...

＆

"Why are you back today?" Li Cuicui had just stepped out the main gate when she saw Ancient Wen Heng and Jin Qianqian pushing the door open.

"Mother, we came back to see you," Ancient Wen Heng said, taking the hoe from her hand. "Where’s Father?"

"He wandered off somewhere early this morning," Li Cuicui said, her tone filled with helplessness. Gu Dashishi had completely given up; he wouldn’t lift a finger for any chore, whether at home or in the fields.

She’d argued and cursed, but Li Cuicui had long since given up hope. She just treated him like a mascot in the house; at least this way, she didn’t have to bear the title of widow.

Ancient Wen Heng called Granny Song and Luo Gang over to Li Cuicui and had them greet her. "Granny Song can help you with the household chores, so you won’t have to work so hard.

As for the fieldwork, if you want to do any, just send Luo Gang."

Li Cuicui’s eyes widened. "No, this won’t do! It’s not proper! I’ve done farm work my whole life, why would I need someone to wait on me?

You need them more where you are. Hurry up and take them back."

Jin Qianqian went over and took Li Cuicui’s arm. "Mother, it’s too hard for you to manage everything by yourself. Besides, now that your son is capable, he should naturally let you live a better life. From now on, work if you want to, and if you don’t, you can just take walks around the village."

"But this is too extravagant. Besides, there’s no place for them to live here." Li Cuicui looked embarrassed; they were hiring help but didn’t even have a place for them to stay.

Jin Qianqian smiled and said, "We’ve already thought of that. They’ll work here during the day and stay at our place at night. They can also help us tidy up our house a bit."

"Well..." Li Cuicui was still a bit uneasy. "We’re still hale and hearty. I don’t know what the villagers will say about this."

Jin Qianqian helped her inside. "Mother, what matters is that we live our lives comfortably. We can’t have my husband and I living well in the city while you continue to suffer here!

Honestly, with them here to keep you company, Ancient Wen Heng will be more at ease when he’s away."

"Is Seventh going on another long trip?" Li Cuicui immediately looked up at Ancient Wen Heng. This son before her felt both familiar and strange. He was the same person, but at some point, he had grown to a point she almost didn’t recognize.

Jin Qianqian quickly told her the date of the provincial exam Ancient Wen Heng was going to take. "He needs to leave a bit early for it this time, so it will be a long while before he can come back to see you again."

Li Cuicui clasped her hands together and bowed repeatedly to the empty air. "May all the gods and spirits protect him. May my son’s exam to become a scholar go smoothly..."

"Mother, we have guests," Gu Yuanfeng called out loudly from her room. "I think I hear Seventh’s voice. Are they back?"

Only then did Li Cuicui remember the other "great Buddha" in the house. "Your sixth sister gave birth yesterday, to a daughter. But Seventh, you two shouldn’t go in. He’s preparing for the scholar exam; don’t risk any bad luck."

Ancient Wen Heng hadn’t wanted to go in for a visit anyway, and now that his mother had given him a perfect excuse, he was happy to stay put.

"What do you mean? I’m his older sister, can’t he even come see me?" Gu Yuanfeng lifted the door curtain to come out but was quickly blocked by Li Cuicui.

"What are you coming out for?"

"Isn’t that Seventh and his wife? They’re back. I’m going out to talk to them about something.

They won’t come into my room, so it’s fine if I go out to see them, right?" Gu Yuanfeng tried to get around Li Cuicui, but Li Cuicui grabbed her hand, holding her in place.

"Just settle down. Seventh is about to take the scholar exam. Don’t you know your own situation right now?"

"Seventh is going to take the scholar exam?" Gu Yuanfeng was a little surprised. "He’s only been studying with that old scholar for a few years. Is he really that capable?"

"That’s because Seventh is lucky and smart," Li Cuicui said, her face full of pride. "Soon he’ll be a respected scholar."