Because Zhuang Zhimeng was haggling with an older woman who insisted on bargaining, they went back and forth for a long time, which took up too much time. When she got back, it was already past the end of the workday.
An Qingbai finished work early. When he got off work, he went to look for Zhuang Zhimeng, but she wasn't there. He figured she must have gone to town and hadn't returned yet, so he went home, got on his bicycle, and prepared to go meet her.
Zhuang Zhimeng was riding her bicycle near the village entrance when she encountered An Qingbai, who had come to pick her up out of concern.
An Qingbai saw Zhuang Zhimeng first, so he stopped his bicycle and waited for her to ride over.
Zhuang Zhimeng also saw him, quickened her pace, and rode up to him.
"Brother Qingbai, are you here to pick me up?"
"Yes, I came back from work and saw you hadn't returned from town yet, so I came out to greet you!"
"Let's go back then!"
"good!"
Since the weather warmed up, there have been many people chatting under the trees at the village entrance. Some people even squat under the trees with their bowls in their hands at mealtimes, chatting while eating.
There were a few people sitting under the tree. Zhuang Zhimeng didn't want to become the subject of their conversation, so she deliberately didn't ride alongside An Qingbai, but rode behind him.
Two bicycles rode past the village entrance one after the other, and they still became the center of discussion.
This time, Wang Zhaodi sat with Li Qiulian and Zhao Jinhua. She watched Zhuang Zhimeng and An Qingbai ride past them and sighed.
"Zhuang Zhiqing and An Laosan each rode a bicycle, and they looked so well-matched!"
Li Qiulian looked up when she heard what Wang Zhaodi said, and nodded in agreement.
"It really is true! Their backs look so... what's that word again?"
Zhao Jinhua also turned her head to look over, and she thought of a word she had learned in a literacy class.
"harmonious?"
Li Qiulian slapped her thigh.
"Yes, yes, that's the word, it's very harmonious!"
Then he asked Wang Zhaodi, "Did those two go to town to play today?"
Wang Zhaodi shook her head.
"No, I saw An Laosan go to work. It must be Zhuang Zhiqing who went to town!"
Zhao Jinhua asked curiously, "Then why did they each ride a bicycle back from outside?"
Wang Zhaodi arrived early and saw An Qingbai riding his bicycle out, so she told them.
"You arrived late and didn't see An Laosan riding out of the village entrance. He finished work early today, so he's probably going to pick up Zhuang Zhiqing!"
Li Qiulian also remarked with a sigh, "Their relationship is quite good!"
Wang Zhaodi then gossiped with them, "That's right, I've seen them riding the same bicycle several times! They were chatting and laughing, their relationship was incredibly good!"
Zhao Jinhua laughed and continued gossiping with them.
"How could it not be good? Zhuang Zhiqing is spoiled rotten by An Laosan. You know what happened a while ago? An Lao Nian asked An Laosan for the rabbit, but no matter what An Lao Nian said, he held onto the rabbit and wouldn't let go, saying he wanted to take it back to Zhuang Zhiqing!"
When Wang Zhaodi heard her mention An Laonian, she quickly looked around, then turned back and patted Zhao Jinhua with a smile.
"What do you mean, 'Old Man An'? If he heard that, he'd be furious. People tell us to call him by his full name, An Shitou! All he ever says is 'Don't call me Old Man An'! Calling him 'Old Man An' makes him sound old, he's only in his forties!"
Li Qiulian couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm used to calling him that. With his shameless, scoundrel-like appearance, he deserves to be called 'Old Man'!"
Zhao Jinhua covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing too loudly when she heard the rumors, before complaining to them.
"Nobody in the village is as difficult as him! There's nothing he can't get, he always uses the same old 'persistent pestering' tactic. In the end, he fell for Zhuang Zhiqing's tricks, and I heard he was quite frightened by Zhuang Zhiqing!"
Wang Zhaodi and Li Qiulian both knew about the rabbits, but they didn't know about the frightening incident! They urged Zhao Jinhua to tell them.
Zhao Jinhua cleared her throat and recounted the story.
"I heard that Zhuang, the educated youth, picked up a pebble from the side, put it in his left hand and then in his right, and after kneading it, the pebble crumbled into pieces. It scared An Laonian half to death!"
Li Qiulian shook her head.
"That old man An is so foolish. Of all people to go to, he had to go to An Laosan. Has he forgotten how strong Zhuang Zhiqing was? It's perfectly normal for someone who can lift a wild boar to break stones!"
Wang Zhaodi stood on Zhuang Zhimeng's side.
“I think Zhuang Zhiqing did a good job. He should be scared like that, otherwise he’ll be so shameless and won’t listen to anything I say. I’ve been asked for things by An Laonian before, and I learned my lesson!”
Li Qiulian smiled and patted her on the shoulder.
"You call him 'Old Man An' yourself! Be careful he doesn't hear you!"
Wang Zhaodi also laughed.
"Haha! You've really gotten used to it! You really need to change this habit! Otherwise, if he hears it, he'll never stop!"
Li Qiulian and Zhao Jinhua both nodded with smiles, agreeing that it definitely needed to be changed!
Once they were far from the village entrance, Zhuang Zhimeng finally breathed a sigh of relief. Whenever she was with An Qingbai, everyone's attention would be drawn to them.
An Qingbai saw her breathe a sigh of relief and smile.
"Zhizhi, you're still not used to it? You always get so nervous every time you ride your bike past the village entrance!"
Zhuang Zhimeng shook her head repeatedly.
"I can't get used to it! I didn't even need to guess to know they were talking about us!"
An Qingbai then talked to her to distract her!
"Don't you often sit under the big tree? I've never seen you nervous!"
"It's different. And it's not nervousness, it's embarrassment. I don't feel it myself, but I feel embarrassed when people talk about me when I'm with you!"
"What's there to be embarrassed about? They're just talking because they think we have a good relationship. They envy us!"
"I don't have your thick skin. Can't I be thin-skinned?"
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