She went in, picked up Yiyi, and coaxed her, "Okay, okay, don't cry. You came to Auntie's house to play by yourself, have you forgotten?"
Yiyi wiped away her tears, wiped her eyes with her hand, and said, "It was Yiyi who came to Auntie's house to play."
Xu Lai nodded, helped her put on her shoes, then carried her off the bed and said, "It's almost dinner time now, your family will be worried about you. Tell Auntie where you live, and Auntie will take you home."
Yiyi led her outside, and Grandma happened to come back from outside. Seeing her leading a child, she asked in surprise, "Where did you bring this child from?"
Xu Lai laughed and said, "I don't know either, she came here on her own."
Yiyi wasn't shy at all and greeted her grandmother, "Hello, Grandma."
Grandma looked closely and felt that the child looked familiar, like the granddaughter of the old Sun family in front.
Xu Lai asked, "Grandma, do you know whose child she is? I need to take her back."
Grandma thought for a moment and said, "It should be from the Sun family, there's no mistake. I'll call his wife."
After Grandma finished speaking, she went back to her room to look through her notebook, where all the villagers' phone numbers were written.
She searched for a long time before finding it, and then pressed the buttons one by one with her old-fashioned mobile phone. Xu Lai looked at it with difficulty and said, "Grandma, let me help you press the buttons. Otherwise, with your reading glasses on, I don't know how long you'll have to wait."
When the call connected, Grandma said, "Old Sun's daughter-in-law, how did you raise your child? Your granddaughter is at my house."
Aunt Hongmei was frantic. She wanted to wash the bed sheets and blankets while Yiyi was asleep, but after she finished, Yiyi disappeared. She searched all the places Yiyi usually went, but she couldn't find her.
Hearing her grandmother's words, Aunt Hongmei felt relieved and said, "Auntie, I'm sorry to have troubled you. I'll come and pick her up right now."
Xu Lai overheard the conversation. She didn't know why Yi Yi had run out, but since she had met this little girl, it was fate.
Yi Yi likes to eat bread, so Xu Lai took a takeout box and filled it to the brim for her. She also took a few peaches and put them in a paper bag.
A little while later, Aunt Hongmei arrived. As soon as she came in, she said excitedly, "Why are you running around like that! You worried Grandma to death!"
Suddenly, Yiyi burst into tears. Seeing this, Aunt Hongmei became even more furious and slapped Yiyi's bottom: "Cry, that'll teach you to be disobedient. Will you run around again next time?"
Yiyi sobbed, "I won't run anymore, Yiyi won't do it again, Grandma, please don't be angry."
Seeing that her aunt had vented her anger, Xu Lai tried to smooth things over, saying, "Auntie, don't be angry. Yiyi is fine here with me. This is some bread I gave her. Take it back and give it to her."
Aunt Hongmei exclaimed "Eh!" and then stood up, actually bowing deeply to her: "Thank you so much! I'm so lucky to have met such kind people like your family, otherwise I don't even want to think about it..."
Xu Lai quickly bent down to help her up, saying, "Auntie, you're really making me feel bad. Please get up."
Xu Lai escorted them to the door. Zhao Qingyun had just gotten out of the car and looked at the situation with some confusion, wondering where the children came from.
Yiyi had walked quite a distance when she suddenly broke free from Aunt Hongmei's hand and ran back, hugging Xu Lai's leg.
Xu Lai quickly squatted down and asked, "What's wrong, Yiyi?"
Yiyi hugged her neck and said, "Auntie, can I come to your house to play again in the future?"
Xu Lai smiled, pinched her cheek, and said, "Of course you can. Auntie welcomes Yiyi whenever she comes. After all, our Yiyi is so cute, isn't she?"
Yi Yi blushed a little and covered her face. Xu Lai took her hand and said, "Yi Yi, next time you go out to play, you have to tell Grandma first, okay? Don't sneak out next time."
Yiyi nodded, then ran over to her grandma and waved to her.
Xu Lai smiled and said, "Go back now, see you next time."
Looking at the situation over there, Zhao Qingyun felt a part of his heart collapse. He felt that Xu Lai was at her most tender at this moment.
After everyone left, he approached Xu Lai and asked, "Did you get a free kid?"
Xu Lai rolled her eyes at him. This was the first time they had spoken since he had been so cold to her that morning when they greeted each other.
She adopted the attitude of "If you ignore me, I won't bother with you either," and went straight inside.
But after a while, she went into the next room with bread and egg tarts. When Grandma Jiang asked about the commotion, Xu Lai gave a brief explanation.
Grandma Jiang knew some of the details and said in a low voice, "The Sun family lost money in business before. Their son and daughter-in-law have been working away from home and only came back for a few days during the New Year. I guess Yiyi must have missed her mother, so she ran away."
Xu Lai asked, puzzled, "Why don't they find jobs in the county town, or even just leave one of them at home?"
Zhao Qingyun's voice suddenly came: "The economic level of our county is far from the standard of big cities, and how can a person support his family if he stays at home alone?"
Xu Lai couldn't refute it; she had also been a left-behind child, raised by her grandparents.
She fell into deep thought, and before leaving, she said to Grandma Jiang, "Grandma, don't give him any of this. Please keep an eye on him for me."
Grandma Jiang happily agreed. After Xu Lai's figure disappeared through the door, Zhao Qingyun reached out to take it, but Grandma Jiang snatched it away, saying, "Xiao Lai said she won't give you any."
Zhao Qingyun was quick-witted and grabbed a piece of bread, took a bite, and said, "I'm going to eat it even if you tell me not to."
The old lady laughed out loud: "Naive."
She sensed something was off; the two of them weren't usually this tense. So she asked, "What's wrong with you two? Did you have a fight?"
Zhao Qingyun clicked her tongue: "Grandma, didn't you realize she's giving me the silent treatment?"
Grandma Jiang shook her head: "I didn't notice."
Zhao Qingyun was getting frustrated, so she picked up another egg tart and said, "Fine, you're her soldier, and I'm fighting alone."
The old lady gave him a flick on the forehead, "Naughty."
When Xu Lai returned home, she was filled with many thoughts. She wondered if she could boost the village's economy, and if so, would any young people be willing to stay?
The country is now strongly supporting the rural revitalization strategy. If she were to participate, would it change the fate of the village?
She had only drafted a plan in her mind; the actual implementation would depend on future developments, but for now, the village's fruit had found a market.
In another month, the yellow peaches in the village will be ripe. She will see how much interest netizens have in buying them, and if possible, she would like to do live-streaming sales.
For dinner, Xu Lai had congee with preserved egg and lean pork. She was craving seafood. She remembered that someone had promised to arrange a seafood congee for her.
After dinner, she sat on the balcony to cool off, playing Snake on her tablet. She heard noises from next door, but she remained outwardly calm while secretly keeping an eye on what was happening.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
