Time Travel: A Fisherwoman Goes to the Sea to Raise a Baby

Chapter 557 Er'er Returns Home

Asa's hand froze in mid-air, and she opened her mouth, unsure of what to say.

Xu Yiyi patted her hand and pushed the cloth bag back: "Please keep it, use it to buy some things for Sister Honglian."

Ah Si refused and insisted that she give him the money.

In the end, nothing came of it.

Xu Honglian was ironing her wedding dress by the rack when she suddenly remembered something. She turned to Xu Yiyi and asked, "Speaking of Er'er, she went on a medical tour with her master and was supposed to come back before the New Year. But there are only a few days left until the New Year, and she still hasn't returned."

Xu Yiyi was helping to pull up the clothes when she heard this and smiled, but her hands didn't stop.

"It will arrive soon. I received the letter yesterday, and I estimate it will arrive today or tomorrow."

The children in the family were overjoyed when they learned that Er'er was coming back.

This morning, Sanchuan even took a rag and cleaned things in Er'er's room.

Upon hearing this, Xu Honglian paused in her hand movements.

She looked up at the fiery red wedding dress before her.

The afternoon sun in winter shines in at an angle, casting long shadows on the ground.

"That's wonderful," she said softly.

Xu Yiyi noticed the unusual tone in her voice, paused, and turned to look at her.

Xu Honglian was already looking at the wedding dress in front of her, a smile still on her lips, but her eyes were slightly red.

This is the fabric that my mother saved up for a long time to buy, and she sewed it herself.

Every stitch and thread embodies her hard work.

The fabric wasn't top-quality, but the stitching was fine and the buttons were exquisite. When she wore it, it looked festive and dignified.

“Sometimes I think,” Xu Honglian said, turning her gaze away and looking down at her fingers, which she had just painted with red nail polish, her voice so soft it was as if she were talking to herself, “If only I were Er’er.”

Xu Yiyi didn't reply, but just listened quietly.

"She traveled with her master to practice medicine, visiting so many places and meeting so many people. She must have seen all the mountains and rivers along the way, right?"

Xu Honglian raised her head, her eyes slightly blurry. "The farthest I've ever been since I was a child is the prefectural city. It was one year when my great-grandfather was sick, and I accompanied him to get medicine. It took half a day to get there, and we didn't stay long before we came back."

It was dark when we got back. I lay on the boat, looking at the moon, and thought, "The city is so big, the buildings are so tall, and there are so many people on the streets..."

As she spoke, her voice gradually lowered.

"At that time, I thought, how wonderful it would be if I could go there again in the future and explore it properly."

Xu Yiyi looked at Xu Honglian and suddenly felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

Of all the children, she was always the most obedient one in the family.

Whatever my mother says goes, and whatever my father arranges, I do.

Washing clothes, cooking, feeding chickens, growing vegetables, and going to the beach—day after day, year after year.

When he grew up, a matchmaker came to his door and arranged a marriage. The man was decent, a scholar, honest, and his family owned a few acres of land that lived not far away.

Her parents nodded, and she nodded in return.

Without a second thought.

“Er’er is so wonderful,” Xu Honglian smiled again, this time with a hint of bitterness. “As a woman, she doesn’t have to be confined to the home. She can go wherever she wants and do whatever she wants. No one says she’s restless, no one thinks she’s showing her face in public. The things she does, I wouldn’t even dare to think about.”

She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her wedding dress.

"But I... I don't even dare to think about it."

Xu Yiyi took her hand.

Xu Honglian's hands were cool, and her knuckles were rough, a result of years of working.

"Yiyi, I'm not saying this marriage is bad." She pursed her lips. "He treats me very well, and my parents are satisfied. It's just...it's just that sometimes, I can't help but think..."

She paused, then sighed softly, "If only I could go out and see what the sky is like, what the mountains are like, what the people are like... that would be so wonderful."