Novel Full At this moment, Old Mr Xiao and all the other family members were gathering in Ye Xiaoxian’s house. As usual, Old Mr Xiao scolded Li Hongmei at once. “I told you that you should stay in our village and do farming, but you didn’t listen to me. You came here and ran a restaurant, causing a lot of trouble. If you had done what I said, Baoshan wouldn’t have left us.”
Li Hongmei replied, “It’s not our fault! Do you think I’m not sad about his leaving?”
“You women are so short-sighted. Don’t think about money every day. If you would just stay in the village, nothing bad would happen.”
Li Hongmei felt wronged by his loud rebuke, but she didn’t want to argue with him.
Wong Mudan and Chen Ju didn’t speak for her, because what the old man had said was just what they wanted to say. Although they sympathized with her, they hadn’t forgiven her for living a better life before.
Fortunately, Xiao Baofeng interrupted in time to save his mother from embarrassment. He asked his grandfather whether he was healthy and whether he slept and ate well.
Old Mr Xiao soon turned his attention to his grandson. “Although Baoshan has gone, we still have you, my clever boy. Are you going to take the provincial-level examination? When you become a cultivated talent, you can then be a teacher in our village. Then, you can earn a lot of money and write couplets for our villagers at Spring Festival. Won’t that be a decent job?”
Xiao Tieshu said, “Dad, Baofeng will take the national examination after becoming a cultivated talent.”
The old man’s face suddenly fell. “National examination? There will only one winner! Don’t try to cross a single-plank bridge with so many people, or you will find yourself drowning in the river.”
Li Hongmei was angry at his words. How could he curse his grandson? Why can’t he say something good?
But Xiao Baofeng didn’t fuss about his grandfather’s words. He only trusted what Ye Xiaoxian had suggested about his career.
While Ye Xiaoxian was busy cooking in the kitchen, she heard everything from outside. But she didn’t bother to join the conversation and just focused on her own business.
Indeed, these relatives were loose-lipped and easily jealous, making conflicts unavoidable in this family. But after experiencing so much together, they had become kinder and more caring. There was no need to quarrel with them now.
After cooking the supper, Ye Xiaoxian said with enthusiasm, “Dinner’s ready! Grandpa, uncles, please sit down first. Kids, help your Sister Li serve the dishes. Baofeng, could you help me set the table?”
The dinner soon began with the adults around one table and the children around another. Since Xiao Baofeng was the special guest at this feast, he also joined the adults.
On the table were a variety of dishes, including meat, fish and vegetables. It was just like a small banquet. The delicious dishes made all their mouths water. Following the lead of Old Mr Xiao, they picked up their chopsticks and began eating.
“Little Ye, the dishes you made taste so excellent,” said Xiao Tieshu.
“It’s such a pity that the restaurant was closed, or the business might have become even better,” Xiao Tongshu echoed.
However, Wong Mudan and Chen Ju did not agree with them. Wong Mudan said, “We’ve failed in this business. How can we make the same mistake again? Things were miserable when Baoshan was at home. Now he’s gone; no one can protect our sister and Little Ye anymore. It’s safer to keep running this snack stall, which won’t cause jealousy. Trouble will find you once you’re envied.”
Chen Ju nodded in agreement. After all, when Li Hongmei was earning so much by running the restaurant, they had racked their brains to shirk their responsibility to take care of Old Mr Xiao.
Li Hongmei said, “I support Little Ye no matter what she wants to do. She’s much cleverer than me. We’re depending on her now.”
Wong Mudan had a look at Ye Xiaoxian who was enjoying her meal intently. Her lips parted slightly, but she didn’t say anything.
After dinner, the men sat in the yard leisurely while Wong Mudan, Chen Ju and Li Hongmei washed the dishes beside the well.
Ye Xiaoxian went to play with the two youngest girls. She wanted to teach them how to plait their hair, but lice were so rampant in their long-unwashed hair that she didn’t dare to touch it. Fortunately, there was warm water in the kitchen. So she asked the girls to get the water out and helped them to wash their hair.
People in the old days usually used honey locust fruits to wash hair, but their effects were only so-so. Therefore, Ye Xiaoxian added some spices to upgrade the natural shampoo.
Just then, Wong Mudan asked Li Hongmei in a low voice, “Sister, is Baoshan really not coming back?”
Li Hongmei heaved a deep sigh. “I don’t know either. He’s written a letter of divorce.”
Chen Ju said, “In my view, Baoshan didn’t want to marry Little Ye in the first place. I remember how reluctant he was when you asked him to consummate with her. If you hadn’t used the swine drugs, they wouldn’t have become a couple.”
Li Hongmei sighed and said, “That’s quite true.”
Wong Mudan asked, “What is Little Ye thinking about? Does she want to wait for Baoshan all her life? I mean, he has divorced her.”
In this era, if a man divorced a woman, the woman would be regarded as abandoned. If a man broke up peacefully with a woman, the woman would then be thought of as widowed. Anyway, it was an unalterable fact that Xiao Baoshan had abandoned Ye Xiaoxian. He hadn’t spared a thought for her.
Li Hongmei sighed again.
Wong Mudan kept asking, “Will Little Ye marry another man? If so, what will you and Baofeng live on?”
Chen Ju listened to their conversation carefully. She had discussed this question with Wong Mudan at home. Wong Mudan agreed to let Ye Xiaoxian remarry, but the idea was that she must keep taking care of Li Hongmei and Xiao Baofeng.
Li Hongmei said, “She’s done so much for this family; I can’t keep her with me all the time. If she remarries, I hope she can live a better life. But she has married once and some people even consider her as a jinx to her husband. I’m afraid no good families will accept her. I’d rather her live freely than be bullied by other people.”
Wong Mudan said, “I agree. But if she marries again, don’t let her go too far. You have to rely on her now. Although she cares about you now, she will be busy looking after her new family by then.”
Although Li Hongmei knew Wong Mudan was considering her, she couldn’t agree. Such a thought was too selfish. But she didn’t bother to argue because she knew the effort would be wasted.
Just let it be, she thought.
While the three women were talking about Xiao Baoshan, some people were also discussing the same topic in the imperial palace, hundreds of thousands of miles away. However, joining the discussion were only those ministers.
The emperor had been so weighed down with age that he could barely hold himself in his throne. Almost deaf, he could merely catch some snippets of the conversation. He heard that “Xiao Baoshan is still alive” and “what happened to him might be a conspiracy”.