Reborn in the 80s, Get Rich by Eating Melons
Chapter 510: Do You Think I’m Pregnant?

Chapter 510: Chapter 510: Do You Think I’m Pregnant?

When Si Boyi, who had taken the child back home, came to the village chief’s house, he heard Zhang Lijuan speaking about these incidents. He decided then and there to stay and protect Tong Yao.

The village chief’s wife cooked noodles for them. Tong Yao, genuinely hungry, didn’t stand on ceremony. However, before even a mouthful of noodles had reached her mouth, she gagged a few times.

Seeing this, the village chief’s wife and Zhang Lijuan looked at each other, their expressions odd. As soon as Tong Yao finished eating, Zhang Lijuan quickly pulled her aside and whispered, "Yaoyao, have you found a new partner?"

Zhang Lijuan had been pregnant twice now, and she was quite familiar with pregnancy symptoms. She couldn’t ignore how much Tong Yao’s reactions resembled those of a pregnant woman.

However, Tong Yao’s belly was flat, not at all like that of a pregnant woman.

Tong Yao’s eyes flickered. "Do you suspect I’m pregnant?"

Fearing that she might offend Tong Yao if she had guessed wrong, Zhang Lijuan quickly explained, "Yaoyao, don’t be mad. I was just asking. I noticed these symptoms during my own pregnancies."

"You’re pregnant?" Tong Yao directed her gaze to Zhang Lijuan’s stomach.

After Zhang Lijuan moved back from the city, she had lost a lot of weight; she was even thinner than before her marriage, and it was not at all evident that she was pregnant.

"Yes!" Zhang Lijuan nodded, responding with a bitter smile. "I’m only three months along, so it’s not really visible yet. Boyi wanted to move to the city to provide me with a better life. I had some complications during my first pregnancy, and that scared him."

Tong Yao just nodded. Seeing this, Zhang Lijuan became more convinced that Tong Yao might be pregnant. But since Tong Yao hadn’t explicitly confirmed, she didn’t dare to ask again. The thought of Tong Yao and her eldest brother reconciling seemed impossible.

Such a beautiful and capable woman was in great demand.

The Si family had really lost out by letting such a daughter-in-law slip away.

Tong Yao took out 200 yuan from her pocket and handed it to Zhang Lijuan. "You’re going to have a baby, and I may not be able to join your celebration. This money is a gift from me. Use it to buy more food supplements. Don’t deprive yourself now that you are pregnant."

Zhang Lijuan was so surprised that she didn’t expect Tong Yao to give her money. She quickly shook her head and said, "No, no, no. Boyi already sends us money. I can’t take your money!"

Zhang Lijuan felt guilty about accepting the money, so she declined. Given that Tong Yao might be pregnant, indicating that she had likely found a new partner, Zhang Lijuan didn’t feel right about accepting the money.

"Take it! Raising a child involves many expenses." Tong Yao stuffed the money into Zhang Lijuan’s hand. Seeing that she couldn’t refuse the money any longer, Zhang Lijuan finally accepted it.

She was so moved that her eyes turned red. "Yaoyao, I’m really sorry for what happened before. I was young and didn’t understand things. Please don’t hold it against me."

What Zhang Lijuan was referring to was her infatuation with Si Chen, and how she had deliberately made things tough for Tong Yao. However, as she was now married to Si Boyi, she couldn’t express this too explicitly.

"That’s enough. You’re pregnant now. Don’t get too excited," Tong Yao said in a soft comforting voice.

Zhang Lijuan agreed and gave her a bitter smile. "Yaoyao, only now do I understand. You are someone destined for greater things. You don’t waste time focusing on trivial matters, unlike us narrow-minded individuals. No wonder you’re successful in business. How your parents educated you is really different from us."

All that her parents taught her was to be stingy and penny-pinching. They would gossip about how a girl could marry well even without education, believing that education was useless and that marrying rich was the best.

It was only when she visited Tong Yaohui and Wen Yun in Kyoto that she understood what a learned elite family and true scholars were.

Tong Yao smiled as she saw Gu Hongwei walk in. "I’ll have to head to the city soon. Since you’re pregnant, make sure to rest more."

Zhang Lijuan nodded, saying, "Let Boyi accompany you to the city. I won’t be at ease otherwise."

Tong Yao didn’t refuse. Whether they accompanied her to the city or not was one thing, but it was good to have some company, considering that Aunt Gu might be on her way.

"The bullock cart is at the entrance. Let’s head to the city!" said Gu Hongwei.

Tong Yao agreed and boarded the bullock cart with Guo Jinnian. Gu Hongwei thoughtfully padded the cart with a thick blanket, considering that Tong Yao might be pregnant.

Before they left, he said to the village chief, "Uncle, I’m leaving everything at home to you. Do as you see fit with the fields. You can farm them or return them to the government – just don’t give them to my aunt."

Hearing this, the village chief thought for a moment and said, "Hongwei, if you don’t mind, I’ll farm the land for now. The harvested grain can be distributed among our villagers. If you’re okay with that, I’ll proceed in that manner."

"Alright." Gu Hongwei nodded.

With his father dead and nothing left for him here, he intended to devote himself wholly to his work in the future.

"Take care on the road. I won’t keep you." The village chief waved his hand, urging them to depart soon.

Si Boyi also climbed into the bullock cart and said to Zhang Lijuan, "Mother will look after the baby. You should go back home and check on things! If anyone comes to visit, don’t come out to join in the fun."

"Got it. You all should get going!"

Zhang Lijuan waved them off and hurried home to check on her child. She understood that the ’mother’ mentioned by Gu Hongwei was referring to Chen Jinlan. Therefore, she headed directly to her mother’s home without entering the Si’s home.

Along the way, she thought about starting a business in the city.

Along with the driver, a total of five people were seated in the bullock cart. The cart didn’t move very fast. They initially thought that Aunt Gu wouldn’t arrive so quickly, considering the distance from her house to the village. The round trip would take up a considerable amount of time.

To their surprise, just as they left the village and arrived at the crossroads, a group of people emerged from the small path by the sorghum field. Some held hoes, others held iron spades, and even poles. Some even held sickles. Each of them had a ferocious expression on their face. Leading the group was Aunt Gu, who stopped the bullock cart and interrogated them, her face stern.

"What’s wrong? Scared and want to run after beating someone?"

As Tong Yao wondered how Aunt Gu managed to get there so fast, she noticed Si Xiaohui standing behind them, pushing her bicycle. Suddenly, she realized something and her eyes grew cold.

"What, what’s going on?" The old coachman was terrified. He was old and frail – not strong enough to withstand their attack.

Aunt Gu dragged the old coachman down from the cart and pointed at Tong Yao and Guo Jinnian. "These two women were the ones who hit me."

Seeing the number of people, Si Boyi’s face turned grim. He prepared himself to fight if necessary.

Gu Hongwei jumped down from the cart, "This matter has nothing to do with them. Let them go. I’ll stay and discuss the matter with you."

Upon seeing Gu Hongwei, Si Boyi also jumped down from the cart.

Aunt Gu glared at them and said, "This has nothing to do with you. Go away. If these two girls don’t kneel down and kowtow to me immediately, nobody is leaving."

She seemed to want Gu Hongwei to promise to give her the land. She didn’t want to resort to conflict with Gu Hongwei until the last moment.