Chapter 1411: He Knows

But as he entered Dad’s room, seeing two sets of luggage and some women’s belongings, he immediately understood that Dad had remarried.

He frowned slightly but still took his things to his younger brother’s room.

He locked the door and left. He hadn’t yet realized that his sister-in-law had given birth, but when he entered his second uncle’s house and saw the baby’s diapers drying in the courtyard, he remembered.

He truly forgot, feeling a bit uneasy and quite embarrassed. He missed his cousin’s wedding and his sister-in-law’s childbirth. He wasn’t around for Chaoyang’s engagement either.

Today, only Wang Menglin was at home looking after the child; Qu Xiaoli had gone to the fields, where aphids were discovered on the cotton, so everyone in the village had gone out to spray.

"Xiang Dong, you’re back?"

"Sister-in-law, I’m sorry, I went away and just got back."

"It’s okay. The two of them stood in the courtyard; after all, letting a grown man into the house wasn’t proper."

Xiang Dong saw that his family was just his sister-in-law alone, so to avoid suspicion, he didn’t ask about family matters, knowing he’d find out at noon and meet that woman.

At noon, Shuxin and Yue Lanfeng came back together, seeing the wide-open door, they thought Dad had returned, and upon seeing Xiang Dong, they cheerfully called out.

Xiang Dong was surprised, this woman must be the one married to Dad, as no one else would come back at this time.

Both felt awkward and just nodded slightly.

In the morning before heading to work, they kneaded dough, thinking of steaming chive, egg, and dried shrimp buns for lunch.

Xiang Dong observed how the two younger brothers and this woman cooked harmoniously. They seemed to get along well.

Yue Lanfeng wasn’t meeting Xiang Dong for the first time; she had seen him when he went with Chaoyang to farm in the village, never expecting she’d become his stepmother.

The buns were put in the pot. She went to the vegetable garden, leaving the three brothers alone in the house.

"You two get along with her pretty well."

"Not bad, she doesn’t boss us around and cooks delicious food for us."

Xiang Dong nodded, glad they could coexist well.

"Where’s Dad?"

"Probably at the new house."

"Our family is building a new house?"

"Yeah, just missing the roof. This time, we’re building a proper five-room house with a kitchen, bathroom, and additional rooms."

"That’s really nice." Xiang Dong knew that no matter how good the house was, it had nothing to do with him. Back then, Dad told him when he gave him money.

Yue Lanfeng came in from outside, picking tomatoes and cucumbers.

They’ll put tomatoes in the soup and make one cucumber salad and one eggplant salad.

Li Yunqiang came back and saw his eldest son. He just nodded slightly.

"Dad."

"Yeah, I’m going to wash my hands. Let’s eat."

Everyone gathered together, "Xiang Dong, this is your Aunt Yue, my wife."

Xiang Dong reluctantly called her Aunt Yue, as their ages weren’t far apart. Addressing her as an elder felt really awkward.

Yue Lanfeng nodded, unsure of what to say.

After eating, the two brothers did the cleaning, and Yue Lanfeng went back to her room to rest.

"Dad, I came back yesterday; I heard you were looking for me, so I came back today."

"It’s nothing, just to tell you about my marriage. Is everything okay outside?"

"Yeah, it’s alright. Master Wei taught me well, and I’ve gone before."

"Do your best. Xiang Dong, you’re not young anymore; you should consider marriage now. Since the house is ready, don’t delay."

"I haven’t found anyone suitable; I’ll talk about it when the time comes.

Dad, Shuzhi isn’t doing well at the factory, facing exclusion."

"There’s not much I can do; everyone has to find their own way. If you have the ability, help him."

"What ability do I have? I’m not feeling good myself." Xiang Dong chuckled bitterly, realizing that working outside wasn’t what he imagined.

Li Yunqiang didn’t say anything. No matter the situation outside, this side really couldn’t help.

"By the way, are you leaving again soon?"

Xiang Dong shook his head, "I don’t know, it’s all up to the leadership’s arrangements."

"You weren’t here for Xue’er’s wedding. Now she’s about to give birth, and if you’re not there again, it wouldn’t be good."

"Yeah, I know, I’ll try to be back."

"Alright, go and rest for a while."

Li Yunqiang returned to the room and saw his wife already asleep, with sweat on her nose, truly exhausted.

He lay beside her, fanning her with a fan.

In the afternoon, there’s no need to go to the fields; today is just a half day’s work. So Li Yunqiang didn’t call her.

But once the time came, she woke up on her own.

"Keep sleeping, we’re not working this afternoon."

It’s too hot. Li Cunshan was also concerned about everyone getting heatstroke, so they only worked for half the morning.

Yue Lanfeng spoke nasally, "Are you going to the house site again?"

"Yes, we’ll clean it up this afternoon, and tomorrow we can start on the tiles."

"Then I’ll come with you."

"No need, you stay home and sleep; I’ll take the three boys with me. Tonight you need to take care of me."

At this time, Yue Lanfeng had already closed her eyes, pretending not to hear him.

Half an hour later, Li Yunqiang called the three sons to follow him to work. The cellar was currently being built with stones.

Yue Lanfeng slept until after four in the afternoon, really refreshed then.

In the evening, they steamed buns again, their afternoon wasn’t easy.

In the evening, Xiang Dong went to Li Yungui’s house.

In fact, Li Yungui already knew at noon that his nephew had returned.

"Second Uncle, I’m sorry, I wasn’t home for your wife’s childbirth."

"It’s okay, work comes first. How’s it going outside?"

"I’m alright. Every trip lasts two months, but Shuzhi isn’t doing well."

"That child needs to understand that people outside are different from those at home. Let him suffer some losses; besides, I don’t have the ability to back him up."

Xiang Dong actually hoped the family could come up with a solution for Shuzhi. That way, if he had problems, he’d know what to do.

"Xiang Dong, you’re not young anymore. You should establish a family."

"Second Uncle, I haven’t found anyone suitable; I’ll talk about it when the time comes."

Li Yungui knew his nephew had high standards, so he didn’t delve further. Even his son was only mentioned casually, as it was beyond his control.

Xiang Dong returned home and went to his own room instead of sleeping with his brothers; it was too hot.

However, the overheard conversations throughout the night made him very irritable. At that moment, he started to have thoughts about settling down.

At three in the morning, Cheng Lin came to knock on the door.

"Uncle, my sister is having her baby." After he finished speaking, he ran away.

Li Yunqiang had just fallen asleep, and his young wife was so tired she didn’t even hear the knocking.

Xiang Dong planned to leave tomorrow afternoon, so he went along to his cousin’s house.

Seeing how well-kept their yard was, he suddenly felt that life in the city wasn’t as good as in Li Family Village.

"Guodong, how long has it been since Xue started delivering?"

"It’s been almost an hour since she went in."

"Hmm, it should be soon."

Jing Chu brought over two stools for them to sit on, then went back to sit beside Dad.