Chapter 680 - 351: Yun Ying’s Trouble (2)

Chapter 680: Chapter 351: Yun Ying’s Trouble (2)

Yun Ying nodded. "That’s why I was so uncomfortable when Mr. Chen was being so forward with me. He’s just like some lecher, only interested in a woman’s looks. How could Li Changyu have a classmate like that?"

Juhua grinned. "Just avoid him from now on. He’s just trying to get close to you, see if he can ’get to know’ you, and then ’be with you forever’."

A pained expression appeared on Yun Ying’s face!

Juhua seemed to remember something, and her expression turned serious. "Everything I’ve been saying is nonsense. I forgot to tell you the most important part."

Yun Ying looked up at her. Juhua said, "I don’t know what you were thinking back then. But I have to tell you, instead of wasting your energy on the women around the man you love, you should focus all your attention on him and capture his heart for good. That way, it won’t matter how many other women come along. Otherwise, you deal with one Miss Zhang, and there might be a Miss Wang right after."

Yun Ying suddenly relaxed and asked with a smile, "Then tell me, what if you focus all your attention on the man you love but fail to capture his heart? What if he falls for another woman anyway? What would you do then?"

Juhua said gravely, "What would I do? It’s not like you can’t live without him. If you give someone your whole heart and still can’t win theirs, that person is either heartless and ungrateful—in which case you should toss him aside like an old shoe—or you two simply lack a real connection. If all that effort can’t make him turn to you, then it’s time to give up. But Doctor Qin isn’t like that. If you two are honest with each other, I believe he’ll chase away any woman with ulterior motives for you himself."

Yun Ying nodded and said softly, "You’re right. Doctor Qin is never swayed by a pretty face. He’s not at all like that Mr. Chen, fawning over every beautiful woman he meets. That’s exactly why I grew suspicious when I saw him getting so much medicine for you..." Her voice trailed off, as if embarrassed by her own admission.

Juhua couldn’t help but roll her eyes. "That’s because you’re young and haven’t thought it through. Isn’t it better to just ask directly rather than making wild guesses? Remember this: foolish women go after other women; smart women go after the man."

Yun Ying stared at her with wide eyes and asked in disbelief, "Where do you get such strange ideas? You’re younger than I am!"

Just as she was speaking, they faintly heard a THUD from outside. Both of them jumped. Yun Ying quickly said, "Your husband must be back. I’ll get the door."

She hurried to the courtyard gate, pulled it open, and stuck her head out to look around. "That’s strange," she muttered to herself, puzzled. "I was sure I heard someone trip, but there’s no one here."

She came back, shaking her head. "I didn’t see anyone."

Juhua said nonchalantly, "Maybe a dog just knocked something over."

After they chatted and laughed for a while, Yun Ying looked much better.

Around dusk, when the lamps were being lit, Huai Zi finally returned from the market carrying a heavy load on a shoulder pole. Juhua saw him and said with vexation, "Why didn’t you think to take a cart? Carrying all that from the market... your shoulders must be killing you."

Huai Zi shook his head and smiled. "I didn’t forget. But Sanshun said he was going with his cart, so I didn’t bother with one. I only carried this from within the village, it wasn’t far."

Juhua was finally relieved.

Zhang Dashuan came over to look through the purchased goods. He nodded and said, "Looks like we have almost everything. Why isn’t there any wine?"

Huai Zi quickly replied, "The wine is still at Sanshun’s place. I couldn’t carry everything in one trip, so I was about to go make another."

Hearing this, Zhang Dashuan said, "I’ll go get it, then. You get some rest." With that, he went to the storage room in the back, found a sturdy carrying pole with rattan baskets, and stepped out into the night.

He brought out the warm meal and called her son over to eat. Then, she and Juhua began to unpack the purchased goods one by one, cleaning and organizing them.

As she organized the goods, He said with a sigh, "I used to just hope for Yangzi to become a Scholar so we could finally hold our heads high. But now that he has, I feel uneasy. We’re throwing this big celebration, and all our relatives are coming to fawn over us, thinking we’re about to strike it rich and become great officials. Little do they know, Yangzi just studies all day, and he actually looks more worried than ever!"

Her younger son still hadn’t returned, and even when he did, he would just study late into the night. This sight diminished her happiness and filled her with worry.

Juhua said, "That’s why we can’t get too carried away. Holding one celebratory banquet is fine, but we shouldn’t be so showy that we lose our heads. And we can’t accept all the land people are offering—we have to be selective about the gifts we take."

Huai Zi quickly finished his meal, set down his bowl and chopsticks, and walked over. "If you ask me, we shouldn’t have a banquet at all. If we must, we should wait until he becomes a scholar. But I’m afraid this isn’t up to us."

He sighed. "Look at how many people are visiting every day. How can we get out of hosting this banquet? If we don’t, people who don’t know any better will think we’re just being stingy, unwilling to spend the money. Ugh! It’s all about keeping up appearances. Nobody cares about the trouble and hard work it takes. I suppose having a banquet is fine, as long as we don’t make it too extravagant."

When Zhang Dashuan returned with the wine, the family discussed their plans for a while before finally washing up and heading to bed.

Huai Zi helped Juhua back to their room. He carefully had her lean back against the pillows on the bed, then sat by the light of a single lamp on the table. He began to gently massage her swollen feet and legs, speaking to her in a soft voice.

Juhua asked, "What took you so long? It shouldn’t have been that hard to buy everything."

Huai Zi said, "I had to go to a few different places. On top of that, the provisions store was out of wine, so I had to wait for the Shopkeeper to get more from the warehouse. That held me up for a bit." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)