Dawn in Qingshan village broke earlier during the harvest seasons. Before the old rooster crowed, the able bodied men were already on their way to the farms while the women begun breakfast preparations.
Sun hwa stretched and yawned feeling a wave of nausea rush up her throat, which sent her retching into the old bowl. Her eyes moistened all over, her legs wobbled and she leaned on the kang bed for support.
She really didn't want to be pregnant
Her body felt too foreign to her now
However there was no medicine for regret
She casually strode out, dumped the content of the bowl in the lactrine, then she proceeded to properly clean and wash the bowl before she alas headed to the kitchen
Where she added wood to the fire pit and lit it all up before pouring a large bowl of water into the pot
The air was colder today and she couldn't help snuggling tightly into her cotton padded jacket, while waiting by the fire place for the water to bowl
Ten minutes later
"Aunt sun" the little brat finally walked out, bundled up in a cotton padded jacket. Sun hwa stared at him for a few seconds before turning back to the boiling pot of water
"You know to come back home covered in mud, who would wash those clothes" she couldn't help voicing out her grievance with a sour expression
She had no qualms with him playing
She wouldn't stop him from playing
But coming home covered in mud was a big no!
Cause there was no washing machine, which meant she'd have to wash all the clothes with her bare hands and in this biting cold weather
That was practically asking for her life
"Mingli called me a bastard and Aunt sun a fool for taking me in" He nonchalantly replied as he squatted by the fire, using a fire poker to poke the forming coal. His thin lips were pouted and his delicate brows furrowed in annoyance
Sun hwa let out a soft sigh, the fact that she has taken in the little rascal was no secret and she was damn sure the children had heard those words from their parents
Qingshan village looked simple on the surface
But there was no telling what others thought behind one's back
"Apply this everyday, don't listen to what they say and lastly no fighting!" sun hwa relented as she took out a cosmetic container from her jacket
"Cold ointment? I don't have frost bites" he stared at the cosmetic container, then stared at her. He was totally confused
"When given you take it and you must apply it everyday! All over your body!" She let out a snort as she poured a bucket of hot water which she carried off for her bath, leaving the little guy to sit alone by the fire to warm his hands
She didn't spend too much time in the bathroom, as in another twenty five minutes, she was already out and bundled up in a new set of clothes though she wore the same cotton padded jacket she wore earlier
She also took her time to wash her teeth and her face properly before applying the product she had made
It wasn't as potent as the ones made in her world, however she expected a good result in a month or two. Her skin would be better than it was now and maybe
Just maybe she could sell this products to make money!
"Sister hwa" knocks could be heard from the front door making sun hwa furrow her brows
The little brat had gone off to bath himself and that voice didn't sound anything like Xiao Xia or Guo Jinyi. Was it the neighbor's?
"Sister sun" the voice came again and the knocking became even more urgent, somewhat frantic
Sun hwa finally stood up, patted imaginary dust of her clothes, shut the cosmetic container and walked out to open the door
"Sister sun" before she could fully open the door. A figure burst in nearly knocking her over
"Who are you!" She pushed the dark figure off her and frowned at the intruder
"It's me sister hwa, it's me" Qin Rong hastily shut the door and leaned against it panting heavily. In her arms was her little daughter, face flushed from the cold with eyes red and swollen from crying
Even Qin Rong looked no different except she seemed to have been beaten
Sun hwa couldn't seem to fanthom what the second house was up to
Instead she walked into the kitchen and mixed a bowl of sugar water, which she brought out for Qing Rong and her daughter to drink
"Sister hwa" Qing Rong's eyes moistened as she stared at the warm bowl of sugar water in her hands
"Drink quickly, the child might get a cold" sun hwa handed a blanket to the young mother to wrap the child properly, then she headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast
She didn't intend doing much, as she had no appetite herself hence she cracked four eggs, chopped in some green onions (scallions) and threw in some baby spinach. Mix it all up and stir fried on the wok, once done she mixed some pancake batter to make scallion pancakes
Of which she made 6 scallion pancakes, scrambled eggs and a pot of thin porridge
The aroma made Qin Rong swallow hard, even the little rascal couldn't help swallowing a few times as he scrambled up his seat. In time for sun hwa to serve the table
Qin Rong's eyes moistened at the luxurious meal yet she dared not touch the eggs or the pancake. She only settled for the thin Miller porridge which she ate and also fed to her baby
"The child needs to nourish the health too" sun hwa's words were somewhat cold but it left no room for arguments as she served some pancakes and eggs into a bowl for Qin Rong knowing the latter wouldn't dare reaching into the other bowls
"Sister hwa" Qin Rong swallowed hard however seeing Sun hwa focused on eating without raising her head
She alas lowered her head and begun to eat with tears in her eyes. The meal wasn't a lot but she dared not dream of this things in the second household
Who saw her as a lose making investment, her heart ached so much, especially for her daughter.
After the meal the little rascal cleared the dishes to wash while Qin Rong cleaned the yard and afterwards carried off the dirty clothes to wash by the well
Sun hwa didn't stop her or try to play it cocky,
She was pregnant and needed all the help she could get
Who wouldn't want a life of just laying around without having nothing to do?
"Sister hwa" at Qin Rong's call, sun hwa's delicate lashes like butterfly wings fluttered open, revealing a pair of beautiful hazel eyes, which left Qin Rong somewhat dazed
"You haven't told me why you came to my house today". sun hwa finally sat up gracefully, her eyes scanned the yard and the rascal had already run off at some point
"My mother-in-law wants Guodan to divorce me" Qin Rong' cried out bitterly as she sat
Thinking back at the humiliation she had faced earlier, it felt like someone was driving a wedge into her heart
"I also want to divorce the fifth son" sun hwa's nonchalant comment made Qin Rong's eyes widened
The Wang family wasn't great
They weren't poor nor rich
Life was hard but having a divorce
They could never think of, as a divorced woman was like an old shoe sole, discarded and scorned by society, living a life worse than death
"I can't divorce Guodan" Qin Rong balled her fist hard by her side, her lips pursed in a show of defiance
"And why can't you divorce your Guodan" sun hwa leaned back on the reclining bench, her eyes held a hint of boredom
She had totally lost interest
Women like Qin Rong made her sick
"We already went to the hospital! Guodan is the one with fertility issues not me! Yet mother-in-law hides it from everyone
Making me the barren woman scorned at by all for six years! Six whole years and even with my mei mei whom i laboured to have last year, she still treats me like trash
Blaming me for not having sons!" Qin Rong's voice broke at the end as she burst into tears
"I've held this secret for long, no one knows Guodan has fertile issues
Yet I'm the one forced to drink all the bitter medicines almost damaging my health and I'm the one scorned at!" She cried even more, her whole being trembling as she voiced out her grievances
She had told no one this things
She had endured it all silently, pretending it was all okay
However now as she poured out her heart to sun hwa, she could feel the ache as fresh as day
It was there festering even if she didn't know yet
"And you don't want to divorce Guodan?" Sun hwa merely raised a brow with a hint of mockery in her eyes which Qin Rong easily caught on
And oh she felt so ashamed but what could she do
"There's only two options either you break away from the second household or divorce Guodan" sun hwa waved her off and closed her eyes to continue resting