eurekapd Chapter 166 A Visitor
Chapter 166 A Visitor
Shu Yun brought over some tea. "It's cold outside, have a cup of hot water to warm yourself up first."
"Thank you." Wang Keying took it and, seeing the child in Wang Xiuwen's arms, smiled and said, "The little guy has gained a lot of weight, hasn't he? He looks much bigger than when he was in the hospital."
Wang Xiuwen smiled and said, "He can eat a lot. By the way, you've been discharged from the hospital now. Are you almost fully recovered? What about the baby?"
Wang Keying felt the care from people other than her family for the first time in a long time, and a smile appeared on her face. "I was discharged from the hospital a long time ago. It was inconvenient for me to come here this time, so I didn't bring the child. My mother is taking care of the child."
Wang Xiuwen hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "What about your in-laws' side?"
Wang Keying waved her hand, "It's resolved. His family has done more than just this one deal. I heard that the old woman in the Sun family had a daughter a few years ago, which she sold. Later, she went to the police station and told them everything. Many members of the Sun family went to jail. But I also got divorced and now live with my parents."
At this point, Wang Keying smiled self-deprecatingly, "Fortunately, my parents only had one daughter, otherwise, someone like me who is divorced and has returned to my parents' home with a child would be nagged by my brother and sister-in-law. Even now, many people in the brigade see me and still mutter a few words about me. It's the same few sentences over and over again, and I'm tired of hearing them."
Shu Yun comforted her, "Just listen to other people's opinions, don't take them to heart. After all, it's our own life to live. Do you think we'd be happy living our whole lives based on other people's opinions? Anyway, whether they say bad things or good things, it won't hurt us or make us suffer. Don't worry about it."
Wang Keying nodded, "Xiaoyun is right, that's what I think too."
Shu Yun: "So what are your plans now?"
Wang Keying: "I'll earn work points in the brigade first. If the brigade's school is hiring, I'll see if I can become a teacher. At least I can support my child on my own."
While they were talking, Hong Hui hid in the corner, craning her neck to look inside for a while before walking to the Ding family's house next door. She knocked on the door, cleared her throat, and said in a soft voice, "Hongmei? Are you home? It's me, Hong Hui."
Ding Hongmei opened the door. "What is it?"
Hong Hui smiled obsequiously, "Well, these are sweet potatoes sent from my hometown. I brought them especially for you to try, Hongmei. My family grows good sweet potatoes; they're big, soft, and sweet." After saying that, Hong Hui lifted the large bag of eggs in her other hand and said with an embarrassed smile, "Oh dear, last time our Jinbao was a bit silly, and I didn't hold back. The director said I should compensate you with eggs, but I was busy the other day and forgot. I just remembered now, so I brought you a few extra. Hongmei, please don't mind."
Has Hong Hui reformed herself?
Of course not. Hong Hui smiled as she watched Ding Hongmei take the things, but her heart was bleeding. Eggs! She couldn't bear to part with them even if Jinbao wanted to eat them, and now she was giving them all to outsiders. These were eggs she had saved up for a long time.
Since it was free, Ding Hongmei took it as a matter of course, giving Hong Hui a perfunctory smile and saying, "Thank you."
Hong Hui smiled even more obsequiously, "Hey, don't be so polite."
Hong Hui didn't want to please Ding Hongmei. Ever since her precious son was injured at the Ding family's house, she had been irreconcilably opposed to Ding Hongmei. But fate had other plans. When she went to the division commander's house, she discovered that the division commander's wife actually knew Ding Hongmei and they seemed to have a very good relationship!
After Ding Hongmei had been in the compound for a while, everyone knew her background. It was then that Hong Hui realized that she was not only a college student, but her father was also an official in the city. She was a pampered young lady, only her face was not pretty.
After learning the news, Hong Hui couldn't sleep at night. She had no choice but to swallow her pride for the sake of her husband and Jinbao's future.
Hong Hui: "Sister, I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking at the time. I acted impulsively. My husband also talked to me about it later, and I fully realized my mistake."
Ding Hongmei smiled understandingly, "Sister-in-law, I also had problems back then."
Ding Hongmei looked down on Hong Hui, but unfortunately, Hong Hui had little influence in the compound and hadn't made any particularly good friends since she arrived. So, despite Hong Hui's questionable character, Ding Hongmei was still willing to maintain a friendly relationship with her.
Hong Hui sat in the main room, and the two were silent for a moment. She glanced around and knew that Ding Hongmei disliked Shu Yun, so she used Shu Yun's family affairs as a starting point to start a conversation.
"I just saw that Shu Yun's house next door seems to have guests too."
"Oh?" Ding Hongmei's interest was piqued. "Who is it?"
Hong Hui: "I don't know her either. She's a new face. I heard Wang Xiuwen call her, I think her name is Keying. She's dressed in a very rustic way. She's not from our compound. She must be someone from outside who came to find Shuyun."
"Ke Ying?" Ding Hongmei frowned. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.
Hong Hui observed her expression and inquired, "Hongmei, do you know her?"
Ding Hongmei shook her head, "I don't know him."
She then said with a disdainful look, "What kind of high-level people can Shu Yun associate with? She can only hang out with country bumpkins."
“Yes, yes, yes.” Hong Hui nodded in deep agreement, but in fact she was also a native of the countryside.
Hong Hui then mentioned the dinner party at Commander Yin's house. Her husband was not affiliated with Commander Yin's group and they didn't have much of a relationship, so he wasn't on the guest list. However, her neighbor was invited to the dinner, and she got a lot of information from her neighbor.
"I heard that the division commander and the others went too. The division commander's wife was chatting and laughing with Shu Yun at the dinner table, and their relationship seems to have improved a lot compared to before. Hongmei, you are familiar with the division commander's wife, do you know anything about this?"
"What?" Ding Hongmei frowned, looking displeased. "I'll ask Aunt Wang later."
"Aunt Wang, indeed. You're acting all high and mighty, putting on airs. Aunt Wang," Hong Hui thought to herself, but her expression remained humble, which pleased Ding Hongmei.
Ding Hongmei couldn't wait any longer. As soon as Hong Hui left, she immediately took the half-bag of sweet potatoes that Hong Hui had just brought over and went to Wang Chunmei's place.
Following Shu Yun's instructions, Wang Chunmei tinkered with a clay oven in the yard, which functioned similarly to the ovens in pastry shops. Once the oven was almost dry, Wang Chunmei couldn't wait to put the egg tarts she had made into it to bake.
Soon, the aroma of milk mixed with the scent of eggs filled the air, and Wang Chunmei smiled. Yes, this is the aroma.
When Ding Hongmei arrived, Wang Chunmei still had a smile on her face. She pulled her to sit in the main room and took out the egg tarts she had baked herself. "Come and try them. How are they?"
Ding Hongmei's mind wasn't on that at all. She took a bite and said perfunctorily, "Aunt Wang, what you made is really delicious."
Wang Chunmei said happily, "Since you like it, I made a lot. You can take some back with you later."
Ding Hongmei asked, "Aunt Wang, where did you learn this? It smells even better than what you get outside."
Wang Chunmei: "Shuyun, she taught me when we had dinner together last time. I must say, she's really good at making things. With this skill, she could be a master chef in a pastry shop. No, she's also a great painter. It's a waste of her talent to be a pastry chef."
Ding Hongmei found something amiss; why was there a hint of admiration in that tone?