Qiao Qingyan sensed some rustling movement beside her.
She glanced sideways and suddenly saw a small chubby hand appear out of nowhere in her line of sight.
“Ah—” She was startled and jumped up from the stool.
Zeng Yumei heard the commotion and quickly walked into the room. “Duoduo, you scared your sister-in-law!”
In a moment, Qiao Qingyan saw a round head poke out from under the table, peering around.
The little girl was about six or seven years old, wearing a small vest and short pants, with a round head, round face, and round belly, her hair in two pigtails—absolutely adorable.
Her gaze toward the adults was silly and naive, with a hint of timidity.
So it was just a child. Qiao Qingyan pressed a hand to her racing heart and let out a long breath.
“Qingyan, don’t be afraid. This is your little sister-in-law. You should know, she… she’s not quite like other children.”
Zeng Yumei pulled Duoduo out from under the table and gave her a light swat on the bottom, scolding: “What were you doing under the table? Look how you scared your sister-in-law…”
Duoduo didn’t cry even after being spanked. Instead, she giggled and pointed at the bowl of water on the table: “Duoduo, drink… sweet, sweet…”
Qiao Qingyan calmed her heartbeat and, seeing her silly expression, couldn’t help but smile with pursed lips.
“That’s for your sister-in-law, you silly girl.” She was too chubby, and Zeng Yumei, being frail, couldn’t carry her. She took her little hand and led her to Qiao Qingyan. “This is your sister-in-law, Duoduo. Say sister-in-law.”
The little girl blinked her silly, blank eyes, put her finger in her mouth and swirled it around, then pulled it out with a string of drool, and called out to Qiao Qingyan in a soft, mushy voice: “Sis, sister-in-law.”
That one call nearly melted Qiao Qingyan’s heart.
How could there be such an adorable little child? This was just too cute!
She squatted down, smiled gently, and softly pinched Duoduo’s chubby cheek, speaking tenderly: “How old are you?”
Seeing this, Zeng Yumei also revealed a relieved smile.
She had originally been afraid that the new daughter-in-law would disdain Duoduo, but unexpectedly, Qingyan didn’t.
Duoduo looked at her somewhat blankly, seemingly unable to understand.
Zeng Yumei smoothed the sweat-dampened hair on her forehead back, “Tell your sister-in-law, how old are you?”
Duoduo extended both hands, wiggled her little fingers, and mumbled “uh uh” twice, unable to produce a complete sentence.
Zeng Yumei gently tugged her little ear and said helplessly: “Your brother just taught you a few days ago, and you’ve forgotten again?”
She shaped her daughter’s fingers into the character “seven.” “Duoduo is seven this year, isn’t that right?”
The little girl wrinkled her nose and repeated: “Seven shleep.”
“So good.” The more Qiao Qingyan looked, the more she liked her. She asked: “Do you want to drink the sugar water?”
The little girl nodded.
Qiao Qingyan walked to the table, picked up the bowl of sugar water, and squatted down again, holding it to her lips. “Drink up.”
Two soft, chubby little hands grabbed the bowl, and she gulped it down in big mouthfuls.
After finishing, she licked her lips contentedly, tugged at her shorts that were riding up between her bottom cheeks, slipped past Qiao Qingyan, and ran off to play in the yard.
Zeng Yumei watched her daughter and sighed softly. “This child has been simple-minded since birth. She walked and talked much later than other children her age, and she learns things slowly too.”
“You’ve raised her very well. I can see she’s quite obedient and sensible,” Qiao Qingyan said.
Zeng Yumei smiled. “It’s all Jinye’s doing. This child—she’s very attached to her brother…”
Just as she finished speaking, Zeng Yumei paused, glanced at Qiao Qingyan, and added:
“Qingyan, although Duoduo is young, she won’t be a burden to you and Jinye. Once you have children, we’ll split the household then. You and Jinye can live your own little life together, and I’ll take care of Duoduo.”
“Auntie, please don’t say that. Since I’ve married into this family, we’re all one family from now on. I’ll help you take care of Duoduo together.”
Qiao Qingyan’s intuition told her that this family must be good people. Her mother-in-law was gentle and courteous, and the household was kept in perfect order.
Although her sister-in-law was a bit simple-minded, she was adorable and innocent, making one’s heart ache for her.
Qiao Qingyan thought to herself that with a mother like this, Xiao Jinye probably wouldn’t be bad either.
Her curiosity about this husband she had never met grew stronger and stronger.
As noon approached, Zeng Yumei slaughtered a chicken and went to cook. Qiao Qingyan had wanted to help in the kitchen but was shooed out by Zeng Yumei.
While she was cooking, Qiao Qingyan took Duoduo to play in the yard.
Qiao Qingyan carefully observed the Xiao family’s yard.
The yard was built with earthen bricks and looked like it had been around for many years, somewhat dilapidated.
The poultry cages were all placed uniformly on the left side. On the right side, along the base of the wall, many flowers and plants had been planted. Pink roses climbed up the crumbling courtyard wall, creating a unique charm.
When she had lived in the city before, her aunt also loved to grow flowers, with many potted plants arranged on the balcony.
The house was always clean, and her quilt covers always carried the fresh scent of sunshine.
Later, when she returned to her rural home, the yard was filled with the smell of chicken droppings, and the house was messy, cluttered with all sorts of things.
Every time she cleaned up, she couldn’t keep up with the three adults in the family messing it up again. Gradually, she couldn’t be bothered to tidy up anymore and only cleaned her own room.
Now, arriving at the Xiao family home, Qiao Qingyan couldn’t help but marvel—it was the first time she had seen such a neatly kept rural yard.
She could tell that Zeng Yumei was a meticulous person.
Earlier, when she slaughtered the chicken, she had done it outside the yard. When she was finished, she picked up a shovel and used soil to cover the chicken blood and those fishy-smelling innards, then sprinkled a layer of lime powder on top.
This not only masked the smell but also fertilized that patch of soil.
After a few months of fermentation, that spot would be able to grow better plants or vegetables.
The small yard was situated on high ground. Looking out from the wall, one could see most of the village.
Behind it was Chaiyuan Ridge, a lush green mountain.
Qiao Qingyan tilted her head up to look at the midday sunlight—dazzling, yet incredibly warm.
Within just a few hours, she and Duoduo had already become quite familiar with each other.
She grabbed one of Qiao Qingyan’s fingers and led her to a cage in the corner of the yard.
Inside the cage was a small rabbit with smooth white fur, along with some scattered green vegetable leaves.
“Bunny…” Duoduo pulled her hand, showing her little pet.
Qiao Qingyan reached out and stroked the rabbit’s soft fur, asking softly, “Who got you this little rabbit?”
Duoduo didn’t answer. She held a vegetable leaf up to the little rabbit’s mouth, but the rabbit wouldn’t eat. It shrank its neck, looking at the two of them timidly with its bright red eyes.
After quite a while, Duoduo slowly said, “Brother… bunny…”
Qiao Qingyan understood—she meant that this was the little rabbit her brother had given her.
She gently stroked Duoduo’s hair and crouched by the cage, resting her chin on her hand as she watched her play with the rabbit.
After a while, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the yard.
She rose to her feet and looked over, only to see that the other party had already stepped through the courtyard gate.