"Hey kid, you've been here so long without saying a word to me. Do you look down on this old man?" Liao Qingshan said to Chu Xun in an annoyed tone.

Chu Xun walked up to him respectfully, "Grandpa Liao, this junior dares not."

"You don't dare? I bet you dare." Liao Qingshan snorted. "At your age, still trying to pick on young girls, how shameless!"

The thought of him trying to abduct my precious granddaughter makes me furious.

Chu Xun cursed him but did not retaliate.

"What are you standing there for? Turn over the soil in the yard. I need to plant vegetables next spring." Liao Qingshan waved at him, as if shooing away flies.

Chu Xun readily agreed, picked up a hoe from the storage room, and went to till the land.

Li Xiyue was both amused and exasperated. "Grandpa, it's snowing outside, why are you turning over the soil?"

"You feel sorry for him?"

Li Xiyue denied it, "No, I just think it's unnecessary."

Chu Xun, being a soldier, naturally possessed considerable strength, so turning over the ground wouldn't be a big deal for him.

"Whether it's necessary or not is up to me. Humph, if they want to covet my precious Yueyue, how can they not make them suffer a little?" He wants people to know that the baby he has pampered since childhood is not someone who can be easily taken away.

Liao Qingshan had a roguish look on his face, as if he were about to get back at him, just like a child.

Li Xiyue shook her head helplessly and had no choice but to go with him.

"No, I have to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't damage my land."

"Grandpa, aren't you cold? Do you want to go back inside and change your clothes?" Li Xiyue asked, pointing to his clothes.

Liao Qingshan then realized that he was dressed in thin clothes, rubbed his arms, and said, "I'm a little cold. I'll go back and change my clothes before I go supervise that kid's work."

He's such a child at heart.

Li Xiyue sat down at the table. "Have you made your choice?"

"Alright, Xiangxiang, eat up." Chu Ruilin pushed the fish in front of her.

Seeing that he had picked out the fish and arranged the fish meat neatly, Li Xiyue knew that he was conscious, but she didn't point it out. She picked up her chopsticks and started eating. "It's so delicious, even better than what A-Xun makes."

"Ah Xun, can Ah Xun cook fish too?"

Li Xiyue said, "Ah Xun can cook a lot of dishes. He said his father taught him. His father must be a very, very good person."

"A very, very good...person?" Chu Ruilin repeated like a broken record.

Li Xiyue laughed and said, "Of course! How could someone who can cook for their family be bad?"

"But he did something wrong, he is a sinner."

“He didn’t do it on purpose. I believe his family has long since forgiven him.”

Li Xiyue had heard that some countries would use underhanded tactics to win wars, such as sending the elderly, women, and children to gain the trust of the enemy and then strike them down when they were off guard.

They exploit people's sympathy for the weak, so they are generally not wary of the elderly, women, and children, which is why they are able to succeed repeatedly.

She thought that the Japanese woman had also used the same tactics to harm Chu Ruilin.

The fault doesn't lie with Chu Ruilin, but with the unscrupulous Japanese.

"Really?" Chu Ruilin's eyes filled with tears. "They really don't blame him anymore?"

Li Xiyue nodded emphatically, "Really."

Chu Ruilin suddenly laughed, then ran out. After a while, he came out with a wooden box and pushed it in front of Li Xiyue. "Xiangxiang, this is a birthday present that Daddy prepared for you. It's your favorite little tiger."

Li Xiyue opened the box, and sure enough, there was a small red tiger plush toy inside, with the character "湘" (Xiang) embroidered on it.

"Do you like the pattern your mother embroidered?" Chu Ruilin's eyes were full of anticipation.

Li Xiyue picked up the little tiger. It was more than just a plush toy; it represented her parents' deep love for their daughter. She smiled and nodded, "I like it. It's so beautiful."

"And this too." Chu Ruilin took out a pair of jade bracelets. "These are your mother's dowry. There were two. One is for you, and the other is for A-Xun's future wife. You and A-Xun have both grown up now, so these bracelets should be given to you."