…
Mother Rong and the rest returned home and hung the clean but wet blanket and bedding up to dry. Then, they ate and started to count the money they had earned today.
The business of setting up a stall was getting better, and the daily earnings had stabilized. It was mainly limited by the number of ingredients they had prepared.
They estimated that in another day or two, they would be able to earn back the money Guan Chibei had provided as capital.
Early next morning, the last fish at home had been exhausted. Guan Chibei went to the river to fish again. The weather was getting colder by the day. Guan Chibei arrived at the river. He had just rolled up his pants and was about to go into the river when a weak voice sounded in the hazy light.
“Sixth Brother Guan~”
Guan Chibei raised his head and saw Liu Ya wearing a thin rough shirt and a pair of straw shoes. Her hair was messy and fell beside her thin and fair face, making her look elegant.
It was already very cold early in the morning. Since Liu Ya was dressed like this, she must be feeling very cold.
However, it was normal. This was common in the village. Even if girls couldn’t stand the cold, they had to wear this to work.
Presumably, Liu Ya had also come out to pick wild vegetables and mushrooms early in the morning.
That was why she happened to see Guan Chibei.
“Sixth Brother Guan~ Are you going to the river to fish for your wife again?” Liu Ya bit her lip. She was still carrying her basket as she looked at Guan Chibei earnestly.
When Guan Chibei saw that it was her, he retracted his gaze and said calmly, “Yes.”
“Hasn’t sister-in-law already come out of her confinement period? Why does she still need Sixth Brother Guan to go into the river to fish every day?” Liu Ya asked with a flicker in her eyes.
“She has not finished her confinement.” Guan Chibei said, “After giving birth to triplets, she has to go through two months of confinement at the very least.”
Liu Ya’s face froze. She did not expect Guan Chibei to give such a reply. A man knew about confinement periods so well. Furthermore, farmers had a tough life. It was considered good for them to complete one month of confinement. Which woman would talk about having two months of confinement?
It was precisely because of this that Liu Ya asked Guan Chibei about fishing.
Liu Ya was speechless for a moment after this reply. She paused for a moment before smiling softly and said, “Even if she has to do two months of confinement, women in the village would only eat brown sugar, eggs, or white noodles when they recuperate. Sixth Brother Guan doesn’t have to fish every day. Going into the river is too harmful to your body. Could it be that sister-in-law doesn’t want to eat other things and insists on drinking fish soup?”
“Yes.” Guan Chibei said calmly, “There are three babies. If she doesn’t drink fish soup, she wouldn’t have enough to feed the children.”
Liu Ya’s face froze again.
“However, it’s not that she doesn’t want to eat other things. Apart from fish soup, there are also pork trotters, bone soup, soup noodles, brown sugar eggs, black chicken soup, and so on. She eats and drinks everything. I don’t come to fish every day,” Guan Chibei added.
He had scored twice.
Liu Ya’s eyes froze again.
“Ah, I see.” After choking for a while, Liu Ya found her thoughts and forced a smile. She said softly and enviously, “Sister-in-law is so lucky. Sixth Brother Guan is a good man. He dotes on his wife so much. No one in the village can compare to Sixth Brother Guan.”
When she said this last sentence, Liu Ya seemed to be very shy and found it difficult to say it out. She hesitated for a moment before mustering her courage to say it.
With that, a layer of embarrassment appeared on her palm-sized face as she looked at Guan Chibei.
However, Guan Chibei looked at her and saw that she was fine. He took a step forward and did not waste his breath on her. He was prepared to go into the river.
Liu Ya was speechless. “…
