Cheng Xifen sighed, "After my husband passed away, I had to bring the children to rely on relatives. My brother and his wife are also not doing well, and life is always tight."
Cheng Xifen then introduced her daughter, "Qiao'e, this is your eldest aunt. Quickly greet her."
Wang Qiao'e lifted her head slightly and called out timidly, "Eldest Aunt."
"Cousin, I haven't eaten anything since coming out early this morning. I'm a bit hungry. Do you have anything to eat? Anything will do, please get me something first."
"We have some leftover corn pancakes from this morning. You two can have a bite for now, and we'll have a proper meal when we have dinner this afternoon."
Soon, Li Xiulan placed the kang table and brought the food for the mother and daughter. Upon seeing that their meal consisted of fine flour pancakes and even a stew, the mother and daughter's eyes lit up, and they began to eat ravenously with their chopsticks.
"Mom, who's here?"
Gu Xingping came out of her room and her expression soured when she saw the way Cheng Xifen and her daughter were eating.
Frowning, she walked to Li Xiulan's side and whispered, "Mom, it's enough to give beggars some food. Why did you invite them to eat at home?"
Judging by their clothing and messy hair, their hygiene was questionable. Who knew if they had lice.
"Cousin, is this your daughter? She's really pretty. How old is she?" Cheng Xifen looked up, her lips still stained with soup.
"This is my youngest daughter, Xingping. She'll be twenty after the New Year."
Cheng Xifen raised her sleeve and wiped her mouth, "She's the same age as my Qiao'e."
Gu Xingping heard their conversation and finally realized they were her mother's relatives. Although she felt disgusted, she didn't say anything.
When Chen Lishu and Gu Xingdong returned, they saw Gu Xingping standing at the courtyard entrance, her face full of displeasure. Gu Xingdong teased, "Your mouth can hang an oil bottle. Did Mom kick you out?"
"I was driven out by two shameless people." Gu Xingping then recounted the events.
"...I've never seen people so shallow. They think everything they see is good. She even wanted me to give that Wang Qiao'e a piece of clothing. Do you think my clothes are blown in by the wind? Fabric is expensive, and I only have two cotton-padded jackets."
Nowadays, people wore the same clothes for almost all four seasons. Even with better conditions, each person had only three or four outfits. It was no wonder Gu Xingping was angry.
Chen Lishu smiled and comforted her, "It's okay. They are your mother's relatives after all. If you're unwilling to part with your clothes, you can pick out a set from the store when we return to the city."
Gu Xingping's expression softened slightly, and she held Chen Lishu's arm, "Third Sister-in-law, you treat me the best."
Chen Lishu couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation, "Why do I feel like I've fallen into a trap?"
As they spoke, the three of them walked towards the house. When Cheng Xifen and her daughter saw Gu Xingdong and Chen Lishu enter, they were slightly stunned.
The man was in a military uniform, tall and handsome. The woman was also beautiful, as if she had stepped out of a magazine.
Villagers had limited vocabulary, and the highest compliment they could think of was "stepped out of a magazine."
Wang Qiao'e stared at Gu Xingdong's appearance for a long time, unable to snap out of it. She had never seen such a handsome man.
Li Xiulan introduced everyone to each other again.
"Third Cousin, Third Cousin-in-law," Wang Qiao'e said softly, trying to tuck her shoes, which had exposed toes, as far back as possible.
Gu Xingdong and Chen Lishu nodded and took Rui Rui back to their own room.
In the evening, the Gu brothers all returned. Li Xiulan introduced the mother and daughter to them again.
As they were relatives unseen for decades, Li Xiulan hosted them with exceptional warmth, even slaughtering a chicken from their home.
Cheng Xifen and her daughter's eyes widened at the four dishes on the table. They were somewhat reserved as they were in someone else's home, but the mother and daughter each still ate three large bowls of rice.
With two more people in the house, arranging sleeping arrangements for the night became a little difficult.
"Isn't Xingping's room occupied by only one person? My mother and I can squeeze in there," Cheng Xifen proactively suggested.
"No!" Gu Xingping immediately said with displeasure. Being made to sleep next to these two was worse than being killed.
During the meal, Wang Qiao'e had sat next to her, and she had seen lice crawling in her hair. The thought of it made her scalp tingle. She had barely eaten two bites of dinner before leaving the table.
"My room's kang is small, it can't fit three people."
Cheng Xifen said boldly, "We can squeeze. Or we can sleep in opposite directions, head to foot. Rural people aren't that particular."
Gu Xingping's expression instantly turned as unpleasant as if she had swallowed a fly.
"Mom's room has an extra quilt. You'll have to make do for now," Li Xiulan called her aside and whispered to persuade her.
Despite Gu Xingping's reluctance, the house was small, and with Wang Qiao'e being a young girl, it was inconvenient to arrange her anywhere else. In the end, she had to go to Gu Xingping's room.
Cheng Xifen and her daughter not only had hygiene issues, but they also ground their teeth and snored while sleeping. Gu Xingping stayed awake all night, her eyes wide open.
"Mom, make them leave today, they have to leave!" Gu Xingping said in a near-shout. After spending one night with the mother and daughter, she felt like she was starting to itch all over.
"My child, relatives visit. It's not appropriate to kick them out after just one day," Li Xiulan said while cooking, "It's almost New Year's. They can't stay here for the holiday, they'll definitely leave. Just bear with it for a few more days. When they leave, Mom will make you a new outfit."
Seeing her daughter being wronged, the mother felt upset too, but she still had to understand social etiquette.
Chen Lishu, seeing Gu Xingping's unhappy expression, said, "Xingping, I'm going to the town this afternoon. I also want to visit the Ding family. Why don't we go together? If you really don't want to stay with them, I can have my third sister come to the town to stay with you for a couple of days. You two can keep each other company."
Chen Lishu and Gu Xingdong both knew about Gu Xingping and Ding Chen's situation. With Chen Lifei accompanying her, no one would say anything. Moreover, the Ding family would surely look after them. There was no need to worry about safety.
Gu Xingping's eyes lit up when she heard her words. She hugged Chen Lishu tightly, her expression filled with excitement, "Third Sister-in-law, that's a brilliant idea! Wait for me, I'll go pack my things in my room now. I'll come back when they leave."
Going to the town to live would not only allow her to avoid the annoying mother and daughter but also let her see Ding Chen every day. Gu Xingping was overjoyed at the thought.
She rushed back to her room to pack her belongings. After a moment's thought, Gu Xingping turned and locked her cupboard. She didn't want anything in her cupboard to be touched when she returned.
Watching Gu Xingping leave, Wang Qiao'e bit her lip and narrowed her eyes unhappily.
After breakfast, Chen Lishu informed her maiden family, and Chen Lifei quickly packed her belongings. Gu Xingdong had wanted to accompany them, but Chen Lishu refused.
"I'll take the bus back directly in the afternoon, so you don't need to trouble yourself. It's rare for you to be home, so spend more time with the children."
Gu Xingdong thought about it and agreed.