1595 Elopement
“No! They live separately, but they have a very good relationship. My grandfather and my husband’s grandfather were brothers-in-arms who went through life and death situations together. My husband and I have been betrothed to be married since we were young,” Qiao Mei said.

“Then your husband is not too bad! It’s rare for men to allow their wives’ family members to live near them! Whenever that idiot in my house sees my parents, it’s like he has seen his enemy! After I get married, I rarely see my parents anymore!” Wang Nuo said unhappily.

“Isn’t that the case for everyone! Sigh… There’s nothing we can do about these things. We still have to worry about our children now! I haven’t even started sowing the seeds yet. Seeing that you’ve all already started planting, I’d better hurry up,” Zhang Cai said sadly.

“You don’t have to worry, that plot of yours is so small! Sister, I think your farming skills are not bad. The vegetables have already sprouted in just a few days. You must remember to eat well though. Otherwise, won’t it just be the baby who suffers?” Liu Yun said.

“Yes, I’ll take your advice! I’ll definitely take good care of myself! When the time comes, I’ll give birth to a fair and chubby baby!” Qiao Mei said obediently.

“You have to be fair and chubby too! You can’t give birth at the detriment of your own health. After all, you just gave birth to those two babies not long ago! I heard from the elders in my village that giving birth to twins causes a huge loss of essence and vitality. You have to get enough nourishment!” Liu Yun reminded her.

“Alright, I’ll make some delicious food to nourish my body!” Qiao Mei said.

They chatted noisily about their own troubles at home. Only then did Qiao Mei realize that life was actually not easy for everyone. On the surface, everyone looked like they were coping well, but in reality, they all had their own difficulties.

Just as they were chatting enthusiastically, Song Zhi slowly walked over with her bamboo basket. Liu Yun’s expression changed immediately and the other women also stopped talking and sat quietly eating seeds.

Song Zhi nodded slightly at Qiao Mei and walked into the forest. She was not good at growing vegetables and did not know how to make full use of the land, so she could only go up the mountain to dig up some wild vegetables to supplement her family’s diet.

After she left, everyone started discussing fervently again.

“Ladies, why do all of you have that expression on your face when you see Song Zhi?” Qiao Mei asked curiously.

Liu Yun said disdainfully, “Hmph, Sister, listen to me! She’s a slutty woman! You still don’t know the things about their family! I’d advise you to stay away from her too. That woman is unclean! If not for the fact that we’re all neighbors, we won’t talk to her!”

The women clamored to tell Qiao Mei everything about Song Zhi’s past, but Qiao Mei had a feeling that something was amiss, as if the story was overly embellished.

Song Zhi had been to school for a few years in an era where very few women had the chance to study. She was also quite good-looking, so there were many people who were jealous of her.

Back when Song Zhi was in the village, she was treated as an anomaly and ostracized by everyone. However, many single men in the village liked her and she had a sweetheart whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. However, the Song family did not agree to let her marry this man.

Her family had already arranged for Song Zhi to marry her current husband. The two families had already agreed on the marriage when the children were young. Close to the wedding date, Song Zhi eloped with her sweetheart, running away at night. In the end, she was found by her family and forced to marry her current husband.

There were people who said that Song Zhi was no longer pure! They said she had already married the other man and had even been pregnant! Song Zhi’s current husband did not treat her very well and often beat and scolded her.

These were all hearsay and people just went around spreading the rumors. Qiao Mei was already used to such things. In her other life, she had seen worse things, some even much worse than this.

Qiao Mei did not want to continue with this conversation. She decided to reserve her comments until she knew the truth about Song Zhi. She started to ask the women about other things, like what she should watch out for in the mountain forest area, if there were any interesting activities in the vicinity, and if there was anywhere she could travel by bus to buy nice stuff.

“Hey! Come to the fair with us tomorrow!” Liu Yun whispered.

“Fair? What’s that?” Qiao Mei asked as she looked at them curiously.

“Erm, in your area, it might be known as the… black market! Aren’t we able to buy and sell things in private now? That’s like our marketplace,” Zhang Cai explained.

“Sure!” Qiao Mei said excitedly.

It had been a long time since she had gone to the black market to take a look. Previously, she had only gone once with Li Gui to sell some vegetables they planted at home. She wondered if there were any interesting things for sale at the black market here.