Cheng Su received a call from Elder Sister, frowning as she listened to her hemming and hawing on the other end of the line, saying she’d only be able to come over in a couple of days.
When she had left, she’d sworn that she would come over after the holiday, so why the sudden change of plans?
Upon asking, she found out that Elder Sister’s mother-in-law had to take care of her younger sister-in-law who had just given birth. With no one else to look after the child, there was no choice but to delay her visit by a couple of days, leaving Cheng Su somewhat helpless.
No sooner had she hung up the phone than Qi Taiguo, who had just taken a shower, came over and seeing her sigh, asked, "Why the sigh? Is something the matter?"
"Elder Sister said her sister-in-law just had a baby, and her mother-in-law has to go take care of her for two days. Yunyun and the others have no one to help out, so they can only come over after a few days," Cheng Su explained.
After thinking it over, Qi Taiguo said, "What do you think is really going on? Do you think her mother-in-law is deliberately holding Elder Sister back from coming here?"
He knew very well that Elder Sister’s mother-in-law was not too keen on having Elder Sister come out to work.
"That’s hard to say, isn’t it? Taking care of a daughter who’s just given birth, and it being her own daughter, is understandable. But from Elder Sister’s tone, she didn’t seem too pleased," said Cheng Su.
After a moment, Qi Taiguo said, "Let it be, we can’t make decisions for her, just like you said, she has to decide for herself."
Cheng Su laughed upon hearing this, "I thought you’d be going to the Zhang family with anger in your eyes ready to settle accounts!"
Qi Taiguo glared at her and said, "You already said it’s understandable to take care of one’s own daughter, what more can I do? In her mother-in-law’s eyes, a daughter-in-law certainly isn’t as dear as her own daughter."
Cheng Su looked at him meaningfully and said, "Oh, our Old Qi is familiar with this harsh reality now, is he?"
Qi Taiguo, teased and embarrassed, walked over, hugged her, and pinched her nose, "Seizing the chance to make jabs at your husband, huh? Let’s see how I deal with you."
With that, his hands began to move all over Cheng Su.
Cheng Su squealed as he playfully pinched and tickled her, leaving her body feeling weak, but stubbornly she didn’t let him off the hook, "What I said is simply the truth."
"Still talking, tell me to stop talking, isn’t it enough that I know I’m wrong?" Qi Taiguo pressed himself over her and stuck his head under her roomy nightgown.
"Ah, Qi Taiguo, you hooligan," Cheng Su screamed, quickly turning into breathless moans.
...
Before Elder Sister and the others could arrive, Cheng Su had an unexpected visitor, her own Third Uncle, Cheng Shuqiang.
Like many other migrant workers who sought a livelihood away from home, Cheng Shuqiang arrived carrying a large cloth bag on his back, with two chickens and some wild goods in hand, as he followed the address Cheng Su had given to find his way over.
The chickens and wild goods were Third Aunt’s idea; she insisted it wouldn’t be proper to come empty-handed, and it was also a way to express her gratitude.
"Third Uncle, if you were coming, you should have just come, why bring so much stuff? Isn’t it heavy and troublesome?" chided Cheng Su.
Cheng Shuqiang laughed, "Your Third Aunt insisted I bring it, saying home-raised tastes better and wanted you to have it."
Cheng Su clicked her tongue, "What can’t you buy here? Instead, it’s the two younger brothers who are growing and in need of nourishment. Keeping it for them to improve their health would have been better."
"We have more at home, there’s plenty," Cheng Shuqiang said nonchalantly.
Seeing that Elder Sister and the others hadn’t arrived yet, Cheng Su first settled Cheng Shuqiang into her home, and then made a call to Dazhi.
She had already given Dazhi the heads-up; his decorating business was starting to take off. Thanks to his good and meticulous work as well as his honest reputation, he had gradually built up a good word-of-mouth, and just through Cheng Su, he had secured several deals already.
With business booming, more hands were naturally needed, so when Cheng Su asked if he needed more people, Dazhi promptly said he did.