Chapter 86 Flowers Growing on the Head
This refreshing and unconventional answer left Xiao Cheng stunned for a full 0.5 seconds before he chuckled softly.
She turned around and went back to her room to change her clothes.
Bai Lu and Xiao Wei were stunned for a full second before they realized that the crisis was over.
The crisis is over.
Xiao Wei sat back down in front of the stove to tend the fire, and casually asked, "How come flowers are growing on your head?"
Bai Lu's lips twitched slightly: "Where did the flowers grow? They were from when I was picking vegetables in the garden. The wind blew down from the chestnut tree. I brushed the little buds off my shoulders when I came back. I didn't expect one to fall on my head too. I didn't even notice it."
"Then why doesn't it fall on my head?"
"Your head is small, it will fall off if it gets up there."
"Then why doesn't it fall on Big Brother's head?"
“Your brother doesn’t go to the backyard often, and when he does go, it’s never windy, so the flower buds never fall on his head.”
"My older brother often goes to the backyard."
"How come I didn't know? What was he doing in the backyard?"
"Go see the roses..." Xiao Wei saw a tall figure passing by outside the window, his tongue twisting into a knot, and he abruptly changed direction: "Go see the vegetable garden."
Bai Lu didn't think much of it and said with a smile while cooking, "Are you going to check if there are any newly sprouted vegetables in the garden?"
"You two are the same. You just look and that's it. When asked what you like to eat, you both say yes. But honestly, don't you have any particular favorite vegetables? Like bok choy, romaine lettuce, broccoli, lettuce, or pea shoots?"
Xiao Wei didn't hear anything about unpalatable dishes and replied as usual, "Anything is fine."
Bai Lu decisively dropped a bombshell: "What about mustard greens?"
Xiao Wei shook his head vigorously.
"Don't you like it? Mustard greens are delicious and have many benefits. They clear heat and detoxify, soothe the stomach and intestines, benefit the lungs, reduce phlegm, and lower internal heat. They can also refresh the mind. Adding some when making lean pork porridge makes it fragrant and crunchy, and tastes amazing. How about we make mustard green and lean pork porridge for breakfast tomorrow?"
Xiao Wei shook his head vigorously.
Bai Lu took it as a yes: "Then it's settled~ Your brother must also like mustard greens."
He doesn't like it.
With an extremely serious expression, Xiao Wei shook his head: "I cooked it once last year, and my older brother didn't come home for five days."
Bai Lu laughed: "Has he finished eating?"
Xiao Wei shook his head: "I didn't eat a single bite."
"That's a good opportunity for him to try some new food; he'll definitely love it," Bai Lu said with a gentle smile.
Xiao Wei felt a chill run down his spine, thinking that his older brother wouldn't like it and wanted to shake his head in refusal.
There was a sudden knock on the door.
The sun has already set.
In this era of working at sunrise and resting at sunset, every household was either cooking or eating.
Who will knock on the door?
After Wang Cuihua's roasted chestnut business improved, she had a fixed stall in Dashi Town three days ago. Now, like Wen Xiuyun and her husband, she settles her accounts every three days.
I just got married yesterday, so it shouldn't be her.
Bai Lu had already cooked the dishes and took off her apron to go outside.
Unexpectedly, the man who was pumping water to soak clothes in the front yard had already gone to open the door before her.
The door opened.
A dark shadow rushed in.
Bai Lu had just walked over and hadn't even had a chance to see clearly when Xiao Cheng grabbed her waist and made her take a big step back.
A large basket rolled onto the ground.
The top of the basket hit the spot where she had just been standing, and at the bottom of the basket, a disheveled person was lying.
He opened his mouth and started crying and wailing: "Bai Lu... I'm not selling roasted chestnuts anymore. Someone smashed my stall and beat me up. They said if I dare to sell roasted chestnuts in Dashi Town again, they'll confiscate all the chestnuts and break my legs..."
"Selling roasted chestnuts is too difficult. I make a lot of money, but it's nowhere near enough to cover medical expenses..."
The howling of ghosts and wolves was mixed with faint sobs, and the figure lying on the basket trembled along with it.
After speaking, his trembling hands brushed aside the messy hair that was covering his face, revealing a worried and distressed expression.
Then... he froze on the spot, his face stiff.
"Brother Xiao, is Brother Xiao Cheng back so early today?" Wang Cuihua quickly got up, brushed off the dust, and tied up her messy hair with a rubber band.
Bai Lu glanced at her dirty clothes and asked, "Did someone hit you?"
Wang Cuihua dared not lie to Xiao Cheng: "I didn't hit him, I just overturned the stall."
She deliberately tripped and fell outside to create the illusion of wearing the clothes, hoping to get Bailu to pay for her medical expenses.
I didn't expect Brother Xiao Cheng to come back so early today. He used to finish work after dark the past few days.
"Who turned the place upside down?" Xiao Cheng's voice was as cold as a deep pool, seeing right through every little thought.
Terrified, Wang Cuihua immediately confessed everything: "I don't know them, I've never seen them before. Those five men all had floral tattoos on their left arms. They came up and overturned my stall, saying that Dashi Town was their territory and that if I wanted to sell roasted chestnuts in Dashi Town, I had to pay three thousand yuan first."
Upon hearing the name of five men with tattooed left arms, Xiao Cheng roughly knew who they were. He glanced sideways and met Bai Lu's gaze.
Bai Lu looked at her with a puzzled expression. Why was she looking at her?
She's not a tattooed man.
In an instant, he understood the message conveyed by those deep eyes, turned to Wang Cuihua and asked, "If you can handle those people, will you still go to Dashi Town to sell roasted chestnuts?"
"go!"
Wang Cuihua answered without hesitation: "I want to continue selling roasted chestnuts in Dashi Town."
Only a fool wouldn't go if they could earn that much money every day.
For minor matters like having their stalls overturned and being forced to pay protection money, as long as Xiao Cheng stands there, everyone has to run away with their tails between their legs.
She started crying and playing the victim as soon as she entered the door, just to get Bai Lu to increase her share of the profits, and to tell Xiao Cheng about it.
The plan has fallen through, so I have to keep my job.
"I'll have Zhang San and Li Si go and take a look tomorrow."
Xiao Cheng spoke in a detached tone, issuing an order to leave.
Wang Cuihua smelled the aroma of food filling the yard, and her stomach was growling with hunger. She wanted to stay and eat before leaving.
But Xiao Cheng had already put his arm around Bai Lu and started walking back.
Xiao Wei took the basket from Wang Cuihua, put it aside, and saw her off: "Goodbye, Sister-in-law Biao."
Wang Cuihua stomped her foot hard, but no one paid any attention, so she could only turn around and leave.
The courtyard gate was closed again.
At the dinner table, Bai Lu hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help asking, "Are there really people named Zhang San and Li Si?"
Xiao Cheng glanced at her motionless chopsticks and the rice bowl with barely any food in it, then picked up a piece of meat and handed it to her.
"Let's eat first."
Bai Lu devoured the meat in no time, her movements swift yet elegant: "Does anyone really have names like Zhang San and Li Si?"
Xiao Cheng then put two more pieces of meat on her plate: twice-cooked pork with a good balance of fat and lean meat, and three pieces of braised pork ribs.
Xiao Wei also put two pieces of meat on her plate: twice-cooked pork with a good balance of fat and lean meat, and three pieces of braised pork ribs.
Bai Lu: "..."
Until most of the rice in the bowl was eaten, and the piles of twice-cooked pork and braised pork ribs were all gone.
The man finally released the answer from his cage: "Yes."
"Two brothers, from Dashi Town."
Bai Lu asked with a look of surprise and curiosity, "Why are the two brothers surnamed Zhang and Li respectively?"
Xiao Cheng remained calm: "Half-siblings."
Bai Lu understood.
Zhang San's mother married Zhang's father and had Zhang San. Then she married Li's father and had Li Si.
What a sophisticated and classy name!
(End of this chapter)
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