Chapter 153 Chapter 153 Father's Favoritism 2
“Uncle——!”
Amidst Dabao's heart-wrenching cries, as if he had suffered a grievous injustice, Xiaofang frantically said, "Uncle, I made Dabao angry. He hit me twice, and Zhuozhuo thought he hurt me, so he hit Dabao. I tried to stop him, so he didn't hit him many times. It was mainly because Dabao was scared, but he's fine now..."
Zhuozhuo stepped forward to block Xiaofang. "It was Dabao who damaged my flesh first! Dabao hit me first! I'm going to hit him back and make him cry!"
Her righteous words contrasted with Dabao's miserable "She hit me so hard it hurt", making her seem particularly arrogant.
Xiaofang quickly covered Zhuozhuo's mouth and pushed her back. Dabao, relying on his support, lunged at her with a howl, trying to hit her. Unwilling to be outdone, Zhuozhuo scrambled out of Xiaofang's arms and shoved Dabao head-on. The backlash sent her sprawling to the ground. Like a wolf cub, Zhuozhuo rolled around, pinning Dabao down fiercely and engaging him in a tug-of-war.
Fearing that Zhuozhuo would be at a disadvantage, 9972 quickly cast a protective shield over her, effectively neutralizing Dabao's attack. The battle was clear: one side had maximum defense, the other had zero. Unfortunately, Zhuozhuo was snared by Zhao Hongwei before she could strike back.
He held Zhuozhuo in one hand and Dabao in the other, frowning impatiently. He first clicked his tongue at Dabao, whose face was covered in tears and snot, "You're a man, over a year older than Zhuozhuo. You're being beaten by Zhuozhuo, and you still have the nerve to cry?"
He stuffed Dabao into Xiaofang's hands and said, "Take him to wash, he's so dirty."
Then he looked at Zhuozhuo with a look that looked like he was in big trouble, and asked in confusion, "How can a little girl like you be so fierce? Why don't you have a good relationship with your brother? Why do you fight with him? Didn't your mother teach you that when you grow up and get married, you will have to rely on your brothers from your mother's family to support you so that you won't be bullied by your in-laws."
He was full of nonsense, "Isn't it because your mother has no brothers that no one can take care of you? Why don't you learn from this?"
After he finished speaking, he probably felt that he had gone too far, and a look of annoyance flashed across his face. He then observed Zhuo Zhuo's expression, trying to judge whether she understood.
Zhuozhuo didn't hear what Zhao Hongwei was yelling about. He saw the opportunity and bit his wrist with a loud noise.
"hiss."
Zhao Hongwei pinched her scorching chin and tore her off, then laughed angrily, "Change your biting habit immediately, or no one will dare to want you in the future!"
Zhuozhuo struggled frantically and kicked Zhao Hongwei in the chest, the pain making his mind go blank for a moment. He put Zhuozhuo on the ground, pointing at her and yelling "you, you, you" for a long time. Without saying anything, he turned around and yelled at Dabao, who was still howling, "Don't cry! If you cry again, I'll cut off your little chick!"
Dabao was so scared that he covered his butt and hid behind Xiaofang. He held his throat and dared not cry, his face flushed red.
Zhuozhuo made a face at him, turned around and ran away to play.
Zhao Hongwei was drinking water from a jar when he looked up to see Zhuozhuo breaking off a branch, holding it high, and snatching a cicada with a swish. He walked over, saw the cicada was completely deflated, and immediately flashed a toothache. He couldn't help but start nagging, "Your strength should be kept to yourself. No one wants a girl with too much strength..."
Zhuozhuo turned around and faced Zhao Hongwei with his butt, unwilling to listen to him.
Zhao Hongwei uttered "ouch" and raised his foot to kick Zhuozhuo's butt, but after thinking for a moment, he retracted his foot and bent down to pat her furry head. When Zhuozhuo turned her head and glared at him unhappily, Zhao Hongwei took out two coins from his trouser pocket, one yuan and one dime. He avoided Dabao and Xiaofang and whispered, "Take the bottles to the agency store later and buy four more bottles of soda. Use the dime to buy pear paste for Dabao and coax him. He..."
Before he could finish his words, the coin in his hand was knocked away by Zhuozhuo.
Zhao Hongwei had a headache, cursed "stubborn donkey", picked up the coin and left.
They were almost under the banyan tree, a hundred meters away, when Zhao Hongwei returned. He gave Xiaofang the coins and told her to buy pear syrup for Dabao when she got some soda. In a voice Zhuozhuo couldn't hear, he explained that the money for the pear syrup came from Zhuozhuo, money Zhuozhuo's mother had left for her. Zhuozhuo knew he was wrong and was buying Dabao pear syrup candy to apologize, asking Dabao to be nice to Zhuozhuo's sister in the future.
Xiaofang glanced at Zhuozhuo, who was playing house by himself, and breathed a sigh of relief, "I understand."
Fortunately, although my uncle is annoyed, he is still willing to take care of Zhuozhuo, otherwise she would be too miserable.
9972 also heard what Zhao Hongwei said, and felt that it was hard to describe. It did not tell Zhuozhuo, as it felt that Zhuozhuo would be very angry if he knew.
Zhao Hongwei strode toward the fields, sighing as he walked. Raising Zhuozhuo was truly too much trouble. He'd worried that Dabao would beat him if Zhuozhuo drank his soda, so he'd been too tired to work and rushed back to check on her. Who knew she'd be so arrogant? She'd pinned Dabao, who was taller and fatter than her, down and beat him until he cried. And when she wouldn't listen, she'd just argue with him.
Although Zhuozhuo was only three years old, Zhao Hongwei could already imagine her miserable life of being ignored by everyone in more than a decade, and he started to worry in advance.
9972 couldn't detect what was going on in Zhao Hongwei's mind, or else it might have wanted to blow his brains out. Worried that Zhao Hongwei's words would influence Zhuozhuo, it kept trying to instill in her the concepts of freedom and equality. Before it could finish, Xiaofang came looking for Zhuozhuo. "I'm going to buy some soda. Do you want to come?"
"go!"
Zhuozhuo dug a hole, buried the two cicadas in it, and covered them with a leaf. He shouted to Dabao, "You go too! You are not allowed to stay home and touch my flesh!"
Dabao immediately let go of Xiaofang's hand and said rebelliously, "I'm not going!"
"you go!"
Zhuozhuo ran over to pull him, but he turned around and ran into the house, closing the door, and howled loudly through the broken door: "I'm not going, I'm not going, I'm not going, I'm not going--!!!"
Zhuozhuo didn't chase after him. A sly look flashed across her muddy little face. She said that on purpose because she didn't want Dabao to go. Otherwise, how could she secretly save a dime?
9972 felt both relieved and sad. Zhuozhuo was very smart, but it still hoped that Zhuozhuo would not have to use this intelligence too early, and just grow up simply and happily under the protection of the mission goals like in the previous worlds.
Xiaofang told Dabao not to run around. She carried the net bag in one hand and led Zhuozhuo to the outlet store with the other. She watched Zhuozhuo sweetly say to the store owner, "Uncle, I want four bottles of soda. Can I have ten cents less?"
Zhuozhuo is good-looking, with fair and clean eyes and lively expressions. She stands on tiptoe and leans on the counter, bargaining eagerly, which can melt people's hearts.
The boss said with a smile: "Okay, as long as you come to buy, I will give you less."
Zhuozhuo jumped up happily and said in a baby voice, "Thank you, uncle! We also want to buy some pear paste, which costs ten cents."
The boss took the soda, then the pear paste, and finally gave Zhuo Zhuo two more.
Zhuozhuo gave Xiaofang one. On the deserted side road, he leaned over to Xiaofang's ear and whispered his little secret, "Sister, Zhuozhuo has two dimes. I'm going to save up lots of dimes and take you away. We'll buy a big house and live there. No Zhao Hongwei, no Dabao, no Big Brother and Sister-in-law!"
Xiaofang's face was filled with confusion. She couldn't tell what she was feeling at the moment. Her eyes were fixed on Zhuozhuo, and her throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton. After a while, Xiaofang slowly squatted down, hugged Zhuozhuo's soft body, and whispered, "Okay, I'll save money with you."
On the way back, Zhuozhuo had some free time and noticed a small river beside the road. It was dry season, and only a few deeper sections of the river had water. The village children gathered there, catching tadpoles and digging for loaches.
Zhuozhuo also wanted to dig, but was stopped by Xiaofang.
Back home, Xiaofang gave Dabao two pear pastes, and behind Zhuozhuo's back, emphasized that they were bought by Zhuozhuo. She then stepped on a stool and placed the soda on top of the cabinet to prevent Dabao from secretly drinking it. Then Xiaofang carried her backpack and went to cut grass because she had fed two little rabbits.
Dabao was annoyed by the scratchy grass and the mosquito bites, so he didn't want to go. Zhuozhuo, holding the cicada, also shook his head and said, "Sister, I'm going to play at home."
Xiaofang told them not to run around, picked up a sickle that was almost as tall as her, and trotted off to cut the grass.
After Xiaofang walked away, Zhuozhuo stood up quickly, took out a basin and a pot lid from the kitchen, and moved out with eight hundred fake movements in a minute, but he was still discovered by Dabao.
Dabao ran over and grabbed her arm, "Where are you going? I'm going too!"
Zhuozhuo tried hard but couldn't get rid of him, so she had to take him to the river.
When Dabao got there, he joined the other kids. Zhuozhuo, who didn't know anyone, found a corner and started digging.
At first, Zhuozhuo was digging randomly, even refusing the infrared scanning service offered by 9972. But after a lucky break, he unearthed a loach, and began observing more consciously. Then, whether he had truly observed a pattern or simply had a burst of luck, Zhuozhuo dug out a loach one after another, until the small basin was almost full and the lid flipped over several times.
It was dark at some point, and the surroundings were so quiet that only the sounds of the wind and the chirping of insects and frogs could be heard. 9972, who was watching Zhuozhuo digging for loaches, suddenly came to his senses and reminded her: "Baby, it's time to go home."
Zhuozhuo looked up and around. Under the gloomy sky, the reeds by the water swayed like ghosts. Fear suddenly emerged and grew wildly. Zhuozhuo picked up the small basin and wanted to leave. But the basin, filled with loaches, was too heavy to lift.
9972 asked Zhuozhuo to leave the pot alone for now, but Zhuozhuo was reluctant to do so. He stuck his butt out and grabbed the edge to drag the pot to dry ground. He then pressed two clods of dirt on the pot lid and finally ran home in fear. As he ran, he heard Xiaofang's call in the air, "Dabao - Zhuozhuo -"
Zhuozhuo ran and shouted, "Sister!"
"shining!"
"Zhuozhuo is over there!"
There was a mixture of voices and footsteps. Zhuozhuo was lifted up by a big hand and patted on the butt. A nervous and worried voice was heard in his ear, "Zhuozhuo, where have you been? Where's Dabao?"
Zhuozhuo was stunned for a moment. Before she could express her joy and peace of mind at seeing people, she was blocked. She pouted and said, "I don't know. Dabao went to play with someone else."
She twisted her body and called her sister, wanting Xiaofang to go with her to bring the loach back. But she saw that Xiaofang's face was swollen and there was a deformed slap mark on it.
"Sister, who hit you?"
Xiaofang grabbed Zhuozhuo's hand, tears streaming from her dry eyes. "Zhuozhuo, you're okay! You scared me to death. Zhuozhuo, where's Dabao? Dabao isn't with you?"
Zhao Hongwei held Zhuozhuo in his arms and shook him. "You said Dabao went out to play with someone else. Who did he go out with?"
Zhuozhuo realized the seriousness of the situation. She looked at Xiaofang and said with tears in her eyes, "Dabao came with me to the river, and he went to play with others. Zhuozhuo was digging for loaches. It got dark, and I didn't see Dabao."
[Don't be afraid, baby. You didn't do anything wrong.]
Zhao Hongwei's heart sank. He asked Xiaofang to call her parents. He immediately went to the river, using the dim night to observe the water surface. When he found nothing, he jumped in and felt around again. He came ashore with a solemn expression. Just as he was about to go to the village to call for help in the search, he saw Zhuozhuo leaning against a tree, silent. He bent down and picked her up. He pressed her head with his big hands and coaxed her in a strange voice, "Are you going to sleep or not?"
Zhuozhuo opened his bright eyes, which were filled with anxiety and confusion.
Zhao Hongwei once again thought, raising Zhuozhuo is really troublesome. If Dabao really can't be found, can she still stay in this family?
At this moment, Xiaofang ran back, panting and saying, "Uncle, Dabao has been found! He fell asleep at Erye's house and was just brought back!"
Zhao Hongwei was delighted, but before he could move, he heard Xiaofang say, "Uncle, please go home quickly. My mother has fainted!"
Zhao Hongwei immediately rushed home. Zhuozhuo in his arms struggled to reach back, "Sister, sister!" Loach! Loach!
Zhao Hongwei reached out and picked up Xiaofang, who was jogging after him, and then he blew up like a gust of wind, almost stirring up the burning brain matter, and he no longer cared about her loach.
When we got home, Mrs. Zhao had already woken up, and Dabao was drinking soda beside her, but the atmosphere in the house was very solemn, as if a mountain was pressing down on everyone's heart.
Zhao Hongwei frowned, put Xiaofang and Zhuozhuo down, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Brother Zhao glanced at the children, squatted on the ground in annoyance, and pointed at his sister-in-law without even looking at her, "Your sister-in-law is pregnant again."
Pregnancy is a joyous occasion, but for poor families, having a child means increased burdens, not to mention the fines for having more than one child. When Zhao Hongwei had his first child, he used up all his family's savings to buy a birth permit to register his household registration, which left him unable to find a wife even in his twenties. Now, without a birth permit or fines, how could he have another child?
But if I don't have another child, having only Dabao as my son won't be enough.
Brother Zhao and his wife sighed and groaned, as if the sky was falling. The children, who were particularly sensitive to adults' emotions, huddled together in fear, their eyes wide open, observing the adults' expressions.
Zhao Hongwei also knew the situation at home. He drank a bucket of water in silence and said, "Everyone says you can make money in the south. I have nothing to do at home anyway, so I might as well go out and try my luck. If I can make some money, there's nothing to worry about."
Brother Zhao looked at Zhao Hongwei, with guilt and expectation in his eyes. He seemed to want to say something but hesitated. After sighing heavily, he stared at the ground and started to install the sculpture.
Mrs. Zhao leaned against the headboard and said weakly, "You go out. Is Zhuozhuo at home? Zhuozhuo is even more naughty than boys. Xiaofang can't keep an eye on her. Nothing happened today, but what if something happens to her and Dabao in the future..."
Zhao Hongwei's brows furrowed even tighter, and he subconsciously said, "Didn't Dabao throw Zhuozhuo by the river? If Zhuozhuo had fallen into the river, he would be missing a sister now!"
Mrs. Zhao choked for a moment, then said after a while, "I'm weak and can't stand the noise of children. How can I take care of three children?"
Zhao Hongwei was soaked in mud and river water, emitting a fishy stench. His clothes were wet and sticky, as if covered in toad slime. He stood at the door, his heart sank as the night wind blew. After a while, he said in a deep voice, "I'll take Zhuozhuo with me."
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