Chapter 160 Chapter 160 Father's Favoritism 9
The sun was blazing, so Zhao Hongwei took Zhuozhuo to a large tree. He held her hand and asked her to run around him to stretch her legs. Zhuozhuo, suffocated from the car ride, didn't mind the perfunctory treatment at all, giggling as they ran.
Less than half an hour later, a slender man rode a bicycle towards them, raising one arm and waving enthusiastically, "Brother Hongwei! Here I come!"
Zhuozhuo looked up in response, his eyes widening the next moment. He pointed at the person on the bicycle and said in surprise, "Big shrimp!"
9972 also looked over and immediately knew who Zhuozhuo was talking about. The person, with his slightly hunched back and spindly arms and legs, pedaling a bicycle, truly resembled a shrimp. It silently praised Zhuozhuo's associative thinking and ability to grasp key points, but aloud, "Baby, it's not nice to give people nicknames."
Zhuozhuo stared at the newcomer and answered in his mind, "I know, but I won't say it out loud."
Before the bicycle even reached him, the man jumped off excitedly. He parked the bicycle roughly and laughed heartily. "What a good eye, kid! I've always been thin. My name is Ma Xia. You can call me Brother Big Shrimp!"
"Ma Xia, don't teach her nonsense." Zhao Hongwei picked up Zhuo Zhuo with one hand, tapped Ma Xia with his chin, and said, "Let's call this guy Uncle Ma. He's Dad's friend."
Ma Xia's smile froze on his face, gradually turning into astonishment. He looked from Zhuozhuo to Zhao Hongwei, repeating this several times before finally bursting out in a roar, "Is this your daughter? This is your daughter?! She's so beautiful, and she's your daughter?!!"
Three shocking moments.
"Keep your voice down." Zhao Hongwei covered his burning ears and kicked Ma Xia. "If she's not my daughter, then she's your daughter?"
"No, Brother Hongwei, my niece is so beautiful, even prettier than the princesses and daughters on TV... Look closely, my niece looks just like you, even her facial features are similar." Ma Xia questioned her soul, "Why is my niece so beautiful, while you're just plain?"
Zhao Hongwei was also a well-known handsome young man in the area, but his dark skin and lack of self-care made him look rather rough, which significantly reduced his appearance. Zhuozhuo, on the other hand, was a delicate, fair-skinned cutie with bright, clear eyes. He looked spoiled and had never experienced hardship. Even when he wore patched-up clothes, he looked like the latest trendsetter.
Ma Xia was amazed, opened his arms towards Zhuozhuo, smiled with wrinkles on his face, and said with all his strength, "Come here, Zhuozhuo, let uncle hold you."
Zhao Hongwei slapped him, "Your dirty hands are not fit to hold my daughter? Go carry the big bag."
He threw the big bag on his back to Ma Xia, walked to the side of the bicycle, put Zhuozhuo on the crossbar, and then took a long step and rode on. Holding Zhuozhuo with one hand and holding the handlebar with the other, a hint of recklessness flowed from his eyebrows, "Let's go——"
The bicycle sped along the street, and the hot wind blew in my face.
Zhuozhuo looked up at Zhao Hongwei, frowned, and called out, "Zhao Hongwei, it's hot!"
Zhao Hongwei touched Zhuozhuo's little face and found it was indeed very hot. He immediately lost the mood to show off by taking his daughter for a ride. He tilted the handlebars and parked the bike against the wall. Then he lifted Zhuozhuo down with one arm and said, "Stand against the wall. It's cool."
Zhuozhuo pressed himself against the wall and pushed Zhao Hongwei's legs hard, "Move aside, you're blocking the wind."
Zhao Hongwei was used to Zhuozhuo's various disdainful comments. He took two steps to the side, squatted down, and looked at Zhuozhuo's face, making sure he wasn't sunburned. He didn't know if he was being rude or sincere when he said, "You're so spoiled! I'll buy you a car. It's like what they show on TV, with air conditioning in the car, blowing hot air in the winter and cold air in the summer."
"oh."
Zhuozhuo squatted on the ground and watched the ants moving, and responded without emotion, making Zhao Hongwei doubt that she didn't even hear what he said.
Forget it, this isn’t the first time I’ve been pissed off by this little brat.
Zhao Hongwei stopped talking and plucked a leaf and placed it on the path that the ants must pass.
"What are you doing?"
Zhuozhuo glared at Zhao Hongwei, took the leaf away, and waved his hand to drive Zhao Hongwei away.
"Don't be so impatient. What's the point of just watching ants move? Zhuozhuo, guess what? If you put the leaf in front, will the ants take a detour or flip over?"
Zhuozhuo shook his head and said childishly, "I don't want to guess. The ants are walking peacefully, why are you making it more difficult for them? You bad guy!"
She threw the leaf far away.
Zhao Hongwei wasn't angry even after being scolded; he didn't even realize he was smiling. He felt Zhuozhuo was different from other children. Children his age have a strong curiosity and desire to explore the world, but they lack the reverence and respect for life, often displaying a vicious and naive cruelty.
But Zhuozhuo was kind. If no one provoked her, she was harmless and gentle, like a pretty kitten or a carefree cloud. But if she felt hurt, she would curl up like a hedgehog, protecting herself with the thorns on her back. Anyone who tried to bully her would be pricked and wounded.
Zhao Hongwei thought, it would be better not to let Zhuozhuo be a little hedgehog. After all, a little hedgehog cannot be held and it is very inconvenient to carry around.
After a while, Ma Xia caught up with him panting. He unloaded the heavy bag on the ground and asked curiously, "Brother Hongwei, what are we going to do?"
This alley was remote and deserted. Zhao Hongwei untied the bag, beckoned Ma Xia to come closer, and whispered his plan.
Ma Xia looked at the brightly colored clothes in the dark bag with amazement. She wanted to touch them but was afraid of getting them dirty. She said a little nervously, "Brother Hongwei, these clothes look better than the ones worn by the big stars on TV!"
"I picked them all myself." Zhao Hongwei leaned against the wall, swinging one leg, very pleased with the amazement in Ma Xia's eyes. "If you sell them with me, I'll give you 20% of the profits."
"No, no. Brother Hongwei, you provided the capital, you imported the goods yourself, and the idea was yours. I'm just helping you sell them. You don't have to pay me, just treat me to a good meal."
"One meal is enough? I said I'd help you make money, so I'll help you make money. If you don't want it, I'll find someone else."
"Then I'll take it." Ma Xia scratched his head and smiled innocently, "I definitely won't cheat you. I don't trust others."
Zhao Hongwei scoffed, his smile a touch sad, but quickly returned to normal. He picked up Zhuozhuo and walked to the shaded corner. He said to Ma Xia, who was pushing his bicycle, "We don't have a business license, so we can't sell in a conspicuous place on the street. We'll sell in the alleys and explore the countryside. Let's do this for now and see how things go before adjusting."
"Then I'll go back and put two boards on the car, put a basket in the front, and let my niece sit in it."
Ma Xia is very active. After the discussion, he rode his bike home, changed his bike for a while, and then quickly rushed to the agreed meeting place.
Zhao Hongwei had just soaked the last of his biscuits in water and fed them to Zhuozhuo. He had also washed the last apricot and let her chew it slowly, while he himself was wolfing down a pot cake. Seeing Ma Xia approach so quickly, Zhao Hongwei knew he hadn't eaten yet, so he shared the remaining pot cake with him, saying, "Eat well so you can work better."
Ma Xia did not refuse and quickly stuffed the palm-sized pancake into his mouth. He stretched his neck and swallowed it with difficulty.
Zhuozhu was shocked. She looked at Maxia's throat, then at the apricot in her hand that she had been chewing for a long time but was still intact. She wanted to stuff the whole thing into her mouth.
[Baby, don’t…]
Zhao Hongwei didn't even turn his head, as if he had eyes on the side of his head, and held down Zhuozhuo's hand, "Your throat isn't as thick as his. You'll choke to death if you put it in."
Ma Xia laughed. "Zhuozhuo, don't imitate me. I was very hungry when I was a kid, so I always swallowed my food without chewing it. I got used to it over time. Just eat it slowly. The more you savor the apricots, the better they taste."
9972 also briefly explained Ma Xia to Zhuozhuo. "He was Zhao Hongwei's most loyal younger brother. When they were fleeing as children, Zhao Hongwei gave him a bird's egg, and he considered him his savior. Later, Ma Xia was adopted by a widower from the next village. Now the widower has passed away, and Ma Xia has never married. Shui Lingling, a bachelor, will follow Zhao Hongwei around the world in his business ventures."
In the original novel, Zhao Hongwei is pursued by his enemies after being brought down by the male and female protagonists, and Ma Xia dies while shielding him from the enemy. Furthermore, the widower who adopted Ma Xia wasn't surnamed Ma, and his name is actually related to his nickname "Ma Xia," a homophonic word Zhao Hongwei found in a dictionary.
At this point, 9972 recalled the reason for the failure of this small world's evolution. It was Zhao Hongwei's excessive power. The hero and heroine were completely suppressed by him, and Zhao Dabao, with his support, was free to do whatever he pleased and commit all sorts of evil deeds. One drunken rant, "Zhao Hongwei is nothing but a sonless loser. He's already trying to please me, how dare he control me? If he pissed me off, I'll leave him alone after he dies. Let him be a wandering ghost, unable to be reborn!"
Zhao Hongwei realized that Zhao Dabao was an ungrateful person who could not be tamed, so he killed him directly. On the grounds that "he could not be too bored underground", he sent the male and female protagonists and other people who had a relationship with him down to accompany him.
Those who are loved want them to live, and those who are hated want them to die. Boss Zhao's change of attitude is so terrible and so fast, so exaggerated that it seems like he has turned from a human into a mad dog.
Because Zhao Hongwei's change of heart was so sudden, and he killed off a series of characters including the male and female protagonists, male and female supporting roles, male and female villains, etc. at lightning speed, the plot collapsed completely. The small world that was still evolving was unable to make timely and appropriate adjustments and collapsed directly.
9972 couldn't help but secretly curse Zhao Hongwei, saying that he deserved it.
Zhuozhuo looked up at Ma Xia and felt that this person was so pitiful. All his family members died when he was young, and his adoptive father also died when he grew up. But he also thought that this person was so amazing. He could grow so tall even without having enough to eat every day!
She wants to be friends with him!
Zhuozhuo thought for a moment, handed the apricot in his hand to her, and said softly, "Here you go."
Ma Xia didn't think much of it, thinking the child couldn't finish it, so he took it and stuffed it into his mouth. Before he even put it in his mouth, he paused and looked at Zhao Hongwei hesitantly, "Brother Hongwei, you want to eat it? Why are you looking at me like that? It's like you want to beat me up."
Zhao Hongwei looked away and said calmly, "I don't want to eat."
After thinking about it, Zhao Hongwei still couldn't calm down. He snatched Xing away, wiped her with the hem of his clothes, and put her back into Zhuozhuo's hand. He said fiercely, "Give your things to everyone else but me? Don't even think about giving them to others as long as I'm here. Humph."
9972:[……]
Ma Xia: “…”
Zhuozhuo made a face at Zhao Hongwei, "You're jealous."
"I'm just mad at you for turning your elbow outward!"
"oh."
Zhuozhuo lowered her head and chewed an apricot, not saying anything and not even giving him any glances.
Zhao Hongwei: “…”
Just say "Oh" and that's it? Don't you even bother to appease your jealous father?
Zhao Hongwei had been observing Zhuozhuo out of the corner of his eye, but seeing how cold and indifferent she was, he gradually stared at her expressionlessly, trying to lift her little head with his eyes.
Zhuozhuo was so focused on chewing the apricots that he didn't notice anything.
Zhao Hongwei: “…”
I was very angry, but I endured it.
Ma Xia watched in amazement. Zhao Hongwei had a fiery temper. After their parents died, the two brothers were often bullied by the villagers. Zhao Hongqi was a softie, barely able to respond with a kick. It was always the younger Zhao Hongwei who would beat the bullies away with his fists. This experience had made Zhao Hongwei more accustomed to using force and more prone to anger.
Unexpectedly, in front of Zhuozhuo, Zhao Hongwei was like a pufferfish, who would become swollen with anger if he disagreed with something, and then nothing happened.
Before she finished eating the apricots, Zhuozhuo was so sleepy that she couldn't open her eyes. She lay in Zhao Hongwei's arms like a boneless person. Zhao Hongwei adjusted her position to a more comfortable position without any grudges.
Ma Xia suggested, "My neighbor's aunt broke her leg and has been taking care of the children at home these days. She's very kind. Let's send Zhuozhuo over too. It's too inconvenient to take her with us."
"No need." Zhao Hongwei refused without a second thought. Even blood relatives weren't willing to take care of another child, so how could anyone expect outsiders to be so attentive to the child? Besides, Zhuozhuo was a bit spoiled. Not the kind who insisted on having everything they could eat and wear, but rather someone who was very pretentious and needed genuine kindness. Otherwise, she'd be like a little hedgehog, silently raising her spines in defense.
For his first stop, Zhao Hongwei chose an old alley nearby. He parked his car at the end of the alley, spread out his clothes on a wooden board, and began to shout, "Imported clothes, same style as xx, come buy them and take a look!"
Zhuozhuo had almost gotten used to sleeping amidst the noise these days, but today, the constant mention of the keyword "money, money, money" amidst the clamor pricked her senses and forcibly woke her from her nap. The little one didn't even get mad. She pricked up her ears to listen as she slowly and with great effort opened her eyes.
Zhao Hongwei is actually selling clothes!
Someone has money to buy it!
Money!
Zhuozhuo instantly perked up, his eyes sparkling as he shouted, "Zhao Hongwei, Zhuozhuo wants to be sold too!"
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