Chapter 9 Wen Xiaoxiao has changed
Zhao Qingda got up early in the morning, didn't even bother to wash his face properly, put on his clothes and went out, without even giving Wen Xiaoxiao, who was cooking porridge in the kitchen, a glance.
"Aren't you going to eat breakfast?" Li Yugu called out as he came out of the west wing.
"I'm not eating, I'm in a hurry!" Zhao Qingda said before he had already left the courtyard.
At the station, Wang Juan had prepared hot soy milk and fried dough sticks as usual. When she saw him arrive, she went up to him and casually brushed off non-existent dust from his shoulders.
With her gentle words and attentive manner, Zhao Qingda felt completely at ease in the presence of this sensible and capable woman.
Li Yugu felt resentful because neither his son nor his daughter-in-law wanted to see a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. He also felt that Wen Xiaoxiao was not proactive enough, and thus harbored some resentment towards her, which made his expression rather unpleasant.
Wen Xiaoxiao pretended not to see anything, ate breakfast, sat by the window, picked up the crochet hook, and mechanically repeated the movements, like a delicate doll without a soul.
The sunlight shone on her, but it couldn't penetrate her dim eyes.
Zhao Fei went to the pig farm. Another batch of adult pigs was going to be sold today, and he had to keep an eye on the weighing and accounting.
After the pig truck left, he settled the workers' wages and listened to their joyful thanks, which finally gave him a sense of peace.
Zhao Qingda began to escalate his behavior, going from occasionally staying out all night to disappearing every few days.
He returned in the middle of the night, smelling of alcohol and perfume, and fell asleep immediately, leaving early the next morning.
Even the slow-witted Li Yugu sensed that something was wrong.
That evening at dinner, she finally couldn't hold back any longer and put down her chopsticks to ask, "Xiaoxiao, what has Qingda been busy with these past few days? Why haven't we seen him around?"
Wen Xiaoxiao's voice carried a cold, defiant tone: "I don't know. How would I know anything about his affairs?"
This attitude infuriated Li Yugu, but he couldn't vent his anger; instead, it turned into worry.
The next afternoon, she went to the station where her son drove his sports car.
Before I even got close, I saw Zhao Qingda's minibus parked in the same spot.
The driver's cab door was open, and a woman with curly hair and brightly colored clothes was sitting diagonally on his lap, one arm around his neck and the other hand stuffing an apple into his mouth. The two of them were laughing so hard they were doubled over, their intimate posture was glaringly obvious!
Li Yugu's mind went blank for a moment, and blood rushed to his head!
She had lived most of her life and had never seen her son behave so improperly!
He immediately disregarded all pretense of saving face, rushing over in three strides and pointing at the woman, yelling, "Where did this shameless vixen come from! Seducing someone else's man in broad daylight! Get down here!"
Wang Juan was startled and quickly jumped off Zhao Qingda's lap, trying to explain, "Auntie, please don't misunderstand, I was just joking with Master Zhao..."
"Pah! Who's your auntie! You think you can just sit on my lap like that? You slut!"
"You shameless bastard! Is this how you behave? How can you face Xiaoxiao? I'll beat you to death, you shameless thing!"
Having no weapon in her hand, she pinched and slapped Zhao Qingda, who was forced to cover his head and dodge the blows. People around them were already pointing and whispering.
Seeing that things were not going well, Wang Juan quickly slipped away.
Li Yugu was exhausted and panting. Looking at his son, he was both angry and heartbroken, and tears were about to fall.
"Mom! Haven't you made enough of a scene?!" Zhao Qingda, unable to save face, growled in a low voice, "People will laugh at us!"
"You still know how to laugh?!" Li Yugu pounded his chest and stamped his feet. "Come home with me right now! If you dare to associate with that vixen again, I...I'll break your legs!"
That day, Zhao Qingda was dragged home by Li Yugu by the ear.
Back home, Li Yugu closed the door and launched into another tirade of crying and scolding for his son, while Zhao Qingda remained silent, his neck stiff.
Finally, Li Yugu wiped away his tears and warned in a low voice, "I'm telling you, Zhao Qingda, break up with that bastard woman right now! Live a good life with Xiaoxiao! As for Xiaoxiao... I'll keep it from you for now, but you better keep a low profile!"
She dared not tell Wen Xiaoxiao about it, fearing that the family would truly fall apart.
Seeing her son's stubborn and unyielding attitude, she felt utterly exhausted.
He returned to his room, rummaged through drawers and cupboards, found the money he had saved, and went to the east wing.
Wen Xiaoxiao was staring blankly out the window.
"Xiaoxiao," Li Yugu said, stuffing two hundred yuan into her hand, his tone softer than ever before.
“Take this money. Go shopping tomorrow and buy yourself a couple of nice outfits. Look at you, so young, always dressed so drab. Go to the hair salon and get your hair permed; that's all the rage in the city now. Dress smartly, and you'll feel better.”
Looking at the money in her hand, Wen Xiaoxiao suddenly understood everything.
She didn't ask where the money came from, nor did she ask her mother-in-law why she was suddenly being so generous.
She simply gave a slight smile and said, "Thank you, Mom."
The next day, Wen Xiaoxiao actually took the money and went to the street.
Without hesitation, she went into the department store and picked out a light purple polyester shirt paired with navy blue polyester trousers. The fabric was crisp, and the style was much more fashionable than what she usually wore.
She went into the hair salon again and asked the stylist to give her a trendy wavy perm.
She stared at herself in the mirror for a long time, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
In the evening, she returned to the courtyard house wearing new clothes and sporting her newly permed hair.
As soon as they entered the alley, they came across several old ladies sitting under a tree enjoying the cool shade; these were the same women who were there to arrange marriages for Zhao Fei.
When they saw Wen Xiaoxiao, their eyes widened, but they didn't dare to recognize her immediately.
"Oh my, this is... Xiaoxiao?" an old lady asked tentatively.
Wen Xiaoxiao nodded lightly, said nothing more, and walked straight over.
Behind me, I heard the elderly women whispering in hushed tones, "My goodness, she looks so beautiful all dressed up!"
"He should have dressed like this a long time ago!" "Now that kid Qingda should settle down, right?"
Li Yugu was picking vegetables in the yard when he looked up and saw his daughter-in-law looking refreshed. He was taken aback for a moment, then a look of satisfaction appeared on his face, and he said repeatedly, "Good, good, this is good, you look great!"
Just then, the old ladies from the alley entrance strolled over, led by Aunt Liu, who was quick to speak.
She first praised Wen Xiaoxiao a few times, then pulled Li Yugu aside and whispered, "Yugu, about the marriage proposal I mentioned to you last time, I've already spoken to the girl's family. They know Feizi has a pig farm and is well-off, so they're very happy! What do you think, why don't we find a day to let the two of them meet? Just like inviting each other over for a visit. If it works out, great; if not, it won't hurt any feelings. Feizi has suffered so much these past years without anyone to care for him."
Li Yugu was somewhat troubled: "I've mentioned this to Feizi, but he's always worried that the stepmother will treat the child badly, so he won't budge. It's going to be tough."
"How will we know if we don't meet? What if the child hits off with the other person?" Aunt Liu urged. "Look at Yidi, he's getting sensible. We can't let him stay a bachelor for the rest of his life, can we?"
Li Yugu was persuaded and nodded: "Then... I'll talk to Feizi about it later."
Just as they were whispering, the gate to the courtyard opened, and Zhao Fei returned on his bicycle.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, his gaze swept across the area as usual, then suddenly fixed on the figure washing rice at the kitchen door.
The afterglow of the setting sun fell perfectly on Wen Xiaoxiao, giving her newly permed curls a soft, warm golden hue.
The light purple shirt accentuated her long neck, and the lines of her profile appeared exceptionally soft in the light and shadow.
She bent slightly at the waist, revealing a small section of her fair nape, and her navy blue trousers hugged her straight, long legs.
She was like a beauty from a magazine, no! More vibrant and more... breathtaking than the people in the paintings.
Zhao Fei felt a sudden "boom" in his head, and his heart skipped a beat.
He held onto the bicycle, completely forgetting what his next step was.
His mind went blank, with only one thought remaining: How...how can she be so beautiful?
Wen Xiaoxiao seemed to sense something, raised her head, and looked at the courtyard gate.
When she met Zhao Fei's burning eyes, which she understood, she hurriedly lowered her head while holding the rice bowl, but her ears slowly blushed uncontrollably.
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