Chapter 368 - 362_1
Lin Yue thought back to the situation at that time. If it weren’t for her quick-wittedness and agility, and the fact that she was being troubled by several men, she would have never made it out favorably. Liang Wei was a reckless man, and at the time, he was egged on by Jiang Wenshu. Who knew what he could have done! She had no one by her side to rely on and had to toughen up to confront Liang Wei and his group alone. If Zhao Erhu really had been unable to help or was too busy, she wouldn’t have blamed him, but the issue was that he was with another woman at the time, a woman who was up to no good and constantly provoking her.
As Lin Yue thought about it, a lump formed in her chest. Even though she believed Zhao Erhu wouldn’t have anything to do with that woman, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of injustice, especially considering Zhao Erhu’s attitude towards her, which was causing even more discomfort in her heart.
Since that day, Lin Yue and Zhao Erhu had been giving each other the cold shoulder for several days. However, as the New Year approached and things became busier, the two reconciled. Zhao Erhu learned that appeasing his wife when she was jealous wasn’t so easy, so he kept some distance from Li Xiaotao, even though he had no such intentions. His wife being upset gave him a headache but also pained his heart. Occasionally making his wife jealous did remind him of his place and importance in her heart, but if it affected the relationship between them, it wouldn’t be good. He had just slowly started to make her accept him, and by helping Li Xiaotao this time, he had also repaid a debt of gratitude.
A few days after the Laba Festival, first, a light snow fell, and then a heavy snow began to swirl down. After several days, the whole village was enveloped in silver, a vast expanse of white. The households had also posted their Spring Festival couplets one by one, adding a touch of festivity to the cold season.
Lin Yue was particularly sensitive to the cold, and ever since it began to snow, she refused to leave the house, staying indoors with a lively charcoal fire. She would warm herself by the fire while doing some embroidery, or teach arithmetic to Dalang and the others, in which she had absolute confidence in surpassing these ancient people. Or occasionally, when Zhang Chunhua and the others came for a visit, she would take out some fruit and chat with them. Her days were quite pleasant, but it was also because she had bought all the necessary New Year goods before the snow, and had prepared everything needed. Now, she could afford such leisure.
"Wife, the village chief is slaughtering a pig tomorrow, and he invited us to enjoy the pork feast," Zhao Erhu said to Lin Yue as he entered, braving the howling wind and snow, while brushing off the snowflakes that had landed on him.
Speaking of the pork feast, it was a common custom in the rural areas of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Before the New Year, families who had raised pigs and were relatively affluent would slaughter a pig at this time and invite relatives and friends, with whom they had a good relationship, to their home for the feast. Over the past year, because of Lin Yue’s special efforts, the relationship between Zhao Erhu’s family and the village chief’s was very good. So when the village chief saw Zhao Erhu, he personally invited him, asking his whole family to come over.
Zhao Erhu’s face hinted at his delight while speaking. It was worth noting that in the past, no one had ever invited their family to such a feast. His reputation had been one reason, and another was his character, shaped by his upbringing; he was rather cold and indifferent, and not very close to the villagers, so no one had ever invited them to a pork feast. Now that the village chief had extended an invitation, of course he was happy. After all, the village chief’s status in the village was quite high, and not just anyone had the honor of a personal invitation.