Looking at her mother's sallow face, Su Xueli said guiltily, "Mother, I made you and Father lose face in front of others. You didn't sleep well all night. Go back and catch up on your sleep."
Liu Fengying patted her daughter's head and said, "Things have come to this point, so there's nothing more to say. Your father and I are fine, so don't overthink it. There's still a lot of work to do at home, so I'm going back now. You stay here, and I'll come and keep you company tonight."
Su Xueli refused again: "Mom, you don't need to come and keep me company tonight. I have Dahuang. Don't come here too often and people will find out. I'm just hiding here for peace and quiet."
Liu Fengying thought about it and agreed, saying, "That's fine too. Your grandfather is very angry today, and his chest hurts. Your father and I will have to stay with him tonight."
Su Xueli said, "Then you should comfort my grandfather. If he scolds me, don't defend him. Let him scold me as much as he wants, so that he can feel better."
Liu Fengying reluctantly agreed.
After her mother left, Su Xueli rested for a while before preparing to cook for herself. After eating, she took a nap and then started doing straw weaving.
The sun was shining brightly, so Su Xueli moved a chair over and sat down to bask in the sun.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the alley, and a woman's voice rang out: "You idiot! All you know how to do is catch fish! The water in this ditch hasn't even thawed yet. Do you think your fish father or mother will come out and catch you?"
Then came the "thump-thump" of footsteps.
Curious, Su Xueli opened the courtyard gate to look. "Whoosh!" A thin man ran past her, followed closely by a woman with a stick in her hand.
Several people were standing in the alley. One of them shouted at the woman, "Auntie, stop hitting him! He's a grown man, people will laugh at us!"
The woman with the stick said, "He's afraid of being laughed at, so he doesn't go fishing... I'm busy selling breakfast at the market, and he's out fishing. If I don't hit him, who should I hit?"
Just as the man was about to be caught up, he suddenly took a different approach, grabbing a tree and scrambling up it.
The woman could only wave her stick under the tree, unable to reach it, and could only yell and curse.
At this point, the neighbors gathered around and advised the woman to let it go. They said that killing someone is just a matter of beheading, and that she had already driven him to this point. They felt sorry for the man and suggested that she let him off this time.
The seemingly fierce woman suddenly burst into tears, saying aggrievedly, "I spared him, he's pitiful, but who pities me? I get up at four o'clock to set up my breakfast stall at the market, I cook my own spicy soup and steam my own buns. He's so good, he sleeps until the sun is high in the sky and then gets up to go fishing in the ditch, wasting half the day... When I get back, I still have to cook and do laundry for the children and take care of him. I'm his maid, I deserve to take care of him..."
The man in the tree retorted, "I just have a backache, I can't do heavy work, so if I go catch fish, won't you eat them?"
The woman jumped up and down, yelling, "I won't eat it! I won't eat it! If I eat your fish, your mouth, tongue, teeth, and throat will rot..."
"Oh dear, Auntie, stop yelling! The child is crying. Go back and comfort him!" an old woman advised her.
Su Xueli saw a four or five-year-old child standing and crying in front of a house in the alley.
The woman cried and dropped the stick, running over to comfort the child. Only then did the man slide down from the tree, not forgetting to pick up the stick his wife had dropped.
When Su Xueli saw him coming towards her, she quickly closed the courtyard gate and returned.
It was noon, so she went back to the kitchen to cook. She saw that her mother had brought her some fried dough sticks, which she liked. The fried dough sticks were crispy and fragrant when they were freshly fried, but they would become soft when they cooled down. However, they were also delicious when they were reheated in the pan.
Su Xueli likes to eat steamed dishes.
She thought she'd just make a few fried dough pieces and drink some hot water for lunch.
She was sitting in the kitchen eating the fried dough slices when suddenly her big yellow dog started barking wildly, followed by a startled scream that pierced her eardrums.
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