Chapter 16
On the way back, Chu Jiujiu was in a state of deep thought.
When pushing open the Zhang family's gate, Chu Jiujiu was distracted and didn't notice that there was someone behind the gate. She pushed it in, and the gate hit the hip of the person opposite.
Niu Ailing felt pain and said, "You are going to die!"
Chu Jiujiu came to her senses, blinked, and immediately retorted even more fiercely than she had, "You're the one who wants to die! If you're not broken, don't cry out in pain. If you're screaming so loudly, if my ears get damaged, I'll cut off both of your ears and steam one and braise the other!"
Niu Ailing: “…”
Chu Jiujiu stood there, waiting for Niu Ailing to lose her temper, but Niu Ailing looked at her with gritted teeth for a while, then finally grinned, pushed her away and walked out.
?
Changed sex?
——
That night, Niu Ailing came home late at night. The first thing she did when she got home was to drink three jars of water. After she was finally full, Zhang Qingguo came out of the house. He was not wearing any clothes on the upper body, only shorts on the lower body, and looked like he had not woken up yet.
He first glanced towards the cabin, then lowered his voice and asked, "Why did you just come back?"
Niu Ailing wiped the sweat off her face and whispered in the same voice, "It's settled. They said they'll come to see us the day after tomorrow. You stay in the fields and watch over Dad and my second brother. Don't let them come back."
Zhang Qingguo was shocked. This woman is really good and has the potential to be a human trafficker. It has only been a few days and she has already found a buyer.
"Why is it so fast? Is it reliable?"
"Absolutely reliable! That man has a stupid son who's already twenty years old and can't find a wife. He lives in a mountain valley fifty miles away. If Chu Jiujiu goes there, she can't get out. I talked him into it for two hundred and twenty yuan. I told him to pack up the day after tomorrow, and he came over to take a look at her and take her home directly."
Oh my god!
Two hundred and two!
Zhang Qingguo was fascinated by what he heard. "No, would Chu Jiujiu be willing to follow me?"
Niu Ailing rolled her eyes and said, "If she doesn't want to, knock her out and see if she's willing. Okay, come in and I'll tell you in detail."
After saying that, Niu Ailing pushed Zhang Qingguo, and the two of them rustled into the house. Chu Jiujiu was lying on the straw and heard the noise, but she couldn't hear it clearly. She turned over and fell asleep again in a daze.
The next day, Chu Jiujiu was out of character and did not run out early in the morning. Niu Ailing was also out of character and did not go back to her parents' home after dinner. Instead, she sat at home quietly.
Mrs. Zhang looked at her daughter-in-law inside the door, then at Chu Jiujiu outside the door, and secretly said that it was a demon causing trouble. Surprisingly, she did not curse at anyone, but went back to the house and lay down.
Zhao Shiliu: “…”
One by one, two by two, what's going on?
Mrs. Zhang was feeling unwell today, with a headache, and she didn't have the energy to curse anymore, so she simply went back to her room to sleep. Zhao Shiliu washed the dishes and left again. Chu Jiujiu stayed at Zhang's house, leaving Niu Ailing as the only person she could criticize.
But Niu Ailing didn't know what was going on. No matter how Chu Jiujiu provoked her, she didn't get angry. She even smiled at her, which made her feel uneasy, as if she wouldn't live long.
The enemy didn't accept the challenge, and Chu Jiujiu found it boring, so she simply went to play with Han Shengyi.
Chu Shao no longer went to the lotus pond. He was working in the fields, and other villagers were there. Chu Jiujiu didn't like being stared at by so many strangers, so she never went to the fields. Chu Shao didn't want her to go either. If she was asked about something secret, it would be bad.
After walking around the hillside and picking a few fruits, Chu Jiujiu walked towards the vegetable garden.
The probability of encountering a pheasant is really too low. Most of the time, Chu Jiujiu can only pick a few fruits. Now that the sun is out, she can't even pick mushrooms. She shared the fruits with Han Shengyi. Chu Jiujiu took a few bites and was about to stand up to find some water to drink when Han Shengyi handed her a bamboo pot.
Chu Jiujiu took it and asked, "What is this?"
She opened it and took a sip. The familiar taste made her answer earlier than Han Shengyi, "Is it honey water?"
Han Shengyi nodded and said, "Grandma made it for you."
In fact, it was Grandpa Han who brewed it, and it was Grandpa Han who asked him to give it to Chu Jiujiu. But for some reason, Han Shengyi attributed all these actions to Grandma Han.
Chu Jiujiu took several sips and said with emotion: "It would taste better if lemon was added."
Han Shengyi asked: "What is a lemon?"
"It's a very sour fruit, extremely sour. If you eat it directly, it will make your tongue sour."
Chu Jiujiu couldn't help shaking her head when she recalled the experience of stealing fresh lemons when she was one year and eight months old.
Han Shengyi looked at her. Is she so sour?
After thinking for a moment, he said, "How about using bayberry instead?"
Chu Jiujiu looked up and asked, "Aren't bayberries sweet?"
She had only eaten sweet bayberries cultivated modernly and had no idea that bayberries could also be sour.
Han Shengyi curled his lips slightly, "Well, some bayberries are very sour, perhaps even sourer than the lemons you mentioned."
What are we waiting for? Chu Jiujiu always says what she means, so she immediately stood up and said, "Let's go find Yangmei."
It turns out that some bayberries can really replace lemons.
Wash the bayberries, squeeze out a little red juice and drip it into the soaked honey water. Chu Jiujiu tasted it first and found that the taste was a bit familiar, like a variant version of sour plum soup, but much sweeter than sour plum soup.
Smacking her lips, Chu Jiujiu stood on tiptoe and passed the bamboo pot to Han Shengyi's lips. "It tastes pretty good, Brother Shengyi, try it."
Han Shengyi tasted it and praised it again, but no matter what he ate, he would praise Chu Jiujiu. After a while, Chu Jiujiu knew that he was just being polite and didn't necessarily like it. But this time, after praising it, Han Shengyi picked a lot of bayberries, which seemed to indicate that he really liked it.
Because this bayberry is too sour, it has been growing here all this time. The fruits fell to the ground and rotted, and no one came to eat them. Now finally someone who knows its value has come. It's really not easy.
Chu Jiujiu helped him pick them and also actively contributed recipes. "Wash the bayberries, add salt and soak for half an hour, then add water and rock sugar and simmer on low heat until they turn deep red. They are ready to eat."
After she finished speaking, she paused and said, "Rock sugar can be replaced with honey, right? They are both sweet, and a good companion for cooling off in the summer~"
Han Shengyi was silent. He found that Chu Jiujiu always said some sentences that were not in her style, as if she had memorized them in advance. Some of them were okay, but some were particularly incongruous.
When they were going down the mountain, Han Shengyi, holding a bunch of freshly picked bayberries, suddenly asked her, "How was your relationship with the Zhang family yesterday?"
Chu Jiujiu: "It's still the same as before, no changes."
Han Shengyi's slightly tense fingers relaxed.
After saying those words yesterday, he returned to the bullpen and tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He felt a sense of regret. Although Chu Jiujiu really wanted to move out, this method was still too radical. Chu Jiujiu seemed to be a person of measure, but if she didn't grasp the scale, and if the Zhang family ignored it, the consequences would be disastrous.
The more he thought about it, the more Han Shengyi felt that he shouldn't have said those words. Chu Jiujiu was not him. Sometimes, he couldn't use his usual way of dealing with things to solve her problems.
Everything should be as usual. It seems that Chu Jiujiu didn't understand what he said.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at Chu Jiujiu. Although sometimes he felt that Chu Jiujiu was quite precocious, after all, she was still a child.
Out of some hidden sense of guilt, Han Shengyi took the initiative to mention it for the first time, "The bananas are ripe. I'll bring them to you for lunch tomorrow."
Chu Jiujiu was delighted when she heard this. "It's already known. If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten about it."
Han Shengyi smiled and reminded her: "It will rain tomorrow, don't go too far."
Chu Jiujiu opened her eyes wide, "How did you know?"
"My grandfather has rheumatism. He's been in pain for two days and hasn't had a bowel movement. He should have a bowel movement tomorrow."
When he said this, Han Shengyi looked up at the sky, with a hint of doubt in his expression, as if asking why it hadn't rained yet. Apart from that, there was no other emotion.
Chu Jiujiu: ...So, grandpa’s rheumatism is just a barometer?
——
It’s amazing that Grandpa Han’s forecast was really accurate. The next morning, it was a sunny day, but after a while, a cool breeze blew and the sky became cloudy.
But the dark clouds hadn't come yet, so everyone continued to work without any rest.
Niu Ailing almost had a heart attack because of the weather. She waited at the village entrance early in the morning. Fortunately, the man kept his promise and came.
Of course, selling a child cannot be done openly. Niu Ailing brought the man into the village through a small path. If she was seen, she would say that the man was her eldest brother from her mother's family.
The man was in his forties, and standing next to the older-looking Niu Ailing, they really looked like a pair of siblings.
Niu Ailing has sent Mrs. Zhang to Zhao Shiliu's house. She said that Zhao Shiliu has been secretly eating delicious food at home recently. Given Mrs. Zhang's personality, she will definitely search Zhao Shiliu's house inside and out before coming back.
After returning home, Niu Ailing hurriedly asked Qiuhua to find Chu Jiujiu. Coincidentally, Chu Jiujiu was near Zhang's house. She remembered what Han Shengyi said and did not go far.
Qiuhua came to find her and said that there were guests at home and asked her to go back. Chu Jiujiu didn't think much about it and really followed Qiuhua back. However, halfway through, the more she thought about it, the more strange it felt. "You have guests at home, why do you want me to go back?"
Qiuhua is two years younger than Chu Jiujiu, but seeing the maturity of a child who is not even five years old, she said, "Mom said she came to see you."
Chu Jiujiu frowned, thinking it was a relative of the Zhang family who had come to see Zhang Fengjuan after hearing she had a new daughter. After walking a few steps, Chu Jiujiu glanced at Qiuhua beside her and noticed her mouth was constantly moving. She was holding a dirty piece of candy, and her fingers would occasionally poke it in. Chu Jiujiu immediately moved aside a little in disgust.
She said speechlessly: "Just enjoy the candy. I know your family is poor, so there is no need to show it in your eating manners."
Qiuhua retorted, "My family is not poor. We have plenty of money."
Blow it.
Chu Jiujiu looked unconvinced.
Qiuhua had a candy in her mouth and spoke incoherently, "I'd be lying to you, little dog. I have two hundred yuan at home. Have you ever seen two hundred yuan? Poor bastard!"
Qiuhua didn't learn much else from Niu Ailing, but she did know a lot of curse words. Chu Jiujiu didn't see that she was lying, so she said, "Two hundred yuan, that's a lot! Where did your father get so much money?"
Zhang Qingguo is a genuine farmer. If he has 200 yuan, it is definitely not earned by him. Chu Jiujiu just asked casually. Everyone has luck. Maybe Zhang Qingguo just found a doghouse.
Then, Qiuhua's next words shocked her.
"I got it from my aunt's house. It's in a red box, and it costs two hundred yuan. It's all at my grandmother's place. What belongs to my grandmother is mine."
so……
The doghouse Zhang Qingguo stole was hers?!
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