Chapter 290: The Hurtful Words Unintentionally Spoken

Since Su Ya arrived at the logging camp, she and Zou Ni have been busy managing household affairs. With November approaching, it's time to get everything in order for the coming winter.

In autumn at the logging camp, besides the harvest, the most important task is preparing for the long and cold winter. This includes storing autumn vegetables in the cellar, drying various vegetables and fruits, pickling sauerkraut, making soybean paste, and sealing window gaps. These tasks are crucial for a comfortable winter and are numerous, though the men, including Li Xian, don't care much about them.

After finally seeing off the troublesome guy with his visible thoughts, Su Ya patted her flushed cheeks with her damp little hands.

Thinking about the intense, unmasked gaze from earlier, she felt like a silly roe deer had bounced around in her heart. It was like someone had put a sour plum candy in her heart, and under someone's intense gaze, the candy slowly melted, making her face flush with a sweet and sour sensation.

Annoyed by these thoughts, Su Ya frowned at the pot with the floating oil spots, scolding herself inwardly.

How shameless and foolish! How old are you to be thinking about men!

Seeing her reflection in the pot, with a face of mixed joy and annoyance, Su Ya was startled.

Oh no, I'm really thinking about men! Ugh! Shameless.

"Xia Ya, come out and hand me the glue."

As Su Ya was stirring the pot, trying to clear her head, she heard a call from outside.

---

In the yard, Zou Ni had prepared the glue—today they were sealing the window gaps.

Although the house was newly built last year, the windows were wooden.

The wood used was high-quality red pine, hand-crafted by Zhang Yaba. However, even with excellent craftsmanship, there were gaps in the windows. Though small, these gaps, if not addressed, would let out the warmth during winter no matter how much you heated the room.

The only solution was to seal these gaps with newspapers or similar materials.

Zou Ni had started saving newspapers from summer for this purpose. With the first snow falling and the weather turning cold, she had cut four-foot white cotton cloth into strips two inches wide.

Sealing the window gaps, which required climbing on a stool, was something Zou Ni could not handle. Su Ya took the glue and cloth strips from her, guided Zou Ni to a rest, and climbed onto the windowsill herself.

With her feet tiptoed and her slender body straightened, Su Ya carefully brushed the glue onto the window frame. The small brush, like a paintbrush, evenly spread the glue. Once done, she aligned and smoothed the cloth strips along the frame, pressing them to seal the gaps and keep the autumn wind outside.

After finishing, she trimmed the excess cloth, making the window frame look neat and tidy, like white gloves worn by ceremonial soldiers.

Seeing every gap sealed tight, Su Ya finally put down her feet and hid her exposed waist under her white sweater.

"Wow, this girl is really skilled. Look at how neatly she sealed those window gaps," Aunt Du from the next yard praised Su Ya's housekeeping. "Da Ni, you've got a good helper in your house, making your work so much easier."

Su Ya turned, and with a beaming smile, shooed away the floating flower from her side. Her eyes sparkled in the autumn sun.

Zou Ni, holding a small bucket and handing it to Su Ya, chuckled at the neighbor's praise. "Yes, this child works with skill and precision, even better than when I was young."

This wasn't just flattery. Since Su Ya arrived, Zou Ni had hardly needed to help with household chores. Everything was done meticulously, making Zou Ni, the housewife, very pleased.

Meanwhile, Aunt Du, peeling large green onions, leaned against the wall between the yards and asked, "How old is this girl? Has she found a partner yet?"

In this era, discussing such topics in front of young women was quite embarrassing. Su Ya's face reddened, and she hurriedly focused on her work.

"She's only twenty, why the rush for a partner? I got married early, at twenty-one, to our family's manager," Zou Ni laughed, seeing Su Ya's shyness.

Aunt Du finished peeling the onions and placed them on the wall, saying, "She should be thinking about finding a partner. Although late marriages and births are encouraged nowadays, many young people get married at eighteen or nineteen."

Zou Ni continued to laugh, "That's true, but the girl needs to have her own thoughts and feelings. Nowadays, we advocate for love marriages. It's different from our time when matchmakers would just drag people together and we'd settle for whoever seemed decent."

"Oh?" Aunt Du suddenly remembered something and paused, "Isn't your second son bringing this girl back to be a daughter-in-law?"

Upon hearing this, Su Ya, who was standing on the stool, nearly fell. 

How embarrassing!

Zou Ni was trying to suppress a laugh. She knew her son's intentions well; he looked at Su Ya like a little wolf cub. If she hadn't been keeping an eye on him, he might have already sneaked into Su Ya's room at night.

However, since Li Xian hadn't made any clear declarations and Su Ya also seemed not to have made any advances, Zou Ni, as an elder, could only prevent any disgraceful incidents under her watch. As for the rest, she couldn't really say.

Given the change in attitudes among young people and the previous incidents with Li Jie and Gao Ming, Zou Ni was clear-headed about this matter. She decided to let them handle it themselves. Whether it worked out or not was up to them, as long as they didn't discuss it with her.

Thinking this, she replied, "It's not like that. My second son is just being filial, thinking there's too much work at home and the factory is busy, so he's trying to find a helper for me."

"Oh," Aunt Du believed her explanation.

Aunt Du picked up the onions and continued peeling while raising her voice, "I thought so. This girl is pretty and capable, but she's mute and disabled. Your second son has looks and money, and now Li You is a prominent figure at the factory. If he married someone like this, wouldn't the whole logging camp laugh at him? But if your second son has no such intentions, how about I introduce this girl to someone else? My son's nephew, Sun Er Xiao, you've seen him. He's honest and capable, but had an accident as a child and walks with a slight limp. It doesn't affect his work. He's twenty-four this year…"

Hearing Aunt Du's matchmaking efforts, Zou Ni's smile froze, and she glanced at Su Ya, who was standing on the stool, looking lost and pale. Zou Ni's expression darkened.

"Stop blabbering!" Zou Ni scolded Aunt Du, feeling at a loss for how to handle the situation. She felt it was highly inappropriate to discuss this in front of Su Ya, but she couldn't figure out how to smooth things over.

On the other side, Su Ya's face, once flushed, had turned as pale as the cloth strips on the window. She wiped her eyes secretly and forced a smile as she bent down to take the glue bucket from Zou Ni.

"Look, I was just making casual talk. If it works out, great; if not, so be it. No need to get so worked up."

Aunt Du, scolded by the new neighbor, was quite displeased.

When Li Xian came back to the yard after a walk, he noticed the unusual atmosphere. Just as he was about to ask Su Ya and Zou Ni what had happened, his mobile phone rang.

It was Xu Chaoyang calling.

As soon as he answered, Xu Chaoyang's anger erupted through the receiver.

"Li Xian! What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Li Xian was confused. "What's going on, Xu Ju?"

"How are you deceiving the old comrades at the retirement home? Now they're even pushing oral liquid in my office!"

"Haha?"

Hearing this, Li Xian couldn't hold back his laughter. "Who's pushing it on you?"

"Who else but Uncle Wang!"

Wang Lin? 

Li Xian was stunned.

Damn, even this old-fashioned stickler has joined the direct sales army?

I'm going to be famous!