Chapter 70.2

Translated by Aviana

Yang-shi hadn’t sold the rest of the leftover pork after the Pig-slaughter Feast. Yang-shi was a hardworking and nimble person. Her daughter-in-law was also efficient. Thus, the two prepared everything neatly in the house and asked everyone to stay back for lunch.

It would be difficult to decline the invitation for a meal for others when they come to pay for new year greetings. Besides, Yang-shi was also not an outsider; thus, everyone stayed behind for lunch.

At noon, all the men sat at one table to feast on wine and dishes while the rest of the womenfolk and children occupied another table.

Once everyone ate and drank to their fill, they all dispersed. While Lin Qingwan and Yao-shi stayed behind to help Yang-shi.

Afternoon, Lin Qingwan and the group returned home and took a nap. Visiting other people’s homes, eating with them, conversing with them was also tiring, ah! And the number of words they spoke this day was equivalent to that of words spoken in the past several days combined.

Yao-shi and Lin Qingwan made a large table full of dishes in the evening. The leftover portions from the previous night were also taken out and heated.

Post supper, everyone retired to their respective rooms.

On the second day of the lunar New Year, married daughters and their husbands would return to their natal families. Early in the morning, Yang Tiegen, Yao-shi, and the two girls went to her natal family’s house. By the time they came back, it was already evening. Yang Tiezhu and Lin Qingwan didn’t have anywhere to go, so they spent the entire day indoors.

The next few days, Yang Tiezhu, Lin Qingwan, Yao-shi, and Yang Tiegen lazed around at home as they ate, slept, ate, and slept. The two girls ran out to play with their friends, while the four grownups simply stayed on kang all day long. When she was bored, Yao-shi would go to the second branch’s room to look for Lin Qingwan to chat with.

On the evening of the fourth day, the brothers, Yang Tiezhu and Yang Tiegen bustled around to welcome the kitchen god’s return. While Lin Qingwan and Yao-shi didn’t participate in this practice as per the custom. The next few days, apart from going to Yang-shi’s place every now and then, Lin Qingwan and the group stayed indoors.

In a blink of an eye, the days quickly passed, and the several restaurants in the town began opening their business after the fifteenth day. And on the sixteenth day, Yang Tiegen dropped by the restaurants and solicitously delivered the goods.

As the restaurants had just recently opened, the business wasn’t rather good. Thus the restaurant staff bought fewer quantities of goods from them, making Yang Tiegen feel pretty anxious. Upon seeing this, Lin Qingwan explained that it was natural for the market to be in a slump as the restaurants had just opened.

Although Yang Tiegen didn’t understand what the market slump meant, he nevertheless understood the notion behind Lin Qingwan’s words and suppressed his restless mind.

With the passing of days, it seemed as if spring had graced the Luoxia village rather belatedly this year. Only in the first third of the second lunar month, few villagers treaded to the farms to plow the soil, making it ready for the next stage of sowing the seeds.

Lin Qingwan’s stomach had now begun sticking out, with her gestation nearing five months. And owing to the thick winter garments, her appearance seemed to be a bit obese. Unlike other pregnant women, Lin Qingwan didn’t experience nausea and the likes during her gestation. But recently, she seemed to have become fond of lying down.

Yang Tiezhu’s shoulder had more or less healed. But, the doctor hasn’t removed his bandages as it wasn’t time to do so.

Yang laoyezi was a hardworking and diligent man. Even before most of the villagers had begun going to the fields to plow the soil, he urged Yang Tiezhuan to go to the fields. Yang Tieshuan dilly-dallied for several days before finally following Yang laoyezi to the fields without any option.

Yang Xuezhang still didn’t go to the fields. He-shi used the pretext that the child was about to get married soon and would begin going to fields after marriage.

Lin Qingwan had heard all of these from the quarrels happening in the main room. After being tormented by He-shi for a good few months, Wang-shi’s patience gradually ceased to exist. Currently, she would have disputes with He-shi every few days, contrary to her former self, who dreaded He-shi.

Perhaps, after quarreling with He-shi every other day and not seeing much reaction from He-shi, Wang-shi’s courage slowly grew.

Seeing Yang laoyezi begin to plow, Yang Tiegen couldn’t sit silently and came to talk over with Yang Tiezhu. He also wanted to plow the two mu land he was allocated to and help his second elder brother plow his share of the field in passing, making it easier for both of them to sow the seeds when the time came.

Yang Tiegen was aware that his second elder brother’s arm wasn’t crippled. Not long after separation, Lin Qingwan had explained the ins and outs of this matter to Yao-shi. The third branch treated her and Yang Tiezhu with utmost sincerity and genuineness. As such, Lin Qingwan didn’t conceal this matter from them. But of course, Lin Qingwan merely said that, at that time, she simply wanted to express that Yang Tiezhu’s arm getting crippled was only a mere probability and not a definite outcome. Yet He-shi and the rest of the family members seemed to have not heard them, for they seemed to have determined that Yang Tiezhu’s arm was crippled for sure. And it just so happened that Lin Qingwan also intended to separate from the family. So she took advantage of this opportunity and made them ‘think’ that Yang Tiezhu’s arm was beyond hope.

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