"What are you saying? Erdan is a little brat, then what are you and the boss? Big brats?"
"Pfft!" Qian Xiao couldn't help but laugh.
The old lady turned around and patted her granddaughter, saying, "What are you laughing at? Can't you see I'm trying to be nice to you? You're still laughing at a time like this. No wonder the eldest daughter-in-law wants to beat her granddaughter all the time. She's just too infuriating."
Li Guizhi was also helpless: "Mother, you just spoil her. Sooner or later she'll cause trouble."
The old lady didn't like hearing this: "I only have this one granddaughter, so what if I spoil her a little? Besides, isn't this child doing this for the family? Otherwise, she's just a little girl who can go out and play all day. Why would she need to go into the mountains and desperately bring food home?"
"Besides, I've already talked to Erdan, and she promised not to go to the old forest anymore. Alright, go do what you need to do, but you can't keep thinking about hitting my granddaughter."
After saying that, the old lady took Qian Xiao's hand and went into the main room. "This brat, if she doesn't hide quickly, who will care if she gets beaten up later?"
Qian Xiao helped the old lady into the house and sat her down, then fawned over her by massaging her shoulders: "Grandma, can we talk about this? Can we stop calling you by your nickname from now on?"
"What, you don't like the nickname Grandma gave you? You don't know that your name has a great history. Just look, because of your birth, several of our children are twins. Go out and ask around, who doesn't envy our family? You are our family's golden egg, and this name is just right."
Qian Xiao silently rolled her eyes in her heart. She had been hearing these words since she was old enough to understand, and she could recite them backwards.
There's a story behind why a girl like Qian Xiao has such a nickname.
According to her grandmother, when she was born, the whole family waited anxiously in the yard because she was the first child of the third generation in the family, so she naturally received a lot of attention.
Even Grandpa's two older brothers came over to wait together, thinking that when the youngest brother's first grandchild was born, the whole courtyard would be filled with people.
Just as her mother was struggling to give birth to her, two old hens suddenly appeared at the door of the delivery room.
Ah yes, right at the doorway of my mother's house, the moment she started crying, the two old hens clucked and each laid an egg.
In her grandmother's words, those two warm, round eggs were laid together, accompanied by my granddaughter's loud voice. What does that mean? It means that those two eggs were my granddaughter's birth eggs.
A sudden inspiration struck the old lady, and the phrase "two dragons playing with a pearl" came to mind. She slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "My goodness, this has a wonderful meaning! Our granddaughter's nickname will be Erdan (Second Egg)!"
Every time the old lady mentioned this, Qian Xiao wanted to remind her grandmother that the saying "two dragons playing with a pearl" refers to two dragons playing with one pearl, but in this case, it's two pearls and one person, so how can they mean the same thing? But she didn't dare, afraid that the old lady would get angry.
Anyway, from the time she was little, whenever her grandma told this story, she would get angry at anyone who disagreed. It was a typical one-man show. Anyone who said something contrary to the story was a class enemy, not even her own old man.
Qian Xiao never understood how the two companion eggs, from the two dragons playing with a pearl to the two eggs finally coming together.
If it weren't for her father being a soldier and an educated man, her full name would probably be Qian Erdan (meaning "Second Egg of Money"). If that were the case, she would definitely let everyone know what the Angry Chicken looks like.
It's strange, though. Ever since she was born, all the younger brothers born to her family have been twins. It's said that her grandparents and their ancestors for five generations didn't have twins.
Her grandmother said this was the blessing she brought; she was the biggest lucky charm in their Qian family.
Her recollection ended there, because the aroma of the pot of meat on the table kept wafting into her nose, and she almost couldn't help but drool.
The old lady saw that everyone was seated and said, "This meat was brought back by Erdan. You must remember Erdan's kindness after you eat it. If it weren't for Erdan taking care of things, would we be able to eat meat several times a year?"
"Eldest son's wife, second son's wife, and third son's wife, tomorrow you each take a piece of meat back to visit your mother. Alright, everyone, let's eat."
Every day at the Qian family's meals, instead of listening to the old man's slogans, you have to listen to the old woman's nagging. But everyone is used to it and no one finds it strange. The old man usually doesn't talk much, but when he does open his mouth, no one dares to disobey.
The old lady picked out a few pieces of meat from the middle bowl and put them in her eldest granddaughter's bowl before starting to eat her own, afraid that her granddaughter would be left out. Actually, although it was a big bowl of meat and vegetables, there was more vegetables than meat; who would be willing to eat only meat?
However, the Qian family has a good atmosphere, and the old lady has a keen eye for choosing daughters-in-law who are easy to get along with. No one really cares about these things. As the only girl in the family, Qian Xiao is the most favored one.
Li Guizhi touched her daughter's flushed face as she slept, her face full of affection. Although she was the one who scolded her daughter the most, she was also the one who doted on her the most. After all, this was her first child, and a good child who knew how to care for others.
Her husband is in the army and might not come home for three to five years at a time. If it weren't for her daughter constantly distracting her, she would probably be heartbroken. But because of this mischievous girl, she's turned a shy person into something almost like a shrew.
She sighed, covered her daughter's belly with the blanket, and then lay down to sleep.
...
On the riverbank, Qian Xiao lay on the grass, his legs crossed and swinging back and forth. A large leaf covered his face to shield him from the sun, and he had a blade of grass in his mouth. He looked like a dishonest person.
Suddenly, Qian Xiao sat up and glanced at the river. The homemade fishing rod stuck in the riverbank was being pulled so hard it was almost pulled out. She quickly ran over, picked up the fishing rod, and started playing the fish, letting out a strange, gurgling laugh.
This fish looks huge; it's definitely enough for their whole family to have a meal. She's focusing all her attention on the fishing rod right now, worried that it might get away from the hook and that the big fish she finally managed to catch would escape. She'd be heartbroken if that happened.
From the bushes not far behind, a few teenagers were hiding and watching ahead: "B-Big brother, are you really going to make a move? What if... what if we get beaten up again?"
Speaking of Wang Xuewen, he gets so angry. Last time he was beaten up and came home with a bruised and swollen face. His grandparents and mother were heartbroken. He immediately complained that Qian Erdan beat him up for no reason, just to get his parents to settle scores with him.
When his father came back and heard that Qian Erdan had beaten him, he shook his head and said there was nothing he could do, and even said a few sarcastic things to him.
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