Chapter 73: A Pillow When Drowsy

"Really? Are you serious? Then I must go over and take a look. My niece is getting married in a few months, and I want to see if there’s anything suitable."

"You better hurry, not many people know about it yet. If you wait until more people find out, there might be nothing left to choose from."

Xinyan heard this and her mind started to wander. Instead of heading home, she followed the woman and deliberately struck up a conversation: "Big sister, which village were you talking about just now?"

The woman thought Xinyan was interested in gossip and couldn’t hide her excitement: "It’s about Upper River Village, it’s been the talk of the town for days... Let me tell you..."

This lady really loved to gossip. In no time, she spilled everything.

Apparently, a young man from Upper River Village fell for a female intellectual who came to support rural development. They were about to get married when the woman’s family came and objected. They said they’ve matched her with someone in the city, and his family promised to arrange a job for her, and she could process the paperwork as soon as she returned.

The thought of returning to the city tempted the female intellectual, and with her family’s persuasion, the marriage was off, and naturally, the dowry needed to be disposed of.

Once Xinyan understood the situation, she hurried home to see two little ones playing in the yard: "Sili, Siyan, I’m back."

The two little ones ran over when they heard her. Little Siyan was very clingy and wanted to follow her into the kitchen.

Xinyan patted his head: "Play with your brother in the yard. I’ll tidy up the kitchen, and then we’ll go out for a walk."

Upon hearing about going out for a walk, Little Siyan was happy: "Okay."

Xinyan was quick with her chores and soon had the kitchen spotless.

But when she came out of the kitchen, she didn’t see the two kids and got a bit scared: "Sili, Siyan."

Siyan poked his little head out from a makeshift storage room: "Sister, wait a minute."

Xinyan walked over and saw Sili squatting on the ground, busy: "Sili, what are you doing?"

Ye Silai turned his head and said: "Just a second, I’m almost done."

Xinyan went inside and when she saw what was on the ground, her eyes lit up. She now had a reason to go out: "Where did these come from?"

Ye Silai pointed to a corner of the wall: "Uncle Lu brought them back earlier. Uncle said when it gets warmer, he’ll take us fishing at the Yuquan River. I accidentally knocked over the fishing rod, and the fishhook got caught on the net. Sister, I’m almost done."

Xinyan squatted down and helped remove the fishhook from the net: "It’s great that we have fishing rods and a net at home. This is perfect; I can try my luck at the Yuquan River later."

Ye Silai said excitedly: "Let’s go too."

Xinyan was a bit hesitant: "No, you and your brother are still young. It’s not safe by the river, and if you fall in, it’ll be too dangerous."

Ye Silai insisted: "We’ll behave and not go near the edge. Uncle took us there before. You can ask Siyan."

At this moment, Ye Siyan chimed in: "Yes, Uncle took us, we behaved, we didn’t go near the edge, Uncle taught us."

Xinyan thought about it for a moment, and since she could keep a close eye on them, it might be okay: "Then you must listen later, the Yuquan River is deep."

Before Ye Silai could respond, little Ye Siyan said: "We’ll behave."

Previously, they saw the kids from the Cheng family on the other side go fishing with their father. Although they didn’t catch big fish, it made all the kids in the alley envious. They’ve wanted to go for a long time.

Xinyan had been worried because everyone knew she didn’t have any money. If she suddenly spent money on a quilt, it might not be appropriate. But if she caught some fish, there’d be much more she could do. It’s like having a pillow when you want to sleep.