After a satisfying meal, Zhao Jiaqi packed some dishes and over a dozen steamed dumplings, then went to Granny Li’s with the three aunts.
It was getting late. When they arrived at Granny Li’s, they happened to find her doing embroidery under the dim candlelight.
Upon seeing them, Granny Li was clearly startled before she invited them in.
“Sisters-in-law, you’re here, please sit!”
While they might not have found the lack of a gate on the courtyard wall strange, Fan Zehao and Zhao Jiaqi seemed less at ease.
Why would a normal household have no gate? Though they didn’t ask, they could guess the reasons one by one.
Zhao Jiaqi observed the embroidery on the table. The styles of the baby bibs were rather old-fashioned, but the craftsmanship was excellent, with fine stitches and lifelike embroidery. This was not something that could be done without a skilled hand.
“Younger sister, don’t trouble yourself!”
Seeing her getting stools and wanting to boil water, Liu Qinshi quickly interrupted her.
“These are newcomers to our village. This is Fan Da, and this is Madam Fan. They know about your situation and came to bring you some food out of concern!”
Liu Qinshi, as the village head’s wife, certainly knew how to speak.
Zhao Jiaqi placed the basket gently on the table and smiled, greeting her, “Hello, Granny Li. I’m new to the village, you can just call me Madam Fan!”
Granny Li looked at the pretty young wife before her and thought of when she first got married and was doting on her husband.
“Good child, I appreciate your kindness. Please take these things back. They’ll just be a burden to me if I keep them!”
It wasn’t that she didn’t want them, but she was afraid of implicating the newly arrived couple. After all, her ex-husband was a scoundrel and not someone to be trifled with.
Zhao Jiaqi was slightly taken aback. Thinking she was a very strong-willed person, she changed her approach. “If Granny Li rejects me so quickly, I don’t know how to continue our conversation?”
Her words not only surprised Granny Li but also confused those who had come with her.
“Just say whatever you need to say. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about!” Granny Li said with a smile.
Zhao Jiaqi pointed to the embroidery on the table and said in a low voice, “My embroidery skills are poor. I’d like to ask you to teach me. Consider this food as a tuition fee for taking me on as a disciple. What do you say?”
Upon hearing this, Granny Li let out a long sigh, smiled, and shook her head. “Learning embroidery is fine, but please forget about the tuition fee. Come tomorrow, and I’ll teach you!”
“How can that be? If you don’t accept it, I’m afraid I’ll overthink things!” Zhao Jiaqi refused to take the food back.
Granny Li finally understood her meaning. She smiled, patted Zhao Jiaqi’s hand, and replied happily, “Even without tuition, I’ll teach you all my best skills. Don’t worry, I won’t hold back!”
Zhao Jiaqi believed this part, but learning embroidery was secondary; bringing food was the real intention.
Seeing that Madam Fan was sincere, Liu Qinshi chimed in, “You old woman, just accept the tuition fee. It’s just food, not a huge sum of money!”
At this point, the village head also stepped forward to persuade her. “If you want to show your appreciation to Madam Fan, then teach her your embroidery skills well. This young couple is truly kind!”
Granny Li was a sensible person. With everyone urging her, it would be impolite to be overly hesitant. She chuckled and accepted the food.
“Then I’ll shamelessly accept it. Come tomorrow whenever you have time, and I’ll teach you!”
Fan Zehao felt cold standing in the house. He couldn’t let his wife come here to learn, not even to pretend.
He proactively said, “Granny Li, why don’t you come to our home? My wife is frail and cannot endure the cold!”
His direct words didn’t elicit much of a reaction from others, who simply saw it as him caring for his wife. However, Granny Li’s face showed a troubled expression upon hearing this.
“This… I…”
Seeing her distress, Zhao Jiaqi quickly said, “If Granny Li is having trouble, it’s alright. I’ll come tomorrow!”
Seeing this, Fan Zehao could only sigh inwardly. Fine, if his wife liked it, he would go along with her. At worst, he would chop more firewood later to warm Granny Li’s house.
“Madam Fan, it’s not about you. It’s that Granny Li is afraid of causing you trouble by coming to your home,” the village head reminded them subtly.
Her ex-husband was truly a terrible person, a freeloader. Anyone who had dealings with Granny Li would inevitably be entangled by him.
As the village head finished speaking, Granny Li also stated, “That’s right. I’m worried about bringing you trouble if I come to your place!”
Fan Zehao was the least afraid of trouble. Seeing how bullied Granny Li was, he was reminded of his mother’s past. A surge of blood rushed to his head. “I’m not afraid! I have strength. If anyone dares to cause trouble at my home, I’ll beat them so badly they won’t know which way is north or south!”
If he didn’t knock out a few of their teeth, he wouldn’t be called Fan!
Granny Li intended to persist, but Fan Zehao directly stated, “I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow. Granny Li, teach my wife well, and from now on, you’ll eat with us!”
The village head saw this as the best outcome, alleviating their worry that Granny Li wouldn’t survive the winter.
Everyone agreed that this was a good resolution.
On the way back, the village head lamented the arrival of such a kind couple in their village. “If our family were a little better off, we could have helped Granny Li too!”
Liu Qinshi sighed softly, “You’ve already helped Granny Li a lot. Otherwise, with her meek nature, she would have been bullied into nothingness long ago!”
The village head lowered his head in silence. Times were tough for everyone, and this was all he could do.
Upon returning home, Fan Zehao’s thoughts drifted back to his mother again.
Lying on the bed, his eyes stared at the ceiling. In the dark, nothing was visible, but Zhao Jiaqi could sense he was preoccupied.
After a moment’s thought, she understood his melancholy. “It’s almost Chinese New Year. Let’s take some time to go back and have a reunion. How about it?”
“Really?” Fan Zehao exclaimed, then his voice dropped. “Let’s not. Let’s go back when you remember me. We can’t let our efforts be in vain!”
“Then if I never remember, will we stay here forever?” In the darkness, Zhao Jiaqi felt a bit of worry herself. If she truly couldn’t recall their past, would it hurt him?
Fan Zehao replied resolutely, “No, you will remember me. I’m confident I can make you fall in love with me again!”
Beside her, he tightly clasped Zhao Jiaqi’s hand and pulled it into his quilt.
His confidence wasn’t blind. He knew his wife’s temperament very well. Winning back her affection was merely a matter of time!
The night was dark, and the north wind howled. The puddles outside had frozen over.