Chapter 897

Just as Wang An was cooking, Li Xiuyu entered the room after finishing her bath.

It must be said, after washing up, the young girl looked clean and fresh, appearing even more spirited than before.

As soon as Mu Xueqing saw Li Xiuyu, she hurriedly smiled and said:

"Xiuyu, you're done washing? These clothes fit you quite well, don't they?"

When Mu Xueqing said this, to use the local dialect, it was clearly just making small talk for the sake of it.

Li Xiuyu forced a smile and said softly to Mu Xueqing:

"Yes, sister-in-law, they're very nice."

As she spoke, Li Xiuyu didn't wait for anyone to tell her; she took the initiative to sit on the small stool by the stove and helped Wang An tend the fire.

It must be said, most children who grew up in the countryside during this era were very sensible; when they went to someone else's house, they knew to take the initiative to do some work.

Seeing this, Mu Xueqing hurriedly said:

"Oh my, you don't need to, Xiuyu. Just go inside and sit down."

Li Xiuyu hurriedly said:

"I have nothing to do sitting there, and tending the fire isn't tiring."

Seeing Li Xiuyu insist, Mu Xueqing said helplessly:

"You, there's no need to be so polite here."

After saying this, Mu Xueqing went back to her own tasks.

But Li Xiuyu was still immersed in sorrow at this moment; from time to time, she would stare blankly at the fire in the stove, or else she would mechanically keep adding firewood to the hearth.

This resulted in Wang An, who was stir-frying in the wok, being unable to focus on his cooking, and he had to call out to Li Xiuyu every now and then.

Because the only way to control the heat when cooking in a large iron wok is by the amount of firewood used; Li Xiuyu's fire-tending was something else—it was either no fire at all or a raging inferno.

Fortunately, for Wang An, these dishes didn't require much technical skill, otherwise, they would certainly have all been burnt.

Not long after Wang An finished cooking, Wang Dazhu and his wife, along with Shen Wei, returned.

Upon seeing Li Xiuyu, the three of them were clearly taken aback; mainly because everyone in the same village basically knew each other, and Li Xiuyu was obviously a new face.

After Wang An's explanation, Wang Dazhu and his wife instantly became enthusiastic; the future daughter-in-law of their own nephew had to be treated as an honored guest.

It was just that Li Xiuyu truly couldn't muster any happy feelings at this moment, so she kept forcing a smile.

Of course, after Liu Guilan and the others greeted Li Xiuyu warmly, Liu Guilan's expression changed, and she began to comfort her.

After all, one should smile when it's time to smile, but when it's not the time, one certainly shouldn't be flashing a big grin and annoying people.

It must be said, Liu Guilan's grasp of this sense of propriety was quite perfect.

During the meal, despite the table full of food Wang An had prepared, Li Xiuyu seemed to turn a blind eye to it, only knowing how to hold her bowl and shovel rice into her mouth.

Seeing this situation, Liu Guilan and Mu Xueqing, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, showed even more concern for Li Xiuyu, taking turns picking meat for her bowl.

Liu Guilan was seen picking meat for Li Xiuyu's bowl while saying earnestly:

"Xiuyu, you must eat more. If you collapse too, who will take care of your mother then?"

Hearing this, Mu Xueqing immediately added:

"That's right. Once your fourth brother finds people to arrest them all, there will be a pile of things waiting for you to manage, so you must eat well."

After listening to Mu Xueqing's words, Li Xiuyu thought of her father who had just passed away, her mother who had fallen ill and was bedridden due to the sudden shock, and her three brothers who had been beaten and severely injured. While shedding tears, she shoveled the food from her bowl into her mouth.

Although Li Xiuyu's family affairs had nothing to do with Wang An's family, having someone crying and wiping away tears at the dinner table really affected the mood of those eating.

Just like that, a dinner that looked very sumptuous but had a very stifling atmosphere finally came to an end.

After the meal, Li Xiuyu was quite observant and wanted to help clear the bowls and chopsticks, but she was stopped by Comrade Liu Guilan.

If Li Xiuyu had already married Wang Li, then it would be only natural for her to come to Wang An's house to help with chores.

By that time, if Li Xiuyu didn't do any work, it would be the one who was being insensitive.

As it stood now, she hadn't married in yet and was still a proper guest.

Not long after dinner, Wang Daliang and his wife, along with Wang Li and Wang Xiaorong—a family of four—came over together.

It was evident that before these four came over, they had clearly spruced themselves up, as the clothes and shoes on all four of them were very clean and tidy.

Especially Wang Li, who looked like he had just washed his hair; his hair was slick and shiny, and his side-parted hairstyle was combed meticulously.

Most importantly, a proper Zhongshan suit and leather shoes, which he only wore when going out, were all worn by Wang Li at this moment.

To be honest, wearing a Zhongshan suit in this season and buttoning it up tightly made Wang An feel that Wang Li was a bit of a blockhead.

Because the Zhongshan suits of this era, which were outer garments, were all made of fabric; wearing this stuff in this season was truly hot!

Mainly because Wang An felt hot even wearing a tank top, and now, looking at Wang Li bundled up so tightly, Wang An felt even hotter himself.

But it had to be said, this dressing up by Wang Daliang's family already showed the importance this family placed on Li Xiuyu.

They didn't show any disrespect or indifference just because Li Xiuyu had fallen into such a plight.

Li Xiuyu wasn't stupid; she naturally understood that Wang Li's family doing this was showing her an attitude.

After everyone sat down, Li Xiuyu kept her head lowered and didn't speak. To break the awkwardness, Wang An took the initiative to say to Liu Guilan:

"Mom, why don't you act as the matchmaker for once, let them get to know each other again, and then let the fifth one and Xiuyu have a private chat, hehehehe."

Although everyone already knew who was who, this counted as going through the motions; to be precise, it was leading the topic onto the right track.

After all, everyone's goal was to bring Wang Li and Li Xiuyu together.

Hearing this, Liu Guilan laughed and acted as the temporary matchmaker.

After making the introductions, Liu Guilan said to Wang Li:

"Fifth one, go take Xiuyu to the east room and stay for a while. Xiuyu is in a bad mood right now, so you should also counsel her well."

Hearing this, Wang Li hurriedly agreed, then stood up and looked at Li Xiuyu without saying a word.

It was evident that Wang Li was clearly a bit nervous when facing the "white moonlight" in his heart.

Fortunately, Li Xiuyu was very obedient and stood up with him. Although she still kept her head lowered, it could be seen that she had no feelings of resistance.

Just as the two were about to walk to the east room together, Wang An suddenly said:

"Xiuyu, you go to the east room first; I have a small matter to discuss with my brother."

Li Xiuyu looked up at Wang An, then nodded and walked into the east room.

In fact, from the moment Wang Li and the others entered the room, Wang Li's eyes had never left Li Xiuyu, yet this kid didn't even know how to greet his classmates, which truly left Wang An speechless.

(End of chapter)