Chapter 895: Just a Formality

While Wang An was cooking, Li Xiuyu finished her bath and entered the room.

It must be said that after bathing, with her small face clean and fresh, the girl looked even more appealing than before.

As soon as Mu Xueqing saw Li Xiuyu, she hurriedly smiled and said

"Xiuyu, you're finished? These clothes fit you quite well, don't they?"

The way Mu Xueqing said this, to describe it in local terms, was clearly just making small talk for the sake of talking.

Li Xiuyu forced a faint smile and said softly to Mu Xueqing

"Yes, Sister-in-law, they are very good."

As she spoke, without needing anyone to tell her, Li Xiuyu took the initiative to sit on the small stool by the stove pit and helped Wang An tend the fire.

It had to be said that most children growing up in the countryside in this era were very sensible; they knew to take the initiative to help out when visiting someone's home.

Seeing this, Mu Xueqing hurriedly said

"Oh, there's no need, Xiuyu. You can just go sit in the room."

Li Xiuyu quickly replied

"I have nothing to do if I just sit there, and tending the fire isn't tiring."

Seeing Li Xiuyu's persistence, Mu Xueqing said helplessly

"You, there's no need to be so polite here."

After saying that, Mu Xueqing went back to her own tasks.

However, Li Xiuyu was still in the midst of grief. From time to time, she would stare blankly at the fire in the stove, or mechanically keep adding firewood.

This resulted in Wang An, who was stir-frying dishes in the pot, being unable to concentrate on his cooking, having to call out to Li Xiuyu every now and then.

Because when cooking in a large iron pot, the only way to control the heat was by the amount of firewood; Li Xiuyu's fire-tending was a disaster—it was either no fire at all or a raging blaze.

Fortunately, these dishes required little technical skill for Wang An; otherwise, they certainly would have been burnt to a crisp.

Shortly after Wang An finished the meal, Wang Dazhu and his wife, along with Shen Wei, returned.

Upon seeing Li Xiuyu, the three of them were visibly stunned. Mainly, since almost everyone in the village knew each other, Li Xiuyu was clearly a new face.

After Wang An's explanation, Wang Dazhu and his wife instantly became enthusiastic. The future wife of their own nephew had to be treated as an honored guest.

However, Li Xiuyu truly could not summon any happiness at the moment, so she continued to force a smile.

Of course, after Liu Guilan and the others greeted Li Xiuyu warmly, Liu Guilan's expression changed, and she began to comfort her.

After all, one should smile when it's time to smile, but one certainly shouldn't grin toothily when it's inappropriate, as that would be annoying.

It must be said that Liu Guilan's sense of propriety was handled very appropriately.

During the meal, despite the table full of food Wang An had prepared, Li Xiuyu acted as if it were invisible, only knowing how to hold her bowl and pick grains of rice into her mouth.

Seeing this, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Liu Guilan and Mu Xueqing, showed even more concern for Li Xiuyu, taking turns placing meat into her bowl.

As Liu Guilan placed meat into Li Xiuyu's bowl, she said earnestly

"Xiuyu, you must eat more. If you collapse too, who will take care of your mother?"

Hearing this, Mu Xueqing immediately added

"That's right. Once your fourth brother finds the people and has them all arrested, there will be a pile of things waiting for you to manage. You must eat well."

Hearing Mu Xueqing's words, Li Xiuyu thought of her recently deceased father, her mother who had fallen ill and was bedridden due to the shock, and her three brothers who were severely injured from the beating. Tears streamed down her face as she shoveled the food from her bowl into her mouth.

Although the affairs of Li Xiuyu's family had practically nothing to do with Wang An's family, having someone weeping and sobbing at the dinner table truly affected the mood of those eating.

Thus, a dinner that looked very sumptuous but felt very oppressive finally came to an end.

After the meal, Li Xiuyu was perceptive enough to want to help clear the dishes, but she was stopped by Comrade Liu Guilan.

If Li Xiuyu had already married Wang Li, it would be only natural for her to help with chores at Wang An's house.

At that time, if Li Xiuyu didn't do any work, it would instead be a sign of being inconsiderate.

But for now, she hadn't entered the family yet; she was still a proper guest.

Not long after dinner, Wang Daliang and his wife, along with Wang Li and Wang Xiaorong—a family of four—arrived together.

It was obvious that these four had tidied themselves up before coming, as the clothes and shoes they wore were very clean and neat.

Especially Wang Li; it looked as though he had just washed his hair, which was slick and glossy, and his side-parted hairstyle was combed meticulously.

Most importantly, a decent Zhongshan suit and leather shoes, which were only worn for going out, were now both on Wang Li's person.

To be honest, wearing a Zhongshan suit in this season and fastening all the buttons tightly made Wang An feel that Wang Li was being a bit dim-witted.

Because the Zhongshan suits of this era, which were essentially jackets, were made of cotton fabric. Wearing such a thing in this season was truly hot!

Wang An felt hot even wearing a large undershirt; seeing Wang Li bundled up so tightly made Wang An feel even hotter.

But it had to be said that the attire of Wang Daliang's family demonstrated the family's regard for Li Xiuyu.

They did not show any disrespect or indifference toward her simply because she had fallen into such a predicament.

Li Xiuyu was not stupid; she naturally understood that Wang Li's family was expressing an attitude toward her by doing this.

After everyone sat down, Li Xiuyu kept her head lowered and remained silent. To break the awkwardness, Wang An took the initiative to say to Liu Guilan

"Mom, why don't you act as the matchmaker this time and let them get reacquainted? Then let Old Fifth and Xiuyu chat privately, hehehehe."

Although everyone already knew who was who, this was a formality—more accurately, it was a way to steer the conversation onto the right track.

After all, everyone's goal was to bring Wang Li and Li Xiuyu together.

Hearing this, Liu Guilan laughed and acted as the temporary matchmaker.

After introducing everyone in a circle, Liu Guilan said to Wang Li

"Old Fifth, take Xiuyu to the east room for a while. Xiuyu is in a bad mood right now; you should try to comfort her."

Hearing this, Wang Li quickly agreed, then stood up and looked at Li Xiuyu without speaking.

It was clear that Wang Li was visibly nervous when facing the "white moonlight" of his heart.

Fortunately, Li Xiuyu was very obedient and stood up with him. Although she still kept her head down, it could be seen that she had no resistance.

Just as the two were about to walk toward the east room, Wang An suddenly spoke

"Xiuyu, you go to the east room first. I have a small matter to discuss with my brother."

Li Xiuyu looked up at Wang An, nodded, and walked into the east room.

Actually, from the moment Wang Li and the others entered the house, Wang Li's gaze had never left Li Xiuyu, yet this kid didn't even know how to give a simple greeting to a former classmate. It truly left Wang An speechless.

(End of Chapter)