Upon hearing that Yanglazi was going to bed, the chubby boy nodded his head vigorously, "I won't dare again, Sister Sun, I won't dare again."
The chubby boy admitted defeat, and Sun Miao'er finally let go of him and put him on the ground. "Hurry up and go back, or a stinging caterpillar might fall on your head!"
As he spoke, he made a face at the chubby boy. The chubby boy looked up, then rushed out of the back mountain without looking back, probably quite frightened.
"Xiaoman, whose son is this chubby little boy?"
Sun Miao'er thought that since the chubby boy could be the king among the village children, and the rest of the children were all relatively well-behaved, this chubby boy was arrogant and domineering, so his family background must be extraordinary.
Xiaoman's answer confirmed Sun Miao'er's guess: "Sister, don't you remember? He's Li Zuo Kui, the village chief's youngest son!"
The Li surname is a common surname in Fushui Village, and the Li family was the first to settle down in Fushui Village. The current village chief is surnamed Li. The village chief's first wife gave birth to five daughters in a row. She died in childbirth when she gave birth to the fifth daughter. The youngest son, Li Zuokui, was born to his second wife.
Elder Li, having a son late in life, naturally doted on him, treating him with utmost care and affection, which is why his young son turned out so unruly.
After Xiaoman's reminder, Sun Miao'er finally found this passage in the original owner's memories. Coincidentally, the young Zhang who remarried Village Chief Li was the matchmaker for Jin.
No wonder Jin kept going to Village Chief Li's house every few days and was able to spread these rumors; it turns out she had connections!
"Xiaoman, why did you look so upset when you heard Li Zuokui's voice at home just now? Is there something you're hiding from your sister?"
Xiaoman tied a knot in her hand, unusually quiet, keeping her head down without saying a word, refusing to utter a single syllable.
"You don't even want to tell your sister? If you don't tell her, she's going to get angry."
Sun Miao'er deliberately lowered her tone and her face darkened. This tactic worked on Sun Xiaoman. Sun Xiaoman looked up in a panic and met Sun Miao'er's gaze. "Li Zuo Kui often bullies the children in the village. He's big, and none of us can beat him. He used to play tricks on others with centipedes and spiders. I couldn't stand it, so I fought with him a few times."
Good heavens, I never expected a child this age to be so vicious and even use poisonous insects. Sun Miao'er secretly rejoiced that she had taught this little rascal a lesson today; it was so satisfying.
"Xiaoman, didn't you tell your aunt?"
Sun Miao'er thought that although Jin Shi was a bit lawless at home, she was still a person who cared about her reputation. Would she let her son be bullied?
Xiaoman's dejected appearance said it all.
Jin was indeed in cahoots with Xiao Zhang from the Li village chief's family, helping Li Zuo Kui bully his own son. However, Jin was a fence-sitter, which was not surprising. She was always thinking about her own future and never considered others, not even her own flesh and blood.
While feeling angry, Sun Miao'er felt even more sorry for the waist-high child in front of her. If it weren't for her and Grandma Sun taking care of him, Xiaoman would be living a life of suffering.
"Sister, I'm sorry, it was my mother's fault."
After a long silence, what we received was Xiaoman's apology.
Sun Miao'er was speechless for a moment, flustered by the sudden apology. "Xiaoman, what nonsense are you talking about! Auntie is Auntie, and you are you. Even if Auntie is wrong, you will always be your sister's good little brother. Have you forgotten? Just now, you were the one who stood up for your sister!"
“I know my mother is wrong, but I can’t stop her. She doesn’t love me at all; she only thinks I’m a burden to her.”
Xiaoman became more and more aggrieved as he spoke. This was probably a pain he couldn't touch in his heart. What child in the world doesn't yearn for his mother's love?
Sun Miao'er gently wiped away the tears from his face, just like when she was almost beaten to death by Jin Shi, Xiao Man wiped the blood from her face. "Sister doesn't blame you. If we separate the family in the future, and Aunt doesn't want you to come with us, sister will take you with her!"
"Really?" A glimmer of light suddenly appeared in Xiaoman's dim eyes. "Then let's pinky swear, sister!"
"Okay, I'll pinky swear with you. If you don't keep your word, I'll turn into a little dog!"
On the road, several village women hurried along, carrying bamboo baskets in their hands, heading south towards the village entrance.
"Auntie, where are we going?"
The village woman, who had been stopped, replied impatiently, "Today is the first day of the month. A peddler is here. If you're late, you won't get any good stuff!"
A peddler? So this is how merchants did business in ancient times. Although her pockets were empty, Sun Miao'er was still full of curiosity about peddlers. "Come on, Xiaoman, follow me, I'll show you."
The two followed the group to the village entrance, where they saw a young and handsome peddler carrying a carrying pole on his shoulder. At each end of the pole were two large bamboo baskets. The front basket contained food such as candied hawthorns, pastries, firewood, rice, oil, and salt, while the back basket contained household items such as rattles and tiger-head dolls to amuse children, exquisitely designed but crudely made cloth, as well as needles, thread, and earthenware.
The peddler's stall was already surrounded by women scrambling to buy his goods. Sun Miao'er thought that this scene was comparable to the shopping frenzy of the 21st century. At this moment, they didn't care about past relationships and pushed and shoved each other.
Sun Miao'er looked at her small frame and then at the group of aggressive women. She decided to go earlier next time.
Just as she was about to leave with Xiaoman, a few young people standing at the village entrance caught Sun Miao'er's attention. They were dressed in bright clothes and didn't seem to be from Fushui Village. They were holding a piece of paper in their hands and gesturing at something.
Sun Miao'er deliberately moved closer to those people, and they seemed to want to ask the villagers questions, but the village women were too noisy, making it impossible for them to find anyone to ask.
"Girl, come here!" One of the tallest figures waved to Sun Miao'er.
Sun Miao'er responded and went over, but feigned fear on her face, protecting Xiaoman behind her. "Brothers, what, what's wrong?"
Seeing Sun Miao'er's timid appearance, the group concluded that she was an honest girl. They unfolded the portrait in their hands and asked, "Do you recognize this person?!"
Sun Miao'er looked closely and realized that this was none other than her own uncle, Sun Yuanhu! She hadn't expected the people from the city to be so quick to find out about Fushui Village.
After a moment, Sun Miao'er shook her head blankly, "I don't know her."
"Don't you recognize him? How could that be? He's clearly from Fushui Village!"
The burly man at the head scratched his head, looking Sun Miao'er up and down. "Forget it, you're a young lady, you've probably never been out of the village before. Let's go back into the village and ask around!"
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