The child's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Jian Dan, even reaching out his chubby little hand to cover his bottom and furtively backing away.
"No, no eating children, it doesn't taste good, we can't eat it!"
Just a moment ago she was affectionately calling me "Auntie," but now she looks at me like I'm the Big Bad Wolf, tightly covering her chubby little bottom and righteously refusing.
"No food!"
Mingzhu and Jian Dan were both stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
Simple tears streamed down her face from laughing. She couldn't sit still, so she leaned against the wall and vigorously patted the straw mat on the kang (heated brick bed).
"Oh my, this kid is so much fun!"
Ha ha!
"Eat meat, eat meat, hahaha!"
Mingzhu also wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye.
"Emma, kids are just kids, they're so easy to fool!"
You stinky ass, you can treat it like a treasure!
The little boy had a stubborn look on his face, and his little hands wouldn't let go at all.
"Mine, you can't eat it!"
The two of them burst into laughter again.
"Oh, Sister Zhuzhu, your day is so interesting! Just one sentence can make you laugh for half a day."
Mingzhu thought to herself, it was truly joyful, but also truly infuriating. Only a mother could understand this feeling. Such a small, soft little dumpling, who could talk, laugh, run, and jump, and now even amuse people. She was flesh of her own flesh, and just thinking about it made her heart melt.
"He's happy every day; you never know what he'll say next,"
As if to fit the mood, Xiao Huizhou suddenly blurted out another sentence from the side.
"Eat meat!"
Children are very good at reading people's expressions. Seeing the expressions on their mother's and aunt's faces, they figured the aunt wouldn't hurt their bottoms, so they immediately started acting cute again, throwing their soft little bodies into Mingzhu's arms and giving her a bunch of kisses, which completely charmed Mingzhu.
Even if they had any ideas, they would have surrendered long ago.
"Alright, alright, son, go play now. I'll cook for you when the meat is distributed, so you can eat your fill!"
The little guy slid down contentedly and then attacked the simple food. He knew that his aunt had a lot of delicious food.
Simple and without any stance, the child's innocent, big eyes just stared at her so pleadingly, and her heart melted completely.
"Oh, Zhouzhou, what do you want to say to your aunt? Do you miss your aunt?"
Come here, let your auntie give you a hug!
Seeing the two of them, one big and one small, snuggling together again, Mingzhu rolled her eyes.
"You two, that's enough. It's only been two days since you last saw each other, is it really necessary?"
"Lin Huizhou, why don't you just go back with your aunt?"
The two, one big and one small, didn't say a word, just chuckled in unison. Before Mingzhu could get angry and hit them with a broom, they quickly moved to the end of the kang (a heated brick bed), huddled together, and whispered to each other.
This was the scene that greeted Lin Dongfang when he entered. Frankly, he was already used to it.
"So these two are getting back together after being apart for so long?"
Mingzhu hummed softly.
"Isn't that right? Look at me, now I'm an outsider again."
"Oh right, no meat was distributed today? Weren't we supposed to be busy all day?"
"So that's how it is. There was a little accident just now, wasn't there? It caused a slight delay."
Then, the wind picked up outside, and the village officials discussed it and decided that one more day wouldn't make a difference; they would slaughter the pig tomorrow, distribute the meat immediately after slaughter, and prepare a stew at the village office.
Mingzhu was overjoyed.
"Should we spare those few, or kill them all?"
"When we handed in the task pigs, we sold three at once. There are two left. We said we'd slaughter them all to give the villagers some extra oil and fat."
"Sigh, we've eaten a lot of wild boar meat in the two years we've been here. Looking back, it seems like we've been relying on simple food all along."
Mingzhu pouted.
"Isn't that right? Every time it's been a huge donation. It's enough to feed the whole village meat."
"Huh? Jian didn't hunt wild boar this year, and nobody in the village said anything, right?"
Lin Dongfang's gaze was sharp.
"They've given them too much face. If they're so capable, they should go and fight back themselves. If they want something for nothing, they should have the attitude of taking advantage of it."
Back in spring and summer, some people might complain, but seeing those hoes and such, especially the tractor, they'd say how much effort was saved during the autumn harvest with all those gadgets. Who would dare say anything then?
Believe it or not, if someone said that the villagers could handle it themselves without us even saying anything, would that be enough?
After a moment's thought, Mingzhu understood.
"That's true. Unless you're stupid, who would realize that Jian Dan is a real gem?"
When people have nothing to eat, we simply find them something to eat.
Others eat wild vegetables, they eat wild boar meat.
While others were still working hard, Liujiatun finished its work and rested, yet they received every last grain they were entitled to.
With such a treasure, who wouldn't secretly cherish and fawn over it?
"Yes, that's right. Regardless of sincerity or pretense, nobody's stupid. Who can give endlessly and whether they'll get anything in return is another matter. If someone still treats you like a fool, then they're the real fool."
"Fool!"
The child suddenly sat up straight and clearly uttered those two words again.
"Fool!"
Mingzhu remained silent.
"I think you're a little fool."
He was just about to eat meat, and now he's acting like a fool.
"What's wrong, Zhouzhou? Are you craving meat?"
Looking at her son's chubby bottom sticking out, and remembering the battle she had just fought to protect it, Mingzhu couldn't help but burst out laughing again.
"I crave meat, I really crave meat, haha, but there's a kid who won't let me eat it!"
Xiao Huizhou suddenly looked up at her heartless parents, clutching her bottom, rubbing against the kang (a heated brick bed), and moved closer to Jian Dan. Then, taking advantage of her parents' inattention, she got up and threw herself into Jian Dan's arms.
Poor Jian Dan was carefully arranging the little toys on the kang (a heated brick bed), completely relaxed, when suddenly he was hit by a small cannonball and almost threw it away.
However, today her reaction was clearly much slower than expected. The small cannonball had already rushed into her arms, but she was still in a daze. Then, while she was still sitting cross-legged, she was taken out.
Two heavyweights, one large and one small, landed dramatically on the Lin family's ground, raising a cloud of dust, followed by two heavy thuds.
Mingzhu was speaking when she was startled by the muffled thud, which was accompanied by a scream.
"ah!"
Lin Dongfang reacted quickly; almost as soon as they fell, he realized what was happening. However, there was still a few steps between the head and the foot of the kang (a heated brick bed). He strode over, but only managed to scoop up his son, who was being held protectively in Jian Dan's arms.
Mingzhu realized what was happening and quickly came over to help Jian Da brush the dust off her clothes.
"Are you alright? What happened to you? How did he manage to knock you down?"
Even Jian Dan was bewildered. To be honest, he had never encountered this situation since he started practicing martial arts. Was he just incredibly stupid?
The fall wasn't serious; the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) was only a few steps from the ground. However, I was quite frightened.
"I...I don't know either. He came over, and when I hugged him, he...he just fell down?"
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