Seeing both of them dressed so formally, Si Xiaohui looked displeased. If this were ancient times, it would be the gap between a lady and her maid.
Regrettably due to their poor family situation, Lin Fengying had never bought her good clothes. The clothes she was wearing were bought two years ago to keep up appearances, and she could hardly bear to wear them at home.
Her good mood instantly plummeted, and Si Xiaohui sarcastically asked with a stern face, "We're just going into town, not matchmaking. Why all this pomp?"
"I usually dress like this." Zhang Lijuan smiled and looked at Tong Yao, "My sister-in-law is all dolled up though, you must be going to meet Chen in town, right?"
Had she not known about Zhang Lijuan's feelings for Si Chen, Tong Yao would not have found anything wrong with her comment. But knowing that Zhang Lijuan had her sights on Si Chen, the words didn't sound right.
"I didn't dress up on purpose, it's just that my figure is slim and I look good. My temperament can't be hidden."
Si Xiaohui's face was filled with disgust as she muttered, "So shameless." Who would boast about themselves like that? Shouldn't normal people be modest?
Zhang Lijuan always heard Si Xiaohui gripe about how Tong Yao was lazy and idle at home. Hearing Tong Yao's self-praise, she burst out laughing. To the older generations, Tong Yao was a ditz, not catching the underlying meanings in what people said.
Zhang Lijuan had envied Tong Yao for her beauty before, but now she felt much better.
"Let's not stand here any longer. My uncle will be here soon with his tractor, let's wait for him at the entrance of the village!"
Lin Fengying saw the three of them off to the entrance of the village, constantly reminding Si Xiaohui and Zhang Lijuan not to run around in town and not to talk to strangers. She treated them like children. Si Xiaohui was somewhat impatient whereas Tong Yao felt warm. In her previous life, she grew up in an orphanage, and no one truly cared about her.
"Mom, stop nagging, just go home! We're not kids anymore." Si Xiaohui impatiently pushed Lin Fengying to go back. She had always been watched over by her mother, and going into town felt like a bird flying out of its cage. She was overjoyed at the newfound freedom and wished she could fly straight into town.
"You child." Lin Fengying was somewhat helpless. She instructed Tong Yao to be careful on the road before reluctantly going back home.
"Your mother-in-law is really nice to you." Zhang Lijuan commented with discernible envy.
"Well, yeah, I'm her daughter-in-law." Tong Yao deliberately emphasized the last three words.
"Just because you are now, doesn't mean you always will be." Without Lin Fengying present, Si Xiaohui didn't mince her words, scornfully declaring, "My brother would never like a lazy and idle woman."
"But your brother certainly likes beautiful women." Tong Yao retorted.
"Shameless."
Si Xiaohui grumbled and turned her head to chat cheerfully with Zhang Lijuan.
Tony Yao decided to ignore them as they ignored her. They had not stood at the entrance of the village for too long when they heard the sound of a diesel tractor. Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw a tractor slowly approach, stirring up dust on the road as if causing a sandstorm.
"Uncle." Zhang Lijuan greeted the driver affectionately, showing off with pride. In these times, families who owned a tractor were rare. When it came to marriage, they could pick and choose from all the villages around.
Liu Dazhu looked the three girls over, "You three are all going to town?"
"Yes." Zhang Lijuan took out a yuan from her pocket and gave it to Liu Dazhu, "My mom said, we have to pay for the gas for the ride."
Liu Dazhu initially hesitated but finally accepted after a little back and forth.
Seeing Zhang Lijuan gave money for the ride left Si Xiaohui bewildered. It was only when Tong Yao handed Liu Dazhu a yuan that she remembered to do the same. The idea of spending one yuan for a ride, before even buying anything, made her heart ache.
Already three passengers sat in the tractor's cab, two women in their forties and a man in his fifties. They were sitting on the little bench in the cab. Zhang Lijuan and Si Xiaohui got in without fuss. Tony Yao, however, was struggling to climb up in her dress. It prompted the man to say,
"You two, give your younger sister a hand."
Upon hearing this, Si Xiaohui and Zhang Lijuan instantly frowned. It was true that with Tong Yao's fair skin and delicate features, she looked younger. But they were all girls, who would like being called old?
"She's already married, and she's a year older than us," Zhang Lijuan explained.
With surprise, the man looked at Tong Yao, thinking to himself that she got married a bit early.
Si Xiaohui, however, pointed her finger at Tong Yao, "Who else, like you, would dress like a little girl even after getting married?"
The constant 'da-da' noise from the tractor was making Tong Yao's ears buzz. She didn't feel like dealing with the two of them. The bumpy dirt road was making her waist ache. At least the scenery was good, it helped to distract her a little.
After an almost an hour-long ride, they finally arrived in town. Liu Dazhu informed Zhang Lijuan to meet back in the same place at three in the afternoon before he left to run errands at the post office.
Tony Yao stretched out and then under Si Xiaohui's suspicious gaze, did several more stretching exercises. Feeling her arms and legs more relaxed, she finally asked, "I'm going to the hospital to look for Si Chen. Where are you two going?"
Zhang Lijuan rubbed her waist, "I have been feeling a bit unwell lately, so I want to see a doctor at the hospital."
Si Xiaohui said, "That's perfect, I can go and see my brother."
In reality, Tong Yao had already known that Zhang Lijuan wanted to see Si Chen and was asking on purpose.
Since they all had the same destination, there was no need to go separately. They got on a bus to the hospital. The bus was crowded, all the seats were taken, and the three girls were pushed to the back. Since Tong Yao got on the bus, she caught the attention of a few young men who kept stealing glances at her.
Beautiful things are indeed more eye-catching, Tong Yao thought, and decided that she needed to get used to it.
After the bus traveled one stop, a few people got off and a woman with a pet dog and a man in his thirties got on. The man's appearance could only be described as shifty, and as soon as he got on, his eyes started scanning around the bus non-stop.
The pet dog in the lady's arms also seemed to keep a wary eye on the man as if it too sensed he was up to no good.
After two stops, a woman in her thirties suddenly screamed, "My money is gone, there is a thief on the bus."
Everyone on the bus was alarmed by her cry, including the driver, who pulled over but did not open the doors. "Ma'am, are you sure you lost your money on the bus?" the driver asked.
"It was lost on the bus." The woman responded anxiously and quite certainly, "I still had the money when I got on the bus."
Everyone quickly checked their wallets and kept their distance from the woman, for fear she'd accuse them of the theft. Si Xiaohui and Zhang Lijuan also initially checked their wallets. When they found their money was safe, both girls could finally breathe a sigh of relief. It didn't matter if someone else lost their money, as long as theirs was safe.