At first glance, most of the people were acquaintances. Just as Shen Wuqiu was wondering which elder to greet first, a stylishly dressed woman in the crowd spotted her first: "Wuqiu."
Upon hearing that familiar voice, Shen Wuqiu immediately looked over and was very happy, "Auntie."
"You still remember you have an aunt? You came back without even telling your aunt." The woman walked towards her in high heels, scolding her, but her eyes were full of affection.
My aunt's surname is Zhao. Because she is the ninth child in her family, she is called Zhao Jiujiu. My aunt's personality is just like her unique name. She is one of the most individualistic young women of her generation.
Shen Wuqiu's maternal grandmother gave birth to a son, Song Jue, and a daughter, Song Xiu. The two siblings were about ten years apart in age. When Zhao Jiujiu married into the Song family, Shen Wuqiu's mother, Song Xiu, was still a young girl. Although they were supposed to be sisters-in-law, they got along as well as real sisters.
If it weren't for the fact that the couple had just started their business and were too busy to take care of everything, they would have insisted on bringing Shen Wuqiu to their home to raise.
Over the years, although Shen's father never mistreated Shen Wuqiu materially, his aunt Zhao Jiujiu gave her no less than Shen's father.
As Zhao Jiujiu herself said, "My aunt-in-law is, after all, a 'mother,' so she's practically a mother to me." Aside from the sister-in-law relationship, she genuinely likes her niece, Shen Wuqiu. Plus, since she only has two sons and no daughters, she cherishes Shen Wuqiu even more.
“How could I not remember my aunt? Even if I get Alzheimer’s and can’t remember anyone else, I will definitely remember my aunt.”
When she was with her aunt who truly cared for her, Shen Wuqiu spoke in a playful manner.
However, the white cat in her arms was clearly unhappy with these words and made its presence known with a meow.
Sure enough, as soon as she spoke, Zhao Jiujiu's hand, which was about to pinch Chen Wuqiu's face, abruptly changed direction in mid-air and stopped on the white cat's head. "Is this your cat?"
"Mmm." Seeing how much she liked it, Shen Wuqiu picked the cat up a little more so she could see it more clearly. "Isn't it beautiful?"
“So beautiful, so beautiful…” Zhao Jiujiu exclaimed in amazement as she looked the cat over. “Where did you buy this cat? Its eyes, its fur, it’s so beautiful.”
Hearing her praise, Shen Wuqiu also became proud, "I found it."
Zhao Jiujiu shook her head in disbelief and reached out to hug the cat. "Since you found it anyway, why don't you go find another one and give me this one?"
Before Shen Wuqiu could react, the white cat resisted and, as soon as it was in her hands, eagerly snuggled into Shen Wuqiu's arms.
Shen Wuqiu smiled and took the white cat back. "Auntie, look, it's really not that I didn't want to."
Zhao Jiujiu reached out and gave the white cat a hard tug on the head. "Alright, this little thing is probably destined to be with you too."
Zhao Jiujiu scolded him, but she didn't really take it to heart. She was a carefree person who raised her children in a haphazard way, let alone put any effort into raising a cat. She just had a whim because she thought the white cat was pretty.
As she spoke, she glanced around again, then patted Shen Wuqiu on the shoulder and changed the subject, "You have quite a few relatives here today, go and greet them."
Today's guests are all relatives, mostly elders, so I should definitely go and greet them.
Shen Wuqiu nodded, glanced around the courtyard, and asked, "Uncle didn't come?"
"He's here. He's talking to your dad inside." As she spoke, Zhao Jiujiu leaned close to her ear and lowered her voice, "If your uncle dares not to come and support you in this situation, I'll definitely make him kneel on a washboard."
Shen Wuqiu couldn't help but chuckle as she looked at her aunt, whose wrinkles deepened but whose voice still sounded childlike. She was genuinely happy for her. "Now kneeling on durians and keyboards is all the rage. Washboards are outdated."
Zhao Jiujiu pouted, "Anyway, we still have a washboard at home. Alright, stop joking with me, go and greet the guests."
Shen Wuqiu didn't stand on ceremony with her. After greeting the other elders, she carried the white cat into the house.
Several people were crammed into Shen's father's bedroom. One was her uncle, Song Jue, and two others were Shen Wujun's two uncles. As for the other old man, she didn't recognize him.
She hesitated for a few seconds at the door before going in, first greeting Mr. Shen, and then saying hello to her uncle, Song Jue.
As for the old man with the cane, she learned from Shen's father that he was Su Yunzhi's uncle, and according to seniority, she should also call him her great-uncle.
They were all a group of grown men, and Shen Wuqiu didn't have much to talk about with them. After exchanging a few words, she took the white cat and went upstairs.
With many guests coming to the house, there were naturally many things to do. Shen Wuqiu didn't stay in her room for long. Leaving the white cat in the room, she went downstairs to help.
In the kitchen, Su Yunzhi and her two sisters-in-law were busy. They probably didn't know Shen Wuqiu had returned. Her eldest sister-in-law, Duan Xiao'e, was still trying to comfort Su Yunzhi.
"...Money is money, but this family business shouldn't be underestimated. You don't know, the country is now strongly promoting planting and agriculture, and many projects can apply for government subsidies, so there's really nothing to worry about. Little sister, we are your own brother and sister-in-law, would we ever harm you? Just listen to my advice, don't take the money, just take these fields. If you're really worried, you can split the money and the fields in half..."
Su Yunzhi disliked her sister-in-law's domineering and superior attitude. She would only listen to her advice in one ear and out the other, and her replies were always lukewarm: "Over the years, Lao Le has never let me manage the land. Junjun is still young. How can my daughter and I manage this land?"
Upon hearing this, Duan Xiao'e immediately patted her chest and assured her, "You don't need to worry about that, we're here for you."
Su Yunzhi glanced at her.
Duan Xiao'e wanted to say more, but Wu Xiulan, who was next to her, secretly pulled her back.
Wu Xiulan is Su Yunzhi's second sister-in-law. Unlike the shrewdness and calculation of the eldest son and his wife, the second son and his wife are more honest and law-abiding. Although they secretly hoped that the land contracted by the Shen family could be handed over to their nephew Shen Wujun, they did not say much.
Duan Xiao'e was very unhappy with her interruption and said in a rather unfriendly tone, "Why did you pull me?"
Wu Xiulan cursed Duan Xiao'e in her heart, but smiled at Shen Wuqiu at the door and said, "Wuqiu is back."
"Hmm." Compared to Duan Xiao'e, her adopted aunt, Shen Wuqiu was more polite to Wu Xiulan, her adopted second aunt. Hearing her greet her, she pretended not to have heard their whispers and walked in casually. "Thank you for your hard work. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Duan Xiao'e felt guilty and embarrassed for a few seconds, then immediately smiled broadly and said to Chen Wuqiu, "No need, nowadays young ladies are all pampered young ladies who never lift a finger. We can handle the kitchen work."
Shen Wuqiu gave a perfunctory smile, taking it as a response, and ignored her words, walking straight to the pool to help Su Yunzhi deal with the lobsters in the pool.
When Shen Wuqiu came to the kitchen, Duan Xiao'e, who usually loves to chatter, became noticeably more reserved, and the kitchen became much quieter.
They were busy until it was completely dark before the last dish was finally cooked. Su Yunzhi didn't let Shen Wuqiu help clean up the kitchen anymore and instead sent her out to greet the guests.
Over here, with the help of several uncles, Shen Wujun had already set up tables and chairs in the yard, and everyone consciously sat down at their respective tables. Shen Wuqiu glanced around but didn't see Shen Yan and the others, so she had to call him again.
Shen Yan hesitated on the phone, and Shen Wuqiu invited him several times before he finally agreed to come.
Dinner was served only after everyone had arrived.
Men at the dinner table always talk about a few drinks and a few words, mixing serious and trivial matters, and dinner doesn't end until nine o'clock.
After dinner, some of the women helped clean up, while the men moved to the living room to discuss business.
With all the witnesses present, Mr. Shen didn't mince words and went straight to the point, stating his plans:
"I am grateful for your kind invitation to come and sit at my home today. As you all know, I have loved this land all my life. It is also thanks to your trust in me that you were willing to contract out your land to me. Before I could make a name for myself, my health failed me, and now I have to hand over what I have to do to my children."
Mr. Shen has been talking to so many people today, and his energy is waning, so he speaks slowly.
Fortunately, over the years, he has gained some prestige in both the village and the clan, so no one bothered him.
He took a sip of tea to catch his breath and continued, "I believe all parents in the world are the same; they all want to leave a bigger legacy for their children. Over the years, I haven't left them much of a legacy. A few years ago, I joined the trend and bought a house in the provincial capital. The rest is just some savings, and the rest is this land."
To me, all my children are the same. To avoid my brother and sister fighting tooth and nail over this inheritance after my death, I've asked everyone here today to witness this. After discussion among our family, the house and savings will go to my younger son, while the land will be managed by my eldest son. Do any of you, dear friends and relatives, have any further suggestions?
The people sitting in the living room looked at each other in bewilderment. After a long while, an elderly man finally spoke up:
“Logically speaking, these are your family matters and we shouldn’t interfere. But I have a question. Wuqiu is a girl and she’s not young anymore. If she gets married in a few years, who should we ask to take responsibility for the contracting of these fields?”
The speaker was the oldest elder in the clan, known as Fourth Grandfather. Although he was ninety years old, he was still very healthy.
As soon as the Fourth Grandfather said this, everyone immediately perked up:
"Yes, they say that once a daughter is married, she's like water spilled from a bowl. If Wuqiu gets married in the future, who will we turn to?"
"There are few women who farm, so I think it's better to leave it to the sons to manage."
...
Amidst the clamor and doubts, Mr. Shen didn't rush to speak up for Shen Wuqiu, but instead looked at her.
Shen Wuqiu listened to these discussions, but her expression remained unchanged. "Elders, please rest assured, I have no plans to get married in the short term. Since I have agreed to take over these lands for my father, I will definitely do my best to take responsibility."
"That's easy for you to say. When the time comes, you can just say you want to get married and we won't care about any of this."
"Women are different from men; once they get married and start a family, their whole focus shifts to their home..."
Shen Wuqiu looked at the aunts who had come to join in the fun and smiled. “Fate is something that can’t be predicted. I can’t guarantee whether I will get married or when I will get married, but in front of everyone, I can make a guarantee today that even if I get married in the future, as long as these lands are still under contract, I will definitely choose a husband who will marry into my Shen family.”
Nowadays, life is better, and the practice of a man marrying into his wife's family is almost non-existent.
Hearing her say that, although everyone still had some doubts, they didn't seriously disagree.
No one objected, so Father Shen struck while the iron was hot and had the villagers draft the documents on the spot, and sign and seal them.
After all that fuss, it was already past eleven o'clock.
Eleven o'clock isn't considered late in the city, but in the countryside, everyone should be sound asleep by now. As we left, everyone was yawning.
Shen Wuqiu had been busy all day and was exhausted. She quickly showered and lay down on the bed, too tired to even care about the white cat that had snuggled into the covers. Before falling asleep, she stroked the cat's head and said, "No singing tonight..."
After saying that, he turned over and fell asleep.
As she turned over, the white cat in the bed flashed with white light and transformed into a beautiful woman in the blink of an eye.
In the darkness, the woman skillfully removed the cumbersome buttons from her nightgown, her delicate hands gently stroking the mounds of her breasts.
The electric shock stimulated the sleeping person, who let out a soft moan, "Ugh, so sleepy, stop it..."
The woman caught the hand that was hitting her, licked it, then leaned down and silenced the sleeping woman's moans.
"Who told you to seduce me with your sweetness from head to toe..."
A note from the author:
Alright, the family is finally divided up. Time to focus on farming and raising kids.
Don't worry, our little kitten will soon meet Qiuqiu in human form. A tiny kitten will also be coming soon.
Chapter 15 Women
The warm, wet kisses were soft and sticky, stimulating sensitive nerves and gradually exciting them, disrupting a peaceful dream.
Unable to resist or dodge the attack while fast asleep, Shen Wuqiu struggled to open her eyes.
In the hazy vision, the fair face in front of me seemed to have been filtered, and I couldn't see it clearly. Only her slightly upturned phoenix eyes were clear, especially her eyes, which seemed to be inlaid with stars from the sky, and were shining with a layer of light.
Shen Wuqiu just watched, her mind blank as she was overcome by drowsiness, her consciousness seemingly still asleep, and she had no defense or panic at the person who had entered her field of vision.
Clearly, the woman who disturbed her sleep hadn't expected her to wake up midway through, and when she met her half-awake eyes, she was also taken aback.
In this increasingly eerie silence, just as the sober party was at a loss, the unaware party suddenly laughed.
After laughing, Shen Wuqiu's eyes slowly closed again, muttering to herself, "So this is what it looks like..."
The words were spoken in a muffled manner, making it difficult for the woman lying on top of her to understand. It took her several seconds to realize what the other person had said.
What does "look like this" mean?
Are you satisfied or not?
The woman touched her face, staring at the sleeping Shen Wuqiu, lost in thought.
This woman certainly wasn't unaware of my beauty. She must have been captivated by my looks, forcing me to repay her kindness by offering myself to her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have so enthusiastically invited me to have my way on the very first night!
In conclusion, this woman must be extremely satisfied with my good looks.