Chapter 22
As I said before, anything that happened in the village could not be kept secret. The news of what Old Lady Li's family did spread all over Hongshan Village the next day. This family had a bad reputation in the village, and after this incident, even more people were annoyed with them.
I'm not speaking for Zhou Yao, but why are Granny Li and the others doing something else but wasting food? Is food something that can be wasted? I've forgotten the famine I experienced in the past. I don't remember how worried I was about having a little food.
Wen Yue woke up and thought about what happened last night. While brushing her teeth, she asked Zhou Yao, who was busy making a bamboo chair for her in the yard: "Hey, I remember when you went to see cousin Li. Didn't you go to see my uncle?"
"yes."
Zhou Yao placed the measured and marked bamboo on the ground and began the most important step in making a bamboo chair.
Slotting and grooving.
The ground was covered with bamboo shavings that flew everywhere with the slightest breeze. He took time out of his busy schedule to explain: "I went to your uncle's house, but asked Old Fang and his partner to go find the village chief. That old lady is quite interesting, and she asked a few little kids to follow me."
"Those kids thought I was blind and couldn't see"
Wen Yue replayed the scene in her mind.
A few little brats were hiding and staring at Zhou Yao, thinking they were hiding very well, but Zhou Yao actually saw everything clearly when he glanced over.
She couldn't help but burst out laughing, her eyes curved into crescents: "Then this matter is resolved, they shouldn't come to cause trouble again, right?"
"Yeah." Zhou Yao raised his dark eyebrows slightly, and said with an ambiguous meaning: "After this happens, even if there is trouble in the future, they won't be able to come to us."
Wen Yue thought his words sounded a bit strange, but she didn't think much about it. After washing her face, she smiled and said to Zhou Yao: "I'll make you another black shirt or dark blue one."
Zhou Yao thought for a moment and said, "Black, it won't get dirty."
He had to make bamboo chairs these past two days, and he still couldn't wear the shirt out to show off, which made him feel very upset.
"Okay." Wen Yue agreed with a smile.
Practice makes perfect. With the experience of making a shirt last time, she didn't need to draw a draft on paper this time. She took out the fabric and the measuring tape to measure the required length, drew the line, and then used scissors to cut out pieces of fabric of different sizes.
The old-fashioned sewing machine was very noisy, and the sound was quite regular. Zhou Yao in the courtyard felt full of energy when he heard the sound of the sewing machine.
He lowered his eyes and handled the bamboo in his hands, thinking that it was no wonder that the older generation always urged him to get married and start a family. It really felt different after having a wife, as if life had more purpose.
Two days later, the bamboo chair was completed.
Zhou Yao made the chair according to Wen Yue's requirements, with the height she wanted and a wide backrest. He used tools to grind the bamboo chair again and again, making sure there were no burrs and no burrs before giving it to Wen Yue.
"Wow, you're so awesome." Wen Yue looked at the bamboo chair in front of her with sparkling eyes. She tried sitting on it to feel it, and found nothing uncomfortable.
But a chair is bound to become uncomfortable if you sit on it for a long time.
So Wen Yue planned to sew a cushion with the other two sets of old clothes she brought with her, and stuff some wheat straw and corn leaves into it as filling. Cotton was said to be very expensive at the moment, costing three or four yuan per pound, so using cotton as filling was really a luxury.
Wen Yue's thoughts kept running, and she smiled and praised Zhou Yao: "Your skills are really good. This chair looks better than those sold outside. Thank you, you have worked hard these two days! What do you want to eat tonight? I will cook it for you to reward you."
Zhou Yao raised his eyebrows when he heard this: "Then make dumplings."
"Okay, then I'll go knead the dough." Wen Yue agreed.
While they were kneading the dough, Ren Yeliang and Fang Shitao came over. Wen Yue asked them to bring Grandma Fang and Lulu over to eat dumplings in the evening. The two were so happy that they agreed without waiting for Zhou Yao to express his opinion, and went home to take care of the people with a smile.
"You are unhappy?" Wen Yue turned around and found that Zhou Yao looked a little unhappy, and asked in confusion.
Zhou Yao said no, "I don't like them these days."
Wen Yue: “I don’t understand you men.”
She didn't ask any more questions and took out some flour to knead the dough.
Soon, Grandma Fang and Lulu came over. The little girl held the candy Zhou Yao stuffed in her hand, and her crisp laughter echoed in the yard. After a while, the little girl ran into the kitchen, holding a candy in her clean little hands, and spoke softly.
"Sister, let's have some candy together."
"Ah, thank you Lulu!" Wen Yue glanced at the flour on her hands, her eyes curved with a smile, she leaned down slightly to get close to the little girl and said softly: "Sister's hands are a little dirty, Lulu can you feed it to sister?"
Lulu pursed her lips and smiled. Her toothless smile was innocent and harmless. She peeled off the candy wrapper and raised her little hand to Wen Yue's mouth: "Sister, eat."
"Thank you," Wen Yue bit the candy and said thank you incoherently.
Fang Lulu's smile became brighter.
Ren Yeliang and Fang Shitao came here as free laborers, and were ordered around by Zhou Yao. All the remaining hard labor in the house was taken up by the two of them.
Zhou Yao, with his hands in his trouser pockets, stood on the steps at the kitchen door and stared at the two of them intently.
"Brother." Ren Yeliang couldn't help it. "Did Lao Fang and I do something to upset you?" Why do I feel like I've been targeted these past few days?
Zhou Yao snorted coldly and looked over lazily: "What do you think?"
Ren Yeliang had a bitter face: "If I could guess it, I wouldn't ask! What's going on, brother, can you please tell me directly?"
Fang Shitao's expression didn't change much.
It's just a little work, and it's not tiring.
Seeing the expression on Ren Yeliang's face, Zhou Yao raised his eyebrows, feeling that it was quite interesting. He narrowed his eyes and replied with a smile, his tone sounding quite gentle: "Guess, I'll tell you if I guess it right."
Ren Yeliang: “…”
Ren Yeliang widened his eyes in fear.
His brother seems to have changed, something is wrong. Listening to the tone and the content, it doesn't sound like something his brother would say!
"Brother, are you possessed by an evil spirit?" Ren Yeliang clenched the broom handle tightly and danced it twice in his hand, then shouted: "You evil spirit, get off my brother!"
Zhou Yao: ""
Zhou Yao clicked his tongue and said, "You have a problem with your brain, get out of here."
Ren Yeliang put away the broom: "Okay, brother."
He laughed and pulled Fang Shitao to fetch water, thinking that his brother Yao had changed a lot after getting married. He used to always put on a sour face and acted deep, and even when he was with them, he rarely talked, which made others think that Zhou Yao had an unpredictable personality.
It’s not like now, when I can still smile and joke with others.
Ren Yeliang sighed softly: "Sister-in-law is amazing!"
While the dough was resting, Wen Yue chatted with Grandma Fang for a while and taught the little girl how to read. The eight-year-old girl didn't know many words yet, and she didn't know if she could keep up with the progress when she went to school.
But in the first grade, I should be able to keep up
Wen Yue touched the little girl's furry head and said: "Do Ren Yeliang and the others know how to read?"
Zhou Yao looked at her in confusion: "I know them a little, but not much. They have never been to school."
"What about you?" Wen Yue raised her little face, with only pure curiosity in her bright and clear eyes.
Zhou Yao lowered his eyes and stared into her eyes for a moment, then answered nonchalantly: "I did, I finished elementary school, and then I stopped going to school."
Wen Yue: “Why?”
Zhou Yao: “I find school boring.”
He yearned for freedom and didn't want to be bound by constraints. It was too boring to carry a schoolbag and sit in the classroom to listen to the lectures every day. Zhou Yao didn't like this feeling. So after graduating from elementary school, he was unwilling to continue studying. No matter how Grandma Zhou and Grandpa Zhou persuaded him, it was useless.
Zhou Yao scoffed at the statement that studying can change one's destiny. Being young and frivolous, he thought that he could still accomplish things even if he didn't learn this crappy habit.
But now Zhou Yao suddenly felt a little inferior, his face didn't show it at all, he just asked in an inaudible tone: "Why are you asking this, I give up"
"Ah." Wen Yue blinked twice in a daze. "I don't mind. I'm just curious."
Most people in this era do not have a high level of education, so what is there to complain about? However, Wen Yue was a teacher in his previous life. Although he taught art, he was still a teacher after all, and there was always a gene of preaching in his bones.
"It's better to continue studying and read more books. The knowledge you learn can be used in the future." She said softly, glancing at Zhou Yao's expression, "But everyone's choice is different. It's okay to choose what you like."
Zhou Yao felt that he had to defend himself: "… Mainly because the teacher's words sounded like chanting, and I couldn't listen to him. But my grades were okay, and I got full marks on the test."
Wen Yue complimented him by saying, "You got full marks! That's amazing! If you continue studying, you might be able to get into university."
Her tone was just like coaxing a child.
Zhou Yao was quite impressed by this. He couldn't help but raise his thin lips. He coughed twice and said loudly: "It's okay. I didn't continue my studies. If I continued to study, I would be a college reserve at least."
He raised his chin, his long bangs covering his forehead, the sun shining on his hair, it seemed to be radiating light. His dark eyebrows were relaxed, with a hint of casual smile in his eyes, without any trace of the gloomy and fierce aura at first.
At this moment, he looks like a sunny and cheerful big boy.
After all, Zhou Yaobi is only 20 years old. In later life, he would not even have graduated from college by now.
Thinking of this, Wen Yue, who had graduated from college and had been working for three years in her previous life, suddenly realized that her real age was several years older than Zhou Yao! Zhou Yao's calm and reliable feeling always made Wen Yue forget this.
Wen Yue found it inexplicably funny, her eyes narrowed again, and she smiled brightly: "Yeah, I believe it."
Zhou Yao looked at her for a few seconds and smiled too.
"I'll go roll out the dumpling wrappers." Wen Yue estimated that it was about time, so she stood up and walked towards the kitchen.
Zhou Yao came over: "I'll help you."
Wen Yue glanced at him: "You know how to roll dough."
Zhou Yao answered confidently: "No."
Wen Yue: “Then what can you do for me?”
Zhou Yao lowered his eyes and thought for two seconds: "... I'll help you chop the stuffing."
That's right. After all, chopping stuffing is hard work. People with less strength will easily get sore hands, like her. Wen Yueyan smiled and said, "Okay, then you can do it."
Grandma Fang sat on the steps basking in the sun.
Little girl Lulu hugged her grandmother's arm and said in a low voice with unclear speech: "Grandma, Brother Zhou Yao is more clingy than me. He always follows Sister Wen Yue."
She used to like to follow her grandmother and didn't like to go out. She was said to be clingy and was always asked to go out and play with other children of the same age in the village. If she didn't go, she would be repeatedly scolded.
Grandma Fang was a little hard of hearing, and Fang Lulu had to say it two or three times before she could hear it.
"Silly Lulu." Grandma Fang laughed, her cloudy old eyes curved, she raised her hand and tapped her granddaughter's nose, not caring whether she could understand or not, and explained: "Your sister Wen Yue is brother Zhou Yao's wife, so of course she has to follow."
The little girl pouted, not understanding: "Brother Zhou Yao is also a clingy person. Grandma, you should also tell Brother Zhou Yao not to be so clingy. He should go out more often and play with others. He can't always follow Sister Wen Yue..."
Grandma Fang was overjoyed. The little girl remembered everything she said at that time. She hugged her granddaughter and explained patiently: "It's different. Your brother Zhou Yao and sister Wen Yue will live together for the rest of their lives. Grandma can't accompany you for that long..."
"Grandma can stay with me for so long!" Fang Lulu corrected seriously, "Grandma stays with me longer than my brother stays with my sister!"
Grandma Fang smiled and said, "Okay."
After clinging to the stuffing, Zhou Yao carefully added the seasoning and mixed it according to Wen Yue's instructions. The meat stuffing was ready. He had nothing else to do, so he put his hands behind his back and walked around Wen Yue, not intending to go out.
Wen Yue finished rolling out the dumpling wrappers and glanced at him: "Go out and wait."
Zhou Yao didn't want to go out: "I'll help you make dumplings."
Wen Yue raised her eyebrows: "You know how to wrap it"
"No." Zhou Yao also raised his eyebrows, "I can learn. You teach me. I learn very quickly."
"Sure."
Wen Yue put flour on her hands, picked up a dumpling wrapper and placed it in her palm. She picked up a piece of meat filling with chopsticks and placed it in the center of the dumpling wrapper. She dipped it in some water and drew a circle around the edge: "Well, just fold it in half like this, then like this, and then like this... the dumpling is ready. How about it, isn't it very simple?"
In order to allow Zhou Yao to see clearly, Wen Yue deliberately slowed down her movements, and soon the dumpling skin turned into a round, plump, white and tender dumpling, which was wrapped particularly beautifully.
Zhou Yao raised his eyebrows confidently and smiled: "It's easy, just watch me."
He washed his hands, picked up a dumpling wrapper, picked out the filling, and followed Wen Yue's previous steps, replicating them step by step. However, when he saw the finished product, Zhou Yao couldn't hold back, and his smile broke out.
Wen Yue's eyes curved and she laughed out loud: "Your dumpling looks like a big round dumpling! Just look at you."
Zhou Yao: "...accidentally, I put too much stuffing in it, I'll have to wrap it again."
He clicked his tongue, refused to admit defeat, and continued the challenge.
As time went by in the evening, beautiful fiery clouds appeared in the sky.
Ren Yeliang and Fang Shitao went into the kitchen to help serve the dumplings. Looking at the dumplings of various shapes and sizes in the bowl, Ren Yeliang said in surprise: "They are all made by my sister-in-law. Why are some of them so strange in shape?"
Zhou Yao looked at him coldly: "I made it, I'm not satisfied"
"I was wondering how this dumpling looks different. If you look closely, it seems to be quite handsome. It turns out that our brother made it himself. It's amazing!" Ren Yeliang gave a thumbs up and praised her without changing his expression.
Fang Shitao on the side cast his gaze over and said: Brother, you are amazing, you can even bring a dead cow back to life.
This kind of eloquence is something he will never be able to learn in his lifetime, he needs to look up to someone like him!
Ren Yeliang raised his eyebrows: No big deal!
Several people sat in the house happily eating dumplings.
"Sister Wen Yue! Sister Wen Yue, are you at home?" Li Xiangdong's anxious voice with a crying tone suddenly came from outside the yard.
A look of confusion appeared on Wen Yue's face, and he put down his chopsticks and walked out.
Outside the courtyard gate, Li Xiangdong lost his usual maturity and calmness, his eyes were like little rabbits from crying, and tears kept falling.
"What's wrong? Why are you crying like this?" Wen Yue was startled, walked over quickly to open the gate, and asked with a frown.
Li Xiangdong sobbed and said, "My sister, my sister hasn't come home yet. I'm a little worried... My sister always comes home early on weekends. She never stays out for that long. I've been waiting for her at home for a long time. It's already dark, but she still hasn't come back. I don't know what to do."
The little girl was so anxious that her speech became incoherent and she was at a loss.
She didn't have many good friends in the village, and she couldn't tell her grandmother and uncle about this. After much thought, she could only come to her sister's good friend, Sister Wen Yue.
"I understand. Don't worry." Wen Yue frowned even more tightly, soothing Li Xiangdong while searching for relevant plots in her mind.
Then her expression suddenly froze.
Oops! The heroine is in danger!
The current plot point should be that the heroine went home for the weekend holiday, but on the way she was dragged into the bushes by drunk thugs from the same village and bullied! Although the thugs did not succeed, the heroine broke the thug's head when she stood up to resist, and the other party's family came to cause trouble for her.
The heroine was asked to pay the money, but she didn't pay, and then rumors about her uncleanness spread throughout the village. This plot was particularly depressing, and it also caused Li Nianqiu to be wary and disgusted with men from then on.
Until the male protagonist appeared. He was different from other men. He was gentle, firm and persistent in prying open the high wall of the female protagonist's heart.
Wen Yue was a little panicked, not knowing whether Li Nianqiu had already been dragged away by the gangsters. Her panicked eyes subconsciously turned to Zhou Yao who had followed him out.
"Maybe he was delayed on the way." Zhou Yao received Wen Yue's pleading look and spoke in a deep voice. His face was calm and his speech was neither fast nor slow, which made people feel safe: "I'll take Lao Fang and Ye Liang out to have a look."
Ren Yeliang, who was standing on the steps eating dumplings with a bowl in his arms, quickened his eating speed upon hearing this, and after finishing two or three bites, he responded in a slurred voice.
"I'll go with you." Wen Yue said.
Zhou Yao frowned: "It's too late, just wait at home."
Wen Yue shook her head: "No, I want to go."
In this situation, she would be better off being with Li Nianqiu.
“…Okay.”
Meeting Wen Yue's fixed gaze, Zhou Yao retreated, went back to the house to get a flashlight, and the others hurried out. Li Xiangdong was about to follow them, but was persuaded by Wen Yue to go back.
They walked along the path along the ridge of the village all the way to the road at the entrance of the village, but saw no one. The last ray of sunlight disappeared, the sky was gray, and the grass on both sides of the wide dirt road, which was taller than a person, looked a little creepy.
Wen Yue was very anxious, but the plot did not explain where Li Nianqiu was dragged away, so she could only stand on the side of the road, push aside the bushes and search inch by inch.
Although Zhou Yao was confused as to why Wen Yue wanted to push aside the grass to look, he didn't say anything. He walked quickly with his long legs, pulling apart the grass much faster than Wen Yue with his short arms and legs.
Then he noticed that the grass in one place was different. The weeds there seemed to have been pressed down by someone, and were bent and broken.
Behind the bushes was a small slope about half a meter high, and below the slope was a small flat slope covered with weeds. Zhou Yao raised his flashlight and scanned down, but found no figure. He just stood back and his sharp ears caught a faint groan.
He paused for a moment, without having time to think, and strode down the slope and walked a short distance forward.
Then I saw a man and a woman.
The man looked familiar. His face was red, probably because he had been drinking. He pressed on the girl and covered her mouth with his hand to prevent her from making any sound, while his other hand was pulling her clothes hard.
"I. Fuck."
Zhou Yao's face darkened, and without even looking at who the girl was, he walked over and kicked the man hard, saying in a cold tone: "What's the point of bullying a woman? You're a disgrace. If you have the guts, come and fight me."
He despised this kind of people the most in his life. They didn't know who they were after drinking some horse urine, and they bullied women because of the difference in strength and size. It was really a disgrace to men.
"Who, who the hell ruined my good deeds!" The man rolled on the ground twice, screamed and got up, cursing: "Believe it or not, believe it or not, I will beat Zhou Yao to death!"
"Fang Qiang"
Zhou Yao recognized the man, and the other party obviously recognized him as well. He was sobered up by the fright, swallowed his saliva, stood up and wanted to run.
"Want to run?" Zhou Yao took two or three steps to catch up, sneered and raised his fist to hit him, "Come, let me see how you beat me to death."
Fang Qiang was beaten so hard that he cried out: "I'm wrong, I'm wrong, brother, I didn't know it was you, please stop hitting me, brother, I'm wrong..."
Zhou Yao was disgusted and slapped him on the mouth: "Who is your brother? Don't try to make connections with me."
When Wen Yue, Ren Yeliang and Fang Shitao came over, they saw Zhou Yao grabbing a man and beating him.
Wen Yue only took a glance and then turned to Li Nianqiu, who was sitting next to him, trembling slightly and looking pale. The latter's clothes were torn, his hair was messy, and his eyes were a little dull, obviously he had not recovered from what happened just now.
"Nian Qiu!" Wen Yue trotted over and squatted down, opened her lips, and asked carefully: "Nian Qiu, don't be afraid, no one will bully you anymore."
She felt a little upset that she was not well prepared and had not thought of bringing a coat.
"...Wen Yue" Li Nianqiu blinked slowly, turned his head and looked over, his voice extremely hoarse.
Wen Yue nodded vigorously: "It's me!"
The next second, Li Nianqiu hugged Wen Yue tightly, so tightly that Wen Yue felt a little pain. But she didn't say anything, raised her hand and patted Li Nianqiu's back, soothing him softly: "It's okay, it's okay, the bad guys have been driven away."
Wen Yue felt particularly distressed when she heard Li Nianqiu's trembling voice. She said with red eyes, "Cry if you want to." Let out your emotions to avoid causing problems.
Then Wen Yue heard a restrained, soft sob, and the fabric on the shoulders was wet and stuck to the skin.
Wen Yue is a person with strong empathy, and she couldn't help but cry too.
When Zhou Yao finished lecturing and walked over, he saw the two girls hugging each other and crying very sadly, the kind of sadness that was sobbing.
he: "……"
He suddenly had a premonition that if he spoke at this time, the consequences might be serious. Zhou Yao was smart for once and winked at Ren Yeliang.
Ren Yeliang: “……”This is truly my brother.
"Sister-in-law, are you okay?" Ren Yeliang asked softly, and as expected, he received Wen Yue's angry gaze. His voice became smaller and smaller: "Why don't we go back first? Grandma and your friend's sister are still waiting at home. They must be very worried right now."
Catching the key words, Li Nianqiu stopped crying instantly, let go of Wen Yue, blushed and said calmly: "Let's go home first."
Wen Yue, who was crying uncontrollably: "......Ah"
She looked up at Li Nianqiu.
The novels always say how strong the heroine is, but she never felt it when she read them. It was only now that Wen Yue fully felt how strong the heroine's character is.
If it were her, she would have probably cried herself to death by now.
Wen Yue wiped her tears: "Nian Qiu, are you okay?"
"Yeah." Li Nianqiu nodded calmly, revealing a pale smile, "It's okay, go home, don't make people worry."
She still had scars from the struggle, and her clothes were torn, but she seemed to have recovered from what had happened. Her eyes were red and tears were in the corners, and her heroic features showed a rare sense of vulnerability.
Li Nianqiu was still very scared, but she didn't want to make others worry, so she suppressed her inner panic.
So strong that it makes people feel distressed.
Wen Yue looked at her and suddenly realized that she had always regarded Li Nianqiu as a character in a novel. It was not until this moment that she felt that Li Nianqiu was a real person with flesh and blood.
The heroine is so good, and so miserable.
Such a good person shouldn't have to encounter so many tragic setbacks!
Wen Yue wiped away her tears again, thinking that since she knew the plot, she must find a way to help her avoid those things!
"Then let's go back now." Wen Yue said, glancing at the clothes on Li Nianqiu, the annoyance in her eyes becoming more intense.
Zhou Yao, who had been paying attention to his young wife's mood, pursed his lips and raised his chin towards Ren Yeliang: "The clothes are off."
Ren Yeliang was stunned: "Ah, take off your clothes" Why is he taking off his clothes?
"Take it off if I tell you to." Zhou Yao clicked his tongue.
Ren Yeliang took off his outer white coat with a wronged look and handed it to him, revealing his skinny upper body that looked like ribs.
Zhou Yao looked away in disgust, asked if he could eat more, and gave the white coat to Wen Yue.
Wen Yue's eyes showed surprise. Without saying a word, she put the clothes on Li Nianqiu, then looked at Zhou Yao with bright eyes and moved her lips silently.
Zhou Yao curled his lips.
The young wife said, "It's a good thing you're here."
With his hands in his trouser pockets, he followed Wen Yue and Li Nianqiu not too far away.
Ren Yeliang hugged himself tightly, hid behind Fang Shitao, and said angrily: "Why didn't I let you take off your clothes?"
Fang Shitao smiled innocently: "Maybe my clothes are not as clean as yours. I can't let others wear my dirty clothes."
Ren Yeliang: ""
Ren Yeliang: “That makes sense.”
He calmed down.
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