Chapter Three: Having a Sister-In-Law Wasn't Bad After All

After planting the chillies, Wang Guiying started to look for ragweeds in the field.

Since each household had its share of land, they could raise chickens and pigs. The Gu family also had a pig. Naturally, they did not have any food for the pig and fed it ragweeds which grew in the wild. Sometimes, they added a little sweet potato vine and rice bran to feed the pig.

At the end of the year, they could also earn some money by selling the pig.

Guo Xiang asked Wang Guiying how to identity ragweeds and took a good look at them. She immediately memorized its shape and started to look for more of them. Wang Guiying was very satisfied with her diligence.

After gathering enough ragweed, she returned home and chopped them up. She then put them in the basket and cooked them for the pig to eat.

The rain started pouring down around noon. Wang Guiying picked up an oil-paper umbrella and said, "Xiang Xiang, look after the house. I'm going to give this umbrella to Guo'er. She'll definitely struggle to get home in this rain."

Guo Xiang looked at the pouring rain outside and thought about the mud on the road. She wondered how horrendous the road would become.

"Mom, I'll go. You should stay home. I'll go pick Guo'er up," Guo Xiang stood up. Wang Guiying wasn't really young anymore. What if she fell in such heavy rain? The old lady wouldn't be able to withstand a fall.

"That works too!" Wang Guiying was very happy to see her daughter-in-law taking initiative. She handed the oil-paper umbrella to Guo Xiang. Seeing that she was wearing cloth shoes, she knew she would definitely be covered in mud later.

"Wait a minute. Put on the rain boots before you go. The road is very muddy!" Wang Guiying said as she took out her own rain boots from the utility room where the farm tools were kept and handed them to Guo Xiang. "Put them on!"

"Thank you, Mom!" Guo Xiang nodded. In fact, she didn't really care about the mud. Although her family was well-off in her previous life, she wasn't a pretentious person. She would just wash her shoes when she got home.

However, the old lady was being nice to her, she naturally had to appreciate it.

She changed into the rain boots and walked to Gu Guo'er's school, holding the umbrella above her head.

Along the way, there were parents who were on their way to pick up their children. As they walked, they stepped on the ground, and the road became muddier and muddier. Some people walked with their heels off the ground, and their pants were covered in spots of mud.

When they reached the school, the children weren't waiting at the school gate because of the rain. Guo Xiang followed the other parents into the school and realized that she had forgotten to ask Gu Guo'er what grade she was in.

While she was hesitating, she saw Gu Guo'er standing under the eaves in front of the classroom door, looking at the rain helplessly. 

"Guo'er, is your family getting you an umbrella?" A little fatty next to Gu Guo'er asked.

"I don't know!" Gu Guo'er answered unhappily. Her mother was so busy, and there was only a fool at home. She was pretty blunt with her this morning, so it would be strange for her to come and pick her up.

"Then, let's go together when my mother comes later!" The little fatty said again.

Gu Guo'er did not comment. She had no choice.

As she was deep in her thoughts, a familiar face appeared in front of her. Guo Xiang waved at gu Guo'er and shouted, "Guo'er!".

Gu Guo'er opened her mouth in surprise. She did not expect Guo Xiang to come to pick her up.

"Guo'er, who is she? She is so pretty!" The little fatty poked Gu Guo'er with his elbow curiously.

"She is..." Gu Guo'er pursed her lips. She didn't want to admit that she was her sister-in-law.

"She can't be your sister-in-law, right? Isn't your sister-in-law a fool?" The little fatty's eyes widened. He knew that Gu Guo'er's brother had just married a wife. Who else could she be but her sister-in-law?

"You're a fool, all your relatives are fools!" Gu Guo'er's face dropped instantly. Only she had the right to call her a fool. Nobody else could call her sister-in-law a fool! 

Guo Xiang burst into laughter. This child still knew to defend her. Of course, she might not be defending her as a person, but only her family. Right now, she could barely be considered as her family.

She couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth in her heart.

"Hello, little guy. I'm Guo'er's sister-in-law. My name is Guo Xiang!" Guo Xiang waved at the little fatty.

"Oh, hello, sister-in-law..." The little fatty's face turned red. No one had ever greeted him like this. Guo'er's sister-in-law was really special.

"Who are you calling sister-in-law?" Gu Guo'er glared at the little fatty.

"I... Um..." The little fatty was tongue-tied and didn't know what to say.

"Let's go!" Gu Guo'er walked under Guo Xiang's umbrella and pulled at her clothes awkwardly. She waved at the little fatty and walked into the rain.

She was still angry. She didn't want to be so close to Guo Xiang and kept her distance. Guo Xiang smiled and didn't bother with her. She moved the umbrella closer to Guo'er and half of her shoulder was already wet.

After walking out of the school gate, Gu Guo'er suddenly stopped and simply stared.

Only then did Guo Xiang notice that Gu Guo'er was wearing a pair of brand-new sports shoes. Gu Zhennan had brought them back for her a few days ago. There was a big puddle in front of her and it was extremely muddy. If she walked across, her little white shoes would become little black shoes.

"I'll carry you!" Guo Xiang said.

"No need," Gu Guo'er turned her face awkwardly. "I'll take off my shoes and walk barefoot."

"The rain is so heavy, and the temperature has dropped. What if you catch a cold later?" Guo Xiang walked next to Gu Guo'er. "Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about Mom. If you get sick, Mom will have to take care of you and the family. Do you want to tire Mom out like that?" 

Gu Guo'er bit her lip, "Won't you help Mom?"

"I... I don't know how to do a lot of things. I won't be able to pick all of the skills up in a short amount of time," Guo Xiang's face was burning up a little. "I'll learn in the future. Don't act all awkward now. I'll carry you, don't worry. I'm your sister-in-law. If your brother isn't at home, I should be the one to take care of you!"

Gu Guo'er's heart skipped a beat. She raised her head to look at her sister-in-law.

Ever since her father died, the family had relied on her mother to support them. Her eldest brother had been away from home for a long time, and her second brother was studying in the county. She had always felt that something was missing in the family, but now she suddenly realized that it was because she no longer had anybody to look up to in the family, and now, her sister-in-law was behaving like the family leader.

"Come!" Guo Xiang saw that Gu Guo'er was a little tempted, so she struck while the iron was hot and squatted down. "You take the umbrella. Hold it tight. I'm strong, so I won't fall!"

Gu Guo'er hesitated for a moment, then took the umbrella and climbed onto Guo Xiang's back. She was very tall, about 1.7m, which was rare in the countryside. Some men were not as tall as her.

Her shoulders were very strong, and her arms were very strong. Gu Guo'er suddenly felt very safe.

Maybe having a sister-in-law wasn't so bad after all.

After walking across the muddy road, Gu Guo'er refused to let Guo Xiang carry her for any longer. She struggled as she got off her back. Guo Xiang held her hand tightly. Watching Guo'er as she pursed her lips and puffed her cheeks, she laughed silently.

In her previous life, she was the youngest one at home. She had an older brother and an older sister. Now, having a younger sister felt pretty good.

However, thinking about her marriage with Gu Zhennan gave her a headache. It would be hard to maintain a marriage without feelings, right?

Although people in this era rarely divorced, how many people were truly happy? Yet, they still chose to play around and make do with their lives.

But Guo Xiang didn't want to make do with it.

She could make do with food and clothes, but she couldn't make do with marriage. Marriage meant she had to spend the rest of her life with somebody. Just thinking about it made her feel tired.

She had always been anti-marriage. In her previous life, she had lived for 35 years without getting married. In this life, she also didn't have such thoughts.

Moreover, if she wanted to have a child, she would have to sleep with him. She didn't dare to imagine it. How could she do it if she felt nothing towards the guy? She didn't want to be just a tool for reproduction.