CHAPTER 84: CHAPTER 082: NO ILLNESS, MIGHT AS WELL TREAT IT AS CONDITIONING

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At that moment, the crowd gathered at the village committee was collectively dumbfounded.

However, seeing the father and son of the Li family taking ages just to ask for directions, Mrs. Chen from the Chen family, anxiously waiting alongside her daughter-in-law, had no choice but to get off the truck and interrupt everyone’s surprise.

"Relatives, have you found out where Comrade Zhang Shanni’s husband’s family lives?" Mrs. Chen, Liu Guilan, stood outside the village committee courtyard and called out loudly.

In her heart, she found the efficiency of these relatives unsatisfactory. Was it necessary to spend nearly twenty minutes just to ask for directions? Meanwhile, her daughter-in-law Feng Chunling tugged at her mother-in-law’s sleeve, signaling her not to appear too anxious.

"Oh, oh, mother, we’ll be right there," Li Jianfeng responded to his mother-in-law’s impatient tone, signaling his father not to linger any longer.

"Brother Xie, shall we head back to your place and have a good talk?" Li Baojia, well aware of his son’s mother-in-law’s impetuousness and unbothered by her tone, took Xie Tiesheng’s hand in a brotherly fashion and suggested.

"Of course, of course, that’s only proper. Station Chief Li, I will have my uncle take you there. Uncle, since you have guests, go ahead and take auntie back to welcome the visitors," Xie Jingqiang said upon hearing the warm camaraderie between Station Chief Li and Xie Tiesheng. He dared not over-familiarize by calling him ’Brother Li’ anymore, as that would muddle the generational ranks. So he reverted to his official title instead.

"Okay," Xie Tiesheng nodded and gestured for his wife to go ahead and notify others, then took the lead with Li Baojia towards the Xie Family home: "Comrade Station Chief Li, please follow me."

Xie Tiesheng did not soften his stance due to Li Baojia’s significant status, but since he indeed was the head of the town’s grain station, basic respect was still afforded. Besides, both individuals were keen on befriending each other, hence the tone was quite cordial.

"No, no, Brother Xie, just call me Brother Li. Our family is truly here to express gratitude to your son and daughter-in-law. If you’re too formal, I’ll feel uncomfortable coming by frequently," Li Baojia followed Xie Tiesheng’s lead closely.

He didn’t feel uncomfortable about thickening his skin to call Xie Jingqiang ’brother’ before and now Xie Tiesheng. Both being government officials, they were old hands at dealing with situations tactfully. Even if there were misunderstandings, they knew how to act as if nothing had happened.

Li Jianfeng stayed behind to engage in a bit more courteous conversation with Xie Jingqiang before anxiously boarding the truck with his mother-in-law and sister-in-law, and following his father and Xie Tiesheng towards the Xie Family residence.

The onlooking villagers, having heard the dignified guests mention ’Zhang Shanni,’ finally believed that the visitors had indeed come looking for the Xie family’s new bride, who had jumped into the water!

After the dignitaries had left, several old women gathered together to gossip—despite the Xie family marrying a bride with a not-so-good reputation, they managed to turn bad luck into good fortune, truly making others envious!

Zhou Xiuhua, who had quickly taken Xiao Liu back home via a shortcut and had not heard the villagers’ subsequent comments, arrived back at the courtyard to find only Zhang Shanni at home. She hastily recounted the situation outside, out of breath. Taking the back roads allowed her to reach home more quickly than the truck, giving her some time to understand what had happened.

"little girl, you better tell your mother quickly, what’s all this about?" Zhou Xiuhua followed Zhang Shanni out while sending Xiao Liu off to play with Mao Mao.

Hearing her mother-in-law’s words, Zhang Shanni knew who was likely coming. Aware that guests were arriving, she immediately went to find the dried chrysanthemums she had seen in the corner of the wooden dining cabinet while tidying up yesterday. While boiling water, she carefully explained to her mother-in-law:

"Mom, that day after Brother Chen and I went for registration, as soon as we stepped out of the door, we saw a pregnant woman about to be hit by a bicycle. In a panic, I snatched a basket from a passerby and without thinking, threw it at the bicycle rider, stopping the bike. Unfortunately, the pregnant woman was still frightened and started bleeding and gave birth prematurely. Brother Chen and I sent her to the hospital, we didn’t do anything else."

"Hey, you little thing, why are you being so careful with your mother? What you did was right, I’m not mad at you!" Zhou Xiuhua saw Zhang Shanni becoming more careful as she spoke, especially when mentioning the bleeding, her little face tensely watching her, looking guilty, which made Zhou Xiuhua both want to cry and laugh.

"Mom, I’m glad you’re not angry. I didn’t even dare to sit on the kang that day, and I even took a bath with orange peels! I was afraid to tell you and dad, afraid that you might think..." Zhang Shanni suddenly realized what she had said, her little hand covering her mouth, looking innocent.

"Alright, it’s not entirely your fault. Not to mention it was a matter of life, just having Brother Chen there. His role is to be a guard, helping others and saving lives is his nature, absolutely not to be ignored, huh, I know his character well!"

Zhou Xiuhua pointed at Zhang Shanni’s little forehead, looking at her with impatience. Seeing that her mother-in-law was not annoyed, Zhang Shanni immediately cozily hugged her arm and acted spoilt: "Mom, I knew you were the kindest!"

"Such sweet talk, now I know the visitors mean well, my mind is much more at ease." Zhou Xiuhua’s mood relaxed, instinctively covering her heart which was faintly aching, murmuring to herself.

Zhang Shanni frowned, watching her mother-in-law’s instinctive gesture with suspicion. Thinking it’s better to be safe than sorry, she took a big bowl, ladled some warm water for her mother-in-law: "Mom, are you thirsty? We made you worry, that’s our fault. Please, have some water and rest~~"

Because her mother-in-law had always treated her well, without the habit of other elderly ladies of tormenting their new daughters-in-law, Zhang Shanni reciprocated the kindness. While pouring the water and avoiding her mother-in-law’s gaze, she added a drop of Spirit Core water into the bowl. She thought to herself: If sick, cure the illness. If not, might as well treat it as a health boost for her mother-in-law.

It wasn’t that she was making a fuss, but since she had entered the Xie Family, she had nearly every day noticed her mother-in-law occasionally clutching her chest. She herself might not have noticed, but Zhang Shanni, having a soul from the future, knew that instinctive gestures can remind a person which part of the body is injured.

And the part that the old lady was constantly clutching was her chest, which showed she might have a heavy liver and lungs-related pent-up frustration, or perhaps heart degeneration or cardiovascular blockages, causing her frequent chest pain.

"Ah." Seeing Zhang Shanni’s caring gesture of bringing her a bowl of warm water and fetching a small stool for her to sit and rest, her heart was truly comforted, and her dark aged face showed a smile.

Zhang Shanni saw her mother-in-law drink the water and she herself moved beside the stove, adding two more small logs. She was concerned that when the guests arrived there would be no hot tea to offer, which would seem impolite for the Xie family.

Meanwhile, Xie Jingchen was on the hillside. Hearing the truck entering, he squinted and looked around, confirming that it was driving towards his home, with the silhouette of his father leading the way. Without hesitation, he picked up a big snake and a badger he had hunted that morning from below the old tree, and a wounded pheasant he found in a trap he set, quickly descending the mountain.

When he reached the back gate of his home, he saw from afar his father ushering a group of four approaching the front yard. Using his keen hearing and eyesight, he saw the truck entering the yard, bringing in a total of two men and two women, dressed in a manner indicating that their statuses were no simple matter.

Who could this be...?