When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 120: Chapter 61: The Unappreciated Wife of the 50s (Finale)

The guard invited the man inside, but he just shook his head with a simple smile. After some hemming and hawing, he managed to force out, ”Thanks, I’m not cold.” He kept his face half-buried in his collar, his hat pulled down low, leaving only a pair of weathered eyes visible. He stared intently through the main gate, terrified of missing his sister.

For a moment, Zhu Yun couldn’t tell which of the original host’s brothers this was, even with the Zhu family’s signature foxy eyes.

”Who is it? Did the family say someone was coming?”

Mrs. Chu, who was simmering soup, washed her hands and took off her apron. ”You stay here and watch the pot. I’ll go get them. It’s cold outside. If you catch a cold while you’re pregnant, you can’t even take medicine. That would be miserable!”

Zhu Yun smiled and handed her mother-in-law a scarf and a coat, not arguing with her. ”I’ll leave it to you then, Mom.”

After Mrs. Chu put them on, she reminded Zhu Yun to watch her step and then hurried downstairs.

A short while later, Mrs. Chu brought the man up.

Zhu Yun opened the door and smiled at the man.

The man immediately became flustered, freezing in the doorway with awkward stiffness.

”Come in, come in! It’s so cold outside,” Mrs. Chu said, warmly ushering him in. ”You’re too honest for your own good. The guard invited you to wait inside, you should have just gone in. Just listen to that wind howling...”

The man looked down at his mud-splattered shoes, then at the floor, which was polished so clean he could see his reflection. He immediately shrank back, head bowed, and refused to move.

Zhu Yun smiled and brought out a pair of guest slippers. ”Brother, change your shoes and come in.”

The man whipped his head around to stare at her, his eyes wide. He stammered, ”L-L-Little... Sis?”

’This young, pregnant wife—so beautiful, young, and fashionable she seemed more like a city dweller than actual city dwellers—was this really his sister?’

But after the initial shock, he looked more closely. Indeed, her eyes, nose, and mouth were unmistakably those of his little sister, the village belle.

Zhu Yun shot him an annoyed glance. ”What’s with the stutter? How many other sisters do you have that I’m your ’l-l-little’ one?”

He chuckled and scratched his head, saying in his simple, honest way, ”I’m not much of a talker. Don’t be mad.”

He hesitated for a moment, then shyly took off his shoes, revealing socks that were patched yet still worn through, and his awkwardly curled toes. He quickly put on the slippers, placed his own shoes carefully right by the door, and carried his bag inside.

”Here, comrade, have some hot brown sugar water. I haven’t even asked your name yet,” Mrs. Chu said with a smile, bringing him a cup and inviting him to sit.

”Auntie, my name is Zhu Yingxia. I’m the eldest,” the man said. He didn’t dare sit on the sofa, instead finding a small stool to sit on. Holding the mug, he sniffed the sweet aroma, his whole body radiating an infectious sense of happiness and contentment.

The sight made Zhu Yun’s heart ache a little.

’Sigh, ever since I became a mom-to-be, these emotions come out of nowhere and leave just as quickly.’

”You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I happen to have some winter melon and pork rib soup simmering on the stove. I’ll just roll out some noodles and drop in a couple of eggs. It’ll be ready in no time.” Mrs. Chu told Zhu Yun to keep him company, then smiled and ducked back into the kitchen to get busy.

”Auntie, please don’t go to any trouble. I can just have a dry biscuit. I’ve already arranged with a truck driver to leave at three this afternoon...” Zhu Yingxia said, quickly standing up in his nervousness.

Zhu Yun crossed her arms and frowned. ”Big Brother, how did you get here?”

This place wasn’t close to their hometown. The trains hadn’t been upgraded for speed yet, and they stopped at every station, big or small. The journey would take two days and a night.

Zhu Yingxia rubbed his hands and chuckled, speaking as if he’d gotten a huge bargain. ”Our village isn’t far from the provincial highway, so I hitchhiked. The drivers passing through are all really kindhearted. I just pretended to have a limp, and they’d give me a ride.”

”How many rides did you have to catch?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Their home was in a poor, remote mountainous area. Although a provincial highway passed through, there wasn’t much traffic, and most of it was for short distances. It would be nearly impossible to find a direct ride to the Capital City.

The man froze. He lowered his head and counted on his fingers for a good while before saying guiltily, ”Maybe five or six? Or maybe seven or eight?”

”Then how much did you have to walk?”

The man glanced at the soles of his shoes, which had been worn even thinner. ”Didn’t walk much. I’m tall and have long legs, so one of my steps is like two for most people.”

Unable to withstand his sister’s questioning, he grinned and brought over his large sack, whispering with a note of pride, ”Right now, there are food shortages all over the country. City workers have money, but they can’t buy any extra food. Everyone’s gotten a lot thinner since the fall.”

”Back home in the countryside, we’ve planted on every patch of land except for the footpaths. We dry whatever we can’t eat, and we have tons of it stored at home. Mom was worried you wouldn’t have enough to eat here in the city, so she had me bring some for you.”

As he spoke, he unwrapped the several layers of his sack and began pulling out the contents one by one, muttering about who had picked this and who had roasted that.