After the little party, while her two older sisters were busy, her grandmother would take her to stroll through the streets and alleys, chatting with the old neighbors. At this time, there would be many children around. Although she didn't want to play with these little brats, she thought that this was her own circle, and she could only communicate with them on her own.
She was patiently playing in the mud with them, touching the grass and picking flowers, but as she played, she started to doze off. She couldn't help it; it was too boring. She couldn't communicate with them either, and she would cry at the slightest thing. Even though she hadn't done anything, they ran to her grandmother to complain. When everyone looked at her, she just shrugged, speechless.
“I didn’t do anything to him. He was the one who didn’t squat properly and sat on the ground with his butt sticking out, which is why he cried.”
The grandmother didn't care about any of that. If her precious grandson cried, that was her problem. She didn't give the grandmother any face at all and started cursing at her.
"You, an adopted child, dare to bully my precious grandson? Who do you think you are? Xiao Hu, hit her! Make her push you! If she hadn't pushed you, would you have fallen? It's all her fault! Hurry up, what are you standing there for? Hit her!"
Her grandson was about the same age as her, but she could already speak, while the child could only utter single syllables and often didn't speak. Only when his grandmother pushed him too far would he walk towards her with a flushed face, glare at her with his little almond-shaped eyes, put his hands on his hips and grind his teeth at her.
"You dare touch me? Tell your grandma, was it me who pushed you? How did I touch you? Tell me! This old lady is being unreasonable, are you unreasonable too? Tell your grandma whether I touched you or not!"
They were playing fine at first, but now the old lady is yelling over there. Xiao Jiu isn't backing down either. She puts her hands on her hips and glares fiercely at the child. Although she knows it's wrong, like an adult bullying a child, she's a child too. The old lady isn't being polite to her, so why should she be polite to them?
Sure enough, when she said that, the little boy was so frightened that he cried and fell into the old lady's arms. The old lady was furious and reached out to push her away, but the old lady slapped her away.
"What are you doing? Why are you hitting me? Did I hit your grandson? How dare you hit my granddaughter? There were so many people watching just now. It was your grandson who squatted on the ground. My granddaughter explained it to you clearly. Why do you say we hit you? Which eye of yours saw us hit you? And you keep saying we were adopted. You're the one who was adopted!"
As soon as Grandma finished speaking, the old lady opposite her turned ashen-faced: "Tao Langtou's (Grandpa's nickname) family, who are you calling an adopted child?"
Upon hearing this, Grandma realized that the old lady had been adopted as a child bride in her younger years, and she was six or seven years older than her husband! Had this touched a sore spot?
She immediately laughed: "What, Guangxing, you said my child was found, but you can't say yours was found too?" Grandma played a game of cat and mouse with her words.
"Don't change the subject. Don't think I don't know what you mean. You actually think highly of a worthless girl you picked up off the street. Let me tell you, letting my grandson play with her is doing her a favor. Don't be so conceited. She'll still get married in the future. Not only will you have raised her for nothing, but you might even have to pay her out of your own pocket!"
Grandma gave her a nonchalant look: "Then you don't need to worry about her. Once she's in my family, she's my granddaughter. Unlike you, who have so many filial granddaughters but don't know how to cherish them, you spend all your time taking care of this precious grandson, as if no one else has a grandson. Tch, Jiu'er, let's go home and not play with them anymore."
"Okay, Grandma, I won't play with her little tiger anymore. That grandma is too fierce and not kind at all. My own grandma is the best. Don't worry, Grandma, I will definitely be good to you when I grow up, because you are good to me too."
"Oh my, this little mouth of yours, how can you be so good at talking? It really warms Grandma's heart. Come on, Grandma will take you to buy some malt candy."
"Then I'll save one for my brothers too,"
"You, you're always trying to please people, why didn't you give any to Grandma!"
"I remember Grandpa said that Grandma can't eat sweets. We'll give her candy when she can eat them again."
Grandma Tao paused, then squatted down in disbelief: "You know that? Where did you hear that from?"
“I heard Grandpa and Grandma talking,”
"Oh my, my little darling, come here, let Grandma hold you. You're such a wonderful little thing, so clever!"
Grandma Tao excitedly picked up Xiao Jiu, and the two greeted the people around them affectionately before leaving. As they left, they didn't even glance at the old lady and her grandson. When the people around them tried to call them back, they were persuaded by the others.
"Alright, Mr. Shen, stop being unreasonable. That girl really didn't touch your grandson. You can't teach your child like this just because you're jealous of her. If he becomes as unreasonable as you, see if your son will blame you for leading him astray in the future."
"I'm jealous of her granddaughter? Bah! Which eye of yours saw me being jealous? Explain yourself clearly. If you don't, you're not leaving today."
“Fine, I’ll say it. Do you think I’m afraid of you? If you’re not jealous, I’ll take your surname. Your grandson can’t say anything. Look at that other kid. You’re the same age, but he’s clever, speaks clearly, and can even reason with you. Your grandson, all he does is cry. Even though he hasn’t said anything, he’s quite good at framing people. He’s obviously not as good as that kid. Is that your reason for being jealous? Is that clear enough?”
"If that's not enough, let me mention a few more. You and Yingzi have been competing with each other all these years, as if no one knows. You compare your husbands, your sons, and now you're comparing your grandchildren. Don't you get tired of it? On the other hand, Yingzi has never been so vengeful. If she were really vengeful, she would expose all the things you've done over the years. When you get old, you'll still be embarrassing yourself on this street. So, don't be ungrateful. When you get old, you have to learn to be content."
Xiao Jiu was naturally unaware that after they left, several people who disliked the old lady said a few words to her, which made her quite angry, so she took her grandson home.
Anyway, she was quite happy today. Her grandma took her to the peddler to get an egg, which they exchanged for a bag of maltose candy. The peddler gave her one, and she ate it with such joy that her mouth stretched to her ears. She then helped her grandma move a stool and peel garlic, making her grandma beam with delight and praise her for being so sensible.
Actually, she knew that it was because she behaved well today and didn't make her grandmother feel ashamed. After all, fights between children are the most difficult to handle. If she were cowardly, her grandmother would feel ashamed. Now, it was the old lady's grandson who was cowardly. Moreover, not only did she not do anything wrong, but she also argued with the old lady, which made her grandmother feel proud.
Look how capable my granddaughter is, she definitely deserves a reward!
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