Chapter 7 Preparing to Return to Her Hometown

  I've been writing all afternoon until 6 pm and finally finished a chapter, but when I looked back, it wasn't what I wanted at all. Damn, I deleted everything and rewrote it from scratch. Luckily, I managed to rush it out. You guys see how serious I am about this, so please throw me some recommendation tickets!

  As soon as Shen Huan's words fell, a "slap" sound came from the door, like the sound of a book falling to the ground. Immediately after that, Zhao Xiuzhuo's voice was heard: "I've disturbed Big Sister-in-law. Mother has gone out on some business. If you need anything, just speak up. I'll be sitting here reading."

  Zhao Xiuzhen's words were accompanied by the soft sound of him patting the book, Shen Huan sighed slightly in her heart. This little uncle was buried in books every day and took great care of them. She really didn't know if he would become a bookworm one day. Although she thought so in her heart, Shen Huan also knew that Zhao Xiuzhen wasn't as easy-going as he seemed on the surface. It was just his good upbringing that kept him from revealing his other side easily.

  "Sorry to trouble you, young uncle."

  "You're welcome."

  Knowing that the person at the door was Zhao Xi'ao, Shen Han didn't have much to worry about and secretly felt grateful for her mother-in-law's thoughtfulness. She knew she was currently unable to take action, so she had deliberately asked her younger brother-in-law to keep watch by her side. Thinking of this made her feel that she needed to recover her strength as soon as possible, and the matter of returning to her natal home couldn't be delayed any longer.

  It wasn't until three days later that Shen Han was able to get out of bed and move around, but she still felt weak all over. Compared to the previous few days when she had almost no appetite and spent most of her time in her room, being able to see the sunlight outside and breathe in some fresh air made her feel very satisfied.

  As soon as Shen Huan finished eating, she moved a stool to sit in the small courtyard and helped Li Shi sort out the embroidery threads. She selected suitable colors for Li Shi while looking for an opportunity to bring up the topic.

  "Mom, you haven't mentioned anything about raising money for the past few days, have you thought of a way?"

  While speaking, Shen Huan also didn't forget to pay attention to Li's expression, seeing that her originally faintly smiling face suddenly became a bit stiff, and the silk thread flying quickly in her hand also paused slightly in mid-air. Although it was a very subtle change, it still couldn't escape Shen Huan's observant eyes.

  "Mother didn't say anything, which means she hasn't thought of a solution yet. Then why did she buy so many things for me to nourish my body these past few days?"

  Shen Huan also felt a little scared about the backlash after using his powers, originally thinking it was just overwork and fatigue, but who knew it would be like what he saw on TV before, as if his energy had been sucked out by a ghost, resting didn't work, sleeping made him want to sleep more, until Li found another doctor, that's when he understood the reason, simple rest only treated the symptoms not the root cause, what really needed to be adjusted was his internal body, and Shen Huan also discovered that this body, its physical quality seemed to have been poor from the start.

  But Li didn't even hesitate, and after sending the doctor away, she rushed out of the door to get Shen Huanru some tonics to regulate her body, otherwise she wouldn't be able to get out of bed for three days.

  "It doesn't matter if it's a little worse off, talent is what matters most."

  "Thank you, mother..."

  "What's there to thank? We're family."

  Upon hearing this, Shen Huan had an urge to lean her head on Li's body. It was a direct reaction of dependence and gratitude that belonged to a daughter towards her mother. However, considering Li's current workload, she didn't want to be overly emotional, so she continued to help her mother-in-law sort the threads by color and promptly handed over the needed silk threads to speed up the process.

  This embroidery was ordered by the Liu family from the neighborhood two days ago, and someone brought over a sample for Li to complete within three days in exchange for double pay. Although Shen Huan didn't understand embroidery, just looking at the sample and comparing it with the silk threads on her knees, she knew it wasn't an easy task. There were many shades of the same color, with varying depths and lightness that made Shen Huan occasionally look up to glance at the small dish beside her, using the soothing green color to distinguish them, otherwise, if one color was used incorrectly, it would be a major rework.

  "Mother... after I finish this task, can I go back to my hometown for a visit?"

  "Missing your mom?"

  "Hmm..."

  "No problem, actually you should have gone back to take a look long ago."

  Shen Huan understood the meaning behind Li's words. Since she had been here for over a month without mentioning returning to her natal home, Li must have thought that she still harbored resentment towards her family and therefore refused to go back. Now that she was willing to spend her days at the Zhao residence, it was likely that she would also be willing to return to her natal home and resolve conflicts with her family members.

  "Can... Nang come with me?"

  "What? What am I going back with you for?"

  Shen Han's face was slightly flushed, and she also knew that Li's accompaniment to her hometown would be somewhat inconvenient. However, she didn't know where this so-called hometown was in the town, whether it was east or west, and how to get back. But now she couldn't say it clearly, and could only pretend to be a bit shy, lowering her head and saying weakly: "You also know that previously because of my willfulness, I had an unpleasant argument with my family, I'm afraid that when I go home, it will be awkward, but with mother there, I won't be so nervous."

  "This..."

  "Why don't you accompany your sister-in-law on this trip? She's just recovered from a serious illness and needs someone to take care of her along the way."

  Li was hesitant, and Zhao Xiqiao, who was sitting behind them reading a book, timely inserted a sentence. Shen Huan immediately turned around to look at him, but found that he still had his head down, with his eyes on the book in his lap, not looking over here. She couldn't help but pout, this younger uncle always being so expressionless, making it not very easy to get along with him. With only her and her younger uncle-in-law at home, both of them felt somewhat ill at ease.

  "If I leave, you'll be at home, Xiao Ge..."

  "Don't worry about me, Mother. Eldest sister-in-law hasn't returned home for three months, I'm sure her family will be worried too. Why don't you take a rest and eliminate the estrangement between us?"

  Shen Han couldn't help but admire Zhao Xi's meticulousness, as he had pointed out things she hadn't even thought of herself. She had brought Li Shi back to her parents' home simply because she needed someone to show the way, and her purpose was clear: to get some money from her family to tide her over. Although her family had been heartless enough to marry her off to this household that had lost its head, she still wanted to give it a try. Twenty taels of silver were no small sum, and at this moment, the only potential soft touch she could think of was her own family.

  What Zhao Xi thought of was precisely what neither she nor Li had thought of, which was to harmonize the relationship between the two families.

  "It's alright, I'll be honest with you, it was really a sacrifice for you to marry into our family. As your mother-in-law, I should accompany you back home too. If your parents don't want you to suffer with us, we can also make things clear."

  Shen Huan never thought that Li would still be thinking of sending her back to her parents' home to live a good life. Although she knew it was a kind intention, but in her heart, it wasn't pleasant. She immediately put down the thread in her hand and solemnly declared: "Mother, you said it yourself - marry a chicken follow the chicken, marry a dog follow the dog. As long as you won't miss giving me that one bowl of rice, I won't leave this family!"

  What she said was truly heartfelt and indeed reflected Shen Huan's inner thoughts. If it weren't for the unexpected turn of events during childbirth, she might not have realized it herself. As she gradually became familiar with her surroundings, she had also slowly come to regard herself as a member of the Zhao family, not just a house that provided shelter from the wind and rain, but a home.

  So after Shen Han made a very determined statement, the one who was surprised was not only Li, but also Zhao Xi Qiao, who had been pretending to be calm, couldn't help but raise his head and look at the side face that was extremely serious.

  For Zhao Xiāo, there was too much fog on Shen Han's body that he couldn't see through or guess. At the beginning when she married into the Zhao family, she brought a rooster to worship with him, and at that time, she was very quiet. No one expected that in the evening, when she found out no one had lifted her red veil, it was her mother who told her the fact that her brother was not there, and then she cried and made a fuss for half a month.

  At that time, Zhao Xiuzhen couldn't quite put her finger on what she was feeling. She felt annoyed by the noise at home, but she couldn't bring herself to direct this annoyance at Shen Huan, who had been deceived by her natal family and knew nothing when she married over. So after Shen's final desperate struggle with fasting, Zhao fell seriously ill...

  After waking up, it became like this now, no longer crying and complaining, not only did the whole person seem to have changed, but also got up early every day to cook for his mother, doing more than half of what his mother used to do. His mother was helpless and explained to him that she had probably come to her senses.

  As the only man in the house, Zhao Xiuzhuo would quietly fill up the water bucket for Shen Huan every morning while she was still asleep, and then return to his room to read. He didn't know if Shen Huan knew about it or not, but he persisted in doing so every day.

  But the day before yesterday, something happened at home, she didn't even think about it and stood up to help, standing on the same line as her mother. What made her willing to take risks and advance and retreat with this family together? And now still solemnly express her attitude.

  "Okay... okay, as long as you don't mind, let's just be together and live a good life."

  In response to Shen Huan's sudden statement, Li was surprised and then moved. In her eyes, which were covered with crow's feet, Shen Huan also saw some crystal tears. She couldn't help but move forward and wipe away the tears from Li's eyes, and comforted her like a child: "Mother, don't cry, this is good news!"

  "Silly child, I'm delighted!"

  "Happy doesn't cry, happy laughs, hehe..."

  Li was still unable to hold back and burst out laughing at being suddenly treated like a child by Shen.

  This was the first time Shen Han had seen Li smile so happily. All along, Li had played the role of mother-in-law almost perfectly, being serious when she needed to be and gentle when necessary, but she had never smiled like this before, not even in front of Zhao Xi Qiao. At most, she would show a softer side. Shen Han couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for her. For so many years, Li had raised two sons on her own, and the hardships had worn away her happiness, making her also a great mother.

  The next two days were the most relaxing for Shen Huan, as the distance between her and Li Shi had disappeared, they chatted and laughed like a real mother and daughter. The embroidery that Li Shi had been working on was finally finished and when she delivered it to the Liu's house, they were so grateful that they gave her some extra money. The two women happily returned home, packed their things and prepared to head to Qingfeng Town the next day. Chapter 7: Preparing to Return to Her Hometown