Chapter 181: Chapter 181

"Look at you, if only you could talk as smoothly as Zhao Gang." Cai Meina, having seen Zhao Gang’s persuasion skills, often felt frustrated with Gong Tao’s lack of eloquence.

Be as articulate as Zhao Gang? Gong Tao shook his head to indicate he really couldn’t follow suit, "I’m just an honest guy making a steady living."

"And my woodworking skills are improving; many things are starting to come naturally. I wonder if I’ll be able to take on some jobs in the future."

Even though the pay isn’t much, it’s still money, and Gong Tao is quite enthusiastic about earning it now. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn NovelHub(.)net

Gong Tao wants those who look down on him, who think he has no future, to see that even in the Northeast, he will still be the most promising descendant of the Gong Family.

Take on jobs? No way, has he become a master already? Gong Ruini knew that since Gong Tao decided to take after his grandfather’s trade, he began making things, furniture.

But they were always just small stools and such. In Gong Ruini’s eyes, these things didn’t seem special, just sturdy. She never expected her dad to start taking orders to earn money so quickly.

Wait, if Dad becomes a carpenter, more people will surely visit, and they’ll see everything in our yard.

Gong Ruini could already imagine how the news of how many poultry they raised would spread around the village.

If it’s only spreading around the village, Gong Ruini wouldn’t mind, but she’s worried these rumors might reach outside the village, into some leaders’ ears, which could lead to trouble.

"That’s a problem." Indeed, Gong Tao realized he hadn’t considered that. Sigh, what an oversight.

But wait, when Zhan Jing gives birth, won’t people from the village bring gifts, like an egg or some vegetables? Those visitors will surely notice something amiss.

"Silly, once spring reaches, the quails will be moved to the back."

"When Zhan Jing gives birth, they’ll just visit briefly. During the busy farming seasons, who would hang around for long?" It’s just that when Zhan Jing gives birth, people in the village have to show up; otherwise, not many would come.

Cai Meina is worried now because Zhan Jing’s mother hasn’t arrived yet. Wasn’t she supposed to leave Sichuan after the fifteenth? Why isn’t she here yet?

Although Zhan Jing hasn’t said anything, Cai Meina can sense her anxiety. After all, it’s worrisome for an old lady to travel alone.

"Excuse me, is anyone home?" Right then, they heard someone calling from the entrance.

An old woman’s voice. Lying on the heated brick bed, Zhan Jing was constantly wondering why her mother hadn’t arrived yet, feeling anxious, but now, just as she was thinking about her mom, she heard her voice.

Wait a minute, was she hallucinating? Zhan Jing had tried imagining her mother standing at the door greeting them countless times, only to find she was overthinking it.

Gong Ruini jumped off the bed and ran outside. The voice probably belonged to Zhan Jing’s mom. Hardly anyone comes to see Zhan Jing because treating illnesses here isn’t as good as going to the town hospital, and given Zhan Jing’s situation, people are sensible enough not to trouble her now.

Hua Miaozhu stood at the courtyard gate, feeling all sorts of emotions, although a hint of worry lingered. From her son-in-law’s letter, she could tell her daughter’s condition wasn’t good; otherwise, they wouldn’t have called her to the Northeast.

How could Hua Miaozhu not be worried? She only has one daughter, and if anything happens, what would she do? It was a hassle to prepare so many things, with various procedures upsetting the old lady, but fortunately, she made it to the Northeast before her daughter went into labor, allowing her to help care for her.

"Hello." As Gong Ruini opened the courtyard door, she saw an elderly woman with white hair, who looked quite elegant, standing at the door.

Seeing the old lady, Gong Ruini found her familiar; oh, this must be Aunt Zhan’s mother, Old Mrs. Hua.

Though she had never seen a photo of the old lady, she occasionally heard from Zhan Jing that Zhao Xuran somewhat resembled his grandmother, Old Mrs. Hua.

Now that she saw her, Gong Ruini finally understood why Zhan Jing always said that compared to her mother, there was a significant gap.

Despite wearing simple clothing, she gave off a feeling reminiscent of historical portraits of gentlewomen, or perhaps even better. She must have been quite a beauty in her youth.

Gong Ruini knew she was just a simple and pretty girl, something she couldn’t change. But isn’t it said that if a woman doesn’t turn heads by forty, it’s her own problem?

Gong Ruini hoped that when she got older, she could have half of the old lady’s elegance. Unfortunately, achieving that goal wasn’t easy, but if she could learn a thing or two from Old Mrs. Hua, it would still be quite an enhancement for her.

Now that Gong Ruini had a goal, she had to show her sweetest side, "Hello, Grandma, Aunt Zhan is inside."

Hua Miaozhu was startled by what the little rosy-cheeked girl said. Initially, when she opened the door, she didn’t respond promptly, making Hua Miaozhu think she had walked to the wrong place.

To avoid causing a stir in the village, Hua Miaozhu hadn’t asked for directions, just followed the path described in her daughter and son-in-law’s letter. Fortunately, the girl’s words confirmed she was in the right place.

"You must be Ni Zi." Hua Miaozhu suddenly remembered that the little girl in front of her was probably the smart girl her daughter and son-in-law wrote about.

Upon a closer look, her eyes were lively and bright. If this girl isn’t clever, then there’s no such thing as a smart child, "Here, Grandma brought you some candy."

Hua Miaozhu wasn’t surprised that Gong Ruini called her Grandma.

Initially, Hua Miaozhu had somewhat objected to her daughter and son-in-law fancying a little girl to be the Zhao Family’s daughter-in-law. Although the Zhao and Zhan Families had fallen on hard times, settling randomly wasn’t right.

But having met the little girl, Hua Miaozhu finally understood why they insisted on preemptively securing this girl.

Why is the old lady looking at her with such enthusiasm? Gong Ruini felt a bit embarrassed. Although she thought she looked nice as Aunt Wang’s words often compared her to a New Year picture doll, Aunt Wang was just a rural old lady with limited exposure. But who was Hua Miaozhu? Coming from a literary family and having met a lot of people with Mr. Zhan, her people-judging skills were exceptional; why look at her like that?

Feeling the old lady’s intense gaze, Gong Ruini found it difficult to handle, "Uncle Zhao, Aunt Zhan, Grandma is here."

Zhan Jing had wanted to go see if it was actually her mother but feared being disappointed again. Upon hearing Gong Ruini’s loud announcement, Zhan Jing insisted on going out to welcome her mother.

For the sake of her daughter, her aged mother traveled a great distance to the Northeast. As her daughter, how could Zhan Jing not go out and greet her?