Chapter 35 Chapter 35 Two Good Brothers
"Alas, this child is still too vain."
After listening to Shen Miao's story, Chen Xiulan made chrysanthemum tea for the mother and daughter, and said regretfully, "For the sake of your own face, you put your whole family into it. Why do you have to do that?"
The aftermath of He Shengwei’s incident was so great that even now, Shen Miao’s mind was still filled with the image of him going crazy in the market just now.
He really can't be cured this time.
I heard from Wang Juan that he just screamed a few times in the hotel that day and then he fainted because he couldn't catch his breath. When he woke up, he looked dazed and didn't recognize anyone.
The results of the examination at the hospital showed that alcohol and emotions stimulated his brain, causing damage to the cerebral cortex, which in turn affected his memory. From now on, he will be sometimes crazy and sometimes stupid, and live his whole life in a daze.
This incident became a scandal in the family compound of the cotton mill. Their own child had cheated so much money that Wang Juan and He Xinjun were too embarrassed to continue working there. So they resigned and moved out of the family compound, living on street stalls with their already insane son...
"Okay, let's not talk about them anymore."
Chen Xiulan brought the washed fruits and took the initiative to change the subject: "The stalls are not all set up yet, wait a while, we'll go later."
"middle."
It was already past ten in the morning when Shen Miao and Wang Dongmei arrived at her house. There were many people on weekends, and with the temple fair coming up, the village was full of people who came to join in the fun. The main road in the middle had long been jammed, but who would have thought that this was just the beginning.
I have to say that Chen Xiulan's personality is really too cheerful. In the past forty years or so, she has only met Wang Dongmei twice, but she can chat with her like old friends who have known each other for many years, and they can always find topics to talk about.
"Do you still remember your sister? She had a grandson last year!"
"Wang Xia? So soon, didn't her girlfriend get married two years ago?"
"That's pretty fast. Do you remember your high school classmate? I forgot his name, the one with the big mouth."
"It has a very big mouth...hiss, what kind of Dan is it? I can't remember what it's called."
"She's only 46 this year, and she already has two grandchildren!"
"Eh~ It's almost time. By the way, where did she get married?"
Wang Dongmei was a little reserved at first, but soon she was having a great time chatting with Chen Xiulan.
The two of them sat in the living room and chatted about daily life, while Shen Miao borrowed Chen Xiulan's landline to call her grandfather.
Shen Miao's stomach was very shallow, and she couldn't hide the gossip. If she didn't tell her grandfather about He Shengwei's family as soon as possible, she would be restless all day.
Like himself, Shen Wanshan felt relieved after hearing about He Shengwei's affairs, but he was more sighing.
Seeing that he had studied hard for twenty years and was admitted to a prestigious university in Hai City, and his parents had spent most of their lives supporting him, but in the end he was forced to drop out of school because of madness...
He Shengwei is indeed a hateful person, but even hateful people do have some pitiful aspects.
"Mom! I'm back!"
Before I reached the door of my house, I heard a hearty shout from the corridor. A few seconds later, I heard him knocking on the door.
"Speaking of the devil, here he comes! This bandit in my house is really coming back soon." Chen Xiulan brushed off the melon seed crumbs on her clothes, stood up and went to open the door.
"Mom, I want to..." The man was about to throw himself into Chen Xiulan's arms as soon as he entered the room, but when he saw someone sitting on the sofa, he quickly stopped his action and swallowed back the words he hadn't said.
"Are there guests at home?" The man bowed politely to Wang Dongmei who was sitting on the sofa and greeted her generously, "Hello, Auntie!"
Chen Xiulan ruffled the man's hair and added, "This is the aunt from Qinghe Village. Her surname is Wang."
"Hello, Aunt Wang!"
The personalities of mother and son are simply carved from the same mold. They have the same big eyes, the same carefree style of doing things, and that honey-smeared little mouth. They are truly a pair of lovable funny guys.
The man's name was Yao Heng, he was Chen Xiulan's only son, he was the same age as Shen Miao and would soon be 24, but he was three months older than Shen Miao.
Wang Dongmei often said that Shen Miao was a child who never grew up and was always a bit childish. Today, after meeting Yao Heng, she realized that there were many adults who were even more childish than Shen Miao.
Yao Heng looked like someone who grew up in a honey pot. His eyes were clean without any impurities, and he spoke directly. He would praise Wang Dongmei's temperament without any reservation, and would also remind Shen Miao that her lips were a little dry and needed to be moisturized with some water.
"Okay, stop jumping around like a monkey and sit down," Chen Xiulan pulled him to sit next to her and reached out to tidy up his hair. "Look at the few strands of hair you cut. It's so ugly."
"Oh! What dog hair? This is called bangs. It's very fashionable in school." Yao Heng curled his lips and combed his bangs again.
Yao Heng is studying at a university in Yu City and will graduate next year. Since the school is close to his home, he goes home every weekend.
Perhaps it is because he has been reading all the time and has never been out in society, his fair and clean little face is full of bookish air, a bit like Jia Baoyu in "Dream of Red Mansions".
"My dad?"
"He hasn't come back yet," Chen Xiulan looked at the time on the wall, "It's getting late, why don't we go to the restaurant for dinner? After dinner, we can go to the meeting and have a good look around."
"No, no, no, it's too expensive to eat at a restaurant. My mother and I are just going to sit for a while and then go back."
“What are you going back for? We haven’t even started shopping yet,” Chen Xiulan subconsciously tried to keep her, but she pulled Shen Miao’s hand, “It’s a rare trip to the city, so why don’t you go back after you’ve had enough fun in the afternoon.”
"If you don't want to go out to eat, I'll go buy some food and we can cook at home."
Chen Xiulan's kindness was hard to refuse, so Wang Dongmei and Shen Miao had no choice but to agree.
Thinking that it was unnecessary for the four of them to go shopping for groceries together, Chen Xiulan asked Yao Heng to take Shen Miao to the temple fair first, while she and Wang Dongmei went to buy groceries, and then came back to eat after the food was ready.
Yao Heng was a man who loved to join in the fun, and even if Chen Xiulan hadn't brought it up, he had no intention of just sitting and waiting at home with Shen Miao.
While Chen Xiulan was talking, Yao Heng had already started putting pocket money into his pocket, preparing to take Shen Miao out.
"There are a lot of people at the temple fair. Go and see if Brother Nunhui is busy. If not, ask him to take you around." Chen Xiulan specifically told him before leaving.
"Yes, got it."
Following Yao Heng downstairs, Shen Miao had the illusion of returning to her childhood, and her steps couldn’t help but become brisk.
It was like the older brother in the village took his group of younger sisters to the temple fair. The brother would use his pocket money to buy colorful sticky candies and glass drums that made sounds when blown, and the younger sisters would obediently carry the toys bought by their brother and follow him closely.
"Is there a temple fair in your village?"
"Yes, there are a lot of people."
"You also have a ring there? A lucky draw?"
"Of course, we also have people who set up stages to perform operas and perform monkey shows."
"Of course. I thought the village on the edge of the city was too far away and there was nothing there."
"You're wrong, it's because it's so remote and big that there's so much to do!"
It has only been half an hour since the two of them met, and Shen Miao discovered that Yao Heng is actually a more interesting person than Chen Xiulan.
He was just like Chen Xiulan, he couldn't stop talking once he started. Hearing him chattering non-stop, Shen Miao, who always thought she was talkative, actually felt a little introverted at this moment.
I haven't met such an interesting person for a long time. Chatting with him, I feel my mood has improved.
As we approached the main street of the village, the crowds gradually became more crowded.
"Follow me closely, there are many people ahead."
"Go ahead, I'll follow you."
Shen Miao tried hard to keep a distance of one meter between herself and him, but if she took a step slower, someone nearby would push her away.
Seeing that the distance between Shen Miao and himself was getting farther and farther, Yao Heng simply turned around, grabbed her arm and pulled her in front of him, "You go forward, I'll follow you from behind."
Yao Heng was not very tall, only about 1.75 meters, and when he put on his high-heeled sneakers, he was only a little taller than Shen Miao. But when he protected her and walked forward little by little, Shen Miao felt that his figure seemed to have become much taller.
There was a faint smell of laundry detergent on Yao Heng's body, which was a lemon scent. After being exposed to the sun, there was still some residual warmth from the sun, which was warm and very comfortable to smell.
Plop, plop…
Well, this feeling was so strange, he was clearly only two months older than herself, but Shen Miao couldn’t help but want to look up at him.
Especially when he put his hands on both sides of his body to prevent others from touching him in the chaos, I couldn't help but want to curl up in his arms like a quail.
"Miaomiao?"
Because he was so close, his voice became a little deeper and more attractive.
"Hmm?" Shen Miao turned her head slightly to look at him, "What's wrong?"
Yao Heng: "Let me perform a magic trick for you."
"magic?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yao Heng raised his hand and placed it on her head, then muttered quickly, "Look, it's snowing heavily~"
Shen Miao: …
Looking at the dandruff scattered on his shoulders, at that moment, Shen Miao felt that from a certain social perspective, he was probably dead, not too dead, just slightly dead.
But since I'm going to "die" anyway, it shouldn't be too much to stab him while there are so many people around!
Walking south across the main street, Yao Heng brought her to a large store.
"Brother Hou, I'm back!"
Glancing at the temporary worker sitting in front of the cashier watching over the store, Yao Heng casually grabbed a bag of chocolates on the shelf and opened it as if he was in his own store, only taking one from it and stuffing the rest into Shen Miao's arms.
Shen Miao: ???
Not to mention that you know Monkey King, even if you know the Jade Emperor you can't do this in someone else's store, right?
Wait, the money for this bag of chocolates...
"Okay, you sit down first. I'm sorting goods in the warehouse and will be out soon." He heard someone calling him, and a very steady voice came from behind the door at the end of the store.
"middle."
After hearing the answer from "Brother Hou", Yao Heng became even more unscrupulous. Although winter was about to come, the weather was hot these two days, especially at this time close to noon, the temperature was above 20 degrees. He picked up a bottle of lychee-flavored soda from the shelf, opened it, raised his head and drank two gulps, then handed the opener to Shen Miao.
"Pick a bottle and drink it. Don't be polite. Just treat this place as your own home."
Shen Miao was not shy, but after all, she did not know this "Brother Hou", so she could not take things from the shelf as calmly as he did, "No, no, I drank a little too much water just now, I am not thirsty now."
Yao Heng saw that Shen Miao was a little embarrassed, so he didn’t force her.
"That's right."
As soon as he finished speaking, he ran from the food area to the daily necessities area, and after turning back again, he saw that Shen Miao had something in both of her hands, so he stuffed the small thing into Shen Miao's pocket.
“What is it?” Shen Miao didn’t see it clearly, she only glimpsed that it was cylindrical.
"Lip balm," Yao Heng continued to drink the bottle of lychee soda in his hand, "You are a doctor, so you have to talk to people all the time. Lips tend to get dry in the winter, so just put on some lip balm and your lips won't get chapped."
I didn't expect him to be so attentive...
Looking down and glancing at the pink part sticking out of his pocket, Shen Miao had to admit that she was really moved by him.
"Strawberry flavor, it suits you very well."
Pursing her lips, Shen Miao was secretly glad that she had not revealed her intention to stab him just now. Just as she was about to say thank you to him, Yao Heng unexpectedly added, "You have a big mouth, remember to apply it a little thicker."
Shen Miao: …
It's too early to regret, I should have done it earlier...
After waiting outside for a few minutes, I finally met this "Brother Hou".
He was a sturdy man who looked to be in his thirties. Perhaps he was too tired from working in the warehouse, so he was only wearing a white vest. The hot sweat soaked the edge of the vest, and the bronze skin underneath could be vaguely seen.
He has a good figure. He looks very tall at 1.84 meters tall, with the outline of his abdominal muscles faintly visible. Whoever sees him for the first time will not be able to help but stay for a few seconds. His appearance is not particularly outstanding. His facial features are regular, not particularly eye-catching, and he has no flaws. He is just ordinary.
"You are such a bandit. You came to rob me as soon as you got back."
When passing by Yao Heng to pick up his clothes, Brother Hou ruffled his hair like he was teasing a child, "Who cut your hair? It's so ugly."
"You know shit," Yao Heng pushed his hand away unhappily and rearranged his hair, "This is called bangs, it's very fashionable, right?"
Seeing that Yao Heng was still with this girl, Brother Hou asked him while putting on his clothes: "Who is this..."
"My aunt's girl from Qinghe Village should be called sister."
The two of them clearly have no relationship at all, but when Yao Heng said it, it sounded like she was his real sister.
Without waiting for Shen Miao to introduce herself, Yao Heng took the initiative to introduce this Brother Hou to her, “This is Hou Wentao, just follow me and call him Brother.”
Hou Wentao's mother and Yao Heng's mother are good sisters. His mother is a dozen years older than Chen Xiulan, so Hou Wentao is also a dozen years older than Yao Heng.
Hou Wentao's mother passed away a few years ago, but the two families have never lost contact.
Hou Wentao's family runs a store, and Yao Heng's father is a transporter between the two provinces. Sometimes he would bring some fashionable things from the south to sell, so the two families had intersections not only privately but also in business.
The mothers are friends and they grew up together, so their relationship is like that of brothers.
"Oh! I was so busy going out to attend the meeting that I forgot to bring you the book!"
When Yao Heng saw Hou Wentao recording the list of goods entering the warehouse in the notebook, he remembered that he had forgotten to bring him the book.
Hou Wentao didn't study well when he was young, and only realized the importance of studying when he grew up. So after Yao Heng went to college, he would often ask him to help borrow books from the library to study.
"It's okay," Hou Wentao put down the ballpoint pen and picked up the coat beside him and put it on. "Take your sister out to play first. I'll go get it from your house in the evening when I'm free."
Before leaving the house, he also ran to the daily necessities section of the supermarket and took out a hairpin and handed it to Shen Miao, “Here, it’s windy today, put it on your hair so it won’t get messy.”
“Thank you, Brother Hou~” Shen Miao accepted his kindness and smiled sweetly in return.
What a coincidence, the strawberries he gave me were also pink.
When the three of them went out together, Yao Heng was on the left and Hou Wentao was on the right, protecting the little princess in the middle like a knight in a fairy tale. In fact, Shen Miao did enjoy the treatment of being held in the palm of her hand like a princess.
"Do you want to eat some? I'll buy you some."
"Please buy a little bit, or you won't be able to finish the rest."
"Would you like to play ring toss? I think that rabbit is pretty good-looking."
"Yes, let's try ten circles."
"This little gadget is very well made. Buy a few and keep them at home."
"Okay, just buy one."
Walking from the east end to the west end of the main street, Shen Miao's mouth never stopped eating. She ate a lot of special snacks freshly made by the vendors, taking a bite of each. She gave the leftovers to her two brothers.
She had more and more things in her hands, and her two brothers helped her carry what she couldn't carry.
From the beginning to the end, Shen Miao didn't pay a penny, Yao Heng and Hou Wentao paid for everything. To be precise, it should be Hou Wentao who paid for everything, because Yao Heng had too many things in his hands and couldn't take out money from his pocket.
With them playing with her, Shen Miao really felt like she was back in her childhood.
She had always dreamed of having a brother or sister. Now, when her two brothers held her on both sides to watch the opera on the stage, she felt that her fantasy seemed to have come true...
This was the happiest day Shen Miao had this year. She was so happy that she forgot that she was still regretting about He Shengwei in the morning, and even the topic of her conversation with Wang Dongmei on the way home in the evening was about these two brothers.
Shen Miao returned with a full load from today's trip to Yu City.
There were a lot of little gadgets bought from the temple fair, lipsticks, snacks, and her favorite pastry. Oh, and there was also a little white rabbit that she caught when playing ring toss. The basket was full, and there was also a small jar of Chen Xiulan’s homemade pickled garlic on the back seat.
Sitting in the yard tidying up the cage she had made for the little white rabbit, Shen Miao's good mood for the day was written all over her face.
"Did you go to the He family today?" Shen Wanshan asked when he came back from the clinic.
“No, we just chatted on the roadside and left,” Shen Miao replied casually, “They didn’t want too many people to know, so I didn’t ask too many questions. It’s enough for them to know that they misunderstood us in the beginning.”
When it came to He Shengwei's matter, Shen Miao had only told Shen Wanshan about it. She had wanted to gossip about it with Jiang Xiaozhen, but after thinking about it carefully, this was someone else's sore spot after all, and it would not be good to bring it up openly, so she gave up.
Seeing that there was a rabbit at Shen Miao’s feet, Shen Wanshan asked again: “Where did this rabbit come from?”
“My brother Yao Heng got it. His family had no place to keep it, so he gave it to me.” Shen Miao felt very proud when she mentioned this brother she had just met.
"Yao Heng?"
After she finished packing and came out of the house to prepare dinner, Wang Dongmei replied for her: "Chen Xiulan's is small, about the same size as Miaomiao's."
Speaking of Chen Xiulan, Shen Wanshan couldn't remember who she was for a moment, and only when he mentioned that she had come to eat Shen Miao's hundred-day banquet did he barely have some impression of her.
A few days ago, Shen Miao said that she was going to Beiguan Village to attend a fair. It turned out that she was talking about her home.
After putting on her apron, Wang Dongmei asked curiously, "Miaomiao, how was your time at the meeting today?"
“It’s pretty good,” Shen Miao was busy weaving the bamboo basket, “Yao Heng doesn’t have any other problems except that he’s a bit mean, and Brother Hou doesn’t talk much, but he’s a nice person.”
Seeing that Shen Miao had a good opinion of Yao Heng, Wang Dongmei smiled and said, “That’s fine, I think that girl is not bad either, she has education and looks good, Beiguan Village is not far from here, it would be nice to marry her there.”
Shen Miao: ???
"Ah? Who do you believe?"
"Yao Heng."
Shen Miao was even more confused: “Who would believe him?”
Wang Dongmei didn't react either: "Isn't it you?"
"Who told you I should believe him?"
Wang Dongmei asked back, "If you don't want to believe it, why did you drag me to their house today?"
Shen Miao: …
Who said that going to someone's house means wanting to get married? She just wanted to eat melons!
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