Zhang Xiaohui nodded and said, “He will. Guozhu doesn’t want to be with Zhou Hong any longer. He says she’s a shrew and not at all feminine. She has a fierce temper and is very domineering. He can’t stand her any longer!
“Also, Zhou Hong has only given him one daughter. His daughter cannot carry on his family name, and his biggest regret is not having a son.”
Old Madam Zhang nodded. “Then that should be easy to arrange. Tell you what, since you are now pregnant, Guozhu will certainly get a divorce. For the sake of your unborn child, he certainly won’t allow you to suffer. If you can give him a son, it will give you a firm foothold in the Wang family, and then you will always be a city dweller.”
When she thought of the joys of city living that she had experienced a while ago, Zhang Xiaohui grew impatient. She hurriedly said, “Mother, in that case, I will look for Guozhu tomorrow and tell him the good news. Then he can quickly divorce his wife and I can marry him as soon as possible. After a while, it will become apparent that I’m pregnant.”
This was a big deal and Old Madam Zhang attached much importance to this point. She nodded and said, “Alright, you should hurry over tomorrow. Now that you’re pregnant, you don’t need to work in the afternoon. I’ll ask your sisters-in-law to manage. You must rest and take good care of the baby.”
Zhang Xiaohui was touched. Her mother was so good to her.
Sure enough, Zhang Xiaohui did not do any work that afternoon. The next morning, Old Madam Zhang and Zhang Xiaohui went to the town to look for Wang Guozhu.
When Wang Guozhu knew that Zhang Xiaohui was pregnant, he could barely contain himself!
He wanted a son, he desperately wanted a son!
To him, a filial and sensible woman like Zhang Xiaohui would make an ideal wife. No one could stand a shrew like Zhou Hong.
Also, he knew that Zhou Hong had a lover and despised him, so he had been thinking about a divorce for a long time.
Wang Guozhu immediately sent Zhang Xiaohui home to take care of herself, while he went to arrange his divorce from Zhou Hong.
Gu Qingyao had been paying close attention to the Zhang family’s situation. She saw Zhang Xiaohui and Old Madam Zhang go to town in the morning. When they returned, their faces were radiant with delight. It looked like their discussion with Wang Guozhu had gone well!
Gu Qingyao grew agitated. This was good news!
Now that Wang Guozhu’s side was settled, that left Gu Yunshen’s. Both Old Madam Zhang and Zhang Xiaohui knew that the sooner the matter was dealt with, the better. The new year was coming and they could only get married next year, at best. As time passed, her pregnancy would show.
She knew that the two old folks in the Gu family seldom went anywhere. They were always together with the old men and women in the cow shed and they stayed near the shed, surrounded by others.
Zhang Xiaohui disliked the place because it was too smelly, so she could not be bothered to go there. She was also very nauseous and often felt like vomiting. The moment she smelt that odor, she could not help but vomit.
But she had no choice. She needed to look for Gu Qingyao.
Similarly, Gu Qingyao was never at home during the day. She spent her days mingling with the brigade, always looking for one family or another to play with. Anyway, it was the end of the year, and everyone was free. They were all holed up at home during the winter.
Today, the sun was out, and Gu Qingyao, Chen Goudan, Chen Xiaocao and a few of their little friends were sunning themselves at the doorway, sewing with some older women.
Zhang Xiaohui came over and was about to say something when Gu Qingyao exclaimed in delight, “Mother…”