When Zhong Xiaoxiao heard this, her little face, which still had a bit of baby fat, suddenly turned red, as if she had been slapped hard in the face.
She was so angry that her whole body was shaking, her chest heaving rapidly, and she glared at the gossiping women with wide eyes.
"What nonsense are you talking about!" The little girl's voice was sharp with anger. "I went to ask Teacher Song for help with my homework! Teacher Song is my teacher, and she teaches me how to solve various difficult problems!"
"How can you, you people, have such dirty thoughts! Everything you see is dirty!"
"Oh, Xiaoxiao, you're quite talkative," the Zhou family's wife said in a sarcastic tone. "You said you were going there to ask for advice, so you went there to ask for advice. Who would have known that a little girl like you, sneaking into a single man's house without anyone's knowledge, was up to something shameful?"
"You!" Zhong Xiaoxiao was so angry that her eyes turned red. She stretched out her little finger and pointed at the woman from the Zhou family. Her fingers were trembling.
"You people have such filthy hearts!" She was so angry that she wanted to prove her and her mother's innocence by saying anything without thinking.
The little girl stiffened her neck, puffed out her chest, and shouted loudly, "I'm telling you! My dream is to have Teacher Song be my stepfather! I'm not as mean as you think! Teacher Song is a good person! My mom is a good person too!"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an eerie silence at the entrance of the alley for a moment.
Then, those gossips seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. They looked at each other in confusion, and then burst into earth-shaking laughter.
“Hahahahahahaha!”
Sister Liu laughed so hard that tears were about to burst out. She held her stomach and pointed at Zhong Xiaoxiao: "Oh my, I can't take it anymore... What did this little girl say?"
"She said she wants Clerk Song... to be her stepfather? Hahahaha!" Aunt Li laughed so hard she couldn't straighten her back, slapping her thigh. "What a toad wanting to eat swan flesh! What a wild idea!"
The Zhou family's wife laughed with disdain. She wiped away the tears that came from her laughter and said, "Xiaoxiao, why don't you take a piss and look at yourself? What kind of person is this? And your mother, Zhang Chunxue!"
"What kind of person is Secretary Song? Young and promising, a man of culture, a government official! He has a bright future!"
"What kind of virgin girl can't he marry, and what kind of city girl can't he find?"
The Zhou family's wife dragged out the last syllable of her words, her eyes filled with disdain and mockery: "How could he be interested in your mother, a widow who brings down her husband? And a widow who's dragging down four of you!"
"What's wrong with being a widow!" Zhong Xiaoxiao was so angry at these hurtful words that she couldn't hold back her tears any longer, and they rolled down like beads from a broken string.
She wiped her tears, stiffened her neck, and her voice was filled with tears, but she still stubbornly retorted: "So what if my mother is a widow!"
"My mom is the best person in the world! She's hardworking and capable, kind and enthusiastic! She's worthy of Teacher Song! Teacher Song also likes my mom!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the women laughed even harder, as if they had heard some fairy tale.
"Hahahaha! Are you worthy?" Mrs. Liu laughed breathlessly. "Little girl, you're quite arrogant!"
Aunt Li also joined in the commotion: "That's right! Secretary Song is a figure in heaven, what's your mother?"
The Zhou family's wife leaned forward, a mischievous smile on her face, deliberately provoking, "Alright, since you say so, then we'll all keep our eyes open and wait and see! We want to see what incredible abilities and seductive tricks your mother, Zhang Chunxue, has to pull off to get Song Xingzhi, the invaluable, coveted 'flower of the mountain' in our village! Don't let it go in vain, only to end up with nothing and become the laughing stock of the whole village!"
Several women mocked each other, exchanged gloating glances, then twisted their waists contentedly, talked and laughed as they walked away, leaving bursts of shrill laughter echoing at the entrance of the alley.
Zhong Xiaoxiao stood there alone, her little fists clenched tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms, causing bursts of stinging pain, but it was far less intense than the anger and grievance in her heart.
But what made her even more panicked was that she actually shouted in front of so many people that she wanted Teacher Song to be her stepfather!
Oh my god!
She didn't even ask her mother's opinion!
If my mother knew about this, would she think I was meddling in other people’s business?
Would you think she is shameless, a little girl worrying about adults' affairs?
What if Mom didn't mean that at all? Wouldn't she be causing trouble and embarrassing Mom?
The more Zhong Xiaoxiao thought about it, the more scared she became. Her face turned red and white. She had to test her mother's attitude first.
In the evening, in the kitchen, the fire in the stove was burning brightly, reflecting the rosy face of Zhang Chunxue who was busy, while Zhou Mingli was helping to pick vegetables.
Zhong Xiaoxiao sat on a small stool, adding firewood to the stove from time to time, but her eyes glanced at her mother from time to time, her heart was in turmoil, as if she had a rabbit in her arms.
The pot is filled with fragrant cabbage and tofu, with steam rising from it and a simple warmth.
Zhang Chunxue added a spoonful of water to the pot and suddenly seemed to remember something. She said to Zhou Mingli, "Oh, Mingli, I went to town today and ran into Secretary Song."
Zhou Mingli paused while picking vegetables and raised her head: "Mom, are you going to town?"
"Well," Zhang Chunxue wiped the sweat from her forehead and said calmly, "I was thinking of looking for a suitable job for you. Clerk Song is quite enthusiastic. He said he'd also look around to see if he could find you a job in town or at a nearby factory."
"Ah?" Zhou Mingli raised her head suddenly, a hint of disbelief flashed in her eyes, and then a light of surprise burst out.
"Clerk Song...did he really say that?"
Her voice was trembling. It would be great if she could have a job!
"Really?" she asked again, as if she was afraid that she had heard it wrong, or as if she was afraid that this was just a dream.
"Is that true?" Zhang Chunxue smiled. "Clerk Song is a cultured man, and he keeps his word."
Zhong Xiaoxiao was listening at the side, and her ears suddenly stood up like an alert little rabbit.
Teacher Song?
Why did her mother tell Teacher Song about her second sister-in-law's work?
There's something going on here! Definitely something going on!
The little radar in the little girl's heart started beeping, and her big black eyes were shining with brilliance.
She blinked her big eyes and casually interrupted, "Mom, why is there still this matter about Teacher Song? How did you run into her?"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
