"Xiao Bao? What are you doing here? Why aren't you playing with the other children in the yard?"

Zhao Xiaobao pouted and said unhappily, "I don't want to go to the yard. All the adults are smoking, and it smells awful!"

He suddenly said somewhat dejectedly, "And there are no other kids around. The other kids don't play with me."

Lin Qingyu then realized that she couldn't hear the child's voice coming from the yard at all.

Even the older women who came to cook didn't bring their children.

She felt sorry for Zhao Xiaobao, but she would still be serious when necessary.

"Xiaobao, I'm not married to your uncle yet, so you can't call me auntie, understand?"

Zhao Xiaobao didn't quite understand, but he still nodded obediently, thinking: I'll call her that whenever my aunt tells me to!

He had already decided in his heart that he had chosen Lin Qingyu.

Putting everything else aside, only Lin Qingyu doesn't dislike his uncle and him.

That alone has already put her ahead of all the other girls of marriageable age in the village.

Lin Qingyu had no idea what he was thinking. As if by magic, she pulled out a few White Rabbit milk candies from her pocket.

This is something money can't buy.

Even Zhao Xiaobao had only eaten it twice, and he looked at Lin Qingyu's fair and tender hands with shining eyes.

His mouth was open in an "O" shape, and saliva was about to drip out.

"Xiao Bao, I'll give you candy, but remember not to betray me, or you won't get any more, understand?"

Lin Qingyu whispered a warning to Zhao Xiaobao, saying that it would be troublesome if they were discovered.

Zhao Xiaobao nodded vigorously, even holding up four fingers as if he were a little adult making a vow.

Lin Qingyu couldn't help but laugh, stuffed the candy into Zhao Xiaobao's pocket, and let him go play by himself.

She enjoys cooking, and although she feels it's unreasonable that the women in the family aren't allowed to sit at the table, she knows she can't change anything on her own.

It would be better to cook more food so that everyone can have enough to eat.

The elders in the courtyard were discussing specific matters loudly when Feng Chao suddenly shouted.

"I disagree!"

He was sitting in the corner and eating with everyone. Because he is the village chief's son, no one paid any attention to him.

Village chief Feng Weiguo's face turned ugly. He had a pipe in his mouth, and after exhaling, he scolded Feng Chao.

"You have no right to speak. Sit down!"

"Father! I disagree, you know perfectly well that I..."

"If you talk nonsense again, get out of here and go home!"

Feng Weiguo stood up from the bench, pointing his pipe at Feng Chao, and the scene became very awkward.

Feng Chao was actually quite afraid of Feng Weiguo. With red eyes, he turned his head to look at the kitchen where Lin Qingyu was.

"Father, I..."

"Go home!"

With those three words and Feng Weiguo's expression, Feng Chao was completely out of luck.

He glared at Gu Shi resentfully, then left the Lin family with gritted teeth.

As soon as the others left, Feng Weiguo said to Gu Shi, "Gu family lad, you've seen a joke on us. Chao has gone stupid from studying too much. Don't overthink it!"

Gu Shi smiled slightly, not caring.

Everyone present knew perfectly well that the village chief would never allow his son to marry Lin Qingyu.

Everyone just smiled and continued talking about the process they had just gone through.

After running out, Feng Chao became angrier and angrier.

He always considered himself a very romantic person, and what he needed was a marriage based on free choice, not an arranged marriage by his parents or a matchmaker.

Feng Chao felt that his relationship with Lin Qingyu was just right, perfectly matching the love story he had imagined.

However, this was just wishful thinking on his part.

As he ran, Feng Chao reached the riverbank, which was called the Muddy Pool River.

On this summer noon, the mirror-like water reflected the intense sunlight. In those days, the river water was so clear that it was safe to drink directly.

A stone lodged in his heart, like a river blocked by withered branches, fallen leaves, and rubbish, preventing it from flowing for a moment.

Feng Chao kicked hard, sending the pebbles flying down the riverbank.

It crashed into the gently flowing river with a splash, then slowly sank to the bottom.

Feng Chao didn't want to go back to school, so he walked upstream along the riverbank.

He remembered there was a reed bed there where he often hid as a child and could play until nightfall before going home.

As he walked, he arrived at the reed marsh. Before he knew it, the reed marsh had grown into such a large area.

He was in a bad mood, so he didn't notice that there was anyone there.

By the end of May, the weather was already quite hot, and many villagers would take advantage of the midday sun to bathe in the river.

Wu Lili was soaking naked in the river. She had been having bad luck these past few days, so she wanted to come here to take a bath and wash away the bad luck.

Lin Qingyu had told her about this place; usually, no one would bother her.

So she was completely unprepared.

Just as Feng Chao was about to venture into the reeds, he suddenly noticed a few pieces of clothing lying casually nearby.

His brain went blank for a moment, and before he could react, he had already carefully pushed aside the reeds in front of him.

Then he saw Wu Lili.

It must be said that Wu Lili has a chubby face with many freckles, small eyes, and a short stature.

You can still watch it in other places.

Feng Chao was instantly shocked by what he saw.

He is usually a very proper person and rarely comes into contact with these kinds of things.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!