CHAPTER 328: CHAPTER 330: ENCOUNTER WITH GE LIANG AT BLACK BEAR CAVE

Zheng Xianghong didn’t stop Sun Yuhua from excusing herself, but she said to Sun Yuhua, "Fine, Weilin’s porridge is ready. You can feed her later."

Sun Yuhua uttered a sound of acknowledgment and left.

Xia Xiao helped Zheng Xianghong cook, but Zheng Xianghong didn’t mention Sun Yuhua’s situation to Xia Xiao, nor did she criticize Sun Yuhua in the slightest.

Xia Xiao asked Zheng Xianghong about the things happening at the Red Star Production Team. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law chatted in the kitchen and, eventually, they heard about Dong Meihua and He Xuexiang visiting Dong’s maternal home.

Xia Xiao asked, "Dong Meihua came back?"

Sun Yuhua walked in and said, "She came back on the seventh day of the new year. People from the production team said they left home after a quarrel, and Dong Meihua even cried. She seemed unhappy when she returned."

Xia Xiao made a sound of realization, and Zheng Xianghong handed Sun Yuhua a clean bowl filled with porridge. Sun Yuhua took it and said, "Mom, isn’t this too much? Weilin can’t eat so much."

"Just one bowl of porridge; how can she not finish it? It’s not that big of a bowl," said Zheng Xianghong.

Sun Yuhua then left with the bowl. After Xia Xiao finished helping with the cooking, she went to wash the dishes and served the food, then called Gao Jiaxing to come and eat.

They hadn’t eaten anything in the county town. They couldn’t say they were hungry, but they definitely weren’t full either.

Who would have thought that when Xia Xiao entered the room, she saw that Gao Jiaxing hadn’t slept at all? She said, "Brother Gao, why aren’t you sleeping?"

"I can’t sleep without you here," Gao Jiaxing replied.

Xia Xiao laughed and said, "Nonsense, you just don’t want to sleep. Then get up, the food is ready. Let’s go have a meal."

Gao Jiaxing nodded and followed Xia Xiao out. Xia Xiao was intent on finding Xia Jing and Yan Hao, but decided to fill up on food first.

At the moment, Gao Guoqiang and Gao Jiazhi were not around. Sun Yuhua was feeding little Weilin. Zheng Xianghong said, "Don’t worry about your dad and Jiazhi. They’ve gone out and won’t be back so soon. You two eat first."

So, Xia Xiao and Gao Jiaxing started eating first. Zheng Xianghong told Sun Yuhua, "You eat too, I’ll feed her."

"Mom, aren’t you eating?" Xia Xiao asked.

Zheng Xianghong shook her head, "I’ve already eaten, you go ahead."

Sun Yuhua handed the bowl to Zheng Xianghong and sat down at the table to eat, while Zheng Xianghong fed little Weilin.

As Sun Yuhua ate, she asked Xia Xiao, "What’s it like in the city these days?"

"It’s the same as always," replied Xia Xiao.

"Did you see my family?" Sun Yuhua asked further.

Xia Xiao shook her head; during this return trip, she really hadn’t specifically gone to see Sun Yuhua’s family.

Sun Yuhua seemed a bit unhappy at that moment and fell silent.

Xia Xiao didn’t pry further into Sun Yuhua’s feelings and continued eating quietly with Gao Jiaxing. Then, Xia Xiao said to Gao Jiaxing, "Brother Gao, I’m going to find my sister."

Gao Jiaxing nodded, "Come back early."

Only then did Xia Xiao leave to look for Xia Jing and Yang Xuehua. Upon leaving, Xia Xiao happened to run into Dong Meihua.

Dong Meihua gave Xia Xiao a harsh glare and walked away. Xia Xiao was speechless, finding Dong Meihua’s behavior completely baffling.

What Xia Xiao didn’t know was that Dong Meihua and He Xuexiang’s trip to Dong’s maternal home was not so smooth. Dong Meihua’s mother lamented about being poor, and Dong Meihua couldn’t help but give all the money she had to her mother, almost leaving none for their return trip.

After He Xuexiang found out, he got angry. So the couple only stayed at Dong Meihua’s maternal home for one day and one night before returning.

He Xuexiang had truly lost his temper with Dong Meihua this time. He didn’t mind that Dong Meihua gave money to her family, but she gave so much that she didn’t even leave enough for travel expenses, and in the end, she had to shamelessly ask for travel money back. He Xuexiang was fuming.

So the whole trip back, Dong Meihua was mostly in tears. After waiting two days before leaving, she heard others say that Xia Xiao and Gao Jiaxing had returned.

Dong Meihua and He Xuexiang left crying and came back with grim faces, their eyes red from weeping. When the production team saw this, naturally, they gossiped.

Moreover, now that Xia Xiao and Gao Jiaxing were married and also returning to Xia Xiao’s maternal home, people naturally compared Xia Xiao’s pair with Dong Meihua’s pair. It would be surprising if Dong Meihua felt pleased.

"Sister, you’re back." Xia Jing and Yan Hao had come back carrying hoes.

Xia Xiao bumped into them at the entrance of Youth Point and asked, "Where have you two been?"

Xia Jing said, "We’ve cleared a small plot over there to plant some vegetables."

Xia Xiao smiled and said, "That’s great." As she spoke, Xia Xiao gave Yan Hao and Xia Jing an egg each.

Xia Jing took it and said to Yan Hao, "It’s cooked. You can eat it directly."

Yan Hao nodded and thanked Xia Xiao.

Xia Jing then asked, "How was it going back to the city this time, sister?"

"Nothing’s changed at home. My aunt gave us a new little cousin. Brother Yuanchao also got married," Xia Xiao said briefly.

Yan Hao couldn’t help asking, "Big sister, did you see my family by any chance?"

Xia Xiao looked at Yan Hao and replied, "Yes, I saw your mother. I greeted her, and she responded. She even asked when you two were planning to get married. I said that was up to you two to decide."

Yan Hao’s face relaxed. Feeling that his mother was responding meant she probably wasn’t that angry anymore.

Xia Jing smiled at Yan Hao and said, "Don’t worry. The letter you sent should arrive soon."

Yan Hao nodded, and Xia Xiao followed them into Youth Point. Everyone went back to their own dorms.

Upon reaching her dorm, Xia Xiao didn’t see Yang Xuehua and asked, "Where did Sister Xuehua go?"

"I don’t know. She was here in the dorm when Yan Hao and I left. Maybe she also went to a vegetable plot," someone guessed.

Xia Xiao nodded and handed the items she had been carrying to Xia Jing, "I won’t stay long. These pickles are made by Grandma. She asked me to bring some for you."

Xia Jing looked touched. "Grandma is so kind. Despite her age, she always worries about us."

Thinking about how Mrs. Xia had talked about each and every grandchild, Xia Xiao nodded her agreement, "Yes, Grandma worries about each and every one of us."

After leaving Youth Point, Xia Xiao took out the stone and said, "Shitou, do you think Ge Lai could be nearby?"

"I didn’t see him," Shitou said.

Xia Xiao sighed, her mind racing with thoughts of where Ge Liang could have gone. If Ge Lai had taken him, that would be one thing, but if he was lost and had encountered bad people, that would be a real disaster.

"I want to visit Black Bear and the others. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them," said Xia Xiao. Finding an opportunity, she entered her space to visit Nanhua Mountain.

Upon reaching Black Bear Cave, Xia Xiao immediately noticed the bears were agitatedly pacing about and seemed elated to see her.

As soon as Xia Xiao entered the cave, she found Ge Liang lying there, burned and barely conscious. She exclaimed in shock, "Ge Liang is here?"

Xia Xiao quickly went over and felt Ge Liang’s body. "My God, he’s burning up. He’s got a fever."

Shitou said, "He must’ve been abandoned here, because there’s no way a kid could reach Nanhua Mountain and end up in a bear cave on his own."