Chapter 451: Need To Bring Her Back (II)

He worked hard in the fields for the entire day, and after returning home, there was not even a hot meal served for him. When Han Xuehan was at home, he did not have to worry about these little things. Not only would he get a hot meal, but he would also be served well. Now, there was no hot water to wash his hands and feet, and there was no warm towel to wipe his face. What was going on? How come his living standards had dropped so much just because Han Xuehan went back home?

Mother Qiao had not worked for years. These days she had to not only cook and clean, but she also had to work hard the entire day. After running around the house for the entire day like a spinning top, not only did she not get a kind word from her son, but he even yelled at her. Her head buzzed, and she hurried out of the room. "Why are you shouting at me? If you want to shout at someone, then you should go ahead and shout at your wife! I worked hard to raise you and even fought for the lands to serve as assets for you in the future."

"I even took out two hundred yuan as a bride price for your wife! And now she is hiding in her house without coming back! If you shout at me, who am I going to shout at?" The more Old Madam Qiao spoke, the more annoyed and frustrated she felt. In the end, she could not help but shed a few tears. "Tingyan, tell me where I have wronged you? Your mother is old, and there are some things that I cannot do. Yet I am doing my best here. If anything, it’s your wife’s fault. She has no consideration and doesn’t respect you or me."

"Tell me, which mother-in-law works like a slave at home in the village when she has a daughter-in-law?" Old Madam Qiao felt as if she had suffered a lot of misery. She had a daughter-in-law, but she still had to cook and clean after her son. What was more, her son had the bad habit of not bathing for several days. Even yesterday, when he changed his clothes, they were smelling so bad that Old Madam Qiao nearly threw up her dinner.

In the past, she was used to doing such things, and there was also her sister-in-law; she could always shrug off her responsibility and take advantage of her sister-in-law, but now things were different. She was all alone, and the Qiao family had long separated. Now the responsibility was left on Han Xuehan alone. She did all these ugly things, and Old Madam Qiao was only worried about sleeping, eating, and taking a stroll around the entire neighbourhood.

When was the last time she had worked so hard? Old Madam Qiao felt like her entire world had fallen.

Qiao Tingyan parted his lips, but when he saw his mother crying, he could no longer say anything. All of his anger also went down the drain right away. He sighed and pinched the space between his brows before saying, "Alright, don’t cry. I know that you are upset, but Mom, think about me too. I worked hard in the fields for the entire day, and I didn’t even get a single meal to eat."

"And look at my clothes; the grime and dust are still sticking to the fabric. Do you even know how bad they smell?" Earlier, when he went to the field, he went looking for Xiao Ai. However, as soon as the woman came close to her, her expression changed, and she turned around on her feet and ran away after making an excuse. It was only after he met with Gou Dan that he came to know that he was smelling really bad, and that was why Xiao Ai ran away from him!

Only then did he realise that his clothes were not clean.

"I am an old woman! What do you expect from me? It’s good enough that I can cook and clean for you. Tingyan, you cannot be unfilial!" Old Madam Qiao was rather upset. She never thought that their house had so much work, but ever since Han Xuehan left, she felt like there was no end to work. She had to run around the entire day from dawn to dusk. Now she even had to listen to the complaints of her son; how could she not be unhappy?

Of course she did not blame it on Qiao Tingyan; she blamed it all on Han Xuehan, that barren hen who did not know what was good for her. Who asked her to run amok? She even went back home just because they borrowed the woman of another woman. Wasn’t it all because Han Xuehan was not good enough!?

She curled her lips sinisterly and said to her, "Tingyan, you need to bring that wretched woman back. She might not be able to give birth, but she is good at managing the household. Without her, how will I get the time to take care of the baby in Xiao Ai’s belly? You have to bring her back and let her serve the family. I am old and cannot take care of so many things at once. You better bring her back and let her take care of the household chores; only then can I take care of my grandson."

Though Xiao Ai was not pregnant yet, Old Madam Qiao knew that it wouldn’t take long for her to get pregnant. Her son was tall and strong; how could he not be capable of making a child? It was all because of Han Xuehan, that barren hen, that her son was delayed for so many years.

"You are right, Mom. I need to bring that woman back. She is a married woman; what is she doing staying so long at her natal family?" Qiao Tingyan did not want to bring Han Xuehan back home earlier, but after seeing the chaos, he realised that without Han Xuehan, their family would be in shambles. She might not be able to give birth to a child, but she was quite good at taking care of the house.

Xiao Ai was going to give birth to his child, and he couldn’t let her get injured; since that was the case, he could only leave the matter of household chores to Han Xuehan.