Ge Dejun felt quite embarrassed and a bit ashamed, but he also thought it was good for Chiang Xiao to have some understanding of the situation.
Especially since in the past couple of days, he and Liu Pei were never at home, his mother had already become suspicious.
Once Chiang Xiao and the others moved to the town in the future, the likelihood of his mother showing up at their door was quite high. Ge Dejun himself didn’t dare to do anything about his mother, but Chiang Xiao might be able to handle her. Her way of dealing with Ho Laidi was proof enough.
Thinking about this, Ge Dejun felt somewhat conflicted—would Chiang Xiao end up beating up his old mother as well?
He hesitated again and decided to wait for a chance to ask Ge Liutao’s opinion before discussing it in detail with Chiang Xiao. Hence, he vaguely said, "Little, the matters of the past don’t just involve our family and your grandfather; they also relate to the affairs between me and your grandmother and great-aunt. Let’s wait and see if your grandmother doesn’t mind talking about it. If she doesn’t, I’ll tell you all about it then, how’s that?"
A matter related to her great-aunt?
Chiang Xiao felt her eyes turning into mosquito coils, somewhat dazed.
"Alright then, I’ll find time to ask Grandma. Uncle-in-law, Uncle, have you found a house yet?"
Upon mentioning this, Xu Linjiang’s expression also looked somewhat unpleasant.
These past two days, they were still staying at the Ge Family’s house, and Grandma Ge would show them a cold face every day, saying a married daughter is like spilled water, and she had never seen a married woman bring her man back to stay in her family’s home. Moreover, since Ge Xiaotong needed to rest during her pregnancy, she barely did any household chores, which further displeased Grandma Ge, leading her to curse indirectly all the time.
Previously, Ge Xiaotong was not someone to be trifled with either, always ready to clash with her, but now that she knew her pregnancy was delicate, she dared not talk back to Grandma Ge, fearing a serious conflict could affect the baby in her womb, so she could only endure it.
Even so, their stay at the Ge Family was truly suffocating.
They wished to move out as quickly as possible.
But finding a house wasn’t easy.
"There indeed aren’t many rental houses in our town. There is one that looks quite nice, but it’s too large, and it would be a waste for just your Aunt and me to live there," Xu Linjiang said.
Chiang Xiao asked, "Is it very big? Are there large houses in our town?"
"Why wouldn’t there be? It’s an old house, said to have belonged to a family with an official ancestor, and there were also scholars among them. Although the house is old, it’s well-maintained and tidy, with seven or eight rooms," Xu Linjiang replied.
Ge Dejun added, "It’s not just that the house is too large, but I also feel the location isn’t that great, situated in an old alley where few people pass by. At night, with only the two of them, Xiao Tong might feel a bit scared."
The more Chiang Xiao listened, the more familiar the house they described seemed to her. Could it be Chu Liang’s house?
"It indeed would be wasteful if it’s too big. Uncle-in-law, when I get to town, take me to see that house," she said.
"Sure," he responded.
Ge Dejun did not ask why she still wanted to see that house even though she knew it was too big; he simply agreed.
They rested for a while and continued climbing uphill.
The goal of this trip was also very clear: they wanted to harvest wood ear mushrooms and bracken ferns. On the way up, Chiang Xiao had already discussed with them; they would go cut the ferns, and she would go alone into the woods to gather wood ear mushrooms, also looking for any mushrooms she might find. Ge Dejun wanted to check on the traps he had set last time to see if they had caught any game.
Xu Linjiang planned to teach her how to climb trees first so that if there were any wild animals, she should climb up a tree without hesitation and then shout loudly.
He also told her if she couldn’t learn to climb trees, she could not stray from their sight.