Since she had already married into the Xu family, although she had a strong natal family, she could not go back to her natal family to give birth and stay for postpartum care.
Being aware of this point made Wang change her mind. Her previous behavior was a result of her feeling that the situation was hopeless and thinking that she had nothing to lose.
"We're a family, why are you so polite? Come on, come in the room and have breakfast with us!"
When the Xu family ate, they were separated into two tables. One table was for men and one table was for women.
The food on both sides, however, was exactly the same. There was no such thing as a man eating delicious foods while the women ate chaff and vegetables.
As for the two small beans in the family, even though they were not able to speak well, they were still able to eat by themselves, so they were naturally sent to the men's table.
Breakfast was a gruel of cornmeal, plus the wotou of sanhe flour, and the fish leftover from yesterday, uh—mainly fish soup. In addition, there were small pickles as the side dish.
Generally speaking, the Xu family's breakfast was still quite hearty.
If there weren't too much fish leftover from yesterday, the main course for breakfast today would have been scrambled eggs with chives. The Xu family raised a lot of chickens and ducks, so they laid a lot of eggs every year.
...
After breakfast, the Xu family dispersed and went to do their own tasks.
Mr. Xu and Second Xu went to the mountain to chop firewood for the winter.
Zhou and Li looked after Big Baby Xu and Second Baby Xu as they played in the yard. Old Mrs. Xu sat beside them, sewing; beside her was the old turtle, which stayed in the Xu residence.
Wang was also doing needlework, but unlike Mrs. Xu, who was sewing, Wang did embroidery work. She, who was born in a family of scholars, did a wonderful job of embroidering; every piece would be sold in the county embroidery workshop.
Her needlework being too outstanding was also the reason why Wang was able to speak so boldly in the Xu house. With a skill at hand, she naturally had the confidence.
After embroidering for a while, Wang suddenly stored away her needle and looked at Mrs. Xu. "Mother!"
"What's the matter?"
Old Mrs. Xu was still rather dissatisfied with her as a daughter-in-law. It wasn't only because of Wang's squeamishness, but also because she had never regarded herself as a member of the Xu family.
"Mother, I want to go back to my natal house after a few days!" Wang looked at Mrs. Xu with some fear. When facing her mother-in-law, her confidence was obviously lacking.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Old Mrs. Xu was a little angry. "In the morning, when the eldest son sent the third son into the city, why didn't you go with them if you wanted to go back to your natal home?"
"Mother, don't be angry. I didn't mean to go back so soon." Wang was a little embarrassed. "I just wish to go to the city to see the doctor after a while."
Upon hearing what Wang said, Mrs. Xu immediately couldn't sit still. "What's wrong? Where are you feeling unwell?" Although she didn't like this daughter-in-law, if there was something wrong with Wang's body, she would still be very worried.
"No, nothing; it's just that I'm feeling different this time. I might be pregnant." Wang was originally a little embarrassed, but when the conversation came to this point, she no longer concealed anything and whispered, "In the second half of last night, I had a dream about a big sun falling into my arms. I woke up immediately! Mother, what do you think this means?"
"It's a good sign!" Old Mrs. Xu gave the answer without even thinking about it. "The Zhou Gong's dream interpretation said that a sun falling into one's arms means pregnancy. This is a great sign!"
"Really, really?!" Wang's face was full of joy, and her body trembled with excitement.
"It's more real than gold!" Old Mrs. Xu pressed Wang's hand. "Good girl, don't be too excited, and don't tell too many people about it either!"