Chef Hua

Hua Xiaomai made an appearance on the sixth day in the east village and inevitably exchanged a few earnest words with everyone before she stopped going to the shop.

Now her belly had indeed grown very large; she could hardly see her own feet when she lowered her head, and moving around was particularly laborious. She simply stayed home all day long, except occasionally going out for a walk with Old Madam Meng or waiting for Meng Yuhuai to come home in the evening to accompany her on a stroll; she basically never left the house.

After the 15th day of the first lunar month, the new year was considered over, and the villagers once again began their day-to-day hard labor.

Jing Taihe’s blacksmith shop in Fuzhe County was ready, planning to open during the first lunar month. Since Hua Xiaomai was not moble and could not personally go to the town, she had Meng Yuhuai go in her stead to congratulate him and also visited the old Jing Family home on the first night, wanting to talk more with her sister.

After all, since the couple had opened a blacksmith shop in town, they would have to settle there, and it wouldn’t be as easy for the sisters to see each other as before.

The items that Jing Taihe and his wife wanted to bring to the city had been packed up two days earlier. They borrowed an ox cart from Daoxiang Garden and would take everything to the city in one go the next morning. Even before they moved, the courtyard already seemed much emptier. Old Father Jing and Old Mother Jing sat on the threshold, mumbling softly about something unknown; seeing Hua Xiaomai approaching, they greeted her and moved aside.

After exchanging greetings with them, Hua Xiaomai chuckled and said as she entered the courtyard, "Uncle, Aunt, my sister isn’t busy at the moment, is she?"

"She’s not busy." Old Mother Jing looked up at the sky and muttered, "It’s good that you’re here, Xiaomai. Maybe you can help persuade your sister—she’s been clinging to that hammer all day and is probably still shedding tears in her room even now!"

As a mother, to separate from a child who’s only seven or eight months old, anyone would be reluctant. What Hua Xiaomai often saw was that her sister truly loved little Tie Chui to the marrow of her bones. Having to part suddenly, how could her heart stand it?

Although the child in her belly had not yet been born, Hua Xiaomai was already beginning to understand her sister’s feelings. She smiled at the elders and stepped into the east wing room.