Wealthy Beauty in the 60s

"I’m not going back, I’ll stay here tonight with Feng Ying, Brother Gao, can you please tell my dad?" Dong Meihua didn’t want to go back with Gao Jiazhi.

"Sure." Gao Jiazhi readily agreed and promptly left. It was late at night and the roads were not easy to walk; it was better not to take Dong Meihua back.

He Hongjun waited at the Gao family’s house for quite a while, chatting with Gao Guoqiang. When he saw Gao Jiazhi return alone, he felt a bit disappointed and said, "Didn’t find her?"

"I found her, she’s at Liu Haiguo’s house. She said she wants to stay there with Feng Ying and not come back," Gao Jiazhi explained.

Sun Yuhua tugged at the corner of her mouth and breathed a sigh of relief.

He Hongjun’s face fell. He hadn’t expected Dong Meihua to be unwilling to return. It seemed she was still upset. He told Gao Jiazhi, "Thank you. It’s late, and if she doesn’t want to come back, let her be. As long as she is safe, that’s good."

At this point, He Hongjun said to Gao Guoqiang, "This family shame should not be spread abroad. I’ve lost face all the way to your place."

Gao Guoqiang replied, "Forget it, don’t talk about these unnecessary things. My family has its own issues. We’ve lived in the same production team for so many years, every household has its troubles; everyone knows everyone."

He Hongjun felt a bit more comfortable after Gao Guoqiang said this, and sat for a while before he left.

As soon as He Hongjun had left, Zheng Xianghong came over and whispered, "It couldn’t be because of Xia Xiao’s pregnancy, could it? Li Shengmei must be displeased with Dong Meihua."

Gao Guoqiang glanced at Zheng Xianghong and said, "Why mention these things? It’s none of our family’s business."

Zheng Xianghong didn’t say anything more, but she believed it was true, still her curiosity about medical matters lingered in her heart.

Sun Yuhua then confirmed, "That must be the reason. Li Shengmei watches Dong Meihua’s belly every day, almost as though she could stare a grandson out of it."

Xia Xiao didn’t concern herself with these things, but she also felt Sun Yuhua’s guess was very close, possibly right. Rubbing her belly, Xia Xiao thought it had only been three months, yet it was so exhausting already.

She wished time would pass faster and the baby would come out soon, as the days of pregnancy were too hard and quite boring.

Everyone went to work, and she was left idle at home, unable to even find someone to talk to.

If this were a future era, she could go out shopping, eat good food, see beautiful scenery, but here, labor was most honored—there really wasn’t much fun or anything interesting to do.

Thus, now Xia Xiao either did some light household chores or knitted sweaters—since she couldn’t sew—or went into the space to plant vegetables and talk to Shitou, or she visited Ge Liang, came back to play with little Weilin, and that was all.

After taking a bath, Xia Xiao chatted with everyone in the courtyard for a while, then announced she was going to sleep.

Being pregnant made her sleepy, which everyone understood, and Zheng Xianghong told Xia Xiao to rest well.

Xia Xiao returned to her room, bolted the door, and went into the space.

Shitou said, "That chicken has been crowing for a long time, it’s so annoying, let me out quickly."

Xia Xiao laughed, "Maybe it’s about to lay eggs."

Indeed, when Xia Xiao went to check, the chicken had really laid eggs—two of them.

Excitement crossed Xia Xiao’s face. "They usually lay just one, but now it’s laid two at once."

Shitou remarked, "The water in the space makes a difference, doesn’t it?"

Xia Xiao wondered, "Could it be that I’m carrying twins or even fraternal twins in my belly?"

Laughter echoed in the air from Shitou, prompting Xia Xiao to quickly say, "Stop, I don’t want to know."

"Why don’t you want to know? I thought you’d be curious," Shitou said.

Xia Xiao shook her head. "I don’t want to know now." And Shitou’s laughter made her feel it couldn’t be twins; if it were, Shitou would definitely have told her.

Xia Xiao set the eggs aside, planning to eat one each day. She wasn’t going out to trade these days, and whatever vegetables she had in the space, she mixed in with food for her family or made into dried dishes she’d send to her parents’ home.

The wild fruits previously stored in the space were too much for Xia Xiao to consume alone; many fell and became compost in the space. This time, however, Xia Xiao was planning to learn wine-making from Zheng Xianghong.

Now that Zheng Xianghong had spare time at home, Xia Xiao asked her about winemaking, then bought empty jars at the county town and started experimenting in the space.

At the Red Star Production Team, Dong Meihua stayed at the Lius’ home for three days, helping Feng Ying with work, but never saw the He family or anyone from the Guangming Production Team come looking for her.

Dong Meihua felt uneasy. She supposed she should have returned the next day, especially since He Hongjun had sent Gao Jiazhi to find her. But Dong Meihua didn’t return and had stayed in the Red Star Production Team for three days. It didn’t matter much for Dong Meihua to visit, since she had married He Xuexiang and was now related to the He family, so both Feng Ying and Liu Haiguo were very pleased.

But after three days, Dong Meihua still hadn’t returned, and Feng Ying finally persuaded her to leave.

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Originally, having Liu Haihua staying around eating without working was already making Feng Ying unhappy. Though more tolerant towards Dong Meihua, she also did not want her to continue staying, given the limited food at home.

Dong Meihua felt somewhat embarrassed and told Feng Ying, "Liu Haihua has been dining with you the whole time without working, and she eats so much. Doesn’t she feel ashamed?"

Hearing Liu Haihua mentioned, Feng Ying got irritated, "Ashamed? She has a thick face."

Liu Haihua, who already had a big appetite, found it even larger during pregnancy, and the initial nausea had also subsided.

Feng Ying’s resentment towards Liu Haihua grew daily, primarily because Liu Haihua didn’t respect her as a sister-in-law.

"Well, I’m going back," said Dong Meihua.

"Go on, it’ll be hard to travel once it gets dark," Feng Ying nodded and didn’t attempt to keep Dong Meihua any longer.

Dong Meihua went back.

At the He family’s house, after her three days’ absence, He Hongjun felt somewhat discontent, thinking that Dong Meihua was too temperamental. Did he really need to go fetch her himself?

Thus, He Hongjun stopped bothering about Dong Meihua, and Li Shengmei cared even less, writing to her son to complain and thinking if Dong Meihua had the nerve, she could just stay in the Red Star Production Team, saving them food.

However, on the fourth day, Dong Meihua couldn’t resist returning dejectedly, and naturally, she felt bitter.

"Dad," she called out upon seeing He Hongjun sitting in the courtyard.

He Hongjun glanced at Dong Meihua and said indifferently, "Good that you’re back," and said no more.

Dong Meihua felt even more sour inside. The He family indeed held no regard for her. After returning to her room and bolting the door, Dong Meihua covered herself with the quilt and cried.

She resented He Xuexiang for being useless, causing her to stay at home and face humiliations; she resented Xia Xiao for being pregnant, which led to her facing scolding and losing face; she hated Li Shengmei for making things difficult for her.