Chunniang supported the old lady to sit on the edge of the kang and anxiously said, "We still have eggs at rhome, you should keep these and nourish your body..."
Everyone has it hard these days, let alone she hadn't given birth yet, it didn't feel right to accept her sister-in-law's eggs.
Jiang Liu glanced at her and took off her shoes to climb onto the kang and sit cross-legged.
"What belongs to your household is yours, but the eggs are a token of affection from your sister-in-law, so you mustn't decline. Besides, you're pregnant for the first time, and it's twins at that. You need to eat nutritiously."
Xu Family's daughter-in-law bowed her head in submission, quietly taking the advice.
Jiang Liu, annoyed at her daughter-in-law's silence, started lecturing her: "Look at you, already pregnant but always huddled at home. It's good for your legs and feet to move around, it'll make for a smoother birth as well."
Chunniang wanted to deny her accusation of always staying at home but was afraid to interrupt and upset her mother-in-law, so she held back.
Jiang Liu continued, "You don't have to do the heavy or exhausting work. You have your husband, and if he's not available, just call out for your sisters-in-law and they'll help you out."
Touched by her mother-in-law's kindness, Chunniang responded softly, "Yes, mother."
Jiang Liu sat up straight, lecturing on and on. Seeing Chunniang obedient and compliant, unlike her second daughter-in-law who loves to talk back, made her feel much better. The long-standing frustration was diluted by her daughter-in-law's pregnancy situation.
The old lady touched Little Yingbao's nose and said in a gentle tone, "And you, from now on, don't let your mother carry you. Be careful not to accidentally bump the baby inside her."
Seeing her grandma talking about her, Yingbao grinned, "Grandma, Yingbao is good, won't carry, granny carry!"
"Ah, what a sweetie, you can call me grandma."
Jiang Liu was thrilled to see the little one so sensible and able to understand human speech. She stroked the toddler's small head and affectionately said, "Grandma is too old to carry Yingbao. How about I let your sister carry you next time?"
"Mmm!" Yingbao nodded agreeably, "Sister, carry!"
The houses of the first and second uncles had several boys, but only two girls. They were Dani from the eldest uncle's family and Erni from the second uncle's house, aged nine and six respectively.
In her previous life, she used to follow the two cousins around and play until she was five.
They picked ragged clothes, collected firewood, and gathered amaranth, even enjoying playing house with mud. It was wonderful fun.
But those happy memories abruptly ended with the arrival of the Chens.
"That's a deal. Grandma will have your sister carry you." Jiang Liu touched Yingbao's forehead and said to her daughter-in-law, "Pack a few clothes for Yingbao and take her to the front yard. Let your eldest sister-in-law take care of her for a while, and you need to take care of your pregnancy."
"Ah?" Upon hearing this, Chunniang quickly declined, "It's not good to bother my sister-in-law. Yingbao is a good kid, I... I can take care of her myself, it's no trouble." She couldn't bear to hand over Yingbao to someone else, even her sister-in-law.
"As you wish."
Jiang Liu glanced at her third daughter-in-law, feeling that she had given all the necessary instructions. She got off the kang, put on her shoes, beat the dust off her clothes, and walked out, saying as she went:
"If one day you find you can't cope, just call for Dani in the front to come and help out. I need to go back. Be careful not to climb or go to high or low places to avoid straining yourself."
"I understand, mother."
After sending her mother-in-law off, Chunniang breathed a sigh of relief.
Thinking of her mother-in-law's advice to move around more for an easier childbirth, she reached out to hold her daughter, "Yingbao, do you want to go outside with mom to see the peach blossoms?"
Yingbao remembered grandma's instructions and was reluctant to be carried by her mother.
She shook her head, pushing away her mother's hand. Yingbao twisted her hips to slide down from the kang, then reached out her small hand for her mother to hold.
A peach tree outside the courtyard bloomed luxuriously, its pink petals scattered all over the ground.
After walking around a few laps, mother and daughter sat to rest under the peach tree.
Yingbao propped herself up against the large stone under the tree, crouching down to pick up the peach blossoms. Chunniang sat next to her, embroidering a pair of tiger-head shoes.
All of a sudden, Wang Er's wife from next door came over with her embroidery basket. She plopped down on a small stool under the tree, gazing at Chunniang's tiger-head shoes for a bit before breaking the silence: "Oh, are you making shoes for Yingbao?"
"Yes." Chunniang did not particularly want to engage with Wang Er's wife, who had often gossiped about her outside.
Wang Er's wife ignored Chunniang's coldness, and said mysteriously, "Chunniang, let me tell you something fascinating."
Chunniang glanced at her, "What is it?"
Wang Er's wife moved her stool closer to Chunniang, playing coy, "You know, Chen Cunzheng's daughter-in-law gave birth before the New Year, with Aunt Wu from West Village acting as the midwife. Can you guess what happened?"
"What happened?"
Wang Er's wife chuckled, glanced in Yingbao's direction, and lowered her voice, "Aunt Wu said that Chen Changping's wife from West Village had another girl."
Xu Chunniang didn't raise her eyes, and disdainfully said, "What's so surprising about having a daughter?"
"Huh! It's not surprising, but since Chen Erlang's family had their child, I've never seen her carry a child outside."
Chunniang paused her work, looked up and said, "So, what if she doesn't go out?"
Wang Erniang covered her mouth and chuckled softly, "Some people say that their child has been given away."
Chunniang's heart skipped a beat, her brow furrowed.
"Oh dear, who could they possibly give the child to?" Wang Erniang threw a glance at Yingbao, "Who has spare money to raise someone else's daughter?"
Chunniang sternly asked, "What do you mean, Erniang?"
Wang Erniang smirked, "I was just talking carelessly, don't overthink it. Yingbao was picked up by your third son, what does she have to do with Chen Changping's family? Anyway, Chen Erlang is an educated man, his family isn't lacking in food or drink, how could they abandon a child, right?"
She winked as she continued, "But, Chen Changping's mother did say that the little girl was born weak and died the next day."
Dead? Chunniang felt a sense of relief.
"Oh dear, people can say whatever they want, who knows if it's true or not."
As Wang Erniang sorted out her thread, she said, "But the midwife, Wu Siniang, said that the baby had a loud cry on the day of delivery, she didn't seem weak."
"If she wasn't weak, how come the perfectly good baby gone all of sudden? Oh goodness, I don't even dare to think about it. Who would be heartless enough to abandon their own flesh and blood considering it's not as if we are starving?"
Chunniang remained silent.
Little Yingbao, who had been picking peach blossoms, looked at Wang Erniang; her heart was in turmoil.
In her previous life, Chen Changping's family insisted the child was born weak and died before it was abandoned in the back mountain. There was no intention of intentional abandonment.
Hence, the government ruled that she should be returned to her original family, and Chen Changping had to pay Jiang Family two taels of silver for the upbringing fees.
She remembered when she was forcibly carried away, both her parents had red eyes from crying.
It was due to that case that the Jiang Family completely fell out with Chen Changping's family.
Yingbao rubbed her nose and tugged down her sleeve.
This birthmark was the tangible evidence for Chen Changping and the midwife to claim her identity. Before she turned three, she must find a way to get rid of it.
...
In the evening, Xu Chunniang told her husband about her conversation with Wang Erniang, worriedly saying, "What do you think, could our Yingbao really be Chen Changping's child?"
Jiang Sanlang fell silent. After a long while, he finally said, "Even if she is his child, he has abandoned her already. Can he still want to reclaim her?"
"But..." Chunniang pulled her daughter close to her, feeling down, "I feel uneasy."
Jiang Sanlang held his wife's hand, comforting her, "Don't worry. When I found Yingbao, there was no one around to see. Who could prove the child is from Chen Changping's family? Moreover, they abandoned the child at the graveyard, clearly not intending for her to survive, so how could they come looking for her after all this time?"
"Mhm." Xu Chunniang was slightly relieved.
She closed her eyes, but suddenly opened them again, "Sanlang, you didn't tell anyone where you found Yingbao, did you?"
Jiang Sanlang nodded, "I'm not foolish. Since we decided to raise Yingbao, why would I tell the truth?"
"That's good." Xu Chunniang rests her head on her husband's chest, murmuring, "If, if someone does come to claim Yingbao in the future, you must say we found her at Xiaonan Mountain."
North and south, separated by over ten miles.
"Alright."
The husband and wife remained silent for a while.
Chunniang suddenly remembered something, anxiously asking, "Sanlang, Yingbao has a birthmark on her wrist, do you think that family will claim her with the birthmark as evidence?"
Jiang Sanlang frowned, and after a while, he replied, "Then we just make sure no one else sees her birthmark."
"But," Chunniang said, worried, "we'll be fine when it's cold, but I'm afraid we won't be able to hide it in the summer."
There's no way a child would wear long sleeves in the summer. Even if we made her wear them, she wouldn't keep them on. She would take them off herself, ah.
"Don't think about it anymore, sleep. There will be a way where the road ends." Jiang Sanlang comforted his wife, "After all, Chen Changping is an educated man, his reputation is still important. We didn't steal or rob Yingbao, if he wants her back, he must follow the proper procedures."
Chunniang didn't speak again, staying quiet.