Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

Chapter 685: Chapter 685: Child Bride
 

Five hundred taels, not five taels of silver!

Liu Sisi frowned and pondered for a moment, then sighed, “It seems I have to send someone to Shangrao County to investigate in person. But this means I’m afraid I won’t be able to return to the city for a while.”

“That’s perfect; we can chat together again.” Guihua was actually delighted.

Ms. Xin, who was beside them, thought for a moment, “Third Sister-in-law, why don’t I go back to the county and tell Third Brother about the situation here, and bring the fruit back at the same time. Xiao Feng has been plagued by morning sickness lately, and she will be so happy to see these fruits.”

After Xiao Feng became pregnant, her appetite became very strange. She did not like to eat regular meals and loved to eat fruit all day long, almost making it her main course for every meal.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll write another letter to Ye Lei, giving a detailed account of what’s happening here to prevent him from worrying. Ms. Xin, please take good care of YingEr. I feel a bit sad that I can’t be back in the county within three days.” Liu Sisi was reluctant to leave behind her loved ones.

Her reluctance was not only towards Di Yelei but also towards the three little ones she was worried about, not to mention YingEr, who had been injured and was recuperating at home!

At this thought, she became conflicted again!

“I’ll go back for a while, and then rush back tomorrow. After all, the county is not far from here.”

“I think it’s better for you to stay here, or else how can you deal with accidents in the county?”

The Land Officer’s wife beside them spoke, “Not to mention, your Second Sister-in-law is not an easy person to deal with. Even for the betrothal gift of 500 taels of silver, she will marry Xiao Wei off. It’s a pity that Wei is just a little over ten years old and has to get married.”

Obviously, the Land Officer’s wife didn’t feel optimistic.

After all, without a special situation, it was almost impossible to make Ms. Wang back out of this marriage.

“Sisi, just turn a blind eye to this matter. Although Xiao Wei is a bit young, Sun Family is a genuine wealthy family. It’s not a loss for her to get married there.” The Land Officer’s wife said earnestly.

Liu Sisi wore a bitter smile, “Auntie, you’re right, but Xiao Wei knelt on the ground and begged me, her Third Aunt. If I don’t help this child, how can I face her kindness to me in the past?”

Back then, when Di Ruoning framed her, it was Xiao Wei who stood up and spoke a word for her. As a result, the silly girl had been picked on by Ms. Wang quite a bit.

“That’s true…” Land Officer’s wife sighed quietly.

Liu Sisi wasted no time in sending a reliable person to Shangrao County with the urgency of a fast-riding horse.

Meanwhile, she quickly returned to Di Family to find Elderly Mr. Di, hoping to buy more time.

Elderly Mr. Di had aged, and coupled with his hangover from yesterday, he felt terrible at the moment.

When Liu Sisi returned, Elderly Mr. Di was holding his head and sitting in the hall, with half-finished hangover soup beside him. Ms. Zhao was sitting next to him, her eyes brightening when she saw the fresh fruit in Liu Sisi’s hands.

“Father, are you still feeling the effects of the hangover? Have two apricots, they are very good for hangovers.”  

Liu Sisi entered the kitchen while speaking, and soon came back out with the washed apricots, handing them to Elderly Mr. Di.

Elderly Mr. Di, who was suffering from a hangover, did not refuse and took the apricot, breaking it in half and putting it in his mouth.

“Hmm, it does taste good. Did you pick these from Guihua’s house?”

“Father, you guessed it right. It is indeed picked from Guihua’s house. Sisi brought it back especially for you to have a taste.”

Elderly Mr. Di nodded, removed the apricot kernel from the other half of the fruit, put it back in his mouth, and said after a moment: “The apricots from other families in the village were picked clean long ago. Guihua’s apricots are the only late-ripening ones that are still hanging on the trees at this time.”

“I see. I was impressed that you guessed it correctly.”

Having eaten just one apricot, Elderly Mr. Di declined the rest: “Old age has left me with poor teeth, and sour fruits like this can cause my teeth to go bad even faster.”

“It should be fine to eat one or two. Mother-in-law, you should give it a try too.”

Liu Sisi laughed heartily and handed one to Ms. Xin: “Sister-in-law, go ahead and have a couple more; we’ll have fewer chances to eat such rare apricots in the future.” The apricot tree at Guihua’s house had been almost entirely picked clean by Er Niu.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Ms. Xin did not stand on ceremony, took one bite, and immediately closed her eyes in bliss.

The two daughters-in-law in front of her seemed to get along very well, which annoyed Ms. Zhao!

Especially seeing that Ms. Xin had two apricots in her hand and she only had one, her face changed, and she started coughing heavily twice in a row.

However, neither of the two chatting women across from her noticed her expression.

“It’s so delicious! The apricots I used to eat were small and green, and one bite would make my teeth feel sour. I have never tasted an apricot like this, which is simply irresistible.” Ms. Xin couldn’t bear to throw away even the little bit of apricot flesh on the kernel.

“You must be talking about green apricots, right? Those are only good for making pickles; they can’t possibly be as tasty as these! These sand apricots need to be picked and eaten right away to have such a flavor. If you store ripe sand apricots like these for a day or two, they will go bad and be inedible.”

As she spoke, Liu Sisi burst into laughter.

She had always loved sand apricots and cherries in her previous life, and she used to sit on the tree fork, picking and stuffing them into her mouth. The fruits grown in their own countryside were naturally ripe and pesticide-free, making them taste extraordinarily sweet.

Later, when she moved to the city, she found the cherries there to be much bigger and redder. However, they lacked the freshness of the newly plucked fruits and tasted less authentic, losing more than half of their original flavor.

Whether it was the effect of the hangover drink or the magic of the sand apricots, Elderly Mr. Di seemed to feel much better after chatting with the two women. His brows became relaxed, and he looked at the two of them.

“Sisi, I heard from Cui’er that you are going back to the county today? It’s not early now, so have lunch early and go back earlier, so Third Child won’t worry.”

“Father, I do want to go back, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to for several days.”

This captured everyone’s attention in the room: “Why can’t you go back?”

“Because someone has offered 500 taels of silver to marry Di Wei as a child bride. So, Sisi can’t go back to the county.”

This immediately petrified everyone in the room.

It was only after a while that Elderly Mr. Di cleaned his ears and asked: “Who did you say? I didn’t hear clearly.”

“I said, someone has offered 500 taels of silver to marry Di Wei as a child bride. So, Sisi will be staying in the Upper Village for the next few days and not going back.”

“How can it be Di Wei? She’s only… ten years old, isn’t she?”