Chapter 284: Tired and All Alone
Chapter 284: Tired and All Alone
Xiang Ling noticed the look of anxiety on Xu Wei’s face as he revealed the part about the house being old and in need of a renovation. She could tell that he was worried whether she would be satisfied with his work or not.
Patting the young man on the shoulder, she spoke, "Don’t be too hard on yourself. I can see that you are trying your best to prove that you can be helpful to me, and I really appreciate your efforts, Xu Wei. It was smart of you to look for Official Zhu to confirm the house in my absence, that alone assures me that you might have chosen just the perfect house that we need."
A small smile finally made its way to the young man’s lips when he heard her encouraging words.
"Now, stop worrying and rest for the night. I will accompany you to take a look at the house tomorrow morning. Since the house needs renovation, we will be working extra hard tomorrow because the new residents of the house will be shifting in by evening. So, be prepared for it." Xiang Ling reminded him of the hard labor that was awaiting for them the coming morning.
Xu Wei nodded his head in understanding and added, "Don’t worry, Master. I will work hard tomorrow." He then took his leave and left the courtyard to head to his own room in the servant quarters.
Xiang Ling, on the other hand, dropped on one of the seats around the table and let out a long sigh that attracted the attention of her husbands.
"What’s wrong?" Li Xian asked as he made his way toward her.
Turning her attention toward her second husband, Xiang Ling answered, "I suddenly realized that I have been working non-stop for nearly an year to change things around me. And as I look in the future, I only see myself working just as hard as in the past without any break. It’s making me feel tired."
It wasn’t just her voice that suddenly felt tired, but even her face and entire body as if her very being was suddenly realizing that she had been getting tired too much these days without even realizing it. She had been pushing herself every day to work.
Li Xian took a seat next to her and wrapped his hand over hers. "Take a break then. You don’t have to be too hard on yourself. How come you just gave this advice to Xu Wei, but you aren’t implementing it on yourself?"
Xiang Ling shook her head as she turned her attention toward her other husbands and realized that they all looked somewhat worried about her, and that realization warmed her - knowing that there were people who actually cared about her.
"I’m not Xu Wei, Ah Xian. My life isn’t as simple as his. He has a master who’s working hard to provide for him, but for me, I’m the one responsible for myself. No one is working hard to make my life easy and comfortable, and no one will. I have to do it for myself."
Xiang Ling took in a deep breath and added, "There’s no break for me during this coming month. I have to fulfill my promise to Official Zhu, then I need to prepare for the new shops’ opening, and then ask for my parents’ forgiveness while making sure that our new businesses keeps on thriving. How can I even think about taking a break among all this?"
"Xiang’er..."
Wei Guang was immediately there beside her, enveloping her other hand with his own as if to provide her with his support. "First of all, thank you for letting us know that you are feeling tired. You should do it more often. Don’t keep such things bundled up inside you."
"Brother Wei is right, Lingling. You need to let us know if you are struggling with anything." Zhe Yuan completely agreed with Wei Guang’s words and moved forward to crouch in front of Xiang Ling, placing his hands on her knees.
Feeling warm under their caring gazes, Xiang Ling smiled softly and nodded her head in agreement before she turned her attention toward Wei Guang who continued from where he stopped.
"The second thing is, let us know whenever we can be of any help. You know that most of us stay at home doing nothing. We can always provide a helping hand."
Once again the other men nodded their heads in agreement to Wei Guang’s words, showing their approval of the idea of helping her with the work.
"Thank you. I really appreciate your help. But please don’t feel bad about what I just said. Even though none of you have a job outside the house, it doesn’t bother me in the least. Even if you all have been working outside, I would still be out there doing the same things I’m doing right now. Having you all here in the house is actually good." Xiang Ling confessed with a small smile.
"Everytime I return home, I look forward to meeting you all. Just by seeing you guys or having you around me is enough to make me relax after the long and tiring day." She confessed and saw the smiles that bloomed on her husbands’ lips.
She signaled Zhe Yuan to stand up and once he did, she stood up too. Turning to face her puzzled looking husbands, she spoke, "Ah Guang is already looking after the household matters, so, he is not required to help me with any other works. Ah Xian will be taking care of the wine shop in the future. Ah Chen and Ah Ming are busy with their works..."
Her gaze then shifted toward Zhe Yuan and Zhang Xuan, and with a wide smile, she added, "You two are the actual ones who are doing nothing these days. How about you two start accompanying me to help me with work?"
"Alright!" Zhe Yuan agreed without wasting a single second. Walking up to her, he wrapped his hand around her shoulder and stated, "As long as I will get to spend more time with you, I’m ready to do anything."