Chapter 104 The Li Family
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, everyone finally understood what had happened through Aunt Wang's tearful and laughing words.
It turned out that the woman with the shrill voice was actually Li, Wang Da Niang's sister-in-law! Their family lived relatively far from the river, so none of them had been separated from the others; everyone was still alive and well. However, their house had completely collapsed and was no longer habitable due to its age.
"Sister, you don't know, my old man is always worried about you. You've been away from home for so long. Why haven't you sent any news back?" Li led the group toward the last house. When her eyes glanced at Fan Xiaoxiao and Xiaobao, she paused slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.
Aunt Wang was oblivious to her sister-in-law's gaze; she was still immersed in the joy of finding her loved ones. "Sister-in-law," she said, "it's all a long story! I'll tell you about it later! Oh, by the way, whose idea was it to build this house here? The family must be quite busy!"
"Oh dear, how could I possibly manage such a busy day! My dear sister! Look, I even lost a fat duck this morning! Oh, and you don't know, sister, my eldest daughter-in-law is pregnant! I'm going to be a grandmother! Oh, what a pity for that old duck of mine! I was thinking of giving it to my daughter-in-law to nourish her! Now, with the house being rebuilt, everything costs money, and there's no extra money to nourish her! My poor daughter!" Li sighed, seemingly very worried about her eldest daughter-in-law.
Aunt Wang's lips twitched slightly. After hesitating for a moment, she finally smiled and changed the subject: "Being a grandmother is indeed a wonderful thing. Oh, by the way, what about your second son? He should be of marriageable age by now, right?"
Li froze slightly, then chuckled dryly, "Hehe, yes. Oh! We're here! Come on! Sister, I'll take you to find my husband! Brother-in-law, come along too!"
Uncle Wang frowned. This Li only mentioned him and Liniang, and it seemed that she didn't intend to bring Fan and the others who followed behind them inside.
He was about to speak, somewhat displeased, but Li was incredibly clever. Seeing Uncle Wang's furrowed brow, she subtly shifted her gaze, smiled, and continued:
"It's a mess inside, full of men. It's hot today, and quite a few of them are shirtless. It's rather indecent. Ladies and this young man, please sit here for a while. I'll go get you some tea!"
That's a very eloquent statement. You see, although the Zhou Dynasty was known for its open-mindedness, there was still a distinction between men and women. Even a young married woman like Lady Fan wouldn't feel comfortable seeing a man from another family shirtless.
"Then...then Aunt Fan, you two wait here for a while, we'll be right back." Sure enough, after hearing Li's words, Aunt Wang didn't suspect anything and followed her inside. But Uncle Wang still frowned somewhat unhappily. He walked to Fan Xiaoxiao's side and instructed, "Girl, you wait here for a while. If anything happens, call us loudly! We'll come out right away."
Fan Xiaoxiao nodded: "Okay, Uncle, you should also be careful."
After saying that, Aunt Wang and Uncle Wang followed Li Shi to the back of the half-built house, leaving Fan Xiaoxiao and the others standing in the front yard.
"Let's go, sister, let's wait for them to come out under the shade of that tree over there." Fan Xiaoxiao pointed to the banyan tree not far away and tugged at Fan Shi beside her.
"Okay, by the way, little sister, don't you think Aunt Li doesn't seem to like us very much?" Madam Fan led Xiao Bao and followed Fan Xiaoxiao towards the tree, her brows slightly furrowed.
"Xiao Bao also felt that the grandma didn't seem to like him very much."
Fan Xiaoxiao and Madam Fan were both taken aback and looked at Xiaobao, who was being led by the hand.
"Son, why do you feel that Grandma doesn't like you very much?" Madam Fan asked Xiao Bao with some curiosity. She knew her child best; he would never lie. If he said that Madam Li didn't like him very much, then there must be some basis for it.
Sure enough, after hearing Fan's question, Xiao Bao started muttering to himself, "That grandma glared at Xiao Bao when she saw him. Not just looked, she glared! Just like Uncle Hou in Guqu Town glared at people."
Uncle Houzi is referring to Hou San from Guqu Town. Back then, Xiao Bao often helped set up a stall with Old Zhao and Uncle Wang, and he often saw Hou San glaring at people.
"But why? We're new here, we shouldn't have done anything to them, right?" Madam Fan asked, puzzled. In her opinion, she and her group were just casual acquaintances, and she really couldn't understand why Madam Li would glare at Xiao Bao like that.
Fan Xiaoxiao's eyes darkened slightly. The moment Li Shi saw Wang Da Niang, she was implying that her family was short of money. Coupled with her veiled glares at Xiao Bao, the reason for her predicament was obvious.
"You must be the guests Mother was talking about!" Just as Fan Xiaoxiao was deep in thought, a shadow blocked their way.
Fan Xiaoxiao looked up and saw a young man who wasn't very tall. He had a square face and a pair of bright, intelligent eyes. However, the short jacket he was wearing was wide open, revealing his wheat-colored chest.
When he saw Fan Xiaoxiao look up at him, her eyes brightened slightly. After clearing her throat, she softened her voice and said, "Wang is my aunt. I am the second oldest in this family. You can call me Li Er. My mother said there were guests here, so she specially sent me to bring water."
Upon seeing his demeanor, Madam Fan immediately frowned, stepped in front of Fan Xiaoxiao, and nodded slightly to the man, saying, "Young master, you're too kind. The tea is fine here."
Li Er frowned slightly in displeasure. He glanced at Fan Xiaoxiao, who was huddled behind Fan Shi, and asked again, still unwilling to give up, "It's hot here. Why don't you ladies come inside with me and cool off?"
"Huh? Didn't that grandma say we shouldn't go in?" Xiao Bao's voice rang out at the right moment. The little boy frowned and looked at Li Er: "Uncle, you shouldn't do that. That grandma said the uncles inside aren't wearing any clothes. It's not right for you to call my mother and aunt in like that."
"Pfft!" Seeing Xiao Bao speaking so earnestly, Fan Xiaoxiao finally couldn't help but chuckle. Li Er's expression, however, turned somewhat unpleasant. He hadn't expected that the seemingly unremarkable little dumpling to be so quick-witted. He immediately glared at Xiao Bao: "You're just a child, what right do you have to speak like an adult!"
Li Er's tone successfully made Fan Xiaoxiao frown deeply. She glanced at the man in front of her again, sneered, and raised her voice to speak.
"From what that auntie said, I thought your family was a respectable one. I never imagined this young man would be so ignorant, inviting a woman into the inner room where we work in broad daylight. We are a respectable family, after all! We don't follow such casual rules!"
"You!" Li Er didn't expect Fan Xiaoxiao to be so sharp-tongued. He immediately threw down his water glass, glared at her fiercely, and was about to unleash his fury.
What are you trying to do?!
(End of this chapter)
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