Mrs. Li and Mrs. Tan thought of the same thing.
Before the end of the year, Zhou Chujin, who was pregnant, and Liao Shaotang traveled thousands of miles to Baoding Prefecture. Something must have happened to the Liao family.
But when she saw Zhou Chujin and Liao Shaotang, she did not dare to ask a single question. She enthusiastically took them to the guest room to settle down, and told the maid to get hot water to help them wash and change clothes. Then she retreated to the flower hall at the side and instructed the maid to place the chopsticks and plates.
This was the first time Zhou Chujin had come to the north.
The cold weather made her very uncomfortable.
After a few sips of hot tea, she felt better. She touched her round belly and said to Chixiang who was instructing the maid to open the boxes and baskets, "Just take out some things that we can use in the next few days. Maybe we can set off for the capital tomorrow."
Chi Xiang was surprised and asked, "Didn't you say you wanted to stay with the Second Miss for a few days?"
Zhou Chujin was a little tired and said, "That's what I said, but if I really stay here, I'm afraid rumors will spread everywhere." As she spoke, she yawned and said, "I'll lean on this big pillow for a while. If the master has finished cleaning up, come and call me."
Hold the incense and respond respectfully “yes”.
But when Zhou Chujin opened his eyes, the second watch drum had already struck.
Zhou Chujin was shocked.
A soft and sticky voice came to my ears, saying with a smile: "Sister, you finally woke up. Chixiang said that you fell asleep after drinking only a few sips of tea. I was very worried, afraid that you would starve my unborn nephew."
"Shao Jin!" Zhou Chujin's eyes lit up, and he grabbed the soft and slender hand of the girl in pink plain jacket in front of him, "When did you come here? Why didn't you wake me up?" The last sentence was said in a reproachful manner to Chixiang who was standing beside him and laughing.
Zhou Shaojin said, "Sister, don't blame her. It was Mother Fan who said that. Mother Fan has experience. She said that when you are pregnant, you have to eat when you want to eat and sleep when you want to sleep. This is the habit of the baby in your belly. She told us not to wake you up and let you have a good sleep. If you feel hungry, you will wake up naturally." Her spring-like eyes looked at her sister gently, "Are you hungry now?"
After getting off the boat, we changed to a carriage.
They didn't dare to walk fast, and it was already the beginning of the afternoon when they entered the city. She only ate two bites of dry food at noon. It would have been fine if Zhou Shaojin hadn't mentioned it. As soon as Zhou Shaojin mentioned it, she suddenly felt herself growling with hunger.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and shouted "Spring Festival Gala".
Chunwan walked in holding a bowl of bird's nest soup.
Zhou Shaojin said: "Sister, please fill your stomach first, the food will be served soon."
Zhou Chujin nodded and asked Liao Shaotang: "Where is your brother-in-law? Did he have dinner?"
Zhou Shaojin smiled playfully and teased Zhou Chujin, "Don't worry, my brother-in-law has already finished his meal and is now talking to my father in the study! Otherwise, how could I be here to watch over you?"
Zhou Chujin blushed.
She and Liao Shaotang had a very good relationship and she missed him very much when they didn't see each other for a while.
Zhou Shaojin said mischievously, "Brother-in-law came in to see you when he left, and he was worried that you were hungry. If it wasn't for Mama Fan's guarantee that you would be fine, brother-in-law would have woken you up. That's why brother-in-law asked me to send someone to watch the fire so that you would have something to eat when you wake up."
Zhou Chujin blushed, glared at her sister, and said, "Just eat, why are you talking so much?"
Zhou Shaojin chuckled.
Zhou Chujin ignored her and had the bird's nest soup. Then Mother Fan and two maids came in carrying a kang table.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "People in the north use the kang table for eating. If you are not used to it, I will have someone move a table in tomorrow."
Zhou Chujin really wasn't used to it.
Moreover, she was pregnant at her parents' home and was not prepared to put herself in a difficult position.
She smiled and nodded.
Zhou Shaojin personally brought the white rice to Zhou Chujin and said with a smile: "It's hard to eat rice in the north. If it weren't for the fact that Dad is from the south and can't eat pasta, the kitchen wouldn't have been able to steam a bowl of rice for you so quickly."
Zhou Chujin pulled her to eat with him: "… Eat a few bites of food, just as if you were accompanying me."
Zhou Shaojin agreed with a smile and ate a few bites of food with Zhou Chujin.
After Zhou Chujin put down her chopsticks, Mrs. Fan Liu brought in the maids to clean up the table, served tea and snacks, and then left with the maids and maids. The two sisters leaned on the big pillow, one on the left and one on the right, and then they began to talk.
"Your brother-in-law arrived home on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month after the Little New Year, but before he could even sit down, the second old master of the Liao family called your brother-in-law over." Zhou Chujin said grimly, "It was said that your father-in-law won more than 800 taels of silver playing mahjong with someone, and he lent the money to your father-in-law. But more than half a year has passed, and your father-in-law hasn't said anything about paying the money back. The New Year is coming soon, and we have to give out festival gifts and make new clothes for the children as lucky money, so we're short on money, so I asked your brother-in-law to help my father-in-law pay the money back. Your brother-in-law just said, 'Show me the IOU,' and the second old master of the Liao family was provoked. Not only did he throw an IOU with an unclear tone to your brother-in-law, he also shouted that your brother-in-law was unfilial... If I hadn't been more careful and asked a little maid to follow him, and called my mother-in-law over in time, I'm afraid your brother-in-law wouldn't have left the yard of the second old master of the Liao family without taking out 800 taels of silver that day."
At this point, Zhou Chujin smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "Although the matter has been suppressed, your brother-in-law told me that my mother-in-law suspected that this was a trap set by my father-in-law and the second old master of the Liao family, with the purpose of extorting several hundred taels of silver from my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law might be afraid that I would be disrespectful to them from then on after I knew about it, so after offering sacrifices to the ancestors on New Year's Eve, she asked your brother-in-law to take me to Baoding Prefecture on the second day of the New Year to pay New Year's greetings to Dad. After the New Year, I will live in Beijing with your brother-in-law. She will come to Beijing to take care of me after I give birth..."
Zhou Shaojin was stunned by the troubles of the Liao family at first. In her previous life, she only knew that the Liao family was complicated and her sister had a hard life, but she didn't know that things were so outrageous. Maybe her sister thought that telling her would only make her worry and there would be no benefit, so she didn't say a word in front of her. In this life, her sister was liked by her mother-in-law, who came forward to help her out, allowing her sister to temporarily get rid of these unpleasant trivial matters... Then she became excited again, and didn't bother to tell her sister about the Liao family. She said happily: "Then my sister can live in the capital? I can visit my sister often in the future?"
Or, she could move to the capital with her sister.
My brother-in-law will definitely not say anything.
She can also help her sister take care of her nephew... and meet Uncle Chi...
Zhou Shaojin was delighted.
Zhou Chujin smiled and nodded, whispering: "Do you want to live with me in the capital? I told your brother-in-law on the way, and he agreed. We will live in the old house of the Liao family. We will live in the house that my mother-in-law bought for us with her own money when we got married. It is very close to the Imperial College and also very close to the second old master's house in Shuangyu Hutong..."
"Yes, yes!" Before Zhou Chujin could finish her words, Zhou Shaojin couldn't wait to say, "I want to live with my sister for a while."
Her brother-in-law in her previous life also welcomed her to live with him, but at that time her sister lived in the old house of the Liao family. She didn't want to trouble her sister and brother-in-law, so she insisted on renting a house outside. It was not until she was about to marry Lin Shisheng that she moved into the Liao family and lived there for a few days.
Zhou Chujin couldn't help but smile happily at being able to take care of his sister, and told her: "Don't say anything about this, I'll tell my father and my wife."
So as to avoid making things difficult for Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin didn't pay any attention to these things, her mind was full of Cheng Chi.
Uncle Chi said that he would come to visit her father in two days. When she tells Uncle Chi the news, he will definitely be shocked.
Whenever she thought of Cheng Chi being surprised and stunned, she couldn't help but smile.
Zhou Chujin thought Zhou Shaojin was happy because he could live with her, so she patted Zhou Shaojin's hand gently and said, "From now on, you should treat my home as your own. I will help you plant a grape vine in the yard."
She still remembers her younger sister pointing at the grape vines in Wanxiangju and saying in a baby voice, "If we move away, will we never see this grape vine again, and will we never be able to eat the grapes from this vine?"
Zhou Chujin was so sad that tears were about to fall.
This time, she would make sure her sister never had to worry about a grape trellis again.
Zhou Shaojin nodded with a smile, hoping that Cheng Chi would arrive soon.
Two days later, Cheng Chi came to visit Zhou Zhen as expected.
Zhou Zhen and Cheng Chi were talking in the study, so Zhou Shaojin pretended to pass by the study in order to "accidentally meet" Cheng Chi.
Huaishan saw it and quietly told Cheng Chi when she passed by the study for the second time.
Cheng Chi originally wanted to talk to Zhou Zhen about purchasing grain seeds, but hearing the whistling sound of the cold wind hitting the window frames, he had to hastily end the topic with Zhou Zhen and met Zhou Shaojin when Zhou Shaojin passed by the study for the fourth time.
"Uncle Chi!" Although Zhou Shaojin was holding a hand warmer, her lips were still a little white from the cold. She was really happy to see Cheng Chi, and her eyes were full of smiles that she couldn't hide. "You said you would come to visit my father, and I have been looking forward to it! I didn't expect to meet you."
She was so afraid that she would never meet Cheng Chi.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "I heard that your sister and your brother-in-law came specially to wish your father a happy new year. How is your sister?"
"Very good!" Zhou Shaojin said with a smile, "We were a little worried about my sister at first, and we even asked a doctor to come and check her pulse. The doctor said that both mother and child are safe. I think my nephew will definitely be a healthy and sensible baby."
Cheng Chi listened with a smile.
Zhou Zhen felt a little uncomfortable when he saw this.
Didn't she come to the study to look for him? How come she even forgot about her father when she saw Cheng Zichuan and just kept talking to him
Is Cheng Zichuan that good
Zhou Zhen coughed lightly.
No matter how good Cheng Zichuan is, he is just a relative by marriage. How can he compare to her father who is related to her by blood!
Zhou Shaojin came to his senses and hurried forward to greet his father.
Zhou Zhen then laughed and asked, "Why are you here?"
Zhou Shaojin naturally couldn't say that it was for the purpose of meeting Cheng Chi.
She smiled and said, "Madam wanted to know when you would be back, so I volunteered to come and call you since I had nothing to do. I didn't expect Uncle Chi to come!"
※
Sisters and brothers, update.
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: I haven’t had time to correct the typos yet…
※(To be continued)