After lunch, and after coaxing the two little ones to take a nap, Xu An finally had a moment of free time.
I moved a rocking chair and sat under the longan tree in the yard. The tree was already laden with small fruits, and we would be able to eat them in two months.
A gentle breeze made Xu An feel drowsy, and just as he was about to fall asleep, the courtyard gate was suddenly pushed open with a bang.
A stocky boy with a buzz cut, wearing a floral shirt and coconut tree print shorts walked in and shouted loudly, "Xu An, Xu An."
Xu An was awakened by the series of noises. When he saw that the person who came was his childhood friend Xu Heping, he muttered angrily, "Why aren't you taking a nap at noon? What are you howling about?"
"I just got back from Grandma's house and heard you were in trouble. It scared me to death." Xu Heping pulled up a chair and sat down next to Xu An. "What happened?"
Xu Heping asked the same question in my past life. I've forgotten how I answered back then, but it eventually turned into a scene where Xu Heping would bring over two fish every now and then, claiming it was for food.
Xu An lowered his voice again as he spoke, afraid that Grandma Xu would hear: "I just went down to the river to catch some fish, but I didn't expect the water to be so cold that my foot cramped. It's nothing serious."
"Hey, if you want to eat fish, just tell me, and I'll go to the pond and catch a couple for you."
“The fish in your pond are raised by your family for business, while the fish in the river are raised naturally. They are different.”
"You don't eat it every meal. What's wrong with eating two fish every few days? I have no problem with it, so why would you have a problem with it?"
Xu An was speechless at Xu Heping's words, because Xu Heping had actually done just that in his past life.
"No way, don't do that, or your parents will get annoyed whenever they see me."
“What’s so annoying? They’re always talking about how good your grades are, how capable you are at work and how good you are at taking care of the family. They’re practically praising you to the skies. They wish we could switch places and that you were their son.”
Xu An smiled but didn't reply. He pushed off with his right foot, and the rocking chair began to sway back and forth with a creaking sound. Fortunately, Xu Heping was easygoing; anyone else would have developed a rebellious attitude and started to dislike him.
Xu Heping looked at Xu An, then suddenly leaned close to his ear and whispered, "I heard something at my maternal grandmother's house that has something to do with your aunt."
"Little Aunt Xu Juan?" Xu An immediately perked up, turned to look at Xu Heping, and waited for him to continue.
Xu Heping cleared his throat in a pretentious manner, and just as Xu An was getting impatient and considering whether to give him a chokehold, he finally spoke mysteriously.
“There’s a sorceress in my maternal grandmother’s village. Many people who can’t have children or want a son go to her. A few days ago, I saw your aunt and a few strangers go to the sorceress’s house.”
The fortune teller said your aunt is destined to be childless, and if she wants a child, she must first adopt one to break this fate. As long as she treats that child well, she will be able to have her own child.
Xu An immediately understood.
Grandma didn't show up when she fell and got injured, nor when she went home for treatment. Almost a week has passed, and only now has my aunt shown up saying she wants to visit Grandma. It seems she's believed the fortune teller and is now after Xu Kang and Xu Le.
Xu Heping was still gossiping with great interest: "Your aunt has such high standards. There are a few orphans in my grandmother's village. She looked at them and thought they weren't suitable, and then she even found fault with them."
If someone speaks slowly, they're accused of stuttering, and people worry that their children will also stutter; if someone has a few moles on their face, they're called a pockmarked person; and if someone is malnourished with a large head and a small body, they're accused of having an infectious disease.
The matchmaker was so angry she kicked her out, saying she was destined to be childless. Your aunt immediately started arguing with her; if someone hadn't intervened, it probably would have turned into a fight.
This isn't about finding fault with others; it's about already plotting how to take Xu Kang and Xu Le away.
Although Xu Kang and Xu Le were also somewhat malnourished, their complexions were only a little sallow, but they were healthy and good-looking.
Compared to Xu Kang and Xu Le, the other children's noses and eyes are nothing special.
Whether it was a coincidence or not, in her previous life, her aunt had only been away from Xu Kang and Xu Le for two months when she found out she was pregnant. After becoming pregnant, she immediately asked someone to send Xu Kang and Xu Le back to the Xu family.
Xu Kang and Xu Le had just entered the door when their aunt tripped and fell, almost losing her baby.
They completely believed the fortune teller's words. In order for the child to be born smoothly, they took the two of them back and even registered the child's birth. From then on, nothing went wrong until the child was born.
Whether it's a coincidence or not, Xu An will never let his aunt take his younger brother and sister away in this lifetime.
As for whether my aunt can have her own children, that's none of my business.
Xu An kicked off with his right foot again, and the rocking chair creaked and rocked once more.
Before he could shake her twice, Xu Heping stopped him, looking at Xu An with a surprised expression: "Something's not right with you. You usually scold your aunt when she's mentioned, but why are you so quiet today?"
"You seem to have a lot of energy. There's too much clutter in the yard that needs to be cleared out. It's good that you're here to lend a hand."
As Xu An spoke, he went to the kitchen and took out two pairs of arm sleeves, tossing a pair of green ones with big red flowers printed on them to Xu Heping.
"You're really not being polite." Xu Heping took the gloves, his face full of disgust: "Your taste is so vulgar, bright red with bright green."
"It's a perfect match for your printed shirt and coconut tree printed shorts."
Xu An's house doesn't occupy a large area, but the yard is quite spacious, nearly sixty square meters. However, the yard is filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items, the most abundant of which are various kinds of firewood.
Xu An mostly gathered this firewood on his way home from school. When he got home, he had to cook, take care of his younger siblings, and study, so he didn't have time to deal with it and just piled it up haphazardly in the yard.
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