Chapter 86.2

Translated by Aviana

Daju and Liuzhi usually didn’t have much chores to do on typical days, making them an easier target of the gossip mongers in the village. Initially, out of curiosity to the much-discussed house in the village, the two were pulled by others.

However, after visiting Lin Qingwan a few times, the two found Lin Qingwan to be worth befriending. Furthermore, both of them were quite idle and rarely had any chores to do. If not, they wouldn’t have been dragged here by the other women in the beginning. Coincidentally, Lin Qingwan also happened to be idle as she nurtured her foetus in leisure. Thus, giving the three of them lots of time to chit-chat.

Hence, when the travel-worn Yang Tiezhu came back home from the trip of a couple of days, he noticed that his wife had unexpectedly gained two ‘handkerchief friends’.

When Yang Tiezhu returned, Daju and Liuzhi were engrossed in a lievly conversation with Lin Qingwan in the house.

As the women were cheerfully and spiritedly chatting, they heard a knock on the door. Lin Qingwan was about to get up to open the door, but Dajiu held Lin Qingwan down, and hurried to open the gate for her.

In recent days, as they grew familiar with one another, Dajiu and Liuzhi discovered Lin Qingwan’s inconvenience in moving around. Since then, they began helping her in opening the door.

Following the sound of gate opening, Lin Qingwan heard Daju’s yell, “Qingwan, your man has returned.”

Lin Qingwan promptly hoisted herself up and trudged out with Luizhi following at her heels.

Upon taking in her husband’s figure, who she hadn’t seen for over ten days, Lin Qingwan felt excitement wildly swirl within her heart. However, remembering outsiders’ presence, she refrained from rushing up to him like she did in the past.

Daju swiftly pulled Liuzhi, saying, “Qingwan, you stay in the house, we will leave first.”

“Alright, then I won’t see you two out, go back slowly.”

“No, no, you don’t have to see us out.”, saying so, the two women quickly walked out.

Turning around, Yang Tiezhu walked back to the mule cart, and led it in. After unharnessing the cart at the rear of the big black mule, and tying it securely, he then strode to Lin Qingwan.

“Wife, I’m back.” Yang Tiezhu’s eyes were gleaming with excitement. In these past few days, not a single day pass by without missing his wife.

With a light smile, Lin Qingwan gestured to him to close the gates.

Quickly closing the gate, he helped her walk back into the house.

“Wife, are those two women the friends you had made while I was away?” YanTiezhu was aware that Lin Qingwan lacked friends whom she could chat with. In the past, she would usually chat with just Yao-shi or his eldest gu’s daughter-in-law.

Beaming with a smile, Lin Qingwan recounted the happenings in the past couple of days, including how a few inquisitive women from the neighbourhood dropped by to inquire how he managed to amass such a fortune.

As Yang Tiezhu heard her, he grew annoyed. How could he have forgotten the gossip-loving nature of villagers?

“Did they tire you out? How many people came?” Yang Tiezhu quickly asked, his tone laced with anxiety, dreading that his wife might have been exhausted by all of it.

“When they came, I guided them to a seat. As for the questions they were curious about, how can I, a mere housewife, know about it? Eventually, apart from Daju and Liuzhi, others stopped coming. I got along with the two, and slowly they started to visit to accompany me.”

“En, my wife is truly smart.” Yang Tiezhu applauded with a nod. “Later, when I am outside, I will casually mention that I started a small business with a friend, lest they come to bother you again.”

Lin Qngwan and Yang Tiezhu had discussed early in the beginning to use this idea to reply to outsiders. Afterall, money can’t come out of the air, without any cause . They might as well excuse themselves by claiming that due to a limited amount of land, they had to venture out for other opportunities, and thus start a business with old acquaintances. s for the specifics of their business, they believed no one would bother to inquire.

“Alright, let’s just talk about me anylonger. How about you? How was your trip with Elder Brother Dacheng?”

“In the first few days of the trip, I gave him a tour of the restaurants we have dealings in the surrounding towns. Later, we went to a few other restaurants where we don’t sell our laweixian. Elder Brother Dacheng is even better than me in sales. Now we can deliver our goods to even more restaurants.” Yang Tiezhu excitedly told her about his trip, but then when he realised he wasn’t good enough, he couldn’t help but scratch his head.

Lin Qingwan patted his hand, and appeased him, patted his hand reassuringly, “I believe my husband is already quite amazing enough. Elder Brother Dacheng has been working in the field for over ten years, so there is no comparison between you two. In the coming ten years, with the amount of experience you will gain, I assure you definitely wouldn’t be worse than him. ”

With a light chuckle, Yang Tiezhu scratched his head again. In fact he too has similar thoughts. It’s just that he had to be modest in front of his wife. scratched his head and smiled.

How could Lin Qingwan possibly not understand his thoughts? Didn’t he just want to hear her praise him?

Then, Yang Tiezhu began endlessly chattering about his future plans, and how he intended to temporarily handover all his work to Elder Brother Dancheng. For the next few days, he intended to stay at home with her, without going anywhere.

As she listened to him chattering, Lin Qingwan found it both amusing and speechless. She was not a child, yet she was touched by him. His thoughtfulness was beyond words.

The two chatted for quite a long time. Yang Tiezhu seemed to have boundless energy, as he kept talking about the people he met while on the trips, and how he missed her and the baby, without inkling of tiredness.

Saying so, he gently touched Lin Qingwan’s round belly, as he asked the child if it had missed his daddy when he was away. Coincidentally, the baby inside the Lin QIngwan’s belly kicked right then. Yang Tiezhu burst into a cheerful laughter, as he pointed at her belly and exclaimed that the baby missed him too.

The mother-to-be was extremely speechless, however the pleasant smile on her face never disappeared.

It wasn’t until Yao-shi came back from Yang-shi’s place in the evening and cooked dinner, that the two of them retired to the bed after supper.

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