A Good Country Wife
Chapter 370 - 364_1

Chapter 370: Chapter 364_1

At noon, there was a bustling pig-slaughtering feast. Quite a few families from the village came to weigh out some pork. No one took a lot; some got a pound or two, and others took three or four pounds. Lin Yue was thinking about buying pork for the New Year, so she asked Zhao Erhu to reserve sixty pounds from the village chief. She wanted to make cured meat and sausages, though that might not be enough, but the village chief’s pig weighed only a bit over two hundred pounds. After the scattered purchases by the villagers and what the chief’s family kept for themselves, only so much was left.

Zhao Erhu saw Lin Yue buying so much meat to take home. He initially thought it was unnecessary, but then he worried it might disappoint his young wife, so he simply agreed with her. He paid the Silver and carried the sixty pounds of pork back home. Lin Yue also bought the offal to make sausages, with the pig’s large intestine being essential.

Once the pork was bought home, Lin Yue was busy for two more days, making sausages and cured meat, both of which were her favorites, especially the sausages, which she loved the most. However, since her grandfather’s passing, she hadn’t eaten authentic sausages; the ones sold in the market just couldn’t compare to the ones made at home. Plus, giving sausages as gifts during festivals was not bad either.

"Dalang, go to the doorway and see if your father hasn’t come back yet?" said Lin Yue, seeing that it was getting late and Zhao Erhu still had not returned. She felt a bit worried. Every so often, she would go to the doorway to look for Zhao Erhu. Winter nights fell early, and with the heavy snow outside, she wondered what urgent matter could compel Erhu to go out without telling her. Wasn’t he just making her worry on purpose?

It was already dark outside, and Lin Yue had all the meals ready and placed on the table, but Zhao Erhu was still nowhere to be seen.

"Mom, why isn’t Dad back yet?" asked Sanlang, unable to hold back his question, as the other children also looked expectantly at Lin Yue.

Lin Yue was very worried, but she didn’t want the children to worry with her, so she replied, "Maybe the snowy weather has made the roads difficult to travel. Let’s wait a bit longer; your father might be back soon. Why don’t you go ahead and eat? I’ll set aside a portion for your father."

Lin Yue saw the food cooling and evening approaching. It didn’t matter much to her, but the children shouldn’t be kept hungry, especially when they were growing. She then reserved a bowl of food for Zhao Erhu and let the children eat first.

They waited up until midnight, but Zhao Erhu still hadn’t returned. Could something have held him up that he couldn’t make it back before the city gates closed? Lin Yue didn’t know what Erhu was up to and could only speculate. Besides, there was nowhere to look for someone at this late hour. With the city gates shut, there was no getting in, so the only option was to plan the next move at daybreak.

The children had been sent to bed by Lin Yue long ago, but she couldn’t sleep a wink. She took out her needlework and sewed while waiting, battling her exhaustion until dawn when she finally succumbed to sleep while still clothed. When she awoke, it was already morning the next day. The thought of Zhao Erhu jolted her awake, and she hurried outside. The courtyard doors were still ajar just like the night before, and there was no sign of Zhao Erhu in the kitchen; he indeed hadn’t come home all night.

After some thought, Lin Yue went to inquire about Erhu’s whereabouts from Zhao Dahuo and Wu Qiang, but they were just as clueless. Lin Yue felt deflated. Where on earth had Erhu gone? Now she wanted to look for him, but she didn’t even know where to start. In such cold weather, she feared something might have happened to Zhao Erhu.

Lin Yue was truly worried. Waiting like this was not a solution, so she instructed Dalang and a few others to stay at home and took the carriage into the city. She first went to Zhao Xinglin, but Zhao Xinglin also said he didn’t know anything. After that, Lin Yue visited both the Government Office and the Su Residence, but no one had seen Zhao Erhu. She roamed the streets for a long time but didn’t spot him anywhere.

She had searched everywhere she could think of, and Lin Yue really couldn’t imagine anywhere else Zhao Erhu could have gone. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head: Could Zhao Erhu have gone to Li Xiaotao’s place? Although Lin Yue could hardly believe this thought herself, she couldn’t find Zhao Erhu anywhere, and he had refused to say where he was going when he left. If it was Li Xiaotao’s place, it would make sense. It wasn’t as if there was anything sordid between them, but it was possible that Li Xiaotao had come up with some reason to pester Zhao Erhu, and out of affection, he had agreed to help her, which was why he didn’t dare tell Lin Yue.

The more Lin Yue thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. However, she hadn’t visited Li Xiaotao’s house the last time and didn’t know where she lived. She had no choice but to go to Jimin Hall first to inquire about Doctor Zheng’s address for Li Xiaotao’s home and headed there according to the address. At this time, Lin Yue’s greatest concern was for Zhao Erhu’s safety; everything else could be put aside for now. Given the precedent of a previous incident, Lin Yue had become like a frightened bird, fearing that Zhao Erhu might encounter more trouble. After all, in all these days, Zhao Erhu had cherished and loved her, treating her as his treasured darling. She had genuinely taken this to heart, hence her worry and unease.

Following the address, she knocked on the door of Li Xiaotao’s house. The door was opened by an elderly woman, whom Lin Yue guessed must be Li Xiaotao’s mother-in-law. "Good day, Granny. May I ask if Li Xiaotao is here? I’m a relative from the countryside, and I need to see her for something," she said.

Hearing that Lin Yue was a relative of Li Xiaotao, the elderly woman didn’t show much warmth. Instead, there was a look of disgust on her face as she said indifferently, "Wait here, I’ll call her out." The attitude was quite hostile, but Lin Yue didn’t take it to heart. After all, she wasn’t really Li Xiaotao’s relative; she was just there to find out information about Zhao Erhu.

When Li Xiaotao heard her mother-in-law say that a relative had come to her house, she thought it was someone from her family. She frowned, somewhat reluctantly, but still went to the door. She wondered what her parents and sister-in-law wanted to ask her for this time, most likely food or Silver Coin. After all, the so-called relatives from her family were only early risers for profit, and their visits were never for anything good. But since they were indeed her relatives, Li Xiaotao could not avoid seeing them, and after dragging her feet for a while, she finally went to the door.

"You? What are you here for?" Li Xiaotao did not expect the person looking for her at the door to be Lin Yue. Now that Zhao Erhu was not around, there was no need for a charade. Facing Lin Yue, she naturally showed no pleasant expression and spoke irritably.

"It’s me. I’ve come to ask if Zhao Erhu came by your place yesterday?" Lin Yue had no patience for pleasantries with Li Xiaotao and got straight to the point.

Li Xiaotao was surprised to hear Lin Yue ask such a question and a sneering, disdainful smirk played upon her lips. "Zhao Erhu? He’s your husband. Why do you come asking me? What, did he not come home yesterday, so you’ve come knocking on my door? Do you mean to say that Brother Erhu is interested in me, and that’s why you’ve come here?"

Li Xiaotao did not often get such an opportunity, especially with Lin Yue coming to her, so of course, she wanted to take the chance to ridicule her thoroughly. But why would Zhao Erhu disappear? Li Xiaotao felt a bit of concern in her heart too.

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