"What do you mean? Who upset you?"

Mingzhu rolled her eyes at her helplessly. Was she really that clueless, or was she just pretending?

"what?"

I simply find it inexplicable.

Why are you glaring at me? It's not like I'm the one who made you hide.

He bent down to play with the child.

"Isn't it Xiaozhou? Look at your mother, your aunt is so wronged!"

Mingzhu laughed in anger.

"Don't slander me."

Isn't that so?

I picked out a clean little fabric toy from Xin Xin's collection and gave it to him to chew on.

"With Lin Dongfang in charge of your household, if you really don't welcome people, no one will be allowed to enter your house, and no one will dare to cause trouble."

Who is it? Who is it? Tell me so I can catch a glimpse of them!

Although she didn't understand why the word "to admire" was used at this time, Mingzhu probably knew the simple pleasure of watching a spectacle, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Are you genuinely confused, or are you doing this on purpose?"

It's simple and incomprehensible.

"What does this have to do with me? What do I know? Besides, if you're looking for me, why would you go to my house?"

"You, you," Mingzhu sat up straight cross-legged, staring intently at Jian Dan.

"Tell me the truth, what are you thinking?"

"What do you mean by 'what were you thinking'? It's all so rambling. What are you trying to say?"

Mingzhu stared intently into Jian Dan's eyes, without flinching, showing no shyness or embarrassment; her large eyes were filled with doubt.

"Sister Zhuzhu, just say what you want to say. Aren't you embarrassed about it just between the two of us?"

"...Sigh! Dandan, let me ask you, what are your thoughts on the future?"

"Huh? In the future?"

Simple's eyes widened in surprise. Did she also know what was going to happen?

"Sister Zhuzhu, you found out too?"

Mingzhu was taken aback.

You know?

This response immediately excited Jian Dan; he patted the kang (a heated brick bed), his face beaming with joy.

"When did you find out? And what are your plans?"

Intend?

Mingzhu hesitated, thinking, "This is your business. What am I planning to do? How much gift do I plan to give?"

"You knew all that, and you were so sad yesterday? You need to know that although the road is winding, the future is bright, right, Xiao Zhouzhou? Just wait, Auntie will earn lots and lots of money and buy you delicious food and lots and lots of toys, okay?"

The child clutched the small plush toy, exclaiming, "Ah~"

Upon hearing this, Mingzhu's strange feeling became even more pronounced.

"Don't talk nonsense. What money are you talking about? You can't just say things like that."

"Huh? Don't you already know?"

"What do I know?"

"you do not know?"

"What do you mean by knowing or not knowing? Are you deliberately changing the subject?"

"Wait, wait," the two finally realized that their conversations seemed to be going in different directions, each going their own way.

"Let's go over this again, Sister Zhuzhu, what was what you originally wanted to say? You asked me what I was thinking, right?"

Mingzhu also began to review its performance.

"Yes, I wanted to ask what kind of partner you're looking for?"

"Huh? Your boyfriend?"

Simple and shocked, he almost bit his tongue.

"Sister Zhuzhu, are you kidding me? I'm only seventeen, and I'm already being pressured to get married?"

This shocked yet resentful little expression instantly amused Mingzhu.

"Don't joke with me, I'm serious. What are you thinking? Don't tell me you haven't noticed someone's interested in you,"

"You're interested in me? Who's crazy?"

Mingzhu immediately reached out and lightly patted him, giving him a gentle scolding.

"What nonsense are you talking about? How can you talk about yourself like that? What's wrong with liking someone?"

"Let me tell you, it's not just him; other people in the village are asking about Lin Dongfang too. You've been away lately, and it's harvest time. After the harvest, I know there are several weddings planned in the village. Just you wait and see, if things don't go well, people will start coming to your door."

Simple was genuinely quite shocked.

"Someone with my violent tendencies would actually want me?"

Mingzhu looked as if she knew it all along.

"I knew it! You, a newcomer, dared to kill a wild boar in front of the villagers without any attempt to hide it. Did you do it on purpose, hoping they wouldn't dare to mess with you?"

It's simple, whatever you say goes.

"I didn't think that far ahead, but it did have a deterrent effect at the time."

You know, I'm just a young girl with no relatives or friends, so I look like someone who's easy to bully. The villagers are reasonable though.

But you know, which village doesn't have a few unreasonable thieves who steal chickens and dogs? If someone actually comes knocking on our door, I won't be able to explain myself. It's better to just scare them and make them afraid so they won't even dare to think about it.

It really works quite well; it's been perfectly safe for me ever since I started using it.

Mingzhu was suppressing her laughter, but also feeling uncomfortable; her face turned red from holding it in.

"No, I mean, can I guess what you've done? I've heard about your amazing feat."

They say they killed a wild boar in the middle of the night, and then killed six more in broad daylight, right?

I guess it's not necessarily because they were intimidated by your strength and skill."

Why is that?

Mingzhu said softly,

"Because of your cruelty."

Other kids are scared when they see pigs being slaughtered, but you're getting more and more excited.

You know, if you were surrounded by so many wild boars, most people, even a grown man, would try to escape.

What kind of teenage girl can go on a killing spree without batting an eye? I heard that several young soldiers were exhausted, and you're acting like nothing happened.

Putting everything else aside, just this state of mind—who would dare to covet it?

"So what's going on now? Aren't you afraid that if you marry them, they'll harm their son?"

"Cough, no, not them, it's their sons,"

Simple stared wide-eyed.

"What do you mean? What's wrong with me?"

Mingzhu laughed so hard she lay on her son's blanket, her shoulders shaking. When she got up, she was wiping her eyes.

"Maybe so. They're also afraid you'll lay a hand on their son. After all, he can't do as much as you, and he can't beat you in a fight. If the couple has a conflict, their son will be the one who gets bullied. No one would dare to have a daughter-in-law like that."

"I reckon those old wives are probably conflicted. You're capable, you can hunt wild boars. If you marry her, the food will definitely be much better than it is now. At least you'll be able to eat meat."

But then they worry their son will be bullied, and he doesn't even dare to act like a mother-in-law in front of you. You're not someone to be trifled with; you'll resort to violence at the slightest provocation. Who wouldn't be afraid of that?

Simple sullen, it took her a long time to finally grit her teeth and spit it out.

"If you still dare to think about it, it means you're not scared yet; otherwise, you wouldn't even dare to think about it."

Mingzhu quickly stopped her.

"What are you doing? They just tested Lin Dongfang without saying anything explicitly, and Lin Dongfang shut them down right away. They didn't do anything wrong, so why would they do this?"

What do you think I'm going to do?