novelraw Chapter 454 - 0432: The Woman Divorced by Her In-Laws (1)_2
Chapter 454 - 0432: The Woman Divorced by Her In-Laws (1)_2
He has been living here for two months, always wearing Li Jing’s clothes. The two children are only a few months apart in age and are about the same height, so they often share clothes.
At the Li Family, Chai Tianlang wears Li Jing’s clothes, and in the county, Li Jing wears Chai Tianlang’s.
On the other side, Li Xing’an, Mu Yuanxiu, Uncle Gui, and others were busy transporting books.
Liu Yanbai, whose arm was inconvenient, was not idle either and joined in on the moving work.
Although he didn’t carry much, his movements were not slow. After placing a bundle on the mule cart, he quickly ran back to fetch another.
Li Xing’an smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "Well done, not bad at all."
The compliment made Liu Yanbai work even harder.
A thousand books, when forced into one cart, could fit, but the books were too heavy, so the cart wouldn’t move quickly.
Li Xingmao had everyone load the books separately, with seven hundred in the mule cart driven by Uncle Gui and three hundred in Mu Yuanxiu’s.
Li Xing’an, Li Yuzhu, and Chai Tianlang, along with everyone’s luggage, would be in Mu Yuanxiu’s cart, so it carried fewer books.
In the cart driven by Uncle Gui, no one would sit, and Liu Yanbai would ride upfront with Uncle Gui, allowing more stuff to be loaded inside.
Once everything was packed, the two carts left the Li Family.
Mu Yuanxiu and Uncle Gui were familiar with trips to the county and felt no novelty. Inside the cart, Li Yuzhu and Li Xing’an dozed off once they got on.
Liu Yanbai, traveling far for the first time, kept his eyes wide open, looking around curiously.
Though the sky was misty and distant places were unclear, he still watched with fascination.
Uncle Gui laughed and said, "Are you cold? If you are, get inside the cart and sit. There’s still some space, enough for someone to squeeze in."
Liu Yanbai shook his head, "I’m not sleepy, I’m full of energy."
Uncle Gui chuckled, "That’s right, traveling is fun; who would feel sleepy?"
Being older and well-traveled, Uncle Gui chatted with Liu Yanbai along the way.
Leading the way was the cart driven by Mu Yuanxiu. Alone, it was quieter, but since he needed to lead, he didn’t require company to talk to, nor would he doze off.
The autumn-winter morning just past the fourth watch was foggy everywhere.
The Bright Tile lanterns hanging in front of the two carts only illuminated small areas. In addition, the heavy load meant they traveled slowly, taking two hours to reach the county gate.
By this time, the sun had already risen to the tree heights.
Close to the county, the noise outside the cart increased, waking Chai Tianlang, who was sleeping inside.
The little fellow opened his bright eyes and looked blankly at Li Yuzhu, "Did I sleep with Aunt last night? Where’s Jingjing?"
At the Li Family, he followed Li Jing in calling Li Yuzhu "Auntie."
In the county, Sister-in-law Chai asked Chai Tianlang to call Li Yuzhu "Aunt."
Chai Tianlang couldn’t understand why one person should have two different titles, sometimes "Auntie," sometimes "Aunt."
He didn’t care and just followed Li Jing in calling her "Auntie."
"Auntie" and "Aunt" are more or less the same, and Li Yuzhu didn’t mind.
"Jingjing lives in the village with his dad. We’re going home now, to find your parents," Li Yuzhu said with a smile.
Chai Tianlang looked around and realized he was in the cart. He then remembered what Auntie had said yesterday about calling him and Third Uncle Li to bring him to the county for the new year.
He sighed, "Auntie, when will Jingjing come to the county?"
"Hmm, around the new year," Li Yuzhu replied with a smile.
Chai Tianlang rubbed his stomach and said he was hungry.
From the city gate to Eldest Young Master Chai’s shop was still five miles, and he certainly couldn’t wait until home to eat.
Li Yuzhu sat him up properly, draped a cloak over him, and asked Li Xing’an to hold him while she took out a porridge pot from the basket.
Indeed, Nanny Jiang wrapped the pot well, and the porridge hadn’t completely cooled.
Li Yuzhu took a bowl, scooped half a bowl of porridge, and fed him.
Chai Tianlang wasn’t picky, eating a bite and exclaiming it was tasty.
This amused both Li Xing’an and Li Yuzhu.
After Chai Tianlang finished eating and drank some water, their mule cart just arrived at Eldest Young Master Chai’s shop.
Chai Tianlang kept clamoring to live at the Li Family, but after not seeing his parents for a while, he missed them dearly. Seeing his father smiling and walking toward the mule cart, he excitedly shouted from the cart window, "Dad, Dad, I’m back!"
Eldest Young Master Chai deliberately put on a stern face, "You still know to come back? I thought you weren’t returning."
As soon as the mule cart stopped, the little guy eagerly scrambled out.
Li Xing’an was momentarily distracted and didn’t manage to hold him back.
Eldest Young Master Chai caught Chai Tianlang down with a surprised smile, "Oh, little guy, only two months and you’ve grown heavier. What good food did you eat at Grandma Li and Grandpa Li’s to grow this heavy? Your dad can hardly carry you now."
Chai Tianlang had indeed put on some weight, and his sharp chin had become a bit rounder.
As Li Yuzhu got off the cart, she smiled, "Same food as at Brother Chai’s, except with Jingjing there to compete with him at meals. He could eat a small bowl each time without leaving any rice, plus he ate some fruit and snacks."
Eldest Young Master Chai laughed, "Eating more than at home, no wonder he’s gained weight."
Chai Tianlang slipped out of his arms, happily running into the shop, "Mom, where’s Mom?"
Eldest Young Master Chai waved at Li Xing’an and Li Yuzhu with a smile, "I’ll take care of him. You folks move the stuff first and come here for a meal later."
He turned and followed his son.
Li Xing’an smiled, "Alright, Brother Chai."
Meanwhile, Uncle Gui parked the cart, and Liu Yanbai got off the mule cart, looking around with a mix of excitement and awkwardness.
Li Xing’an took a key, walked to open the shop door, and called Uncle Gui and Liu Yanbai, "This is our shop, you can start moving things inside."
Uncle Gui laughed, "That’s great, the two families’ shops are next to each other."
Mu Yuanxiu opened the cart door, handing down everyone’s luggage. Li Yuzhu came to help, but he waved her off, "You go rest, we’ll handle this quickly."
Li Xing’an strongly agreed with Mu Yuanxiu’s words, noting how sometimes this young man could be disagreeable but other times quite responsible.
"Indeed, Third Sister, you take a break. We men will do the moving." Li Xing’an grabbed Li Yuzhu’s two rattan boxes, one in each hand, and carried them upstairs in the shop.
Mu Yuanxiu, Uncle Gui, and Liu Yanbai carried the books.
Eldest Young Master Chai, having settled Chai Tianlang, called a servant to help them.
He inspected the books, exclaiming in surprise, "You folks are impressive, printing so many books."
Li Yuzhu laughed, "We couldn’t decide what to sell for a moment. The books we printed last time sold well, so we asked Sister-in-law to write stories, and printed some more to sell."
Eldest Young Master Chai laughed, "E Ying’s little cleverness in writing stories can come in handy, huh?"
Li Yuzhu also laughed, "Don’t underestimate Sister-in-law E Ying, her stories are truly captivating."
Thinking of Chai Eying, Li Yuzhu recalled that Chai Eying was expecting, and she added, "Why don’t I see Sister-in-law Chai? I have good news to share with her."
Eldest Young Master Chai said, "Oh, some trouble arose at her great-aunt’s home, so she went to the Zhao family."
Sister-in-law Chai went to the Zhao family?
Could it be something happened to Old Mrs. Zhao?
"Is she visiting Old Mrs. Zhao?" she asked.
"No, a daughter from the Zhao family, who married out, was divorced by her in-laws. The day before yesterday, she attempted suicide by jumping into the water, and although rescued, she’s not doing well. She and Tian Lang’s mother are very close; Tian Lang’s mother is worried about her and has been visiting her at the Zhao family every day," Eldest Young Master Chai shook his head and explained.
So, it wasn’t about Old Mrs. Zhao.
But this situation isn’t a pleasant one either.
Women’s status back then was low, and society looked down on divorced women.
Miss Zhao being divorced by her in-laws was akin to social death.
No wonder the girl attempted suicide.
She thought about asking Eldest Young Master Chai why Miss Zhao was divorced, but then realized what would a man like him know, so she decided not to ask.