Zhang Hongyan stared at the large piece of meat her daughter had brought back, which she estimated to weigh at least seven or eight pounds. She opened her mouth for a long time, but couldn't utter a single word: "My God, how much does this piece of meat cost? What a spendthrift! What a spendthrift!"
Gou Dan, completely oblivious to Zhang Hongyan's distress, stared at the large piece of meat, his mouth watering. He tugged at Zhang Hongyan's sleeve, utterly lacking tact, and started ordering:
"Mom, let's have braised pork for dinner. I want to eat meat, big chunks of meat."
"Eat meat? Eat your big head! You might as well eat your mother!" Zhang Hongyan's pent-up emotions suddenly found an outlet.
He slapped Gou Dan's butt with his big hand, but his eyes were fixed on Xia Qingqing.
She's hard to discipline her daughter now that she's grown up, but she can beat her son whenever she wants.
Xia Qingqing glanced guiltily at Gou Dan, who was still unaware that he had taken the blame for his sister and was howling in pain from the beating: Little brother, good luck to you.
After Zhang Hongyan had vented her anger on Gou Dan, Xia Qingqing stepped forward, hugged her arm, and said coquettishly, "Mom, please let me explain first."
Zhang Hongyan shoved her hand away: "I think you're just burning money, you spendthrift."
"I really didn't buy this meat. You won't believe it, but I was walking down the street when suddenly someone jumped out and threw a basket at me. I was terrified!" Xia Qingqing paused here, patting her heart.
Dog Egg asked curiously, "Sister, what happened next? Was that meat in the basket? Why did that person give you meat?"
"Then why did he give the meat to you instead of keeping it for himself?"
Zhang Hongyan looked at her daughter with the same suspicion. No one would believe such a thing. Who would give meat to someone for no reason?
"Hey, don't be in such a hurry, let me continue," Xia Qingqing gestured for silence, stopping Gou Dan's incessant questioning.
"Then I opened the basket and saw a large piece of meat inside, and I immediately felt something was wrong."
"Sure enough, the next second I saw a group of people wearing red armbands running over from a distance. I panicked and quickly put the basket in my hand into the basket on my back, and then I ran away secretly."
Upon hearing Xia Qingqing's words, Zhang Hongyan was startled: "Red armband? Good heavens, the person who handed you the basket was probably caught selling meat in secret by the Red Armband and is trying to frame you, right?"
Thinking of this, Zhang Hongyan felt a surge of relief. Luckily, her daughter reacted quickly, otherwise she would have been arrested by the red armbands.
“That damned bastard, he did something bad and then dumped the evidence of his crime on you,” Zhang Hongyan cursed angrily, no longer questioning her daughter’s words.
In her opinion, her daughter didn't need to go to such lengths to make up a story to deceive her. Of course, the most important thing was that the meat cost almost 10 yuan, and her daughter simply didn't have that much money.
Xia Qingqing was secretly delighted to see that she had already believed the story she had made up.
"Yes, that person was so mean, so consider this piece of meat as compensation from him."
Seeing her smiling like a flower, Zhang Hongyan tapped her on the forehead without hesitation: "You're so carefree. If something goes wrong, you'll be the one who gets arrested and goes to jail."
"I'm fine, Mom. Let's have braised pork for dinner tonight," Xia Qingqing said, looking at Zhang Hongyan with pleading eyes.
Zhang Hongyan glared at her, but still agreed: "Alright, your mother really owes you. You're an old lady who only thinks about food."
Dog Egg once again felt his mother's differential treatment, so in the end he still ate braised pork. Why did he have to get that beating?
After Zhang Hongyan left, Gou Dan mysteriously leaned close to Xia Qingqing's ear and whispered, "Sister, was I picked up by Mom on the mountain?"
"Are you kidding me?" Xia Qingqing tilted her head and looked at her brother who was talking nonsense.
Gou Dan pouted, feeling wronged, and complained, "Then why is there such a big difference in her attitude towards the two of us?"
Dog Egg couldn't understand it. In other families in the village, boys were treated like precious eggs, while girls were treated like weeds.
He can accept that his mother prefers his older sister because he also likes his sister very much, but he also wants his mother to like him a little more.
Xia Qingqing could see the unease in Gou Dan's heart. As a child of this age, he had already done very well.
She gently rubbed Gou Dan's little tuft of hair and comforted him, "Who told you that Mom doesn't hit or scold me? When I was little, Mom often disciplined me for doing wrong things too."
"But you weren't born then, so of course you couldn't see it. Now that I'm all grown up, do you see any adults who deserve to be beaten or scolded, huh?"
"That makes so much sense!" After hearing Xia Qingqing's explanation, Gou Dan's eyes lit up instantly.
He decided that he would eat more and grow up quickly so that he wouldn't be beaten or scolded anymore.
Dog Egg, now grown up: Don't believe it, it's all just for kids.
Knowing that his sister was just like him, Gou Dan felt instantly at peace. He rubbed Xia Qingqing's hand and said, "Sister, you suffered when you were little. It's all because I wasn't born then, otherwise I would have taken the beatings for you."
Xia Qingqing admitted that she was touched by what the little guy said, and took out a handful of food from her pocket and stuffed it into Gou Dan's mouth: "You have such a sweet mouth, take this and eat it."
"Sister, you're so good to me. Even if I'm not our biological son, I'm definitely your biological brother," Gou Dan said, his mouth full of candy, his words barely audible.
Xia Qingqing glanced at the doorway subconsciously, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't see Zhang Hongyan. With Gou Dan's sharp tongue, it would be strange if he didn't get beaten up.
——
Somewhere on the mountain, Song Ze looked at the roasted chicken in his hand, but he had no appetite at all. His mind was filled with Xia Qingqing's happy smile when she ate.
He shook his head vigorously, trying to banish these images from his mind, but it seemed as if two little figures were fighting inside, making his head feel like it was about to explode.
Little devil Song Ze: "Song Ze, Song Ze, she doesn't even want to talk to you anymore, and you're still thinking about her. Isn't that just being pathetic?"
Little Angel Song Ze: "But you're friends, so you should share good food."
Little devil Song Ze: "Xia Qingqing doesn't consider you a friend at all, otherwise why would she treat you like a servant, summoning you at will and dismissing you at will?"
Little Angel Song Ze: "Nonsense, Qingqing definitely didn't do this to me on purpose. It's all because Zhang Jianguo stirred up trouble."
Little devil Song Ze: "Then keep lying to yourself, I can't save you."
"Shut up, stop arguing," Song Ze said coldly, interrupting the commotion in his mind.
Half an hour later, Song Ze secretly placed a package at the Xia family's door, knocked a few times, and then quickly left.
Gou Dan, who was playing in the yard, ran out to check after hearing someone knocking on the door, only to find the doorway empty: "Strange, where is everyone?"
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