Originally, Lian Yue had a bit of an issue with her elder brother pampering Saozi so much.
Even if she’s pregnant and needs to be careful, it doesn’t have to be to this extent.
Look at this all-around care, being overly cautious, as if afraid Saozi will get tired or strained just by walking a few more steps.
Watching this made her both physically tired and worried, fearing that such indulgence would set a precedent. Her elder brother, newly married and no longer young, inevitably pampers and spoils his wife a bit. If Saozi becomes spoiled and demanding, she might not appreciate the blessings and take her elder brother’s hard work for granted.
After all, people have a tendency to never be satisfied. Where else does the phrase "give an inch, take a mile" come from?
The biggest fear is someone taking advantage of kindness, the more you are nice to them, the less they care about you. Unable to see the solid ground beneath their feet, they only fixate on the distant, uncertain clouds!
No matter how much her elder brother values family and loves his wife and children, he can’t compare to someone with illustrious prospects and suave demeanor, right?
But after a day of mushroom picking, she saw that Saozi might not have bent down to pick a lot of mushrooms.
But her incredible luck, and how she didn’t forget to share even a bite of egg or a sip of water with elder brother, claiming that since they promised to share good fortune and hardships, they ought to share an egg too.
From the moment Lian Yue found out her elder brother was marrying Shuzhen, her worry, kept quietly in her heart, was finally laid to rest.
With those worries gone, those defenses no longer needed, Shuzhen appeared even more different in her eyes, filled with blessings.
If it weren’t for her, let alone elder brother marrying and starting a family, the family would likely still be mired in grief over Jiezi’s departure!
At the critical moment, Lin Yuanzhi turned a blind eye; if not for Saozi’s righteousness, given the capabilities of the three siblings, they wouldn’t have been able to gather the full two hundred yuan, even if they’d broken their bones to glue them together.
And according to Hai Zi’s grumblings when he came back, the doctor said that Little Lian Jie was seriously injured, infected, and had lost a lot of blood. If he hadn’t been brought to the hospital in time, he would’ve, ten to one, been beyond saving.
On this count alone, she is an untold benefactor to the Lian family siblings.
She really saved Little Lian Jie’s life, giving Hai Zi and Qiu Fang the motivation to carry on living fully. Otherwise, if as parents they failed to get their child treated in time, the overwhelming guilt would have nearly crushed them.
She saved the family of their younger brother, ended the bachelorhood of their elder brother.
The dowry was abundant, and blessings came one after another.
She also cherishes her husband, respects and is close to her sister-in-law and brother-in-law, without any distance.
If this is Saozi’s true character, then indeed, the Lian family and elder brother have hit the jackpot.
In high spirits, she filled her tiny basket with wild fruits, preparing to take them back as treasures for the little ones, Jianguo and Jiandang. Also, using the opportunity to foster better relations with Lian Jie, Lian Jia, and the little Ning An from the Ning family, Shuzhen had no idea how, in just one day, she had invisibly gained so much goodwill from her sister-in-law.
If she knew, she would definitely continue to strike while the iron is hot, deepening the sister-in-law bond more passionately and sincerely.
As they say, "when gifted with fruits, reciprocate with jade and silk," let alone in previous lives she’s received ample care from her sister-in-law for both herself and her children?
Even now as time rewinds, those years of unwavering support and assistance cannot be erased!
As Lian Yue would say, having gathered mushrooms for so many years, she finally got lucky with this bunch. If she didn’t pick them all clean, she’d practically be tossing and turning in sleeplessness, worrying herself into illness.
Amidst laughter and banter, Liu Shouren muttered, "What heaven grants yet we do not take, we may receive punishment for failing."
Excitedly and without even eating lunch, simply appeasing their hunger with the wild fruits picked by Shuzhen, everyone quickly and attentively picked mushrooms.
From a little past eight in the morning they climbed the mountain, working busily until sunset, finally clearing up all the fungus — the bolete, mushrooms, morel, straw mushrooms, portobello, shiitake, and others — ushered by Shuzhen.
By then, those four piles had already formed a small hill.
Even with Wang Jianguo’s tractor, it looked like one trip wouldn’t suffice.
Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, they made a round to deliver some home, escorting the pregnant Shuzhen back. They also fetched some burlap bags, with each fully loaded weighing over a hundred pounds, capacious yet still requiring manpower to carry.
Among the five men, even leaving one with Su Hongying and Lian Yue to pack and accompany, still, there were four who could bear the loads, wasn’t that right?
Three to five trips would surely bring back the fruits of the day’s labor.
Realizing that Lianshan and Shuzhen’s new home was close to the mountain and less likely to attract attention, they naturally delivered all the loot to Shuzhen’s, along with her wild chickens, potatoes, and a variety of wild fruits.
Upon returning home, Lianshan first twisted the necks and plucked the tail feathers of the four wild chickens before securing them in the newly made coop in the yard.
Fearing the sky would darken and Shuzhen would be afraid being home alone, Lianshan specially asked Lian Hai, who went to fetch the bags, to have his wife, Qiu Fang, bring the kids over to keep Shuzhen company.
Of course, to avoid his wife being seen as spoil or melodramatic in front of the in-laws, Lianshan cleverly concocted a reason of needing Qiu Fang to come help with cooking, as after dinner they’d have to work by lamplight to organize the mushrooms.
A mischievously grinning Lian Hai felt like telling him, "My dear elder brother, if you’re worried about Saozi, just say so. No need for all the pretense. Right now our family of four views Saozi as a life-saving benefactor, with tolerance already reaching inestimably high levels!"
Unhesitatingly willing to go through fire and water for Saozi, how could they have any complaints about her?
But Shuzhen firmly refused, saying that Little Lian Jie was still in a cast. Jiajia and little Ning An were young and needed close attention regardless, they shouldn’t have Qiu Fang running back and forth.
"It’s just cooking after all, isn’t it?"
"I can handle it perfectly well on my own."
With her firm stance and considering the nephew’s injury and the little nephew and niece needing care, they didn’t want to unnecessarily trouble everyone, adding chaos rather than help by calling them all over.
After this thought, Lianshan no longer insisted. Instead, he decided to have Lian Yue and their second aunt accompany Shuzhen back the next trip. They would handle the cooking and clearing of mushrooms, the main thing being to keep Shuzhen company.
Otherwise, leaving her alone in such an isolated place, he wouldn’t feel at ease in his heart.
Waving his hand as if shooing flies, telling Lianshan to get on with the important business.
In this village with a righteous atmosphere and kind-hearted people, and she wasn’t someone to be trifled with, what could possibly happen?
She fully felt that her own man was overly concerned about her, acting so meticulously cautious. But hadn’t even ten minutes passed since he left when trouble hastily came knocking on her door!