Chapter 78
The weather was slowly warming up. Today was a clear and sunny day. Ye Qingzhi washed all the thick clothes she wasn’t wearing, and hung the ones she couldn’t wash in a cool, shady place to air out.
The three older ones had already gone to school. Yangyang and Haohao had run off to play somewhere. Ye Qingzhi hung up the clothes and was about to make lunch.
“Qingzhi, Qingzhi…” Li Jinfeng called from the main gate to the kitchen. “Qingzhi, big news.”
“You should catch your breath first,” Ye Qingzhi said, pouring her a glass of warm water. “What big news?”
Li Jinfeng gulped down a few mouthfuls of water. “Zhang Xuewen is getting married.”
Hearing Zhang Xuewen’s name, she would think of Liu Yuqin. Counting the time, it had been more than half a year since she had passed away. Zhang Xuewen and she had no feelings for each other. It was normal for him to remarry.
Seeing Ye Qingzhi’s confusion, Li Jinfeng explained, “It’s normal for him to remarry, but do you know who he’s marrying?”
“Who?” Seeing her winking, an idea flashed in Ye Qingzhi’s mind. “It’s not his ex-fiancée, is it?”
Li Jinfeng clapped her hands. “Smart. It’s her.”
“Is it really his ex-fiancée? Has that girl not been married all this time?” Ye Qingzhi asked curiously.
Zhang Xuewen was not young. If that girl had not been waiting for him, her children would have been running all over the place. Later, there was an accident, and Zhang Xuewen had to marry Liu Yuqin. That girl’s age could not be delayed. Her parents would probably not just watch as she was delayed.
Li Jinfeng sat behind the stove, helping Ye Qingzhi start the fire and said, “This is the main point I want to tell you. Zhang Xuewen’s ex-fiancée was not willing to get married at first. It was not until Liu Yuqin went back with a big belly that she agreed to go on a blind date. At the end of the year before last, do you remember? Zhang Xuewen was drunk and was crying while holding Zhang Qingyuan. It should have been at that time that his ex-fiancée got engaged to someone.”
Now that she mentioned it, Ye Qingzhi remembered.
Originally, drinking was not allowed in the army, but it was fine to have a little during the New Year. Zhang Qingyuan had invited a few of his closer friends for a meal at that time, including Zhang Xuewen.
That day, Zhang Xuewen had changed his usual style and had kept toasting people. He was already drunk before it was over. Then he had hugged Zhang Qingyuan and had been sobbing. Even the few big men like He Qiming had felt heartbroken.
At that time, everyone had thought that he was crying because he had been tricked by Liu Yuqin, and then Liu Yuqin had died in childbirth, making him a widower. But now, from what Li Jinfeng was saying, he was crying because his ex-fiancée was going to marry someone else.
Wait, that’s not right. Zhang Qingyuan’s ex-fiancée had gotten engaged to someone at the end of the year before last. Then she was already taken. How could she be marrying Zhang Qingyuan now?
“Did his ex-fiancée get a divorce? Or is she a widow like Zhang Qingyuan?” Ye Qingzhi’s interest was successfully piqued by Li Jinfeng.
If it was a divorce? Then that was too immoral. If it was a widow? Then the two of them were cursed.
“It was just an engagement. Something happened to the man’s family, and it was dragged out until May. But there were no good days in May, so the wedding was set for July. And then Liu Yuqin had a difficult birth and died in May. Didn’t Zhang Xuewen go back? I suspect he did something. In any case, his ex-fiancée broke off the engagement with the man,” Li Jinfeng said with a definite look.
Ye Qingzhi nodded. She also thought so. If Zhang Xuewen hadn’t said anything, why would that girl have broken off the engagement? You had to know, her own reputation had already been affected. If she broke off another engagement, it would be really hard for her to get married.
Most importantly, the woman’s parents had actually agreed to break off the engagement, which meant that someone had her back. Otherwise, they would not have agreed.
And combined with the news that they were getting married now, it could be confirmed that it was Zhang Xuewen who had gone to find his ex-fiancée and had given her a promise.
“The two of them are together. It’s a case of lovers finally getting together. What do you think, Qingzhi?” Although Li Jinfeng felt that Liu Yuqin was pitiful, she would not sympathize with her. To have this consequence was also her own doing.
Ye Qingzhi also felt that it was not easy for them to get together, but there were suspicious points about Liu Yuqin’s death, and the ex-fiancée’s later fiancé was also quite pitiful.
Tsk, tsk, could these two be the male and female leads of another book, to have to go through so many twists and turns to get together?
“How do you know Zhang Xuewen is getting married?” Ye Qingzhi asked, looking at Li Jinfeng curiously.
“My Old Li saw him submit a marriage report. I wonder if his ex-fiancée is easy to get along with. Our family compound is quite harmonious now. I think it’s quite good,” Li Jinfeng said, thinking of Liu Yuqin. Besides being a little timid, there were no other problems.
Ye Qingzhi raised an eyebrow. Harmonious? Really?
Not to mention the distant past, just she and Sun Cailian would argue every few days. Today it was because your chicken had run into my yard, and tomorrow it was because her pumpkin vine had climbed into my yard, so the pumpkins that grew on it also belonged to me.
In any case, for such trivial matters, they could argue for a whole day.
At first, Li Jinfeng had wanted to pull them to help her curse, but she and Sun Cailian had cursed so filthily that even Ye Qingzhi and Yang Xiaorou could not stand to listen, let alone join in.
The two of them were rookies when it came to arguing. They were not even qualified to stand behind and wave a flag. As for Gu Yao, she looked very gentle, but she was no worse than Li Jinfeng when she cursed.
“Don’t think about it. Since she’s marrying Zhang Xuewen, she’ll join the army sooner or later. As for the child Liu Yuqin left behind, I wonder how she is now. To be born so prematurely, it must not be easy to raise her,” Ye Qingzhi said. The one she felt most sorry for was the child.
In the neighboring county, the pitiful little baby Ye Qingzhi was talking about was staring at the strange woman in front of her. She cooed twice, then turned to look at Zhang Dama, as if asking who she was.
“Lingling, are you tired of holding her? Give her to me,” Zhang Dama said, reaching out to take the child.
“It’s fine. How heavy can she be? I’m not tired,” Wu Xueling said, looking at the well-behaved child in her arms and pinching her small hand. “Auntie, I heard she was born prematurely. It must not have been easy for you to raise her so well.”
Speaking of this, Zhang Dama really had endless things to say.
“When this child was born, she was like a little mouse. And she had no mother, so she had no milk to drink. I was so anxious. Fortunately, the sheep in the village had a lamb, so she could drink goat’s milk. I fed her bit by bit. She would get sick every few days. From the time she was born until now, I haven’t had a full night’s sleep.”
Zhang Dama looked at the child, who was staring at her with dark, round eyes, and stroked her head lovingly.
“You’ve worked hard, Auntie,” Wu Xueling said, looking at the little baby and saying with hesitation, “Xuewen means that after we get married, he wants me to join the army.”
Zhang Dama said with a chuckle, “Alright. It was because of Xuewen’s work that you were delayed for so many years. Later…” Zhang Dama glanced at the child. When a person died, all was over. “You two should have been together a long time ago. How can I bear to let you be separated?”
Looking at Wu Xueling’s rosy complexion and full figure, Zhang Dama was very satisfied. She believed that it would not be long before she could hold her grandson.
“The child…” Wu Xueling said, gently patting the child in her arms, her expression hesitant.
“The child will stay at home. Sigh, this child’s fate is not good. She lost her mother as soon as she was born. I’ve been taking care of her all this time. Now this child has started to recognize people. If she suddenly leaves me, she might not be able to adapt. Besides, I’ve raised her for so long. I’m also reluctant to be separated from the child,” Zhang Dama said, looking at the child and sighing softly.
To be honest, Zhang Dama had not liked this granddaughter at first, not only because she was born to Liu Yuqin, but also because Liu Yuqin’s death was indeed her scheme.
But she was her biological granddaughter after all, so she had also taken good care of her. But this child was born prematurely and would get sick every few days. She had thought she would not be able to survive, but she had pulled through again and again.
After raising her for so long, she had indeed developed feelings for her. Reluctance was one reason. The main reason was that she was worried that Wu Xueling would not be able to raise the child well, and she was also afraid that she would put most of her thoughts on the child. Then how would she take care of her son, and how would she give her a grandson?
Wu Xueling breathed a small sigh of relief. It was good that she didn’t have to take her.
She naturally resented Liu Yuqin, and even wished she could kill her. So for this child, she also couldn’t like her.
Of course, she would not do anything to the child.
From the time she had known that Zhang Xuewen had filed for marriage, to the time he had taken leave to go home to get married and had brought Wu Xueling to the base, a month had already passed.
Seeing Zhang Xuewen help Wu Xueling out of the car, carrying all the heavy luggage himself, and introducing the family compound in a gentle voice, and introducing his new wife with a broad smile whenever he met someone, his happy expression was a world of difference from when Liu Yuqin had come.
“Is that his ex-fiancée? She’s quite pretty, and her temperament is also not bad. I heard she graduated from junior high school. No wonder Chief of Staff Zhang didn’t like Liu Yuqin,” Li Jinfeng whispered in Ye Qingzhi’s ear.
In fact, Liu Yuqin’s features were not bad. It was just that she had not been well-nourished. But what she had done was too wicked. No matter how beautiful she was, Zhang Xuewen could not possibly like her.
Zhang Xuewen carried the luggage into the house. Seeing many people standing at the door to watch the show, he simply took Wu Xueling out and introduced her loudly, “Hello, sisters-in-law. Let me introduce you. This is my wife, Wu Xueling. It’s her first time here. Please take good care of her in the future.”
“Why are you being so polite, Chief of Staff Zhang? Since Sister Wu has come to our family compound, we will be one family from now on. If you need any help, just come and find me,” Zhao Lan said with a smile, walking forward and looking Wu Xueling up and down. “She’s so beautiful. How old is she, sister? How did she and our Chief of Staff Zhang meet?”
The fact that Wu Xueling was Zhang Xuewen’s ex-fiancée, besides Li Jinfeng and her husband, only Ye Qingzhi and her husband, and Yang Xiaorou and her husband knew. Gu Yao and the others did not know.
This was because Zhang Xuewen had a relatively good relationship with He Qiming, Shen Qingyuan, and the others. And since Li Hanxing had seen him submit a marriage report, he had simply told them the truth.
“What Sister Lan said is right. If you need anything in the future, just find us,” Li Jinfeng said, pulling Ye Qingzhi and walking over. “My name is Li Jinfeng, and this is Ye Qingzhi. Our husbands have a good relationship with your Old Zhang. We should interact more in the future.”
On the way, Zhang Xuewen had given Wu Xueling a detailed introduction to some of the situations in the family compound.
For example, Zhao Lan was not to be trusted, but Li Jinfeng and Ye Qingzhi could be interacted with…
She saw that Zhao Lan’s face was not very good and quickly said with a smile, “Hello, sisters-in-law. My name is Wu Xueling. I’m twenty-six this year. My house is a mess right now, with no place to stand. When I’ve tidied up, I’ll invite you for dinner.”
“That’s right. After the house is tidied up, everyone is welcome to come and visit. We’ve been on the road for several days and are all dirty. We’ll go and wash up and change our clothes first. We’ll talk about other things another day,” Zhang Xuewen said. He knew that everyone was curious about Wu Xueling, but he was more concerned about his wife, who had been tired from the journey.
Seeing them go into the house, everyone left in twos and threes, revealing Yang Xiaorou, who was standing in the distance.
“Why didn’t you come over when you came?” Li Jinfeng asked, scanning the area. “Come on, let’s go to my house.”
Zhang Xuewen’s house was relatively close to Li Jinfeng’s house. It was just a few steps away. Li Jinfeng grabbed a plate of pumpkin seeds, a cup of chrysanthemum tea for each of them, and started to chat.
“When Liu Yuqin came before, Zhang Xuewen had no smile at all, as if his wife had died. This time, he’s smiling so much his eyes can’t be seen,” Li Jinfeng said, cracking pumpkin seeds.
“They look like a good match. I didn’t expect that after all this, the two of them would get together again,” Yang Xiaorou said, sighing at their fate.
“They are a good match,” Ye Qingzhi nodded.
If it weren’t for Liu Yuqin’s interference, the two of them would have been married with children long ago.
As they were chatting, Gu Yao came over with Yangyang and Haohao. She had them play in the yard while she pulled a chair and sat down next to them.
“Have you noticed that Yangyang has been a little off recently?” Gu Yao suddenly asked.
Li Yang? Ye Qingzhi, Yang Xiaorou, and the others looked at each other.
Li Yang had to go to the cotton factory to work. Besides the weekends, they could not see her at all, so they really did not know what changes she had.
“It’s a pity I haven’t gone to work yet. Otherwise, I would definitely have been able to see something,” Li Jinfeng said, leaning closer to Gu Yao. “Tell me, what’s wrong with Yangyang? She’s not dating, is she?”
“It would be good if she were dating, but I don’t think so,” Gu Yao sighed softly.