CHAPTER 172: CHAPTER 172: LOVE MEANS KNEELING ON THE WASHBOARD

"Should I eat more nutritious stuff?"

Eat for two, no three, she didn’t want to become skin and bones like Xiao Cao before, that looked scary.

Uncle Yaozi’s mouth twitched, "Are you planning to give birth in a hospital or at home?"

Yi Chichi wanted to say hospital; finding a midwife at home isn’t safe, and hygiene is also an issue.

Infections can lead to many complications, some money is definitely worth spending.

But Liu Lan spoke first, "Hospital."

"No problem, eat well then."

Uncle Yaozi affirmed her thought, "Avoid overeating, just about right; if you get too fat, even a doctor would struggle with the cesarean."

Why is he attacking people now?

Liu Lan’s mouth twitched, "Uncle, haven’t you been beaten when speaking like this during consultations?"

Uncle Yaozi glared, "They wouldn’t dare, beat me and see who would treat them afterwards."

True, doctors are not to be offended.

Even if this doctor is just a barefoot doctor, he can still save lives in emergencies.

Thinking of this, she stood up and said, "I’ll head back now, need to announce this good news to Grandpa and the others."

"Be careful on the road, take it slow."

Liu Lan’s health was good; with ample vitality, strong and healthy, much better than Liu Xiaocao.

Thus, Uncle Yaozi didn’t nag much, he just said, "Don’t do any physical work."

"Got it."

She waved her hand and walked away.

Yi Chichi watched her leave and sighed, "If only Xiao Cao had her constitution, she wouldn’t have suffered so much during pregnancy."

Uncle Yaozi sighed along, that child had it tough.

Luckily, she got through it and found a man who cares for her.

"She’s eating too much now."

Speaking of this, Yi Chichi was helpless; Liu Lan had only been back a few days, and Liu Xiaocao’s morning sickness stopped, her sense of smell returned to normal, no longer found every scent nauseating.

Her appetite increased too.

Logically, this was a good thing, but she started eating ten meals a day without stopping.

Qian Ping’an was also quite capable; not long before the New Year, he was promoted to a full-time driver for the transport team, running the line from the provincial city to Baoshan, with a high salary, making real money by shuffling some goods along the way.

He was generous to Liu Xiaocao too, as long as she wanted something, he would do his best to get it for her.

"You should try persuading her when you have time; when I went back last night and saw her, she looked like she had inflated like a balloon."

Uncle Yaozi scratched his head, "I tried before, it’s useless. She acts like she hasn’t eaten enough in eight lifetimes and guards her food."

"Then talk to Old Qian, have him take Xiao Cao to the hospital at that point."

"Yes."

Thus, this topic came to an end.

Yi Chichi, meanwhile, began preparing her travel gear.

Two days later, in the evening, she went to the cowshed under cover of night; upon learning she was going to the island to visit Wen Shi’s relatives, the old man didn’t react much, but Qin Jiu was worried she wouldn’t come back, looking pitiful with a sad face, grabbed her hand and asked, "Aunt, are you coming back?"

"I will."

Yi Chichi patted his head, "Aunt is reluctant to leave you and Grandpa."

The child was easy to appease; hearing that she’d return, he was relieved and sat beside her listening to the adults talk.

Ye Yuntang looked at her, "Are you sure it’s Wen Shi?"

"He’s suitable."

Yes, suitable.

Feelings can be cultivated slowly; suitability is most important for her at the moment.

Moreover, "He’s the most outstanding person I can reach right now."

No one present found anything wrong with her statement.

Marriage, in essence, is a gamble of interest exchange. If there’s effort, it can be managed well; if there’s no effort and only interest is sought, even the best hand can be played poorly.

Is Wen Shi bad?

No.

Regardless of height, appearance or prospects, he’s a standout.

His only flaw is his thin background, and a widowed mother.

But given what they knew of Yi Chichi, these weren’t issues; she knew what she was doing.

Thus, the old man advised, "Since you’ve decided he’s the one, put your heart into him."

"I will."

She nodded; without the intention of putting her heart into it, she wouldn’t have accepted Wen Shi’s invitation to visit from afar.

The old man wasn’t entirely at ease with her, and started instructing her on marital life.

Mrs. Song and the others joined in the fun; Yi Chichi listened attentively, it was all experiential knowledge, not guaranteed to be useful, but in emergencies, it could come handy.

Qin Jiu listened to a whole bellyful of marital advice, and was left puzzled, until Mr. Song stopped their endless sharing of experience. He blurted out, "Grandmaster Song, does kneeling on the washboard mean Grandma Song loves you?"

If so, that’s a terrifying kind of love.

Mrs. Song blushed; Mr. Song was stunned, and the old men were taken aback.

Yi Chichi wasn’t much better.

"Kneeling on the washboard?"

When did this happen? How come they didn’t know?

Qin Jiu nodded, "Yes, just a few nights ago, I saw Grandmaster Song kneeling on the washboard."

The moment he said it, they all understood.

Ye Yuntang sighed, "So that’s why your leg pain wasn’t from the hard work of removing weeds, it was that they went numb from kneeling?"

Mr. Song gazed at him in grievance, "You’re already an old man, how come you don’t understand things better than a young girl like Chichi, not even knowing the principle of seeing through without saying?"

"Pfft..."

Yi Chichi couldn’t hold back her laughter; she really didn’t expect the old couple to still engage in such punishments at their age.

The key was that Mr. Song indeed obeyed and knelt.

The old man threw her a look, "What’s so funny, let Wen Shi kneel in the future, got it?"

"...Alright."

She needed to let the old man find some balance, or else be in a bad mood, not liking her and scolding her would be unwise.

Afraid that staying longer would result in Qin Jiu revealing more of their history, Yi Chichi stood up to leave, but couldn’t, as the old man stopped her.

"Wait a moment."

"Oh."

The old man moved, and everyone else did too.

Qin Jiu didn’t move; he held Yi Chichi’s hand and like a little adult, advised her, "Aunt, you ought to buy a ticket first, be careful on the road, remember to bring the protective powder and your needles, don’t be softhearted when meeting bad people, I know girls like you tend to be softhearted, but bad people don’t deserve..."

He babbled on and Yi Chichi nodded, indicating she understood.

Chatting and laughing, the old men came out.

"Plan for a rich journey even with a poor home, take all this."

A stack of notes was thrust over, "Not much, just over twenty bucks, it’s our token of thought, don’t refuse."

The rejected words swallowed back, Yi Chichi looked at the old man’s stack, made up of one cent, two cents, one dime, and five dime notes, reached out, took it without counting and shoved it into her pocket.

"I promise to spend it thoroughly, not a cent left."