Thinking of Wang Guihua’s words, Zhang Xiuying looked at Song Siyi again. “Siyi, your second sister-in-law just has a sharp tongue. Don’t take it to heart.”
Xie Zhaozhao pouted. “It’s not just a sharp tongue—she’d be thrilled if this family fell apart.”
What she hated most about this second sister-in-law was that even though she was also part of the family, if she had even a minute of free time, she’d be criticized for it, making her feel like an outsider in her own home, always treading carefully.
Thankfully, she had a good temper. Anyone else would have snapped long ago.
Song Siyi hadn’t taken it to heart in the first place. “Mom, I know.”
Song Siyi had never cared about Wang Guihua. At most, Wang Guihua could only say things that didn’t really hurt.
Besides, they had already divided the household. There was no need to pay attention to people she didn’t like.
If they could get along, fine. If not, then they wouldn’t.
On the other hand, Zhao Meixia, the eldest sister-in-law, was quite decent and never gossiped or said anything unnecessary.
She remembered that in her previous life, Zhao Meixia also never had children. Later, after she left Hongqi Brigade, she never paid attention to their lives again, so she didn’t know how things ended for them.
If she could help, she was willing to. It wasn’t because she was overly kind-hearted, but mainly because the Xie family as a whole was quite decent.
Song Siyi asked Zhang Xiuying, “Has eldest sister-in-law seen a doctor about it?”
If Zhao Meixia’s body wasn’t the problem, what if it was Xie Lincheng’s?
But the Xie family didn’t seem like stubborn traditionalists. Xie Lincheng and the others had also gone to school.
If Xie Lincheng wasn’t the problem, then it could only be Zhao Meixia.
Mentioning her eldest daughter-in-law, Zhang Xiuying couldn’t help but sigh.
“It’s because your eldest sister-in-law fell into the water in winter once. Her body got chilled, and it’s been hard for her to get pregnant. All these years, she’s suffered a lot. She’s seen plenty of doctors and taken plenty of medicine, but nothing has worked.”
“We’ve tried to comfort her, but she can’t let it go. And your second sister-in-law, with her sharp tongue, keeps poking at her heart. That’s one of the reasons we wanted to divide the household as soon as possible.”
Hearing this, Song Siyi understood. No wonder. Seeing that her mother-in-law didn’t mention the reason for falling into the water, it was probably something inconvenient to talk about.
She had an idea but didn’t ask further.
She didn’t make any promises either, not knowing if the Spirit Spring Water would have any effect.
Besides, she’d need some medicine to cover it up.
The two of them, seeing there was nothing more to discuss here, said a few more words and left.
At the same time, on the other side.
Zhao Meixia stared blankly at her stomach.
If it weren’t for that incident, she would have been a mother long ago.
That was why she hated her family so much.
Why couldn’t they leave her alone, even after she had hidden away in the countryside?
If she hadn’t lost her ability to have children, they probably still wouldn’t have given up.
Xie Lincheng came in and saw her lost in thought, his eyes filled with heartache.
He quickly walked over and sat down beside her. “What are you thinking about so deeply?”
Seeing him return, Zhao Meixia forced a smile onto her face. “Why are you back so soon?”
Xie Lincheng took her hand. “We can’t control what others say, but you have to try to let it go. When we got married, I told you—I love you for who you are. Whether you have children or not doesn’t matter to me at all.”
Zhao Meixia knew all this in theory, but she had still held onto a sliver of hope back then. After all these years, she finally realized she truly couldn’t have children.
She felt deeply sorry for her husband, making him endure years of gossip because of her.
Zhao Meixia squeezed her husband’s hand in return.
"What if I go beg Fourth Sister-in-law? That doctor could even cure Fourth Brother's serious injuries, maybe he could treat my condition too."
Xie Lincheng knew this was her heart's knot, and he didn't want to discourage her.
He only advised, "Since they didn't say who it was, their identity must be somewhat inconvenient. We can't force others into difficulty."
"Let's leave it at this for now. When we have time, we'll privately ask Fourth Sister-in-law."
Zhao Meixia felt his consideration was reasonable and nodded, "Indeed, that's the right approach. I was just too anxious."
Xie Lincheng patted her hand reassuringly, "Relax your heart. If you really want a child, we could even adopt one."
Fortunately, they had divided the household now. If that Second Sister-in-law dared to come spouting nonsense again, he wouldn't be polite.
With a new glimmer of hope in her heart, Zhao Meixia's mood wasn't as heavy as before.
The news of Song Siyi and Xie Jingzhou buying a house quickly spread throughout the brigade.
First, everyone was shocked by the brigade leader's family dividing their household.
Why would a perfectly good family suddenly split up? Many were curious about the reason.
Then came waves of envy and jealousy—that was a blue-brick tiled house costing five hundred yuan!
But what could they do? Those two were so capable. Their jealousy was pointless.
As for the old Song family, as soon as Sun Hongmei heard they had bought that house, she immediately ran to find Old Lady Li.
"Mom, Song Siyi spent money so lavishly—buying a five-hundred-yuan house just like that. Could she have taken money from our family?"
Old Lady Li hadn't considered that possibility. "That Xie boy is a higher-ranking officer than Jianbin. Do you think he couldn't come up with five hundred yuan?"
Sun Hongmei looked somewhat embarrassed. She knew that, of course, but with the family suddenly missing so much money, how could she feel reconciled?
How many more years would they have to wait for Lu Yan to become the richest man?
If only she had called off this marriage earlier—instead, that cheap girl Song Siyi got the advantage for nothing.
Thinking of Song Siyi, Old Lady Li also felt very uncomfortable, but she could only curse her as an ingrate. There was nothing more she could do.
When Song Sijia heard the news, she was also extremely jealous, but she could still comfort herself.
It doesn't matter. She was going to be the future richest man's wife.
She would definitely live better than Song Siyi. She turned her burning gaze toward Lu Yan, who lay with his back to her on the kang, lost in thought.
With the brigade leader's involvement, matters proceeded smoothly. After completing the transfer and getting the keys, Xie Jingzhou couldn't wait to return home.
As soon as he entered, he called out, "Wife, let's move there today."
Song Siyi didn't expect him to be in such a hurry. "Wouldn't moving today be inappropriate?"
Xie Jingzhou saw no issue. "There's nothing inappropriate about it. Besides, even though the household is divided, we still have to cook in the current kitchen. It's very inconvenient for us not to move now."
Song Siyi thought his reasoning made sense.
"Then let's move today."
The two acted immediately. Xie Jingzhou borrowed a flatbed cart from the brigade.
When the family heard they wanted to move that day, everyone came to help move their belongings.
Seeing this, Wang Guihua felt sour inside. They had just divided the household, and now they had bought a big house.
How did Song Siyi get so lucky?
Looking at the now-empty room, Wang Guihua's eyes shifted as she began scheming again.
She looked at Song Siyi. "Fourth Sister-in-law, since you've bought a house and this place is just sitting empty, why not let Dabao and Xiaobao keep an eye on it for you? We can also help with cleaning and such in the meantime."