Chapter 210 Dong Xiaodi's Thoughts
"Sir, please leave it, I'll do it."
"Wow, that's really energetic! Being young makes all the difference!"
"I'm getting old. My old arms and legs are really too weak to carry this anymore." Ren Wenhua put down the water bucket and rubbed his aching back. He had to admit that since Dong Xiaodi started helping him carry the water, things had become much easier, and he had also changed his opinion of this burden from his daughter-in-law's family.
Dong Xiaodi eagerly picked up the bucket of water and said cheerfully, "Oh, no, sir, you're in your prime, not old at all. Isn't this giving us young people a chance to get some experience?"
"Haha! You're quite the talker, young man!"
"If my Yongsheng were as reliable as you, I wouldn't have to worry about anything!"
Dong Xiaodi humbly flattered, "What are you saying? My brother-in-law is a film projectionist, something everyone envies. He's so talented, and it's all thanks to your excellent teaching!"
"Haha, that's for sure!"
Ren Wenhua was flattered and became quite smug, his face beaming with joy, showing no trace of his initial disdain for Dong Xiaodi.
He now thinks the kid is decent, has some sense, is good at talking, is hardworking, and can help with chores around the house, so he's not bad.
The two walked home chatting and laughing, and anyone who didn't know the situation would really think they were a father and son.
After they left, a few middle-aged women murmured, "Look at this young man Dong, he's so hardworking and capable, and he's also very good with words. If it weren't for the fact that there aren't any suitable girls on my family's side, I would really like to introduce him to someone."
Another older woman said regretfully, "It's a pity that his family's conditions are a bit poor, otherwise I would have introduced him to my niece."
"That's right, my family is still a bit poor. We're all from the countryside, and I'm just a temporary worker."
Dong Xiaodi vaguely heard this, paused for a moment, but quickly continued talking to Ren Wenhua as if nothing had happened.
"..."
Yu Junsheng and Cheng Jiajia watched the whole process from the doorway, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Since Dong Xiaodi started working at the state-run restaurant, he has changed from being a nobody in the courtyard to being very active and enthusiastic about helping the elderly people in the courtyard with all sorts of small tasks, such as carrying water or moving a table. He would rush to do these things without anyone having to ask.
During this period of time, not only Ren Wenhua and his wife, but also the other neighbors in the compound have had a very good impression of this young man from the countryside.
Everyone thought he was warm, generous, simple, and kind.
Cheng Jiajia has heard several times that older women want to arrange a marriage for him.
With a "crack",
Cheng Jiajia put the sunflower seed shells in her pocket and asked Yu Junsheng, "What's this kid up to?"
She already showed her goodwill when she first arrived, so this sudden over-the-top attentiveness suggests she has some ulterior motive.
"Something unusual must be going on. Let's wait and see."
Yu Junsheng looked towards the porch with a half-smile, as Dong Xiaodi and Ren Wenhua's figures gradually disappeared from sight.
Anyway, it won't harm our own family.
However, according to his guess, this guy probably wanted to find a better wife in the city, which is why he was so attentive to the whole courtyard.
Judging from the fact that he rejected several people who had introduced him to potential partners, this guy probably doesn't even want someone with average means; he wants someone with exceptionally good qualities.
After all, there are precedents of men living off women in their neighborhood.
Sure enough, speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao appears.
The ultimate form of freeloading in their compound—the live-in son-in-law—Qi Baifan, carrying a bucket of water, limped over from the third compound.
They're obviously here to fetch water.
That's not surprising at all.
Since Qi Baifan married into the Bai family, he and Qin Weimin have taken turns fetching water for the Bai family. Sometimes, to show his virtuousness, Qi Baifan would even fetch water for Qin Weimin, so they often saw Qi Baifan carrying a bucket of water running over here.
Notably, Qi Baifan was walking erratically today, limping and occasionally grimacing, clearly in pain.
Anyone who didn't know better would think he and Bai Xiaohui were fighting in bed, cough cough...
In short, it is very intriguing.
And so, an older woman chuckled and joked:
"Hey, Xiao Qi, what's wrong with you? Did you get too carried away last night? You and Xiao Hui are still young, you should take it easy, there's plenty of time in the future!"
"That's right. You know, a slow and steady wins the race. If you don't cherish it now, you won't have it when you're older."
"Exactly, young people should be more restrained."
Qi Baifan's face turned pale and then red after hearing this.
This isn't about him and Bai Xiaohui at all...
But it was a difficult thing to say, and he was afraid that Bai Xiaohui would suspect something, so he could only awkwardly smile and explain to people, "Aunties, what are you talking about? I just accidentally fell yesterday."
"Don't say this in front of Xiaohui. She's easily embarrassed and can't handle this kind of joke."
The older women didn't really believe it.
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Really? It doesn't look like it to me."
"You won't be able to walk like that after you fall."
Qi Baifan didn't care whether they believed him or not; as long as he gave a plausible explanation, that was enough. He ignored the gossipy old ladies and went to the tap to get water.
Only Cheng Jiajia narrowed her eyes and stared at him for a while, before she inadvertently started to have the wrong idea.
Honestly, you can't blame her for this.
There have been precedents in the courtyard, which makes one wonder.
Thinking about how this person seemed to be getting quite close to Zheng Haiyang lately... Cheng Jiajia's thoughts grew increasingly wicked.
He asked with feigned surprise, "Hey Qi Baifan, where did you hurt your leg? It looks pretty bad. It's like what happened to Zheng Haiyang a while ago."
The mouths of everyone else in the courtyard were agape, wide enough to fit an egg.
No way, really?
Everyone's eyes immediately turned to Qi Baifan.
No way!
Qi Baifan froze instantly as he drew water, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.
Perhaps feeling guilty, she is now very sensitive whenever she hears Zheng Haiyang's name, always feeling that Cheng Jiajia is hinting at something.
His gaze towards Cheng Jiajia also carried a hint of displeasure.
"I just accidentally bumped my thigh on the table."
"Sister-in-law, what do you mean by comparing me to Zheng Haiyang?"
Cheng Jiajia raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is that so? That's good. I was just worried about you two. What would Bai Xiaohui do if something happened to you? I didn't mean anything by it. I was just using it as an example to show my concern for you."
"What happened to Zheng Haiyang this time?"
Yu Junsheng immediately defended his wife and retorted, "That's right, how can you be like this? My wife is just concerned about you, so what about Zheng Haiyang?"
"Does mentioning Zheng Haiyang mean I look down on you?"
"Does Zheng Haiyang know how much you look down on him?"
Qi Baifan: "..."
No, when did he ever say he looked down on Zheng Haiyang?
Before Qi Baifan could react,
Yu Junsheng shouted loudly towards the west wing opposite, "Zheng Haiyang! Zheng Haiyang! Come out here! Qi Baifan looks down on you! He thinks that comparing you to him is an insult to him!"
"Zheng Haiyang, come out here right now! Qi Baifan says he looks down on you!"
"Zheng Haiyang, Qi Baifan looks down on you!"
Qi Baifan: "!!!"
No, no, he didn't!
Damn, how can these two talk so much?!
He's furious!
Even if you wanted to argue with them, two against one, you couldn't win.
Ahhh!
...
I didn't! I didn't!
Don't talk nonsense!
"When have I ever looked down on anyone! You're slandering me!"
Qi Baifan's eyes reddened with excitement as he loudly retorted.
He really didn't expect Yu Junsheng to suddenly do this, and he wished he could go up and cover Yu Junsheng's rotten mouth.
Director Wang is still relying on Zheng Haiyang, so if Zheng Haiyang finds out that I've been talking about him like that outside...
Qi Baifan felt a turmoil in his heart.
Why couldn't I resist saying something?
Just then, the west wing door slammed shut, and Zheng Haiyang walked out with a sullen face.
Qi Baifan suddenly became a little nervous.
He quickly explained, "Brother Haiyang, Yu Junsheng is just talking nonsense. I've never said anything bad about you, let alone looked down on you. Don't be fooled by him!"
Zheng Haiyang glanced at him expressionlessly.
He then shifted his gloomy gaze to Yu Junsheng.
"What happened?"
Yu Junsheng wasn't afraid of him at all, and even raised an eyebrow at him, "Haiyang, look, I spotted this kid's weird behavior right away and let you know. How about that? Don't say I'm not loyal!"
Qi Baifan: "..."
Ahhh, he didn't!
Zheng Haiyang replied calmly, "Oh, then should I thank you more?"
He knew Yu Junsheng all too well; this was the same tactic he used on Director Wang that day.
Yu Junsheng chuckled, "It would be best to bring two more cans of milk powder for my daughter."
Zheng Haiyang: "..."
He almost failed!
Damn, that's shameless!
This guy is a tough nut to crack. Zheng Haiyang ignored him and turned to Qi Baifan instead, "Xiao Qi, isn't your family waiting for water? What are you standing there for?"
idiot!
What are you still doing here? Are you afraid that these people won't find out about your business?
Qi Baifan suddenly realized that he shouldn't have argued with Yu Junsheng.
"Oh, right, my family is waiting for water, I'll be going now."
Before leaving, he didn't forget to "explain" to himself, "Junsheng, you and your wife shouldn't talk nonsense again next time!"
Zheng Haiyang glanced at Yu Junsheng, then went home and closed the door.
He has no time to argue with Yu Junsheng right now.
...
After everyone dispersed, Sun Ling, who had been watching from the corner for a while, immediately followed.
Behind Qi Baifan, Sun Ling looked at him with concern, "Brother Baifan, are you alright?"
She didn't believe Cheng Jiajia's words at all. What did she mean by Qi Baifan being like Zheng Haiyang? Everyone knows what kind of person Zheng Haiyang is. He's the kind of guy who can't resist sex with men. Her Baifan brother isn't that kind of person!
As for the claims made by the older women that she got hurt while having a sexual encounter with Bai Xiaohui in bed, she was even less likely to believe them.
I saw Bai Xiaohui this morning. She was walking perfectly fine. It can't be that when these vixens fight, the women are fine, but the men are lame, right?
Therefore, Sun Ling firmly believes that Qi Baifan accidentally injured his leg.
Right now, she's looking at Qi Baifan's leg with great concern.
Qi Baifan asked impatiently, "What could be wrong with me?"
"Didn't I tell you not to come looking for me again?"
"We've both gotten married now, so let's just live our lives peacefully and not come looking for me anymore."
Sun Ling was incredulous.
Tears instantly welled up in her eyes as she looked at Qi Baifan with a wronged expression.
“Brother Bai Fan, that’s not what you said before. You clearly said that once I married into this family, we could be together more often.”
"I married Zhu Ziqiang by some twist of fate because of you, how can you say such a thing?"
Otherwise, why would she need to marry Zhu Ziqiang, an old man with two children in tow?
How could he do this?
Qi Baifan was feeling unwell and irritable, and he was even more impatient with dealing with his old flame, Sun Ling. "You said it yourself, it's all in the past. You had a child before, so I had to take responsibility for you. But now the child is gone, and you've married someone else. I have no responsibility or obligation to you anymore. Let's both look forward and live our lives well."
"For our own good, don't come looking for me again."
He paused, then said, "We did have some happy times together, don't force me to break ties with you."
How could Sun Ling possibly agree?
In her view, Qi Baifan was responsible for her current predicament, but now he just wants to walk away?
impossible!
-----------------
"Son, what's going on outside?"
"What did I hear? Qi Baifan saying bad things about you?"
As soon as Zheng Haiyang returned, Chang Dafeng jogged over to ask him.
"It's nothing, don't worry about them."
Zheng Haiyang said casually.
Zheng Haiyang doesn't care about the people in the courtyard anymore.
His focus is on Director Wang. It won't be too late to deal with Yu Junsheng after he's completely aligned with Director Wang.
His treatment at the factory hasn't been restored yet, so we can't rush things.
Chang Dafeng's eyes flashed. "Tell your mother, what's going on between you and that Qi Baifan? Why did you speak up for him just now?"
She doesn't know her son well enough. If Qi Baifan really said something, she certainly wouldn't be without resentment, let alone speak up for him.
Zheng Haiyang figured they were all family and there was no point in hiding anything, so he told Chang Dafeng about Director Wang's situation.
Chang Dafeng's eyes flickered.
"So you've gotten back in touch with Director Wang through that kid Qi Baifan?"
Zheng Haiyang responded.
"Um."
Chang Dafeng patted Zheng Haiyang on the back with delight.
"Son, I knew you were smart!"
Chang Dafeng was genuinely happy!
It's not just because their family can benefit from Director Wang's influence.
Even more so because...
These past few days, Chang Dafeng hasn't dared to go see Ma Gaosheng, because she's afraid he might really go all out and drag her son down with him.
Haiyang's job is the family's only source of income right now. If something happens to him, will the mother and son starve?
But things are different now.
Now that her son has reconnected with Director Wang, what is she afraid of?
Moreover, she also has dirt on Ma Gaosheng.
Chang Dafeng smiled smugly.
Ma Gaosheng is quite audacious. Not only does he have affairs, but he's also involved in speculation and profiteering. No wonder his family seems to have an endless supply of money.
They didn't even offer to give them some of the money they had.
Their family had been struggling financially for more than half a year.
Chang Dafeng thought with envy.
She had some reservations before, but now she's not afraid at all!
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