The next morning, Qiao Mei was still sleeping soundly in the room when Xia Zhe and Zhou Sheng did their morning exercise in the courtyard.
“What do you plan to do with your house?” Zhou Sheng asked.
“My brother found an expert to repair it. It will probably be exactly the same as before, or even better,” Xia Zhe said with a smile.
Zhou Sheng nodded in satisfaction. When the house collapsed, he had been worried that it would be different from before. Now that Xia Zhe had handled it well, he felt at ease.
Xia Zhe looked towards the room and shook his head resignedly. He got up and walked into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
“When did Xiao Zhe learn to cook?” Zhou Sheng asked laughingly.
“Only recently. It’s not convenient for her after she’s pregnant so I want to help as much as I can,” Xia Zhe said as he cut the potatoes.
Zhou Sheng nodded in admiration. He was very supportive of the idea that both men and women should contribute to their families. Zhou Sheng took the birdcage and said, “Then I’ll go out and buy something for Mei Mei. I’ll be back soon.”
Xia Zhe replied, “Alright!”
Qiao Mei curled up in bed and did not want to open her eyes. In addition to the hard work over the past two days, Second Aunt-in-law had been keeping an eye on her and not letting her relax, so she was feeling a little tired by now even though Xia Zhe had tried his best to help her.
Qiao Mei reached out to touch the blanket beside her. There was no one there and it was very cold. It was obvious that he had been up for a long time.
“Xia Zhe…” Qiao Mei slowly opened her eyes to look for him.
There was no one around. She called out a few times but no one answered. Qiao Mei could only get up, feeling aggrieved, and put on her clothes and tidy her hair before walking out.
“Oh, you’re awake?” Xia Zhe had just finished cooking a dish and was placing it on the stone table in the courtyard.
Qiao Mei pursed her lips unhappily and said, “Why are you up so early?”
“I accompanied Grandpa Zhou to do his morning exercise. Are you unhappy?” Xia Zhe asked gently.
“No, go back to your cooking. I’m going to wash up.” Qiao Mei slowly walked to the side room to wash up while Xia Zhe returned to the kitchen to continue cooking.
On Xu Lan’s end, she received a guest early in the morning.
“Eldest Sister-in-law, Xia Zhe and Qiao Mei didn’t come back last night?” Liu Fen asked in surprise.
Xu Lan never cared about these things. It did not matter if Xia Zhe or the others returned or not.
“So be it,” Xu Lan said indifferently.
Liu Fen sat at one side angrily. She thought that Qiao Mei must have found her troublesome and decided not to come back. Qiao Mei must have gone to someone else’s house to hide and did not want to come back and face her.
“Second Sister-in-law, don’t think too much about it. Hurry up and eat,” Zhou Hua said as she sat at the dining table.
As soon as Liu Fen stood up, she heard someone knocking on the door. When she opened the door, she felt that the person looked familiar but could not remember who it was.
“You are?” Liu Fen asked.
“Second Aunt-in-law, I’m Kong Lu. I’m Xia He’s husband,” Kong Lu said with a smile.
“Oh, oh, oh! I remember now! Look at my memory, I’m getting old and can’t remember things. Don’t take offense, come in quickly!” Liu Fen greeted Kong Lu enthusiastically.
“Oh, Xiao Kong is here. Why are you so free to come to the capital?” Zhou Hua asked.
“Hello, mother. Hello, Third Aunt-in-law. I’m here for business,” Kong Lu replied.
Seeing that Xia He was not in the living room, Kong Lu asked softly, “Where’s Xia He? Why isn’t she here?”
“Oh, Xia He is staying at her aunt’s place. Have you eaten? Come over and have a bite.” Liu Fen pulled Kong Lu to the dining table.
Liu Fen did not understand the conflict between Kong Lu and Xia He, but she felt that these things were not a big deal. All families had their own issues.
Old Madam Kong always used Kong Lu’s money to supplement his younger brothers. There was nothing wrong with her wanting her other sons to have a better life.
Kong Li was a troublesome sister-in-law, but she would get married sooner or later. After she got married, she would rarely come back and the problem would be solved then. How many sisters-in-law in the world were easy to get along with? Was there a need to hold on to such a small matter?
As for the issue about having children, it was even less of Kong Lu’s problem. At Xia He’s age, she was still only concerned about work and not about having children! She was just like the older boy’s Tan Jing…
