Chapter 97 I Don’t Want to Do This Anymore
"bell--"
At five o'clock in the afternoon, the bell for the end of get off work at the machinery factory rang on time.
Shi Yue was the first person to leave the office as usual. He was the most active in leaving get off work.
As his daughter, Shi Qiu Shui inherited this spirit of Shi Yue very well. When the get out of class was over, she would put on her schoolbag without the teacher telling her and wait for Shi Yue to pick her up.
Shi Yue didn't keep Shi Qiu Shui waiting for long. He was the first parent to arrive among all the parents who came to pick up their children.
When Shi Qiushui saw his father coming, he immediately shouted, "Dad!"
She shouted and ran towards Shi Yue.
Shi Yue: "Hey, my dear girl, how was your class today? What moves did you learn?"
Shi Qiushui waved his arms and said, "I learned it. I learned boxing today. Teacher Xiaoxu said I learned it very well and was the best among all the children."
"Oh? Really? Is our Xiaoqiu so powerful?" Shi Yue said flatteringly.
Shi Qiushui: "Yes."
She tugged at the little boy beside her and said, "Zhao Ran, is that right?"
Zhao Ran nodded: "Uncle Shi, Xiaoqiu is right, she is the best performer in our class."
Shi Yue smiled proudly and said, "Oh, you are indeed my daughter, Shi Yue. You are amazing."
Shi Qiu Shui nodded seriously with her belly bulging.
Shi Yue patted her little head and said, "Since Xiaoqiu performed so well today, Daddy must reward our Xiaoqiu. How about this, reward our Xiaoqiu with roast chicken?"
"Eat roast chicken, eat roast chicken, just eat roast chicken!" Shi Qiu Shui agreed excitedly.
Shi Yue smiled and said, "Okay, let's go buy some roast chicken now."
He held Shi Qiu Shui's hand with one hand and Zhao Ran's hand with the other, and walked towards the vegetable market with the two children.
When they arrived at the roast chicken stall, before Shi Yue could even speak, the stall owner asked, "A leaner, crispy roast chicken, cut into small pieces, right?"
She pointed to the bag next to the glass case and said, "I've prepared everything for you."
The shop selling roast chicken in the vegetable market does business with Shi Yue two or three times a week, and he has figured out a pattern. He didn't see Shi Yue and Shi Qiu Shui come to buy roast chicken in the past two days, so he guessed that they would definitely come today, so he prepared it early.
Shi Yue smiled, took the bag, and gave the other party the money. While waiting for the stall owner to give the change, he laughed and teased Shi Qiushui: "Look, you come here every day to buy roast chicken. The aunt who sells roast chicken has remembered you, the greedy little girl."
Shi Qiu Shui pouted, not happy with the nickname of "little greedy girl" given to her by her father.
But before she could open her mouth to complain, the stall owner, who had given her the change, immediately came to protect her loyal customer.
"Hey, big brother, I can remember your daughter because she is so cute. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me when I say this, but when I was pregnant, I was hoping to give birth to a girl as cute as your daughter. But unfortunately, I gave birth to a naughty boy in the end. So when I saw your daughter, I was very happy."
Hearing this, Shi Qiu Shui smiled sweetly at the stall owner, then turned around and made a face at Shi Yue while sticking out his tongue.
Shi Yue: "Hey..."
He tapped Shi Qiushui's forehead with his fingers, took the change from the stall owner, and said with a smile, "Our girl only looks cute on the surface, but she's actually more naughty than other little boys."
Shi Yue smiled and took the roast chicken, leading the two children home. When they reached the gate of a small park not far from home, Shi Qiu Shui suddenly tugged at the corner of Shi Yue's clothes.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Shi Yue looked down at Shi Qiu Shui.
Shi Qiushui pointed to two people not far ahead and said, "Dad, look, aren't those Grandma Ma and Aunt Li Juan?"
Shi Yue looked in the direction of her finger and saw Ma Yulan and Li Juan sitting on the bench in front. They were facing each other and no one knew what they were talking about, but it was obvious that Li Juan's expression was very excited.
After Shi Yue noticed this, he pulled Shi Qiu Shui who was about to run forward.
He whispered to Shi Qiushui, "Your Grandma Ma is talking to Aunt Li, don't go up and disturb them."
Shi Qiushui nodded obediently: "Yeah!"
Shi Yue took the two children and wanted to leave, but before they walked far away, he heard Li Juan speak excitedly.
"Auntie Ma, I really don't have any thoughts about Yang Zhiqiang, and I haven't thought about remarrying. I just want to work hard to make a lot of money and raise Li Xi well. As for other things, I haven't thought about it, and I don't want to think about it at all!"
Shi Yue paused and turned his head in disbelief. The two children beside him, Shi Qiu Shui and Zhao Ran, also widened their eyes and turned to look in the direction of Li Juan and Ma Yulan in shock.
Li Juan and Yang Zhiqiang?
How come these two people who have nothing in common are brought together?
From what Li Juan said, it seemed that it was Aunt Ma who brought her and Yang Zhiqiang together?
No way, how could Aunt Ma do such a stupid thing?
Shi Yue's eyes fell on Ma Yulan, who looked very embarrassed. She said, "I understand, Juan'er, I understand what you mean. Hey, actually, Auntie didn't originally want to match you and Zhiqiang. Of course, don't think I have any bad intentions. In Auntie's heart, you two are both good children, right? You two are not suitable."
Hearing this, Li Juan was not unhappy, but nodded in agreement.
She thinks so too!
She and Yang Zhiqiang are not suitable, not at all!
In fact, before Ma Yulan asked her if she would consider dating Yang Zhiqiang, she had a good impression of him. However, this good impression was only because Yang Zhiqiang gave her a job opportunity when she escaped from the Song family's den of danger. It would be more appropriate to say that it was gratitude rather than good impression.
She was grateful to Yang Zhiqiang and thought that she would repay him if she had the chance in the future, but she never thought about dating Yang Zhiqiang, let alone marrying him.
Noticing Li Juan's actions, Ma Yulan sighed: "Hey, Li Juan, let me tell you the truth. Actually, the reason I asked you this today is because your Aunt Yang mentioned it to me. She wants to match you with Zhiqiang."
Li Juan's eyes widened: "Aunt Yang?! Aunt Yang wants to match me up with Yang Zhiqiang?! She, she..."
She opened her mouth but couldn't speak.
It was obvious that she and Yang Zhiqiang were not a good match. Why did Aunt Yang suddenly want to match her up with Yang Zhiqiang?
Shi Yue, Shi Qiu Shui and Zhao Ran, who had been hiding behind the small flower bed and eavesdropping, also couldn't understand what was happening.
Why did Aunt Yang suddenly want to match Li Juan and Yang Zhiqiang?
Could it be that he was really driven into a corner by the fact that Yang Zhiqiang was unwilling to find a partner?
Li Juan calmed down her surprise, turned around and said to Ma Yulan calmly, "Auntie Ma, please tell Auntie Yang that I'm not interested in Yang Zhiqiang, and ask her not to waste her time trying to match us up."
Ma Yulan looked at Li Juan in surprise. She didn't expect her to calm down so quickly. You know, when she heard Old Lady Yang say that she wanted to match Li Juan with Yang Zhiqiang, she was so surprised that she didn't react for a long time.
She couldn't help but say something more, "Well, Li Juan, why don't you reconsider it? I think Lao Yang really wants to match you up with Zhiqiang."
Li Juan shook her head: "No, I don't need to think about it. I really don't have any thoughts about Yang Zhiqiang."
Ma Yulan: "If you don't have any ideas, you can try dating him first. Isn't it true that feelings are developed through dating? Maybe you will have some ideas after dating him for a while."
Hearing this, Li Juan laughed self-deprecatingly. "Even if I had an idea, Yang Zhiqiang wouldn't have one. Besides, Aunt Ma, can't you see that Aunt Yang is just too anxious for Yang Zhiqiang to find a partner, so she just impulsively considered me. If I really get together with Yang Zhiqiang, Aunt Yang will really regret it. After all, Zhiqiang is a first-married young man, and being with me, a second-married woman with children, is really at a disadvantage."
"Tsk." Ma Yulan: "Don't talk nonsense. What's wrong with your second marriage? It wasn't your fault that you got divorced. You were just unlucky to meet that guy Song Chunsheng."
Li Juan smiled and said, "That being said, Auntie Ma, you have to accept the fact that I am a second-married woman with a child. I don't have a good education and my looks are average. Even a widower wouldn't be willing to marry me in my situation, not to mention Yang Zhiqiang is a first-married man."
Ma Yulan: "This..."
Li Juan: "Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Yang Zhiqiang is far better off than me. I'm not worthy of him."
She knew about this, Ma Yulan knew about this, and Old Lady Yang knew about this even more.
Li Juan could actually almost guess what Old Lady Yang was thinking. She just felt that she was so much worse off than Yang Zhiqiang. If she heard someone trying to match her up with Yang Zhiqiang, she would definitely go along with him eagerly. Then, even if Yang Zhiqiang looked down on her, she could be a backup option. When Yang Zhiqiang no longer pursued love, if they were attracted to each other, she wouldn't have to worry about not finding a suitable marriage partner.
Of course, maybe Mrs. Yang’s thoughts were not so direct, but she must have thought it was an honor for her that a young man like Yang Zhiqiang would like a divorced woman like her, and she must have been waiting for her to come close to her.
Otherwise, why didn't Old Lady Yang come directly to her to ask her what she thought, but instead let Ma Yulan, an outsider, act as a lobbyist?
Ma Yulan was completely speechless now.
She originally thought that there was something wrong with Old Lady Yang's idea of matching Li Juan and Yang Zhiqiang, but now seeing Li Juan's expression, she couldn't open her mouth to speak up for Old Lady Yang.
Li Juan and Ma Yulan suddenly fell silent. Shi Yue and Shi Qiu Shui, who were standing behind the small flower bed, looked at each other and also fell silent.
To be honest, Shi Yue and Shi Qiu Shui, father and daughter, had a pretty good impression of Old Lady Yang. After all, the two families lived next door to each other. Whenever they came in and out, Old Lady Yang would greet them kindly and often prepare delicious food to feed them.
They always felt that although Old Lady Yang was a bit of a peacemaker, she was generally a good person.
Who would have thought that she would...
Oh, how confused...
Just by listening to the conversation between Ma Yulan and Li Juan, they could tell that Old Lady Yang looked down on Li Juan. Not only did she look down on Li Juan, she also looked down on Li Juan and wanted Li Juan to be Yang Zhiqiang's backup. This was a bit too disgusting!
After a long silence, Li Juan spoke up, "Auntie Ma, do you have anything else to do? If not, I have to go back and cook for Auntie Yang."
Ma Yulan: "Ah, nothing else. I called you out mainly to talk about this. Well, let's go, go back. I should go back to cook."
Shi Yue saw that Ma Yulan and Li Juan were about to stand up, so he quickly pulled Shi Qiu Shui and Zhao Ran and squatted down to move out in small steps.
Shi Yue quickly moved the two children out, and finally moved out before Li Juan and Ma Yulan reached the small flower bed. He took the lead in turning the intersection with the two children, and successfully prevented Li Juan and Ma Yulan from discovering that he had been eavesdropping with the two children.
After turning into the alley, Shi Yue leaned over to the two children and whispered, "You heard what Grandma Ma and Aunt Li said just now, but I have to tell you two, you must not tell anyone else what you just said, understand?"
Shi Qiushui nodded seriously: "I know!"
Zhao Ran frowned and nodded seriously.
In fact, Shi Yue knew that these two children were not the type to talk nonsense, but he was worried, so he added a few more words of advice.
After instructing the two children, they arrived at the gate of the slum. Shi Yue led the two children through the gate. He took Shi Qiu Shui to the backyard to see Zhao Ran off. After seeing Zhao Ran off, the father and daughter just returned to the front yard and saw Ma Yulan and Li Juan coming back from outside.
Shi Yue pretended to be calm and greeted the two people: "Auntie Ma, Li Juan, are you going out together?"
Ma Yulan nodded: "Yeah, I just went out for a walk with Li Juan."
She didn't know that Shi Yue had eavesdropped, and was still pretending to be with him. She said, "We originally wanted to go to the department store to do some shopping, but after looking around for a long time, we didn't see anything worth buying, so we came back empty-handed."
Shi Yue didn't expose her intention and continued, "Maybe it's because the department store just had a clearance sale a while ago and hasn't received new stock yet, so there's nothing worth buying. Wait a few days and go back, maybe it will be better."
Ma Yulan nodded: "Well, then I'll go check it out in a few days."
After chatting for a few minutes, Shi Yue took Shi Qiu Shui home. Ma Yulan and Li Juan also went to their own home and Yang's home respectively.
Shi Qiu Shui entered the house, casually threw her schoolbag onto the sofa, and sat down on the sofa. After sitting down, she held up her chubby little chin and fell into deep thought.
Shi Yue went into the bedroom to change his clothes and came out. He saw Shi Qiushui, who looked very thoughtful. He asked with amusement and curiosity, "Girl, what are you thinking about?"
Shi Qiushui waved his hand impatiently and said, "Dad, stop making trouble. I'm thinking about Aunt Li."
Shi Yue: "What's your Aunt Li got to worry about?"
Shi Qiushui: "Dad! I'm thinking seriously!"
Shi Yue also sat on the sofa, his arms casually draped over the back of the sofa, and said lazily: "Okay, you are thinking seriously, so can you tell me what you are thinking about?"
Shi Qiushui turned her head, her round little face pouting with a melancholy look, and said, "Dad, you said Aunt Li rejected Grandma Yang's matchmaking. Can she still work at Grandma Yang's house?"
"If Aunt Li can't work at Grandma Yang's house, can she still go back to work at Uncle Yang's appliance store? If not, will Aunt Li be out of work? If she doesn't have a job and can't earn money, what will happen to Li Xi?"
Shi Qiu Shui frowned, seriously worried about his good friend.
Shi Yue was annoyed by her questions that kept popping up one after another. After waiting for a long time for Shi Qiu Shui to shut up, he was finally able to answer Shi Qiu Shui's questions.
He said, "Well, don't worry. Although what your Grandma Yang did was a bit... but given her personality, she wouldn't do anything to embarrass your Aunt Li behind her back. You don't have to worry about her job."
Hearing Shi Yue say this, Shi Qiu Shui felt relieved.
Although her father is usually a little lazy and greedy, and likes to tease children, he is an old fox through and through, and he usually does not make wrong inferences about such things.
Shi Qiushui felt relieved and had time to think about other things. She patted her belly, looked up and blinked, and said to Shi Yue, "Dad, I'm hungry."
"Hungry? Fine, I'll go cook."
Shi Yue sighed and stood up resignedly. He wanted to take a rest before cooking, but it was impossible. The little ancestor said he was hungry, so he had to cook for him quickly.
Shi Yue put on an apron, went into the kitchen, and quickly started working. As Shi Yue's hands moved, wisps of smoke gradually drifted out of the Shi family's kitchen.
Shi Yue was busy cooking in the kitchen, and other families in the compound also started cooking. In the kitchen of the Yang family, which was only separated from the Shi family by a wall, Li Juan was also busy cooking.
Old Mrs. Yang, who was recuperating in bed in her room, heard the clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen, and her heart suddenly became uneasy.
Others don’t know what Li Juan and Ma Yulan did just now, but she knows!
After all,* that was what she had agreed with Ma Yulan, to ask Li Juan what she thought of Yang Zhiqiang.
Although she was confident that only Yang Zhiqiang looked down on Li Juan, and Li Juan did not look down on Yang Zhiqiang, she always felt uneasy until Ma Yulan gave her confirmed news.
Li Juan's attitude also made her feel strange.
Logically speaking, Li Juan should have known from Ma Yulan that she wanted to match her up with Zhiqiang, so why didn't she react at all?
Old Lady Yang recalled. Yes, when Li Juan came back just now, she was just like any other time when she went out to buy groceries. She didn't react in any special way. She just said to herself, "Auntie Yang, I'm back. It's getting late, so I'll go to the kitchen and cook. Call me if you need anything."
And when Li Juan said this, there was no smile on her face.
Why is she unhappy? She knows that I am trying to match her up with Zhiqiang, so she should be happy, right?
Could it be that Lao Ma just went out and didn’t tell Li Juan about this?
That's not right. They were out for such a long time. If they couldn't even explain such a small thing, then what were they doing out there?
Old Mrs. Yang was feeling uneasy when Yang Zhiqiang came back.
Yang Zhiqiang took off his motorcycle helmet and casually placed it on the living room table. He then poked his head into the kitchen, which was emitting a fragrant aroma, and asked, "Li Juan, what delicious food are you making?"
Li Juan replied in a serious tone, "I made a pork bone and lotus root soup for Aunt Yang, and also stir-fried some twice-cooked pork and braised eggplant."
"Hey, twice-cooked pork, this dish is good. I like twice-cooked pork the most. You can put more chili in it. I like spicy food." Yang Zhiqiang said with a smile.
Li Juan: "Okay."
Yang Zhiqiang glanced at Li Juan strangely. He felt that she was different today than usual. But before he could think about it, Li Juan waved him away: "I'm going to cook. There's a lot of smoke. Please go out first."
"Oh, okay." Yang Zhiqiang lowered the curtain and walked out of the kitchen.
He frowned, feeling that Li Juan's attitude towards him was a little strange, as if she was particularly cold.
He tilted his head and thought that after dinner, he would have to find Li Juan to ask if anything had happened.
After all, Li Juan is responsible for taking care of his mother. If anything happens, he certainly can't just ignore it.
While thinking, Yang Zhiqiang walked into Old Lady Yang's room.
"Mom, how are you feeling today? Is your waist feeling better? Is your waist hurting again?"
Old Lady Yang waved her hands: "It's okay, I don't feel any pain today. Not only that, I also feel that my waist is much better. I even tried to move around."
Yang Zhiqiang nodded. "Well, your waist has been injured for almost two months now. It's almost time for you to be able to move around a little. The doctor also said that after two months, you can start exercising and walking. So, I'll help you get out of bed and walk around now, so you don't have to lie in bed for three months and eventually lose the ability to walk."
As he spoke, he reached out to support Old Lady Yang, and with his strength, Old Lady Yang slowly moved off the bed.
Although Old Mrs. Yang had recovered a lot, she was still not fully recovered. It was still difficult for her to move. After a long time, she finally stood on the ground with the help of Yang Zhiqiang.
Old Mrs. Yang let out a long breath and walked slowly around the house with Yang Zhiqiang.
After strolling around for a few rounds, Yang Zhiqiang felt it was enough and helped Old Lady Yang back to bed.
Old Lady Yang sat down, wiped the sweat from her head, and said, "This person is doomed once he gets sick. I just walked around the room twice and I'm sweating. It's really doomed."
Yang Zhiqiang: "Oh, Mom, don't say that. You haven't recovered from your injuries yet. Once you recover, it will definitely not be like this. And look, you can even get out of bed today, which means you are recovering day by day. This is a good thing, you should be happy."
He smiled and said, "Anyway, seeing you recover like this, I'm very happy."
Hearing her son say this, Old Lady Yang couldn't help but smile: "Yeah, I'm happy, I'm happy too."
The mother and son were talking happily when Li Juan came in with the meal. She said, "Auntie Yang, Boss Yang, the meal is ready."
Yang Zhiqiang frowned. "Boss Yang?" What kind of address was that? Ever since Li Juan started taking care of Old Lady Yang, she hadn't called her "Boss Yang." Why was she calling her "Boss Yang" again today?
Yang Zhiqiang pursed his lips and was about to speak when Li Juan suddenly dropped a thunderbolt. She said, "Well, Aunt Yang, Boss Yang, you guys eat first. By the way, Boss Yang, I have something to tell you. I don't really want to work here anymore. You should hurry up and find someone else to take care of Aunt Yang."
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