Even a fire is a big deal, and a banquet should be held to entertain relatives and friends.
After nine o'clock, relatives and friends began to arrive one after another to give gifts.
With the arrival of this guest, Shen Wuqiu was kept extremely busy.
A note from the author:
I haven't been feeling well lately, and I'm not in a good mood either.
So I haven't updated it.
Chapter 139
Over the past few months, Shen Wuqiu's family has held several banquets. Everyone has become quite familiar with the drinking etiquette, and Shen Wuqiu and her family have handled the hospitality in an orderly manner.
After the banquet, apart from Zhao Jiujiu and her family, who were close to her and stayed overnight, all the other relatives and friends left one after another.
It wasn't until evening that Shen Wuqiu, who had been so busy she barely had time to breathe, finally had a moment to herself.
Sitting at the dinner table, Su Yunzhi was no longer as busy serving everyone as she was at home. Instead, she sat next to Mr. Shen like a guest, watching the young couple busily serving everyone the food.
After dinner, seeing the mess in the kitchen and dining room, she finally felt a pang of guilt. She put on an apron again and helped Shen Wuqiu clean up while reminding her, "Don't blame me for not caring about you. Now that we're living separately, this is your house, and you should act like the lady of the house."
"I didn't think that way." Although Shen Wuqiu didn't have that awareness yet, she probably thought that once a woman has her own house, she will unconsciously develop the demeanor and sense of responsibility of a matriarch.
Therefore, when she saw Su Yunzhi acting like a hands-off manager today, she really didn't think much of it.
Su Yunzhi glanced at her furtively, making sure she wasn't just saying it out of anger, before continuing, "Don't think I'm being harsh. Women, once they have husbands and children, whether they like it or not, unconsciously become the backbone of the family. Let me put it this way, although I haven't earned a single penny in our family, I bet your father wouldn't know how to survive without me."
“I believe that.” Shen Wuqiu smiled at her. “Without you, my dad wouldn’t even be able to find his own socks.”
"Isn't that right?" Su Yunzhi gave a smug hum, then sighed, "I'm not telling you this to say that once we're separated, I won't care about your lives anymore. I just want you to know that this house is yours from now on, and you'll have to take care of the daily necessities like firewood, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea yourself. Of course, I'll still help out if I can."
As she spoke, she stood by the sink, turned on the hot water tap to test the temperature, paused, and seemed dissatisfied with what she had said. Then she sighed heavily, "I don't know if I explained myself clearly. Is it because I haven't read enough books? I feel like I'm not getting to the point no matter what I say."
“You’ve made yourself clear.” Shen Wuqiu handed her a pair of gloves. “I understand your intentions too.”
"That's good." Su Yunzhi put on gloves and quickly started washing the dishes. Seeing that Shen Wuqiu hadn't left, she wiped the kitchen counter and cabinets and continued, "Although we haven't spent much time together, I can tell you're a strong-willed person, not like most girls who are delicate. If you married a man, I wouldn't have to worry about you suffering, but now you're with Lingyu and have four children. Although they're not ordinary people, I always believe that all things in this world should be treated the same way."
"Lingyu isn't a bad girl. You can tell she's genuinely interested in you now, and her parents approve of you too. However, Lingyu isn't very worldly-wise and has a spoiled nature, which is understandable, since she's not an ordinary girl. But that's precisely why I worry about you, afraid you'll get taken advantage of."
Shen Wuqiu didn't interrupt, but listened quietly to what she had to say.
After giving a long speech, Su Yunzhi glanced at her and, seeing that she looked calm and unpleasant, continued, "It's not that I'm afraid she'll treat you badly. I'm just worried about your future life together. You'll have a lot to bear, and it will be tough. After all, we live in our world now, and we still have to follow the rules of our world, don't you think?"
Shen Wuqiu nodded, and after a few seconds, looked up at her. "Have you been worrying about these things for me?"
Su Yunzhi felt a little embarrassed by her gaze and instinctively reached out to tuck her hair back. But when she raised her hand, she realized that her gloves were covered in oil stains, so she awkwardly put them down.
Shen Wuqiu walked over and helped her tuck the hair that had fallen onto her cheek behind her ear.
Su Yunzhi was tense all over and dared not move.
After a long pause, she said in a slightly strained voice, "I wouldn't say I'm always worried, but I do think about it sometimes... Of course, I'm just saying that. If you think I'm being long-winded, I won't say it again."
"I didn't find you long-winded." Shen Wuqiu looked at her profile and was surprised to find that the fine lines at the corners of her eyes were layered. She seemed a little different from the sharp-looking woman in her memory. She suddenly felt a little sentimental and thought that time really flies. "I just feel a little touched."
Su Yunzhi paused, remaining silent for a long time.
“If my mother were still alive, she would probably say these things to me just like this.” Shen Wuqiu smiled slightly as she thought of this, but quickly looked at Su Yunzhi again, “Don’t misunderstand, I didn’t mean anything by it… How should I put it? I just feel that this feeling is wonderful.”
"As long as you don't find me long-winded, that's fine." Su Yunzhi lowered her head and quickly washed the dishes.
The sudden silence created an awkward atmosphere.
After washing the last dish, Su Yunzhi turned off the tap, but her hand remained on the tap without being pulled back. She whispered, "I guess I really do consider you my own daughter."
After saying that, she laughed self-deprecatingly, took off her gloves, and said, "You won't believe it, but I used to be eager for you to move out of the house and have nothing to do with us. It would be perfect to draw a clear line. Now that you're really going to live your own life, I feel a tightness in my chest, an emptiness, and I can't quite describe the feeling."
“You don’t need to do that. If you feel that living in Huashan is not inconvenient, we can still live together.”
Su Yunzhi shook her head, her lips moved, but she didn't know what to say. After thinking for a while, she simply stopped talking. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shen Wuqiu cleaning the pots and pans. She put on her gloves again. "Alright, alright, you've been busy all day. Go sit down and rest. The kids must miss you. I'll take care of things in the kitchen."
Shen Wuqiu stood up and stretched her aching back. She had been greeting and seeing off guests all day and had been standing all day. Her back and legs were indeed sore. She swallowed the polite words that were on the tip of her tongue. "Okay. Mom, thank you for your hard work."
"Oh. It's nothing to be tired of." Su Yunzhi immediately smiled when she said "Mom." Although Shen Wuqiu had changed how she addressed her, she didn't call her that very often.
Shen Wuqiu glanced around the kitchen and saw that she had mostly finished tidying up before washing her hands and leaving.
In the living room, several elders were playing with the kittens, while Shen Wujun and Gu Miaomiao were exchanging gift money.
"Sister, perfect timing, I was just checking the numbers with Sister Lingyu." Shen Wujun hated managing money the most, but he was the one who registered the gift money for the banquets they held.
"As long as you're right." As soon as Shen Wuqiu came over, Da Mao looked at her with teary eyes. She had no mind to care about the gift money and took him straight from Zhao Jiujiu's arms. "Sweet baby, did you miss your mother?"
"Is it because I miss my mom? I just woke up and I've been looking around everywhere." Zhao Jiujiu chimed in, then sniffed at Chen Wuqiu, "What are you busy with in the kitchen? You smell like cooking oil."
"Just tidying up a bit." Shen Wuqiu sniffed herself. "It's alright."
"Anyway, I can smell it."
Zhao Jiujiu snorted and added, "I don't think you can do it this way. We should consider hiring a housekeeper or something to help out."
When she was young, life was tough, and she did all sorts of chores. But later, when life got better, she stopped lifting a finger. As the saying goes, it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Having grown accustomed to a life of luxury, she was unwilling to lift a finger for housework.
Like today, she felt sorry for the child, but after helping to look after the child all day, she didn't want to move anymore.
"Just a little bit, I'll take a shower tonight anyway." Shen Wuqiu, holding Da Mao, sat down next to her. She was tired after a long day and didn't want to do anything more.
The little ones really miss their mother.
As soon as Da Mao was in her arms, his tense little face immediately relaxed, and he became much more lively, reaching out his little hands to touch Chen Wuqiu's face.
Shen Wuqiu leaned closer and placed her hand on his.
"Oh..." Da Mao excitedly babbled as soon as he touched her face.
Shen Wuqiu thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being needed by the child, as if all the fatigue of the day had disappeared. She lowered her head and gently rubbed her forehead against Da Mao's.
Da Mao laughed heartily.
This heartwarming interaction between mother and daughter immediately displeased the other children. The first to be dissatisfied was Sanmao, who was sitting opposite Shen Wuqiu. As soon as she saw her mother hugging her older sister, she started to stretch out her little hands towards her mother, but every time she stretched them out, her grandfather would grab them back.
The energetic Er Mao, who was originally lying in the rocking bed playing bubble-blowing with his little cousin, started waving his arms and legs in the rocking bed, wanting a hug, when he heard the noise.
Even the foodie Simao felt that the apple puree made by his maternal grandfather didn't taste good anymore and wanted his mother's embrace.
When the loudspeaker failed to deliver, Er Mao started wailing.
When she cried, Sanmao, not to be outdone, pouted and started to cry too.
"Tsk, as expected, the truth will out, and the lie will never become true. They still recognize you as their mother the most." Dad Shen was the first to hug Simao. "They don't seem to be very attached to you usually, but as soon as they see you, their closeness immediately becomes apparent."
Shen Wuqiu couldn't help but laugh as she watched Si Mao, the little foodie, licking his lips with his little tongue. "Your little mouth is only quiet when you're sleeping; the rest of the time you're just eating."
"You're wrong, she was licking her lips in her sleep." Zhao Jiujiu leaned over and touched Mi's chubby cheeks.
Si Mao silently pursed his lips, staring at Shen Wuqiu with his dark, bright eyes, looking utterly aggrieved.
Shen Wuqiu's heart melted at the sight, and he immediately hugged her as well.
Da Mao bounced around, then Si Mao bounced around, and then quickly handed the two babies she had already held to Gu Miaomiao, while continuing to coax Er Mao and San Mao.
Er Mao and San Mao were both very active. Once they were in her arms, they became restless, waving their arms and legs and looking around excitedly. Shen Wuqiu had to coax them for a while before Zhao Jiujiu and Zhou Xingxing took them away.
Having been excited all day, the kids were a bit tired. After smelling their mother's scent, they fell fast asleep one after another.
When Shen Wuqiu had some free time, she sat on the sofa to rest while chatting with everyone. She also talked about her plans for the coming year. When she heard that she wanted to start a fishing club, Zhao Jingxing was quite supportive and gave her a lot of advice from the perspective of a fishing enthusiast.
It wasn't until 10 p.m., after her grandparents had gone to rest, that Shen Wuqiu returned to her room.
For a more comfortable nightlife, the couple carefully considered their options and arranged for their room to be on the third floor. Meanwhile, the elders in the family, considering their limited mobility, were assigned rooms on either the first or second floor.
In Gu Miaomiao's words, "Qiuqiu, from now on you can sing to your heart's content. Besides being far away, our room has the best soundproofing."
After a long day, Shen Wuqiu returned to her room and pounced on her big bed. In front of her cat, she didn't need to worry too much about her manners. "I'm so tired today."
"Thank you for your hard work." Gu Miaomiao's gentle and considerate words came out naturally, and she even helped her fill the bathtub with water in the bathroom. "Qiuqiu, you can rest for a bit first. I'll fill the bathtub with water for you, and we can take a bath later. I'll give you a massage."
Once a person relaxes, fatigue will creep in. After lying down, Shen Wuqiu was too lazy to even lift her eyelids. "Then call me after you fill the water tank."
"Okay, let me get your clothes ready for you first."
Shen Wuqiu gave a muffled "hmm," her mind still struggling against sleepiness, but she felt there was something else going on.
Just as she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly remembered something, turned over, and, unable to lift her eyelids, asked with her eyes closed, "When are the babies coming up to be brought up?"
"No more carrying him. Da Mao will be with his parents, and Ah Shu will help keep him company. Er Mao will be with his aunt, San Mao will be with his parents, and Zhou Xingxing said he'll sleep with Si Mao."
Only half of her words reached Shen Wuqiu's ears; she seemed to understand them, yet also seemed not to.
After two minutes of silence, she suddenly opened her eyes. "What did you just say?"
Seeing how sleepy she looked, Gu Lingyu felt extremely sorry for her. She helped her take off her coat and coaxed her softly, "It's nothing, go take a nap."
Shen Wuqiu unconsciously grabbed her hand and rubbed it against her cheek, "Then call me later..."
This kind of unconscious intimacy is the most deadly.
Let alone such a small request, Gu Miaomiao would agree to it without hesitation, even if it cost her her life.
Shen Wuqiu originally only wanted to take a nap, but once she fell asleep, she fell into a deep sleep.
Half an hour later, the bathtub was full of water.
Gu Miaomiao called for a long time, but it didn't work.
Finally, losing patience, Gu Miaomiao stripped the person naked and put them in the bathtub, then jumped in herself.
Under the warm yellow light, the skin soaking in the bathtub is translucent and delicate, and the scenery of mountains and rivers is clearly visible, making it a tempting sight to behold.
Gu Miaomiao initially only wanted to massage her partner's shoulders and back, but she lacked self-control, and her actions turned into verbal sparring.
As a result, the sweltering heat woke up Shen Wuqiu, who was fast asleep.
"Hmm..." This made him a bit grumpy when he woke up. Half asleep, Shen Wuqiu irritably raised his hand and slapped someone.
"Smack..." A clear sound came from the slap that landed across the water, and in the quiet little space, the sound was deafening.
Shen Wuqiu's wandering thoughts returned instantly. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, and after a while, her vision finally focused. She looked around blankly, "Where am I..."
"This is the bathroom in our new room." Gu Miaomiao leaned close to her lips and kissed her gently and affectionately. "Are you still half asleep?"
Shen Wuqiu blinked, looking at the face so close to hers, before realizing what was happening. "Didn't I tell you to wake me up?"