Chapter 163: You stepped on my foot

Since when, getting out of bed had become a torture for Jiang Li.

Looking at his little wife nestled in his arms, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

His wife was soft jade and warm fragrance, but his own body was as hard as a stone, swollen severely.

It was painful, yet very happy.

Thinking that he had to return to the Ya Men today, Jiang Li's reason finally overcame his desire. He lowered his head and left a kiss on Du Ruo's pink lips, then carefully got out of bed.

Changing into his Bu Kuai uniform and soap boots, he gently opened the door and went into the courtyard.

The sky was still dark, just beginning to brighten.

However, there was already someone in the courtyard, just coming out of the kitchen.

Seeing Jiang Li, Zheng Shi asked in surprise, "It's still early, why not sleep a little longer?"

Jiang Li explained with a smile, "I have to hurry to the county early today."

So that was it; Zheng Shi understood.

It was true; Jiang Li had been resting at home for two or three days. He was a Bu Tou, so he certainly couldn't ask for leave for long.

"Then I'll go wake up Aman to see you off!" Saying this, Zheng Shi prepared to go into the room.

Jiang Li quickly stopped her. "No need, Mother-in-law, let the wife sleep. She is used to sleeping late; if she doesn't get enough sleep, she won't be in good spirits."

Zheng Shi felt very touched.

Her son-in-law was just good; he knew how to cherish his wife.

"Alright then, you wait, I'll go cook a bowl of noodles for you!" Zheng Shi turned and went back into the kitchen.

After Jiang Li finished washing up, he prepared to go feed the horse first.

Ma Laodi was tied to the osmanthus tree in the corner of the courtyard. Jiang Li walked over and saw that Tie Dan was feeding it.

Besides a bundle of green grass still covered in dew, there were several wild pheasants on the ground, which should have been brought back by Gouzi specifically from the mountain.

Now, in addition to their own family's rations, there were more than twenty craftsmen to feed, so naturally, they had to prepare more.

Jiang Li patted the dog's head. "Tie Dan, thank you for your hard work."

Gouzi barked twice at him.

It's good that you know this dog works hard. Can you have your wife make more 'Rich Chicken' at once?

Every time she makes just one or two, it's not even enough to satisfy my cravings.

Unfortunately, Jiang Li couldn't understand dog language; he just told it to watch the house well and went into the house to eat noodles.

The dog was so angry it spun around biting its own tail. After spinning a few times, it found that Ma Laodi had stopped eating and was looking at it with a look that said, "You idiot."

Woof woof woof, look at what? Eat your grass!

Ma Laodi snorted and lowered its head to continue chewing grass.

Fresh grass was just more delicious than dry hay.

After finishing the noodles, Jiang Li pulled the carriage out of the courtyard.

Thinking that he wouldn't see his wife for several days, he really couldn't bear it, and in the end, he couldn't help but return to the room once.

Du Ruo was sleeping like a little fragrant pig, her black hair scattered on the pillow, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, her cheeks flushed, making one want to take a bite.

Jiang Li's fingertips lingered on her face for a long time, his eyes full of longing.

In the end, he didn't wake her up and left with a hardened heart.

The carriage clip-clopped along the village road, heading toward the county town.

Hearing the movement, Lin Shenzi, who was washing clothes by the Clear Water Pond, raised her head, a cold, sinister smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

It's good that he's gone; otherwise, she would have been afraid of accidentally harming this future son-in-law.

When Jiang Li returns next time, what he sees should be the corpses of his entire family, right?

*Thwack, thwack, thwack*, the wooden club in Lin Shenzi's hand hit the clothes even harder.

Not long after Jiang Li left, a group of people arrived at the entrance of the village.

There were men, women, old, and young, all dressed very plainly, carrying shovels, shouldering poles, and holding children, looking like refugees.

The villagers were a bit panicked at first, after all, the catastrophe from over a decade ago was still fresh in their minds.

If it hadn't been for Jiang Mo Nian's father, Jiang Changhe, leading everyone to rise up and resist, the grain and women in the village probably wouldn't have been saved.

It wasn't until they saw the baby-faced young man leading the group that the villagers' hearts finally settled.

So they weren't refugees, but Du Shi's maternal family.

"Father, Mother, that's the courtyard!" Zheng Qinghe pointed to the house ahead and said.

Zheng Lao Jiu looked and nodded with satisfaction.

It looked like it had life in it; that was good.

He glared at his youngest son. "Then why aren't you going to knock on the door?"

Zheng Qinghe said "Oh," and ran up in a few steps, knocking and shouting, "Aunt, I'm back!"

Zheng Shi was in the kitchen with Chun Hua preparing breakfast for the family. Hearing the sound, she quickly washed her hands and went to open the courtyard gate.

Seeing so many familiar faces standing outside, she was both surprised and happy.

"Brother, Sister-in-law, why are you here?"

Zheng Lao Jiu hummed with his hands behind his back. "What, not welcome?"

Zheng Shi quickly led them inside. "Look at what you're saying, I've been wishing you'd come! Actually, Aman mentioned this before, saying that once the new Zhai Zi was built, she would invite you over to stay for a few days!"

Entering the courtyard, the Zheng family looked around curiously.

The eldest, Zheng Qingshan, put down his three-year-old daughter, Suo'er. Suo'er was still holding the rabbit that Du Ruo had given her earlier.

The rabbit was fatter and heavier than before; the little girl could barely hold it.

Suo'er's brother, Shitou, saw the dog lying by the wall and his eyes lit up. He rushed over like a cannonball and hugged it.

"Tie Dan, I missed you so much! Did you miss me?"

The dog turned its head away, looking utterly hopeless.

Why did this guy come? Don't force me to help him fight again later.

Jiang Cheng was tinkering in the vegetable garden, and Jiang Wan was reciting books in the room. Hearing the commotion in the front yard, they both ran over.

It was another round of greetings and inquiries.

Zheng Lao Jiu peered into the house and asked, "Where is Aman? Why don't I see her?"

"Aman she..." Zheng Shi was so embarrassed she wanted to dig a hole.

It's over. If her brother found out that Aman was so lazy at her in-laws' house, sleeping until now without getting up, he would probably lecture her.

Zheng Qinghe knew, and he snorted with laughter. "Aman, she must be still... Ah, ouch, ouch, ouch, Aunt, you stepped on my foot!"

Zheng Shi said sheepishly that she was sorry.

Then she began to make excuses for her daughter. "Aman was tired yesterday, so I let her sleep a little longer. I'll go call her up right now."

After saying this, she walked quickly toward the room.

Anyway, her son-in-law wasn't home, so she didn't bother knocking and pushed the door open to pull Du Ruo up.

"Oh my little ancestor, hurry up, your uncle, aunt, and cousins are all here! You're still sleeping, is that appropriate?"

Du Ruo's sleepiness vanished instantly, and she hurriedly got out of bed to put on her clothes.

Zheng Shi took a wooden hairpin and casually styled her daughter's hair into a simple hairdo, then checked her up and down.

Hmm, sure enough, beautiful people don't need much dressing up.

Mother and daughter soon went to the courtyard to meet the guests.

"Uncle, Aunt, Eldest Brother, Sister-in-law, Second Brother, Sister-in-law," Du Ruo greeted them with a smile.

The Zheng family turned their heads in unison, and when their eyes fell on her face, they all froze.

Zheng Qinghe had mentioned this to the family after he returned, so they were mentally prepared, knowing that Du Ruo had recovered her appearance.

But having gotten used to that ugly face, suddenly seeing such a pretty Aman standing before them, they were still too shocked to speak.

This is, this is just too beautiful??

Even Shitou and Suo'er stared without blinking. Suo'er hugged the rabbit and circled Du Ruo several times, looking left and right, and finally, she tilted her little head and said innocently, "Little Aunt looks different now, even prettier than the rabbit!" ===== CHAPTER 164 =====