Chapter 364 - 366 Mom, You Didn’t Put Poison in the Dumplings, Did You?
Xia Xiao stared steadily at Wang Yuncai, her eyes deep and unmoving, nothing else stirred, making Wang Yuncai feel a chill in her heart as if Xia Xiao had seen right through her with a single glance. It was also at this moment that Wang Yuncai experienced such an unfamiliar side of Xia Xiao.
Xia Xiao was just mimicking the way Old Lady Gao had looked at her before, as she watched Wang Yuncai, feeling it necessary to clear the air; the siblings from The Wangs had been coming to upset her in turns, and Xia Xiao thought it affected her mood. Moreover, what if it affected the child in her belly?
Wang Yuncai’s smile stiffened as she said, "Sister-in-law, it’s not poisoned, I asked my mom, and she said that pregnant women can eat dumplings."
"I heard that Gao Guihua is pregnant, and you are not trying to please your real sister-in-law, but bringing dumplings to me instead, Wang Yuncai, what am I supposed to think?" Xia Xiao said, hearing this news brought back by Gao Guoqiang from the town.
Zheng Xianghong came over and said, "That’s right, Wang Yuncai, Guihua is your real sister-in-law, is she still at the Red Star Production Team or at home now?"
Wang Yuncai could not muster a smile now; she had truly forgotten about Gao Guihua. Xia Xiao said, "Guihua should be at the Red Star Production Team. You should take it to her; I’ve just eaten, I’m not hungry right now."
"My brother did go home, to bring dumplings to my sister-in-law," Wang Yuncai added quickly.
But her excuse at this moment was too weak; who would believe her? They had no real relationship and had never been on good terms. Xia Xiao had always believed that unsolicited favors were either treachery or thievery.
Especially from a Wang Yuncai who harbored thoughts for her husband, Xia Xiao didn’t know whether the dumplings were poisoned, but she would never eat anything from Wang Yuncai.
"Sister-in-law, I just like you, I want to get close and be on good terms with you, I don’t mean anything else," Wang Yuncai said, looking rather pitiable.
"But I don’t want to be on good terms with you; we were basically strangers before, and this sudden approach, I can’t adapt to it," Xia Xiao said, her face expressionless.
"Auntie," Wang Yuncai looked at Zheng Xianghong with a hint of grievance.
Zheng Xianghong said, "Guihua is at the Red Star Production Team, right? It’s not far from here, you should take it to her."
Wang Yuncai, persuaded by Zheng Xianghong, took her leave. Zheng Xianghong walked Wang Yuncai to the door, and Xia Xiao turned to Shitou and asked, "Do you think she could have poisoned the dumplings?"
"I don’t think so, would she be that foolish?" Shitou replied.
Xia Xiao nodded, agreeing it was unlikely she poisoned the dumplings, but Wang Yuncai’s motive for approaching her seemed suspect.
Especially that time at the post office, when she heard Wang Yuncai hope for her to die along with her unborn child, it offered a chance; so being cautious was never wrong.
Zheng Xianghong came back and said, "That girl is too obvious, even worse at hiding her intentions than Wang Xueyong. What kind of people are these, one after another?"
Not to mention that Zheng Xianghong had heard from Xia Xiao about Wang Yuncai, just watching Wang Yuncai’s keenness to get closer to Xia Xiao felt off. So at this moment, Zheng Xianghong advised Xia Xiao, "Next time she comes, just say you’re sleeping inside. I’ll send her away. Who knows what sort of bad intentions she might have."
Xia Xiao nodded, stood up with her hand on her belly, and walked around the yard, "Mom, don’t worry about me, I’ll take care of myself."
Zheng Xianghong sighed, one moment it was Wang Xueyong, then Old Lady Gao, then Wang Yuncai—how could she not worry?
The meanwhile, the departing Wang Yuncai truly took the dumplings to the Red Star Production Team. Gao Guihua, seeing that Wang Yuncai had specially brought dumplings for her, was deeply moved.
"Yuncai, you treat me the best." Coming to the countryside, cravings were inconvenient, surely not as comfortable as the life at The Wangs, but Gao Guihua did not regret following Wang Xueyong here.
Previously, at the Guangming Production Team, she hadn’t paid attention to the other educated youths, but coming to the Red Star Production Team with Wang Xueyong, and seeing the educated youths, each one looking better than the last, how could Gao Guihua not be on her guard?
In Gao Guihua’s heart, Wang Xueyong was perfect in every way; marrying him was her greatest fortune. Thus, she regarded Wang Xueyong as more important than anything else and watched him closely.
After finishing the dumplings, Wang Xueyong returned from outside. He too had been to town, bringing dumplings back home for Gao Guihua, not expecting her to have already eaten.
"What brings you here?" Wang Xueyong asked.
"I brought some dumplings for my sister-in-law," Wang Yuncai said.
Wang Xueyong nodded as Gao Guihua smiled and said, "Xueyong, I’m full now, you can have this portion."
"No need, you keep it for yourself."
As soon as Wang Xueyong spoke, Gao Guihua didn’t stand on ceremony and finished it off. Her appetite had grown since getting pregnant, so the portion Wang Xueyong brought back was also devoured by her.
Wang Xueyong at this moment was not paying attention to Gao Guihua but was reprimanding Wang Yuncai. Wang Xueyong had learned about the post office incident when he got home and had every reason to scold Wang Yuncai now.
Naturally, Wang Yuncai wouldn’t just stand there and take the scolding; she picked up her food container and left.
Back at home, Mrs. Wang asked, "You’re back?"
Wang Yuncai nodded unhappily, set the food container on the table, and Mrs. Wang, looking at it, said, "All finished? Xia Xiao isn’t picky, then."
"She didn’t eat it; my sister-in-law finished it all."
As soon as Wang Yuncai said this, Mrs. Wang’s eyes widened, and she exclaimed loudly, "Didn’t you take it for Xia Xiao? Why did you bring it to your sister-in-law?"
"She didn’t want it, so I took it to my sister-in-law," Wang Yuncai said, looking puzzled at Mrs. Wang.
Mrs. Wang got instantly furious, "How could you take those dumplings to your sister-in-law?"
Seeing Mrs. Wang’s reaction, Wang Yuncai suddenly paused and whispered, "Mom, you didn’t actually put poison in the dumplings, did you?"
"What nonsense," Mrs. Wang snapped.
"Then why are you raising your voice so much, Mom?" Wang Yuncai pouted.
Mrs. Wang was beside herself with anger, looking at her daughter who seemed to be born to infuriate her.
Of course, Mrs. Wang hadn’t poisoned the dumplings, but the broth was made with fish, shrimp, and crab; crab is cooling in nature, and eating too much can cause diarrhea and miscarriage in pregnant women. Mrs. Wang didn’t intend to poison Xia Xiao; she just wanted to weaken her body a bit.
Seeing her daughter was madly in love with someone, Mrs. Wang was also distressed. She had a nightmare that night in which her daughter drowned herself, prompting Mrs. Wang to want to help her.
But now the dumplings had been eaten by her daughter-in-law. If her son’s wife’s health weakened, it ignited a frantic worry inside Mrs. Wang, but she couldn’t reveal this in front of her daughter.
"How is your sister-in-law doing?" Mrs. Wang asked.
"She’s doing quite well. It seems she’s settling into the Red Star Production Team nicely. She finished the portion I brought and was eating the one my brother brought back." Wang Yuncai spoke and then added, "Mom, don’t worry too much about my sister-in-law. She originally came from a production team; how could she not adapt to the countryside?"
"Go check on your sister-in-law first thing tomorrow morning," Mrs. Wang said.
Meanwhile, Gao Guihua had overeaten and, furthermore, was experiencing diarrhea. Wang Xueyong hurriedly took her to the hospital.
Mrs. Wang received the news and rushed to the hospital, not daring to confess that she used crab to make the dumpling broth.
Fortunately, the baby was saved, but Gao Guihua needed proper care to recover her health.