Chapter 162 Chapter 162 Father's Favoritism 11
Ma Xia was very impressed and nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, give Zhuozhu a bonus, give him a lot!"
Zhuozhuo woke from a deep sleep with hunger when she heard these words. She mumbled, "What bonus? I'm hungry. Eat some meat. Zhao Hongwei, eat some meat!"
She swallowed unconsciously, opened her eyes with a look of grievance, and quickly locked onto Zhao Hongwei's position in the unfamiliar room. She climbed up from the wooden bed and reached out to him, her eyes brimming with tears. "Zhao Hongwei, I'm so hungry, wuwu—"
The little girl started crying. The hunger made her feel uncomfortable, painful and anxious. She couldn't control her emotions at all and just wanted to cry loudly to vent.
Zhao Hongwei rushed over and hugged Zhuozhuo. Frightened by her sudden burst of tears, he paced around the room like a headless fly, coaxing her softly, "Don't cry, Zhuozhuo, don't cry. You're hungry, aren't you? Daddy's going to make you something soon. Don't cry, please. Your voice is going to be hoarse from crying."
Zhuozhuo cried with all her heart, her mouth open, her head tilted back, her eyes closed, tears streaming down her face, she was heartbroken.
Zhao Hongwei rummaged around and remembered that he had eaten the dried meat. He looked at Ma Xia, who was standing there in a daze, and said, "Bring out whatever food you have. I'll buy it."
"Oh, oh, no need to buy it." Ma Xia rummaged through the drawers and found all the supplies in the house, but there was only half a steamed bun, a bowl of wild vegetable porridge left over from the morning, two pieces of oil residue and a small piece of brown sugar.
The weather was too hot, and the wild vegetable porridge had gone sour. Ma Xia hurriedly brought the oil residue to Zhuozhuo's mouth, but Zhuozhuo didn't react. He looked at Zhao Hongwei in confusion. Zhao Hongwei snatched the oil residue and stuffed it directly into Zhuozhuo's mouth, pressing it against her tongue so that she could immediately sense the taste of the food.
“Ah, um…”
The crying stopped, and Zhuozhuo swallowed instinctively. The fragrance brought her back to her senses. She stopped crying, wiped her tears with one hand and put the other hand into her mouth.
Zhao Hongwei then let go of his hand and let Zhuozhuo chew it himself. "Eat slowly, don't choke."
Zhuozhuo said nothing and ate with all his heart.
Ma Xia breathed a sigh of relief, squatted on the ground exhausted, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and sighed, "Taking care of children is really tiring. Just this one time is more tiring than working in the fields all day."
After saying this, he looked at Zhuozhuo with lingering fear, and found that she was concentrating on eating and didn't notice him. He felt relieved and rushed out as if escaping. "There's still some brown sugar. I'll go make some brown sugar water for Zhuozhuo."
Zhao Hongwei stopped him and said, "Ma Xia, thank you for going to the county town. See if there are any shops open and buy some food."
"Okay, what should I buy? Does Zhuozhuo like sweet, salty, or spicy food?"
"Not only Zhuo Zhuo should eat, we should eat too. We can't go to bed on an empty stomach." Zhao Hongwei reminded, "Buy some more dried meat buns for easy storage. We won't have time to eat tomorrow because we'll be busy."
"Okay."
Ma Xia touched his head, swallowed the words "Brother Hongwei, you are so nagging now", turned around and went out, riding his bike away into the night.
Zhao Hongwei found the thermos in the corner and weighed it. It was empty. He skillfully pulled some firewood from the yard, went to the kitchen to light a fire and boil water, and put the last handful of rice in the rice jar into it.
Zhuozhuo relieved her hunger and leaned quietly on Zhao Hongwei's arm, staring at the orange-yellow flames in the stove. Soon, she was sweating profusely. She twisted her body and said, "It's hot."
Zhao Hongwei released his hand and put Zhuozhuo aside. "Stay here and don't run around."
"oh."
Zhuozhuo stood there for a while, finishing eating the oil residue. She stretched out her dirty little hands, which were covered with oil and saliva, in front of Zhao Hongwei, blinked and said, "Wash your hands."
"Wash it later. Go get the greasy residue on the table and eat here."
The kitchen of Ma Xia's family was just a shed in the yard, about ten steps away from the main hall.
Zhuozhuo took two steps outside. The courtyard was devoid of firelight, and darkness descended upon her like a monster. She froze in place, unable to move, staring around like a wary little animal, as if a terrifying monster lurked in the darkness, its maw gaping, waiting to devour her. Zhuozhuo fought back her fear, turning after three seconds and diving into Zhao Hongwei's arms.
"Why did you come back? I asked you to get the oil residue." Zhao Hongwei asked deliberately.
"Zhao Hongwei, go get it."
"It's not me who's eating it, whoever's eating it can take it, I won't take it."
Zhuozhuo glared at Zhao Hongwei angrily and said childishly, "Zhao Hongwei is your father, he's an adult. Zhao Hongwei, go get it."
"Now you know I'm your dad? Everyday, Zhao Hongwei, Zhao Hongwei. If you promise me that you won't call me Zhao Hongwei anymore but Daddy, I'll get it for you."
Zhao Hongwei used a fire poker to stir the firewood and spoke slowly in an irritating tone.
Zhuozhuo was so angry that he said stubbornly, "No!"
This was too decisive, without even a moment's hesitation. Zhao Hongwei's heart ached, and he forced himself to say, "That's all I can do. I only serve my child. If you don't even call me dad, are you my child?"
Zhuozhuo curled his lips and said sullenly, "That's not the case. You take care of Dabao, but Dabao isn't your child, he's your eldest brother's." The little guy concluded, "You like raising other people's children."
Zhao Hongwei: “…”
Zhao Hongwei shifted his sitting position, leaning towards Zhuozhuo, and reasoned with her, "Zhuozhuo, you're still young, you don't understand. If a family wants to stand on its own in the village, it must have men to support it. The more men there are, the stronger the family will be. Others will be less likely to bully it, and will even try to curry favor with it. Besides, farm work and working as laborers are all strenuous tasks, and men have to work hard to earn money to support the family..."
Zhuozhuo listened, becoming increasingly unhappy, her pout rising. She interrupted Zhao Hongwei's sermon, "Zhuozhuo can make money, too. She can make more than you and Uncle Ma."
Zhuozhuo was practically non-stop this afternoon, busy as a top. Not only was she busy with the buying and selling, she also happened to keep an eye on Zhao Hongwei and Ma Xia, noticing they weren't selling as much as she was. She also felt that so many people were buying just for her, that she was the best.
9972 confirmed Zhuozhuo's thoughts, "Yes, today Baobao is the top seller and also a stylist."
Zhao Hongwei knew Zhuozhuo was the biggest contributor today. Her sales rate was nearly 100 percent; nearly every piece of clothing she handed out was sold. This wasn't just because she was young and cute; it was because she truly tailored her words to each customer and offered tailored outfit suggestions. Customers, sensing Zhuozhuo's dedication, sincerity, and professionalism, trusted her and readily spent their money.
It was their first time selling things, and Zhao Hongwei and Ma Xia were so much older than him, but they were completely crushed by Zhuo Zhuo.
To be fair, in this regard, Zhuozhuo's ability far exceeds that of two grown men, Zhao Hongwei and Ma Xia.
Zhao Hongwei was silent for a moment and said, "Yes, Zhuozhuo earns a lot. But..."
But earning money doesn't mean you can keep it. If Zhuozhuo didn't have two men by her side, the money would have been snatched away in a blink of an eye.
The words rolled around in his throat before Zhao Hongwei swallowed them. He didn't want to expose Zhuozhuo to this darkness too early. But on second thought, he felt that the precocious Zhuozhuo should understand it, so as not to rush in and suffer a great loss.
So, Zhao Hongwei embellished his words and spoke them out loud. Worried that Zhuozhuo might be frightened, he rethought his words in his mind, ready to come up with them at any moment.
However, Zhuozhuo was very quiet. He looked at Zhao Hongwei as if he were blind or stupid, and said quietly, "If you have any difficulties, find the police uncle."
"...If the harm has already occurred, what's the point of the police coming?" Zhao Hongwei really wanted to have a serious talk with Zhuozhuo. "If you have a broken leg, even if the police arrest the person, will your leg heal immediately? Will you be able to stop feeling pain? If a robber kills someone impulsively, even if he is sentenced to death, can the victim come back to life?"
Zhao Hongwei held Zhuozhuo's little face in his hands and said earnestly, "Zhuozhuo, you are a girl, and you are not as strong as men. You should take the initiative to avoid danger. A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall."
9972:[……]
It seems that Zhao Hongwei has some fatherly feelings towards Zhuozhuo, as he can actually say such a thing.
Zhuozhuo looked at Zhao Hongwei. Just when he thought she didn't understand and wanted to repeat it, she said childishly, "Zhao Hongwei, you taught me to protect myself. You have to tell bad people not to hurt others."
“If a bad person listens to advice, is he still a bad person?”
Zhao Hongwei said in a deep voice, "Zhuozhuo, anyone taller, stronger, or larger than you could hurt you, and you wouldn't be able to fight back. You need to be aware of this so you can react in time when danger strikes."
"I know."
Zhuozhuo pushed Zhao Hongwei's hand away. He didn't need to teach her these things; she knew to be alert when she saw a stranger. Suddenly, the little girl thought of something, snorted, and said cunningly, "Zhao Hongwei, you said Dabao supported Zhuozhuo and protected him. Don't talk to me anymore. Go teach Dabao."
"It's about supporting you. With him around, outsiders won't dare to bully you easily. It's not about having him as your bodyguard." Zhao Hongwei explained patiently.
"Humph. I'm rich, so no one dares to bully me. I'm smart, so no one dares to bully me. I'm powerful, so no one dares to bully me. I don't want Dabao."
Zhuozhuo made a face at Zhao Hongwei and turned to run away. She had actually forgotten her fear of the dark and rushed into the main room.
Zhao Hongwei stretched his head and saw Zhuozhuo chewing on the oil residue. He was a little angry, "Where do you get so many twisted ideas from?"
He sat back in front of the stove, added firewood, and began to wonder what had become of Zhao Hongqi and the others. Suddenly, he heard a crash. Puzzled, he looked for the cause of the noise. After searching around, he turned back and saw flames shooting out of the pot lid.
“……!!”
.
"The pot is burnt through, and the lid is burned off too. I'll compensate you," Zhao Hongwei said to Ma Xia. "I don't have any money right now. I'll give it to you after we split the bill."
"No need to compensate, no need to compensate. This pot has been used for decades and should have been replaced long ago. The lid is almost rotten and can no longer cover the pot. I have been wanting to buy a new one for a long time! Brother Hongwei, if you compensate me, then you don't consider me a brother. I have no face to ask for your share, and I have no face to do business with you anymore."
Ma Xia waved his hands repeatedly, his face full of resistance, trying to avoid him, as if Zhao Hongwei was not trying to give him money but his life.
Zhao Hongwei thought so too. Now he was the only one in Ma Xia's family, so there was no need to make such a clear distinction between them. So he sat down and started eating.
All the food shops in town were closed, but Ma Xia had a friend who worked as a waiter at a restaurant. He knocked on the door in the middle of the night and bought some leftovers—fish, meat, vegetables, and soup—enough for a good meal for two adults and one child.
Zhao Hongwei picked up a chicken wing and gave it to Zhuozhuo, hoping to ease the tension. He said, "Eat it. Girls are very good at eating."
Zhuozhuo grabbed a chicken wing and threw it into Zhao Hongwei's bowl. She then stood on the edge of the table, grabbed a lion's head and began to gnaw on it. Her shoulders shrugged, and she looked furious.
Zhao Hongwei: “…”
Luckily it didn’t hit my face… No, little brat, are you so fierce?
But he didn't dare say anything to provoke Zhuo Zhuo, nor did he want to say anything more. So what? A cold war, who's afraid of who? Haha!
Zhao Hongwei chewed the chicken leg fiercely, making the chicken bones crunch. After chewing, he gave Ma Xia a look and asked him to carry Zhuozhuo to the chair.
Ma Xia noticed the tense atmosphere between the father and daughter and didn't dare to speak loudly. After receiving the instruction, she said with a stiff upper lip, "Zhuozhuo, sit down and eat. It's tiring to stand."
"Okay, thank you Uncle Ma." Zhuozhuo responded softly, and took the initiative to open his arms and let Ma Xia carry him to the chair, but he did not even glance at Zhao Hongwei opposite him during the whole process.
Zhao Hongwei muttered softly: "Pay compensation..."
9972 was so angry that he wanted to tear Zhao Hongwei's stinky mouth apart. Seeing him eat a piece of celery with chopsticks, he sneered and said, "Baby, you said he loves eating celery and is hardworking. From now on, he will take care of all the work at home and in the fields."
Zhuozhuo didn't even raise his head. After a moment, he said in his mind, "No, I don't want to care about Zhao Hongwei anymore."
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