Chapter 355: Chapter 355 Speaking up
Looking at Second Aunt Yang’s receding figure, for some reason, everyone tacitly snickered.
“This is going to be good.” Bai Hehua’s face lit up with anticipation as she spoke.
Yang Peijun just glanced at her and, unexpectedly, showed a look of approval.
Yang PeiMin looked at them and was speechless.
Bai Hehua made an excuse to step out.
Soon after, neighbors came over one by one to visit, and Zhang Minghua had Yang PeiMin sitting on the kang, catching up on family matters with relatives and friends.
Just as they were talking, Bai Hehua peered in and out from behind the door curtain several times without entering. Yang PeiMin guessed she must have gotten some news about Uncle Three’s family and was eager to share it with someone.
“PeiMin is really blessed, getting pregnant not long after getting married, and now she’s even gotten into university. After she graduates, the government will assign her a job, right?”
“When are you going back after the New Year? Are you going to school with your belly big then?”
“My own kid, already twenty-two and still no partner, it’s maddening.”
“I remember your sister is only one or two years younger than you, does she have someone too?”
The neighbors’ conversations revolved around these topics, and Yang PeiMin handled the earlier ones with ease. To the last question, she just shook her head, “Nah, Yingzi is still young.”
“That’s right, her father and I decided to keep her home for a couple more years,” said Zhang Minghua.
“Indeed, she’s the only one left unmarried at home, staying a couple more years isn’t a problem.”
“Eh, didn’t you say yesterday that Second Aunt brought a lively young man to your place? How did that go? Was he a matchmaker’s pick?” The person who asked this was someone familiar.
“Oh, that was a relative from my second aunt’s in-laws’ side, just stopping by for a visit and to discuss some matters with my husband,” Zhang Minghua said naturally.
“Oh, I see, I thought you had another happy occasion coming up. But it’s not too late for Yingzi to start seeing someone at her age, delaying marriage for a year or two is also fine.”
“Speaking of which, I suddenly remember your niece next door, Sister Peiqiong; I heard she came back this new year too, but I didn’t see her educated youth partner. How is that going? Are they married yet?”
At the mention of Yang Peiqiong, Zhang Minghua’s expression soured a bit, because of that matter, she hadn’t been communicating with her neighbor, Sun Mei. They even canceled the gathering of siblings for the New Year. Yang Dahai initially wanted to humor Grandma Yang, bringing his brothers together for a meal, but Zhang Minghua firmly disagreed. She was still so annoyed by that previous incident that it made her teeth itch. Seeing Yang Peiqiong’s situation now, it was clear. As for the so-called educated youth, she wondered if he was even talking to Peiqiong. Though there hadn’t been any news from next door, Zhang Minghua had her own idea—if things were going well, wouldn’t they be flaunting it all over the village? So, she just faintly answered, “That, I don’t know.”
“I saw her the day before yesterday at the Cooperative Society, she barely looked any different, still as fair and well-dressed as before, even greeted me.”
“Sharp as ever, just not using it in the right way, she used to be so diligent and good at handling things, many people fancied her.”
“Wonder if she’s changed now?”
“Bullshit, if she had changed, she should’ve gone to my eldest uncle’s house to apologize, to wipe the slate clean of past wrongs. Did you hear anything from Shen family’s sister-in-law? I bet she didn’t even step through the door, huh?”
Zhang Minghua nodded in agreement, seeing that girl as nothing but an ingrate.
Yet, when Yang PeiMin heard about this person again, she felt as if it were a lifetime ago, so distant that she could hardly remember.
Listening to them, she didn’t share Zhang Minghua’s indignation; she just felt like they were talking about a stranger. However, she ran into Yang Peiqiong and her sisters at the doorway afterward.
Shen Yiguang brought over half a basket of oranges and apples. Yang PeiMin had just finished lunch and was strolling around the yard to digest her food when she heard noises outside the gate. She went to greet the source of the sounds and knew it was Shen Yiguang just a second after hearing his footsteps. “You’re here!”
Shen Yiguang looked up with a smile and reached out an arm to support her. “Take it easy.”
“Eh, you came so early.”
Shen Yiguang smiled helplessly, “I was just worried you weren’t eating well.”
“I’m not a child, how could I not eat well?”
Yang PeiMin chided him with a glance and then smiled.
Then she looked up and saw Sister Peiqiong and Peiyan coming out from the neighboring yard. The smile on her face faded slightly, and her gaze turned back.
Sister Peiqiong’s voice rang in her ear. Yang PeiMin felt that they had torn their faces apart, that all sisterly affection was gone, so this greeting was really unnecessary.
Pretending not to hear anything, Yang PeiMin walked shoulder to shoulder with Shen Yiguang up the steps to her own house gate.
“Hey, don’t you have manners? My sister is greeting you!” Yang Peiyan couldn’t stand her dismissive attitude.
Yang PeiMin didn’t even twitch an eyelid.
Shen Yiguang glanced at her sideways.
“You walk in front of me.”
“For that Shen guy, to tolerate such an impolite and uneducated woman, don’t you feel it’s a disgrace to your military man’s face?” Yang Peiyan’s voice was relentless, persistently sounding.
Yang PeiMin couldn’t help but snicker.
Shen Yiguang turned his head to look at her again, raised an eyebrow, and said, “It’s just the barking of a dog, what’s there to laugh about?”
Yang PeiMin couldn’t hold back and burst into giggles.
Peiyan’s face turned livid with anger nearby.
Peiqiong’s expression wasn’t much better, watching them go inside, laughing and talking.
Stomping her foot with frustration, Peiyan’s teeth gnashed loudly, “I didn’t expect Yang PeiMin to marry such a vulgar and uneducated man.”
Then she remembered how Yang PeiMin had just been dressed, her eyes reddening with anger again—wearing a woolen coat, sweater, and boots. Her complexion was rosy, her eyes sparkled with laughter; she looked both handsome and beautiful.
How could she live so well, no, it must be just for show! Marrying a coarse country soldier, how could she lead a good life?
She turned her head to Peiqiong and said sarcastically, “Yang PeiMin is still the same, investing all her family’s wealth in her clothing. She radiates on the outside but inside, she’s eating husks and swallowing vegetables – that’s her lot. I heard she’s pregnant now; it’s probably just the Shen family indulging her tantrums. But once she has the child, let’s see if they despise her or not. They’ll probably regret it, having taken in such a spendthrift daughter-in-law, stretching the baby’s porridge money thin. Just thinking about it is funny!”
Sister Peiqiong nodded slightly, “Truly foolish, having gotten into university yet daring to get pregnant, walking around campus with a big belly…” She shook her head as if to say there was no cure for the person she was discussing.