Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family-Chapter 956 - Searching

Chapter 956: Chapter 956 Searching

Chapter 956 -956 Searching

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Di Yelei also understood all too well. As he drew closer to Gongzhou City, the absence of any trace of Sisi only compounded the troubles that assailed him, successfully riling up his anxiety.

Especially since the official ship’s stay in Wanzhou Prefecture was down to six days. With each passing day, the likelihood of finding Sisi dwindled. He was even less inclined to deal with these matters.

Perhaps tomorrow he should send people to the towns near Wanzhou to search. The more places they covered, the more hope there would be, wouldn’t it?

Having made up his mind, Di Yelei fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

In his dreams, he seemed to hear that elder woman calling out with a hoarse voice again: “Sisi, Sisi…”

As he awoke from the dream, that faint calling turned to bubbles and burst. He jolted out of sleep to see a window violently shaking amidst the howling cold wind. Gushes of cold air poured in through the open window, making a dull noise, mimicking the elder woman’s ragged voice.

He turned and got up, closing the window lightly, and then, on a whim, reopened it and stuck his head outside. It seemed to be drizzling outside, mixed with a bit of sleet, turning everything that the hand touched to ice pops.

Sisi, where are you?

I miss you so much, miss you so much that my heart aches…

Liu Sisi, ensconced in the broken house, was sleeping soundly but was woken up by the bone-chilling cold. She shivered and wrapped herself tighter in the hard cotton wadding yet couldn’t feel any warmth. Countless gusts of cold wind blew through the gaps of the broken house, causing her teeth to chatter. Left with no choice, she climbed out of bed.

The walls of this dilapidated house were filled with countless cracks, and the roof tiles were even more severely damaged in several places. She stuffed some straw into the wall cracks for insulation and then crawled back to the head of bed, covering herself with all the clothes she wore during the day before once more curling up, forcing herself back to sleep.

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It’s so cold. Could it be starting to snow? This year’s winter has come much later than usual, but judging by the days, it should be getting cold now.

Tomorrow, I’ll take the new story I’ve written to Granny Peng to sell. Maybe I can buy some more rice.

No, it’s better to go myself. Can’t let those bookstore shopkeepers mislead Granny Peng and undersell it – that wouldn’t be worthwhile.

Going out with a veil hat should avoid causing a panic…

Lost in a daze, Liu Sisi spent the rest of the night tossing and turning. Before dawn had even broken, Granny Peng was already up and out the door.

Granny Peng usually made a living at the wharf, mingling in the group of hard laborers, eking out a living by carrying goods for the cargo ships. As soon as Granny Peng left, Liu Sisi followed suit, getting up and getting ready.

First, she boiled some hot water to wipe the poison sores on her body, and then put on her cleanest clothes, albeit patched. She donned a veil hat, covering herself completely, and wrapped the exposed skin of her hands in cloth before picking up her written manuscript and stepping outside.

As she crossed the threshold, a gust of frigid air barrelled down her neck, causing Liu Sisi to shiver uncontrollably and to wrap her patched clothing even tighter around her.

These clothes, handed down by Granny Peng, were patched but they were the best clothes Granny Peng had to offer.

“Auntie, what’s got you heading out today?”

The married woman living next door saw Liu Sisi leaving and looked up with a smile, greeting her.

She had a small child on her back, another in her arms, and yet another one in her belly, laboriously pushing the hand mill by the edge, grinding soybeans. Her family sold tofu.

As the saying goes, “Life’s three hardships are blacksmithing, boat pushing, and tofu grinding.” One can imagine that grinding tofu is no leisurely task. Even more so for this woman, who was only just past twenty, yet appeared to be a woman in her thirties.

Liu Sisi turned back and took a thorough look at her through the veil of her hat.

“I’m planning to go out into town, just staying at home all the time isn’t right.” The poison sore in her throat affected her vocal cords, making her voice even more hoarse.

“That’s true, you should get out more. It’s not good to always be cooped up. Your cousin Auntie is no longer young, you should help ease some of the burden on her shoulders. You haven’t seen how hard she works at the wharf every day…” Once the married woman started talking, she went on and on without end.

That woman was obviously industrious and had long disapproved of Liu Sisi doing nothing at home all day while Granny Peng had to earn money to support her. On the rare occasions she had a chance to admonish, naturally she didn’t stop moving her lips.

“Young wife, you go ahead with what you’re doing, I have things to attend to, so I’ll be going first.”

Liu Sisi couldn’t bear to listen to her go on, interrupted the other’s incessant talk, and turned to disappear at the end of the small alley.

“Hey—don’t rush off…”

The woman wanted to say more, but Liu Sisi didn’t give her the chance.

She squeezed through the narrow alley and went straight ahead. At the first fork, she turned south and headed straight into a shop at the junction that sold scallion pancakes.

“Shopkeeper, I’d like an order of wontons, to eat here.”

“Alright, your wontons will be right up.” The shopkeeper replied swiftly.

Liu Sisi sat facing away from the junction. The wontons here tasted just like Liu Zhi’er’s, and she liked them very much.

Just as she had sat down for a moment, several steeds ran past behind her, charging into the small alley she had just come out of.

By the time Liu Sisi turned to look at the noise, she could only see the hind legs of the horses that had just turned the corner.

These people, to race their horses in such a narrow alley!

Liu Sisi sighed heavily.

While Liu Sisi had departed quickly, on the other hand, the bean-curd making woman’s expression became increasingly unpleasant. Thinking about how she had to drag her children around and grind tofu all day, turning into a yellow-faced woman at a young age, not to mention suffering beatings from the man of the house.

Yet the other woman did nothing all day, still cherished by distant relatives, filling her with even more discontent.

“Ptui! What a piece of work, relying on an elder to support a young niece, her heart really is dark enough…”

She spat out a gob of phlegm and continued to grind tofu reluctantly.

It wasn’t until she had finished grinding the basin of soybeans that she stopped her work, lifted the baby in her arms higher, and straightened her already swollen belly, only then did she hear someone behind her calling out.

“Excuse me, Eldest Sister… Auntie, do you happen to know why there’s no one next door? And is there a married woman living here named Liu Sisi?”

The person asking was none other than Di Yelei, who had followed his intuition to find this place.

Last night he had a night full of nightmares, in which the voice of that woman calling for Sisi took root in his heart, causing him to sleep poorly all night.

He had originally planned to go to a nearby small city to look for Liu Sisi this morning, but as if possessed, he paused his steps at the city gate, turned, and came to the slums, to the narrow alley where he heard the calling voice yesterday. But then he saw a “General Iron” guarding the room door, leading to the scene of him asking just now.