CHAPTER 99: CHAPTER 097: WHOSE JOY, WHOSE SORROW IS UNDECIDED [THE HEIRLOOM JADE+]

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Xie Jingchen was busy exchanging the latest dynamics and mission details of the military with his colleagues. He also had to prepare for applying for family members to join the Suirong Guard and allocate dormitories, among other things, keeping him quite occupied.

But no matter how busy he was or how tight his schedule, the first thing he remembered to do during his noontime break on the day after returning to the military was to write a letter to his parents and little wife at home.

Meanwhile, Zhang Shanni, after a tiring day, came back and cooked a meal. Just as she finished, she saw Xie Tiesheng and Zhou Xiuhua making their way home together, followed by little tail Xiao Liu, while Xiao San had already headed to the edge of the back mountains to gather branches after having a sip of water upon returning home.

Before Xie Jingchen left, he had filled more than half of the woodshed. Nevertheless, several of the eldest grandsons in the younger generation at home were taught by Xie Tiesheng to always pick up firewood from the mountain whenever they had free time. This habit was ingrained in them and didn’t change simply because the woodshed was full, nor would the children be allowed to stay at home and play.

Moreover, almost all children in the village grew up this way, so Xiao San did not feel any sense of being ’abused’. Instead, Zhang Shanni felt extremely tender-hearted seeing that Xiao San, at just nine years old, was already capable of working on his own like a little kid!

Ying Ying~ Xiao San is so well-behaved!

Zhang Shanni found that her little nephews were all very good, which made her even more expectant of her future little one! As she saw Xiao San leave through the back door with his little basket on his back, she watched his small figure with hope, her hands also full of anticipation as they covered her lower abdomen.

Based on her husband’s eagerness these past few days, eagerly pulling her onto the kang bed every day, she wondered if she might truly be pregnant by now. After all, due to her rebirth, she had consumed quite a lot of Spirit Core Water these past few days, and even swallowed two drops of Chaos Liquid. It was only then that she accidentally revealed herself in front of her husband...

Thinking back to the leisurely moments between the two of them, Zhang Shanni covered her flushed face, shook her head, and continued to work hard.

However, what Zhang Shanni did not expect was that while she was busily doing a big job, the rumors about her in the village were being brought up again, and the intentions behind them were not good.

This goes back to Zhang Shanni’s wedding day, when the new bridal dress she wore was revealed.

Being from the future, Zhang Shanni had a unique vision. Confident in her own figure and disliking the clothing styles of this era, she played to her strengths and slightly cinched the waist of her bright red dress, fashioned the neckline into a round one, and made adjustments to the sleeves at the elbow to create a lantern-style princess sleeve. However, hers were not as drastically changed nor as wide and trailing as those of the princess sleeves in her previous life.

Without careful observation, others might not see any difference in her dress, but a closer look would reveal the unique aspects of her bright red attire.

Men may not be as observant, but women could certainly notice. Especially Xie Jingzi’s cousins, the only two good friends from the village, one of them was particularly observant and noticed the unique aspects of Zhang Shanni’s dress!

Wang Xiuzhen and Xie Jingzi were middle school classmates, and the two got along quite well when they were studying together. Both belonging to the same village and of similar ages, their family circumstances were not much different either, except for the slight distance between their homes...

But over this past year, since Wang Xiuzhen’s brother made a name for himself and earned money outside, the Wang Family’s situation had improved greatly compared to the Xie Family, and since there were only two children in Wang Xiuzhen’s family, her parents were extremely indulgent towards their siblings.

This led to Wang Xiuzhen developing a rather high opinion of herself, and with her brother earning a substantial amount of money, over the past year, her family even built a two-story townhouse, instantly elevating their living conditions well above ninety percent of the villagers in Qingfeng Village—having the confidence, Wang Xiuzhen even started emulating city folk by wearing trousers and skirts.

Wang Xiuzhen, being two years older than Xie Jingzi, was now nineteen years old. Normally, at her age, she would have been expected to be betrothed, but as her brother had spent an extended time in the city and knew that city people tend to get married around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, he told their parents not to hurry.

Besides, her brother had said, once he had settled down, maybe he could secure a city-dweller’s marriage match for his sister!

After that, Wang Xiuzhen looked down upon the young men in the village, acting all high and mighty. After privately sizing up the outstanding young men in her own team, she found that she deemed none of them worthy of her!

When Xie Jingchen held his wedding banquet, basically all the old men from the village attended, and the Wang family also came, with the exception of their only son who was away.

Because Xie Jingzi always bragged to her friends about how exceptional her Third Brother was, Wang Xiuzhen, who had heard all about it, had actually also made inquiries about Xie Jingchen in secret.

Especially that day when she was wandering aimlessly around the village and saw that tall man, her heart instantly reacted: This man, in his military attire, must be the giant Third Brother Xie Jingzi talked about!

He was indeed very tall, and in the entire Qingshan Team, no other young man could be found who matched his height and brawn!

However, he was a mere soldier, and from what Xiaozi had said, his brother was only a Commander, so it was unclear what he could do if he retired and returned to civilian life. Moreover, his dark and unremarkable appearance didn’t stand out at all... Wang Xiuzhen immediately dismissed the slight fancy she had for him in her mind.

Nevertheless!

Before Wang Xiuzhen could even disdain him, this dark-skinned Brother Wei actually avoided her like the plague! He actually detoured around the village path she was on, taking another small road to the village committee!

Damn it, damn them all! Who did he think he was, daring to look down on her?

Wang Xiuzhen stormed back home, fuming, and in her heart, she cursed Xie Jingchen sky high!

Just before she could devise a plan to get back at him, she heard that Xie Jingchen was getting married and arranging a banquet, and the woman he was marrying was none other than the little girl from the looked-down-upon Zhang Zhiguo’s family in the entire Qingshan Team—how utterly disdainful!

Yet, when she inadvertently caught sight of Xie Jingchen’s powerful actions, she was taken aback as her face flushed and her heart raced!

Then, seeing Xie Jingchen’s warm and gentle smile towards the wife he had bought, the blush that had just risen on her face instantly turned ashen gray, and her heart felt like it was being pelted with stones, empty and as if something important had been lost, causing an inexplicable ache in her heart!

That night, she staggered home in a daze, and although she was robust, she developed a high fever that very night, which was serious, burning for three days and nights. Fortunately, the temperature didn’t go too high and never exceeded 38.5 degrees, which was a stroke of luck amidst the misfortune!

After three days, when she came to her senses, she also understood what exactly she had lost!

Xie Jingchen, he was supposed to be her man! Clearly, in her dreams, that day was supposed to be the good day when Xie Jingchen and she were engaged!

Wang Xiuzhen tightly clenched her delicate little hand, the veins on the back of her hand protruding.

Yet thinking about Xie Jingchen’s fate after, Wang Xiuzhen gradually calmed her emotions, it was just...

Humph, don’t think that being first guarantees a happy ending, it’s still uncertain who will be happy and who will grieve!