HCB Chapter 360 Sisters-in-law Discuss
Chapter 360 Sisters-in-law Discuss
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, we returned to Liu's maternal home.
With the help of his sister, Liu Dazhuang and Tian Maisui's two sons have also been sent to school in recent years. Their house is a newly built brick and tile structure, completely different from what it looked like a few years ago. After unloading all the gifts and moving them inside...
Tian Maisui couldn't wait to pull Liu into the room.
"Hey sis, Zhang Haoran from next door is back!"
"Yes, I know. He even came to our house yesterday." Liu didn't know why her sister-in-law was so agitated.
"Oh, did he meet with his little sister?"
"No, my sister has been in a bad mood these past few days and hasn't gone out much."
"what happened?"
"The Hu family has broken off the engagement with my younger sister!" After thinking for a moment, Liu told her sister-in-law about it.
"Ah!" Upon hearing Liu's words, Tian Maisui couldn't help but exclaim, but she quickly covered her mouth.
Tears streamed down her face.
"Why is my sister's life so miserable!" Tian Maisui felt heartbroken for her sister-in-law as she thought of the hardships she had endured over the past few years.
After a while, once she had calmed down, she asked again.
"Did the Hu family say what the reason was?"
"It's still because of the sister's disappearance that the Hu family harbors resentment about it."
"Now that you mention it, that's the only reason I can think of." He then looked up and quietly asked Liu Shi.
“Big sister, Zhang Haoran and our little sister were engaged before. What do you think of him? That boy grew up with us, so his character is definitely not a problem. Judging from his current appearance, he doesn’t seem like he’s married.”
“I’ve thought about that too, let me tell you…” Tian Maisui leaned closer to listen to what Liu was discussing with her daughter.
After hearing her words, Tian Maisui lowered her head and thought for a while before speaking.
“I think it’s feasible, we can give it a try. Don’t make it too deliberate, just pretend it was an accidental encounter.” Then the two sisters-in-law discussed some details and finally decided to go to the Guanyin Temple to offer incense together on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
The task of Gao and Zhang Haoran is left to Tian Maisui; make sure to invite them on that day.
In Liujia Village, during dinner, Tian Maisui went next door to invite Gao Shi and Zhang Haoran over, ostensibly to keep them company.
When Gao arrived, she brought her own stewed meat, which served as an extra dish.
Among the children, Tian Maisui's youngest daughter especially liked her cousin Xia Yu. Every year when her cousin visited, she would bring her lots of flowers to wear, and also buy her pretty bracelets and rings.
He pulled Xia Yu into the house, took out a locked small box from the cabinet, and opened it.
"Sister, close your eyes, I have something to give you."
"Okay, I'm closing my eyes now. What do you want to give me?" Xia Yu cooperated by closing her eyes.
"Reach out your hand," the little girl said.
Xia Yu did as instructed and stretched out her hand, suddenly feeling something icy cold placed in her palm. Opening her eyes, she saw that it was a silver ingot shaped like a carp.
"Wow, it's so beautiful. Where did you get it?" Xia Yu asked, feigning surprise.
"The grandma next door gave it to me," the little girl answered obediently.
"Is this for my sister? I already took it!" Xia Yu teased her.
"Yes, this is for my sister." The little girl nodded emphatically to Xia Yu, showing her determination. If her gaze towards the silver ingot hadn't been so eager, Xia Yu would have accepted it.
"Close your eyes, I have something for you too," Xia Yu said, gently patting the little girl's head.
"Okay, I'll close my eyes. What is my sister going to give me?" The little girl covered her face with her hands, peeking at Xia Yu through her parted fingers.
Xia Yu didn't argue with her. She put her hands together, blew a breath into them, and then opened her palms. Three gold ingots of different designs appeared in Xia Yu's hands.
"Wow, sister, is this a little rabbit? This is a flower, so pretty. And there's a butterfly too." Xia Yu specially picked out a few of the cutest gold ingots.
"Like it?"
The little girl nodded emphatically, "I like it."
"If you like it, keep it safe. Promise your sister you won't tell anyone except your mother. Understand?"
Xia Yu was mainly worried that the little girl would take out the gold ingot to show off to the other children, and it would be a pity if she lost it.
"Okay, I promise my sister, I will only tell Mother this, and I will not tell anyone else."
As in previous years, Liu stayed at her parents' home for one night and started heading home early the next morning.
For the next few days, Xia Yu stayed home all day, spending time with her parents and working in her own little space. The space was becoming increasingly full, leaving less and less room for farming. Finally, one night, Ding Chengxin arrived at the Zhang family's house in a small boat.
Xia Yu didn't invite anyone else, only letting her father accompany her. She herself wore a cloak and a snow hat, covering herself up so that only half her face was visible. She boarded the small boat without disturbing anyone and quietly left.
Once the small boat reached the main channel, Xia Yu discovered that three tall cargo ships were anchored in the middle of the river, lying on the surface like monsters in the darkness.
The ship was quiet; apart from the helmsman and co-helmsman, there was no one else on board.
Xia Yu went into the lower deck cabin alone, and came out again after a short while. He boarded the second ship, and just like before, went into the cabin and came out after a short while. In this way, he went through all three ships in less than a quarter of an hour.
Standing on the small boat, Ding Chengxin clearly felt that the cargo ship's draft had increased significantly after Xia Yu went into the cabin. However, he didn't dare to ask a single question and pretended not to see it.
After locking all the cabin doors, Ding Chengxin took Xia Yu and Zhang Youtie back to the Zhang family's house. But before leaving, he asked one more question.
"Miss, when can you come next time?"
"Five days from now," Xia Yu said softly.
"Yes," Ding Chengxin replied respectfully.
He dared not and did not want to look at what was in the cabin. But he was absolutely certain that Xia Yu must possess extraordinary skills to command such attention from his master.