The rain from the past few days had stolen much of the warmth of autumn, and a layer of overnight chill still lingered outside the house.
The wind sneaked in through the gaps in the windowsill and blew precisely onto Xia Xianxian’s face and neck, making her shiver.
At this moment, Xia Xianxian was not yet awake. She skillfully turned on her side and tucked her face into the pillow.
Feeling it wasn’t enough, she pulled the quilt up further. Finally, she tucked the sides of the quilt inward, wrapping herself into a silkworm chrysalis until she could no longer feel a trace of the chill.
Completing this entire sequence of actions was enough to wake Xia Xianxian up.
She squinted her eyes, her limbs lazily hidden inside the quilt. She looked languid, appearing as though she didn’t want to move at all.
It was a picture of complete leisure, as if there were no worries in this world.
Tsk, facts proved that it was impossible for her to be this comfortable today.
“Ding!”
A cold and ruthless voice startled her in her mind.
【Less than 10 hours left for the task!】
【Please, host, actively complete the task!】
Oh, she remembered now—that damned embroidery needle!
“System? System? Hello?”
The system did not speak; it was just sulking all by itself!
Meng Wenzhou had explained it to Xia Xianxian last night.
When the hoe slipped out of his hands and he only had a sharp stone to face the wild boar’s attack, it was the system that activated a protective shield to save him.
The wild boar’s tusks had torn his clothes and scratched his body.
Because of the system’s presence, Meng Wenzhou hadn’t been pierced through by the boar; he only had some minor scratches.
“System-baby, say something!”
Hmph, that’s for being so fierce yesterday.
The system remained silent, maintaining its cool detachment!
Hmph!
…
When Wang Cuihua arrived near the new house, she saw the scene in the yard through the low earth-brick wall.
Her youngest son was facing away from the gate, crouching on the ground, tinkering with something, his hands stirring something downwards from time to time.
He would look at the ground, then look at his wife.
Without even seeing his face, she could feel a wave of foolishness coming toward her.
Wang Cuihua sighed inwardly, feeling it was lucky that Xia Xianxian didn’t mind.
She looked up at her young daughter-in-law, who was sitting at the front door facing the sun, head bowed as she mended, with a sewing basket on her knees. She was wearing a vibrant, bright-colored Dacron top, and there was a smile on her face; she looked incredibly fresh and delicate.
Every time she moved her hand a few stitches, she would respond to her silly son.
Wang Cuihua stood outside the yard, not in a hurry to go in.
She narrowed her eyes and carefully examined the newly built courtyard.
Brick walls, tiled roof, the glass was bright; it certainly wouldn’t leak on rainy days anymore.
The small vegetable plot on the east side had tender green seedlings, neatly lined up in rows.
It was truly nice!
Suddenly, Wang Cuihua, who had been looking pleased, widened her eyes, a look of horror appearing on her face!
What was that?
What was that in her young daughter-in-law’s hands?
‘Slap!’
Xia Xianxian was looking contentedly at the shoe insole she had finally finished embroidering, and just as she raised it to show off to Meng Wenzhou, she saw the yard gate being pushed open forcefully.
“Uh, Mother.”
Xia Xianxian looked at Wang Cuihua’s grim expression and called out hesitantly, subconsciously hiding the insole behind her back.
“Eh, Mother, why are you here today?”
When Meng Wenzhou stood up to greet her, he accidentally kicked the iron basin on the ground, causing a ‘clattering’ sound.
Wang Cuihua gave the young couple in front of her a cross look.
“Why am I here? If you were worry-free, would I have specifically made this trip for no reason?”
After she finished speaking, she ignored the two of them and walked into the main room with a very strong sense of ownership.
She looked left and right; the room was clean and tidy, which caused her expression to soften significantly.
“You went up the mountain with Dazhu yesterday, right?”
It was a light sentence, yet it allowed for no rebuttal.
“Mother…”
Wang Cuihua waved her hand at Meng Wenzhou and sighed.
She pulled a small bottle out from the bottom of her basket. “This is medicine I got from the barefoot doctor earlier. I thought it was bad luck during the housewarming, so I didn’t let you take it.”
After finishing, she spread out the items from the basket one by one.
“Your vegetable patch here was just started not long ago. We have a lot growing at home, so I brought you some.”
In addition to crown daisy and carrots, there was also half a basket of staple food.
“There are many people at home, and sweet potatoes can be eaten as a meal, so I won’t give you too many.”
After finishing, she no longer looked at Meng Wenzhou and turned her attention to Xia Xianxian.
“Xianxian.”
Xia Xianxian felt like a student suddenly called upon by their head teacher; her whole body shuddered, as if a cold wind had suddenly poured down her collar.
“Mother…”
“Mother, I’ll go pour you some water.”
Seeing Xia Xianxian looking like a mouse seeing a cat, Wang Cuihua found it amusing; she was still young, after all.
She affectionately pulled Xia Xianxian to the bed, smiling and praising, “I just checked the house; it’s kept very tidily. I can tell you’re a good, clean child.”
Heh, the fact that Wang Cuihua could say this meant she had indeed come in a hurry and hadn’t run into Auntie Li from next door on the way.
If Auntie Li had been there, it would have been impossible for her not to tell Wang Cuihua that her young daughter-in-law didn’t do any chores at home and spent all day idling and ordering people around.
Xia Xianxian smiled awkwardly.
Wang Cuihua didn’t pay it any mind.
“I saw you doing needlework when I came in. What are you making? Bring it here for me to see.”
“Uh, Mother, this, I didn’t do this very well.”
Xia Xianxian stammered there, refusing to move, her eyes glancing toward Meng Wenzhou from time to time.
“It’s okay, I’m just looking.”
Wang Cuihua patted her hand humorously. “No one is born knowing how to do everything. Let Mother help you look.”
Seeing this, Xia Xianxian knew she couldn’t hide it anymore.
Dithering, she walked over to the sewing basket. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and took out the finished insole.
When Wang Cuihua saw the insole, she didn’t know what to say.
Earlier at the yard gate, she had only taken a rough look. She didn’t expect that up close, this, this insole would be so incredibly ugly!
Ragged scraps of cloth were pieced together; it was not even in thickness at all—a big bulge on the left, a big pit on the right. The stitching was crooked, just like an earthworm crawling in the dirt; some parts were sparse, some were dense. And that wasn’t even the most incredible part.
The most incredible thing was that Xia Xianxian had actually stitched a cross in the middle of the insole!
Wang Cuihua felt that her eyes needed a good wash. She looked around the room, then hardened her heart to face the bizarre pair of insoles again.
Touching this cross, Wang Cuihua felt her head ache even more. Great, half a needle was still stuck inside; if one wasn’t careful, they would really prick their hand.
“This, what is this?”
Wang Cuihua asked Xia Xianxian, her eyelids twitching.
Xia Xianxian said guiltily, “This, this is because I was afraid it wouldn’t be sewn tight and the cloth would shift, so I used the thread to shape it.”
Shaping—what a novel word.
Wang Cuihua’s mouth twitched. She wanted to say a few words, but for a moment, she didn’t know what to say.
“Mother, drink some water!”
Meng Wenzhou quickly handed the cup of water to Wang Cuihua.