"I said the same thing. It's easy for adults, but it's so uncomfortable for kids when they get prickly heat. It can last for days." My cousin-in-law came in carrying an electric fan.
"No need, sister-in-law, you can take it back." Qin Xiaoyu waved her hand repeatedly.
“I told you, we’re all adults, it’s fine. Don’t make the child feel wronged. You can’t decide this!” My sister-in-law plugged in the electric fan and turned it on.
"Alright, is that better now?" Tang Wenwen tried to climb back onto the kang (heated brick bed).
"Go sleep in Madam's room." This time it was Grandma Hanhan who spoke, and she walked in with a stern face.
Tang Wenwen was a smart woman. She glanced at Qin Xiaoyu with sympathy and had no choice but to go out with her cousin-in-law.
"Mom, just say what you want to say." Qin Xiaoyu was also a little unhappy.
"You know these people are foul-mouthed and mean-spirited. You can't listen to what they say outside. No matter what, you're an innocent person. You should restrain yourself and not give them anything to gossip about." Grandma Hanhan has always been a unclear person and has never spoken fluently. I can tell that it was taught to her by her mother-in-law.
"Mom, I haven't done anything wrong, so you don't need to worry."
"How can you not feel guilty? We know how the Zhou family treats Hanhan and her brother. You can't do anything to betray the Zhou family..."
"Mom, stop talking, I'm tired." Qin Xiaoyu lay down and turned her back to Grandma Hanhan.
These words are so hurtful. Does she think she's inferior? Is falling in love with the Zhou family's son a betrayal of the Zhou family? She looks down on her own people first, and then expects others to say nice things about her?
Grandma Hanhan stood in the middle of the ground for a while, then sighed heavily and walked out.
Qin Xiaoyu felt a mix of emotions. She had given her all for this family, but now they weren't on her side and were criticizing her along with outsiders. They were definitely not family.
She wiped away her tears for a while, but she was too tired from the day, and drifted off to sleep.
She woke up a little late in the morning, ate something quickly, and then took the things to the car.
The car was parked at the entrance of the alley. When she got closer, she noticed something hanging on the car door. Upon closer inspection, she saw it was a pair of worn-out cloth shoes, dirty and tattered.
She picked up a twig, lifted her shoe and threw it aside, when she suddenly heard someone laughing behind her.
When I turned around, the group of children scattered like a hornet's nest, one of them yelling, "Slut!"
Qin Xiaoyu felt a chill run down her spine. She understood what Grandma Hanhan was worried about; the situation was far more terrible than she had imagined.
"What's wrong?" Tang Wenwen came over with her two children, but she was too late to see the show.
"It's okay, get in the car."
"Sister-in-law, can you take me to get a pair of pants like yours made? They're so pretty."
"No way, I can ruin the family reputation on my own, don't add you to it." Qin Xiaoyu skillfully reversed and started the car onto the road.
"What are you saying? Besides, do you think I'm afraid of being gossiped about?"
"You're not afraid, but I am. I'm afraid Grandma Hanhan will come after me." Qin Xiaoyu gave a wry smile.
She first sent the two children to the Zhou family's house. As soon as she entered, she felt that something was wrong. She was inexplicably nervous. The guards were busy with something, running around up and down the stairs.
"Little Fish, come here." Zhou Xing's mother called her aside.
"Auntie, what happened?"
“Your Uncle Zhou’s troops are about to go south, and Zhou Xing has already reported there. I’m so worried…” Zhou Xing’s mother’s hands gripped the back of the chair tightly, her knuckles turning white.
"It's alright, nothing will happen, Auntie, don't worry." Qin Xiaoyu comforted Zhou Xing's mother, and also comforted herself. Unconsciously, tears welled up in her eyes.
"Good boy, of course everything will be alright. You go ahead and get busy. I heard you're opening a new school. It's perfect that they're not causing any trouble at home, so both of these little darlings are mine now."
Zhou Xing's mother was very considerate of Hanhan's feelings. She knew he would be reluctant to part with his grandfather, so unlike her usual indifference towards him, she took his hand first.
Qin Xiaoyu was very pleased to see this. She felt ashamed when she recalled that she had said the Zhou family treated the two siblings like pets.
As Qin Xiaoyu left the military region, she saw soldiers rushing about all the way, which made her feel uneasy. She really wanted to see Zhou Xing as soon as possible and hear him say something.
But judging from Zhou Xing's mother's tone, he had already left, meaning he had once again left without saying goodbye.
Qin Xiaoyu felt a pang of disappointment.
"Little fish."
Qin Xiaoyu looked up and saw Staff Officer Zheng standing not far away, tentatively calling her name.
"Staff Officer Zheng, are you going too?"
“Of course, our entire command will be there,” Staff Officer Zheng said with a smile.
Qin Xiaoyu noticed that one of his hands was still in his pocket. She was also flustered and didn't want to talk anymore, so she smiled and said, "Take care."
"Wait a minute," Staff Officer Zheng finally mustered up the courage to call out to her.
"Is something the matter?" Qin Xiaoyu stopped.
"Take this to Hanhan. I made it a while ago, but Hanhan doesn't need it. It's not really of any use to me if I take it. You can give it to him for me." Staff Officer Zheng placed a bullet casing that was still warm from his body into Qin Xiaoyu's hand.
The cartridge case was processed and made into a small peeling knife, with the edges finely polished.
"Thank you," Qin Xiaoyu whispered to Staff Officer Zheng's retreating figure.
Construction has already started on the new school. This time, unlike the military region's houses, there are many areas that need repair. She has entrusted the entire project to Captain Chen, but there are some areas that require her supervision, so she spends most of her time there.
She first had someone set up a telephone so that she wouldn't have to run back and forth just to pass on a message.
At lunchtime, when the workers needed to eat, she and the trainee who had come to help stewed a large pot of green beans and potatoes, with some pork belly added.
"Principal Qin is so generous. You can keep doing this job. I have meat with every meal, and I don't even want to go home for dinner anymore," one of the workers joked, making everyone laugh.
The phone rang, its sound deafening in the empty building.
Qin Xiaoyu rushed over, answered the phone, and was stunned for a moment. It was Qi Si.
"Come quick! Come to my shop, the new shop!" Qi Si said angrily, and hung up the phone before Qin Xiaoyu could ask any more questions.
Judging from his tone, he must have something urgent to do, so Qin Xiaoyu hurriedly went out and drove to Qi Si's new store.
A waiter was waiting at the door. When Qin Xiaoyu jumped out of the car, he pointed upstairs.
She ran up to the top floor in two strides, and as soon as she reached the top of the stairs, she heard singing coming from the private room. The singing was so awful that it could only be Zhou Yue.
"Stop singing, little sister, have some tea, oh dear!" Qi Si was pressing the crazy Zhou Yue back into a chair.
"Sister Xiaoyue, you're back from Guangzhou? What happened? Brother! Why did you force-feed her!"
"Oh dear, sister, are you being reasonable? I'll force her to drink? Am I crazy?" Qi Si was sweating profusely and cried out anxiously.
"Then how did she get so drunk?" Qin Xiaoyu's eyes widened.
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