Before the Song family father and son left, Wen Wan took the opportunity when Father Wen and Mrs. Zhou weren’t paying attention to secretly hand a cloth bag to Song Wei, inside were the two pairs of shoes she had made.
Although it is proper and right for a bride-to-be to make items for her fiancé, it was Wen Wan’s first time, and she inevitably felt a bit shy and couldn’t bear to give them to Song Wei directly in front of her father, so she had to sneak them over.
After receiving it, Song Wei nodded towards his foot, implying he should try them on when he got back, and if they didn’t fit, he should return them soon so she could alter them before the year-end.
Weighing the cloth bag in his hand, Song Wei smiled, looking at her with indulgence, "I’m going to the county in a couple of days, what would you like me to bring you?"
This familiar tone reminded Wen Wan of how his father would patiently ask her what she wanted whenever he went to the market.
Perhaps in Song Wei’s eyes, she and Yuanbao were actually quite similar?
She didn’t know why he so readily agreed to marry her that day, but she could feel that his kindness and tenderness towards her were more like an adult caring for a toddler, careful and attentive.
Wen Wan lowered her eyelashes, shaking her head to indicate she didn’t want anything.
Song Wei looked at her.
The young girl’s expression was both stubborn and pure, her watery eyes seemed to be accusing something, but she didn’t show it, hiding it well.
Song Wei raised his hand, brushing off the snowflakes from her head, "It’s cold outside, hurry back!"
Wen Wan obeyed and acted like the little girl in his eyes, agreeing obediently and turning back into the house.
On the way back, Song Wei glanced at his son, whose hands were tucked in his cotton sleeves, "Why did you blush back at the Wen family?"
Song Yuanbao recalled his father referring to calling Wen Wan "mother," and pulled his hand out to scratch the back of his head, a bit embarrassed, "I’ve never called anyone ’mother’ before, so I was shy."
Yuanbao lost his mother when he was still in swaddling clothes, and indeed, he had never had the opportunity to call out to his birth mother.
Moreover, he didn’t have any feelings towards his birth mother, who was absent even from his memories, so when he learned his dad was going to marry a stepmother, he naturally transferred his yearning for maternal love onto the stepmother.
Speaking of which, it was because Wen Wan was good to him that he was willing to sincerely call her "mother." Otherwise, if it were another woman, he might never be able to utter those words in his lifetime.
Song Wei bent his lips into a smile, "Do you like her being your mother?"
Yuanbao uttered an "uh" sound, and said earnestly, "Though she’s a bit foolish, if I make do a bit, I guess it’s alright?"
Wen Wan didn’t ask Song Wei about the size of his feet, so the two pairs of shoes were of different sizes—hoping one pair would fit if the other didn’t, which was better than both being off.
After trying them, it turned out one pair was indeed too big, but the other pair was just right.
Knowing her needlework wasn’t easy, he didn’t immediately take them back for her to alter.
Once they were married, there would be plenty of opportunities.
Before the year ended, two overwhelming snowfalls came.
With grandparents long gone, there were only four people in Wen Wan’s family, so the year-end wasn’t particularly busy. With Father Wen’s support, Wen Wan didn’t have to worry about the household chores.
Besides meal times or occasionally coming out to stretch, she spent most of her time in her room.
Her eldest aunt came over twice, noticing even her pillowcases and quilts were self-embroidered, and spoke to Mrs. Zhou, feeling it was unnecessary for such a young girl to rush day and night on embroidery, especially since the Song family had given a considerable betrothal gift; buying them would suffice, highlighting that at fifteen, Wan Niang shouldn’t strain her eyes .
Mrs. Zhou was eager for Wen Wan to handle all the embroidery work herself to save some money, smiling as she said to the eldest aunt, "What we buy can’t be compared to Wan Niang’s self-embroidery, and besides, doing it herself shows more sincerity, doesn’t it?"
The eldest aunt knew immediately that her sister-in-law was deliberately making the little niece’s life difficult but didn’t want to comment in front of others. Instead, she secretly invited Wen Wan over to her home, where her two daughters-in-law helped share some of the workload.
Since the engagement, the Song family frequently visited, ensuring an ample supply of rice, noodles, and meat at home, making for a relatively prosperous year.
With the help of her two sisters-in-law, Wen Wan rushed and finally completed all the dowries by the new year’s end, just before the wedding.
On the wedding day, the eldest aunt invited an eighty-year-old woman from the clan to do Wen Wan’s hair.
According to seniority, Wen Wan should have called her "Great-grandmother."