Chapter 141: Chapter 141: Friend Visits
After hearing his parents’ words, Qiu Maode was shocked.
“The authorities will arrest us for this.”
Although he was uneducated, he knew this was illegal.
His mother, frustrated with his lack of understanding, smacked him on the head.
“You should realize that in circumstances , a woman can only grit her teeth and swallow her losses. She’ll just have to listen to you obediently. Who would she dare call the police?”
Yet, Qiu Maode was still frightened.
Though he was the eldest at home, he was always timid and obedient to his parents.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been assigned the task of marrying Yue Xiaofang.
“The Yue Family has three brothers, and they are united. If they find out, they will beat me to death!”
Qiu Hong’an’s frown was so deep it could have trapped a fly. He even wondered if his son’s head was made of solid elm, why couldn’t he understand?
“Yue Xiaofang is damaged goods anyway. Even if something really happened between you two, others might think you’re the one at a loss.”
“Exactly!” the family members chimed in to bolster Qiu Maode’s courage.
“If her brothers come looking, just say she seduced you. Make a big fuss about it; then she can only marry you.”
“You aren’t married yet while Yue Xiaofang has already been with a man. People will probably blame her, not you.”
“She might not dare to speak out. Otherwise, she would be drowned in spit. Be brave, and once you marry her, our family won’t have to be so poor.”
“Brother, our whole family is counting on you now!”
At home, Qiu Maode was often overlooked, and his mother doted on his younger brother instead. Otherwise, they would have found him a proper wife by now.
For the first time, his family entrusted him with a major responsibility.
At last, Qiu Maode decided to risk it. After all, it wasn’t Yue Xiaofang’s first time. By doing this, he could provide her a home, which was honorable enough towards the Yue Family.
“Alright, I’ll think of a way.”
Qiu Hong’an looked at him meaningfully, “Big brother, you’re the hope of our entire family.”
On the other side, Yue Xiaofang had been frightened by the incident for several days.
Later on, she asked Yue Jiannan to accompany her to the grocery store.
Fortunately, Qiu Maode hadn’t shown up again, which somewhat reassured Yue Xiaofang. She also wondered if she and her mother were overthinking things.
Qiu Maode might just be desperate for a wife due to his age; if it weren’t her, it would be someone else.
As the end of the year neared, there were too many miscellaneous things to handle.
Yue Xiaofang was also thinking about making a few pairs of new shoes for the kids at home and gradually forgot about this person.
That afternoon, Yue Jianxi and Yue Jiandong went out to purchase New Year goods, and Yue Jiannan went to the fish pond to read.
The women were either hanging clothes or fiddling with the pickle jars in the kitchen.
While Yue Xiaofang was working, she heard Zhang Ying calling out in the yard.
“Xiaofang, someone is looking for you.”
Having just finished sewing, Yue Xiaofang bit off the thread with her teeth and walked out.
There, she saw a familiar face she had not seen in a long time.
“Xiaoxue, why are you here to see me?”
Yue Xiaofang was delighted and hugged the girl standing in the yard.
Guo Xue jokingly pinched her nose, “You have the nerve to ask, you came back to the village, and you didn’t come to see me.”
Before Yue Xiaofang got married, the two were pretty close, but having married into families far apart, their youthful friendship had faded.
Yue Xiaofang, feeling somewhat embarrassed, rubbed her nose, “You know, thinking that you were married, it seemed improper to visit you at your in-laws’ place.”
Lowering her head, she added, “Besides, with my status now, coming to see you might have caused you trouble.”
Guo Xue glared at her, “What do you take me for? From now on, just come and see me whenever you like; my mother-in-law won’t say anything.”
Guo Xue had become pregnant shortly after her marriage and successfully gave birth to a healthy baby boy, which solidified her place at her in-laws’, giving her the confidence to make such assertions.
Listenting to Guo Xue, Yue Xiaofang also felt relieved, and the two laughed and joked for a while.
Zhang Ying, while beating a quilt, called out to them.
“Don’t just stand there chatting in the yard; come inside. Let Xiaoxue try the pastries that came back yesterday.”
However, Guo Xue waved her hand, a mischievous smile on her face, “I actually came to take Xiaofang out for a stroll.”
Yue Xiaofang was stunned, “Go out for what?”
“Aren’t you bored of being cooped up at home every day? We haven’t seen each other in a long while; let’s take a walk together. I’ve never seen your fish pond.”
After thinking it over, Yue Xiaofang nodded in agreement.