novelhk Chapter 129 Collect some interest first
Chapter 129 Collect some interest first
Bao Ya looked at Xu Wanyun with a cold smile. Since she looked down on country people so much, she shouldn't be a daughter-in-law of the Jiang family.
Bao Ya suppressed her anger, kicked aside the bedding on the ground, and then pulled Liao Chunhua to the kitchen to cook.
"Sis, look at her..."
Qi Jiaojiao pointed at Bao Ya's retreating figure, seemingly about to say something, but Xu Wanyun quickly stepped forward to stop her. For some reason, her heart was pounding when she saw the look in her sister-in-law's eyes just now.
She had this feeling since yesterday; Lin Baoya looked harmless, but she just felt uneasy.
Yesterday, when Qi Jiaojiao suggested that Liao Chunhua sleep on the floor, Liao Chunhua didn't object, so she didn't stop her either, since Jiaojiao would be leaving in a couple of days anyway. Now that she thinks about it, it was indeed a bit inappropriate.
Liao Chunhua took out a few steamed buns and cornbread from the cupboard, heated them in a pot, and cooked a pot of porridge. She didn't bring Jiang Tao breakfast in the morning, so she didn't need to cook for him.
Bao Ya was just helping out from the sidelines, looking for opportunities to strike. Who knows who might actually get the better of her?
After breakfast was prepared, Bao Ya volunteered to serve the porridge. Liao Chunhua took the steamed buns and side dishes to the table outside.
Bao Ya quickly took out a small bag from her pocket, poured the croton charcoal inside into a bowl, filled it with porridge, and stirred it with chopsticks.
When Liao Chunhua came in, she filled another bowl, then took both bowls of porridge outside. She placed the bowl with the added ingredients in front of Qi Jiaojiao, and the other bowl in front of Xu Wanyun.
She couldn't easily target a pregnant woman, so Xu Wanyun escaped unscathed, and Qi Jiaojiao benefited the whole time.
Adding a little croton charcoal to cornmeal porridge makes it undetectable. Knowing she was going out, Bao Ya dug this stuff out again and carried it with her, thinking she might need it sometime, but she wondered if it would expire after so long.
Let's collect some interest from them today. Since we can't get along well, let's just play around.
No one spoke at the dinner table; they ate in silence. Bao Ya glanced at Qi Jiaojiao from time to time, and only after watching her finish her bowl of porridge did she speed up her eating.
After finishing her meal, Bao Ya pushed her bowl aside, went inside to stuff Liao Chunhua's things into her bag, and then pulled Liao Chunhua out.
Damn it, I was perfectly fine staying at the guesthouse, why did I have to come here and put up with this? She finally understood why Jiang Cheng was willing to spend a hundred yuan a month to hire her to look after his old mother.
"Mom, Baoya, where are you going?"
Xu Wanyun's heart skipped a beat. Over the years, the couple had argued a lot because she refused to go home with Jiang Tao. She was worried that Bao Ya and Liao Chunhua would complain to Jiang Tao.
"Go to the guesthouse. It's not as nice as your house, but at least you'll have a bed to sleep in."
After saying that, she ignored her, opened the door, and dragged Liao Chunhua out. Her mother-in-law was too much of a pushover; she couldn't even control her daughter-in-law.
"Baoya, it's not a good idea for us to leave like this. Your sister-in-law is about to give birth."
As they walked out the door, Liao Chunhua took Bao Ya's hand and said to her, "I didn't say anything earlier because I was afraid my two daughters-in-law would quarrel. If something were to happen to the eldest daughter-in-law, the brothers would become enemies."
"Whether she gives birth or not is none of your business. You haven't even seen your eldest grandson yet. What kind of family would do such a despicable thing again and again?"
Without saying a word, Bao Ya pulled Liao Chunhua outside. Her voice was quite loud, attracting the attention of the surrounding neighbors.
"Baoya, where are you and your mother-in-law going?"
Wang's wife, who had just returned from the hospital, saw the mother and daughter-in-law carrying their luggage and came over to ask them what was wrong.
"We're going to stay at the guesthouse. My mother has a bad back, and the floor is too cold. She slept there for a night and her back hurt so much she could barely stand up straight."
Bao Ya had no intention of keeping it a secret from Xu Wanyun; if she was capable of doing it, she would admit it herself.
"What? Sleep on the floor? Why don't you come stay at my house? I have a spare room."
Wang's sister-in-law was also frightened by her words. Xu Wanyun looked at Wenwen and was very quiet. Why did she let her mother-in-law sleep on the ground?
Wang Xiao and Jiang Tao have a good relationship, so it's not a problem for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to stay at their home for a couple of days.
"No need, sister-in-law, let's stay at the guesthouse. My second brother paid for us to stay at the guesthouse when we came, so don't bother your sister-in-law unless necessary."
Seeing that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law both looked unhappy, the woman in the courtyard came over to listen to what was going on.
"Girl, you have enough room at home, don't waste your money at the guesthouse. Her cousin is leaving in a couple of days."
An unfamiliar woman, who looked like a sister-in-law, also came over to ask.
"But the ground is too cold, my mother isn't used to sleeping on it."
"How could you let your mother-in-law sleep on the floor? That's outrageous!"
The woman exclaimed in surprise, saying that when her mother-in-law came, she and her child slept on the floor.
"You don't know, city people think we country folk smell bad. I heard his cousin say that the other day."
Xu Wanyun wanted to chase after her, but as soon as she opened the door, she heard what Bao Ya and her sisters-in-law were saying. Although she regretted not stopping her cousin yesterday, she also complained that Bao Ya was too quick to speak. Did she really have to tell everyone? Country folk really don't know any better. Don't they understand what it means to keep family scandals private?
Bao Ya didn't say anything more to them and continued walking towards the guesthouse with Liao Chunhua. On the way, they stopped at the supply and marketing cooperative and bought some pork ribs, vegetables, and some seasonings. They also bought two lunchboxes.
Bao Ya didn't feel bad about spending money. Jiang Cheng brought them a lot of tickets from all over the country when they came, and she was confident that Jiang Tao could reimburse her for all the money and tickets she spent.
After putting Liao Chunhua's things down, the two went to the hospital and borrowed the kitchen to cook lunch for Jiang Tao.
When they arrived at the hospital at noon, Xu Wanyun was already in the ward. She was worried that Liao Chunhua would tell Jiang Tao about what happened yesterday, so she came as soon as possible to explain, but she didn't expect that the two of them hadn't arrived yet.
"My sister-in-law is here."
When Bao Ya entered, she saw Xu Wanyun sitting beside Jiang Tao's bed, so she went around to the other side, between Jiang Tao and Fang Mingda's beds, and greeted her. Xu Wanyun responded with an awkward expression. She then greeted Liao Chunhua as well.
Bao Ya put the lunchbox on the bedside table, pulled up a stool for Liao Chunhua, and asked him to feed Jiang Tao.
She's his sister-in-law, so it's fine for her to bring him food, but it wouldn't be appropriate for her to feed him.
When they opened the lunchboxes, Wang Xiao and Fang Mingda simultaneously peeked out. Inside, they saw braised pork ribs, stir-fried bok choy, more than half a box of rice, and half a box of winter melon soup.
The two of them swallowed hard. Everyone else had almost finished eating, but Jiang Tao seemed to be eating a little too well.
Xu Wanyun couldn't help but swallow when she saw the food in the lunchbox. Qi Jiaojiao couldn't cook, and she herself found it too troublesome, so the two of them had to make do with what they ate for the past few days.
"Brother, could you ask the doctor for two plasters?"
Bao Ya suddenly asked Jiang Tao a question, and Xu Wanyun unconsciously clenched her hands. Even Wang Xiao's sister-in-law, who was helping Wang Xiao eat, gripped Wang Xiao's arm tightly.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Should we see a doctor?"
Jiang Tao looked up and asked her, thinking that if she wasn't feeling well, she should go to the hospital to get checked out.
"It's nothing, Mom just has a bit of back pain, probably from catching a chill."
Bao Ya spoke nonchalantly, her eyes inadvertently glancing across Xu Wanyun's face.
At this moment, Xu Wanyun's heart jumped into her throat, and she even breathed softly.