Chapter 50 Who's barking at my doorstep? ...
Cheng Ying knew exactly what the little girl was thinking, so she quickly went into the kitchen, took the palm-leaf fan from Yu Lingling's hand, and took over her work. She said to Yu Lingling very seriously, "Lingling, I promised your grandfather that I would take care of you as you grow up, but because of my job as a postman, I am often not at home. You have to take care of yourself. So I have broken my promise."
You are already very capable and excellent at doing housework and taking good care of yourself and your grandfather!
From the moment I promised your grandfather I would take care of you, I have treated you like my own sister. You don't need to do these things to please me.
What you're doing not only makes me feel uncomfortable, but it will also make you feel awkward. How are we supposed to get along in the future?
This is your home, and you are my sister. You can do whatever you want here. There's no need to restrain yourself and make yourself uncomfortable.
As long as I'm alive, I will protect you and won't let anyone bully you. I will do my best to help you solve any problems you encounter. From now on, I will be your support. You just need to stay behind me and grow up well.
Yu Lingling couldn't help but tear up. Ever since her parents were classified as low-class and suffered all kinds of torment and humiliation, in order not to affect their daughter's future, they resolutely published a notice in the newspaper to sever their father/mother-daughter relationship with her. One of them committed suicide at home, and the other jumped into the river to commit suicide, saving their family property with their lives and avoiding her being exiled to a cowshed to suffer.
But this left her without parents, only an elderly grandfather, making her situation no different from that of an orphan.
Her relatives and uncles were all eyeing the family's property and were suppressing and threatening her in every way. She had to take care of her grandfather, who was in poor health and could die at any time, and also had to be wary of relatives and strange men who had ill intentions towards her. She lived in fear and tension every day. At such a young age, she had to endure all kinds of pain that she should not have to bear.
Suddenly, a female soldier who had served in the military told her that she would be her support, protect her, and solve all her problems. Yu Lingling felt the warmth of being cared for after a long time. This reminded her of her parents who resolutely chose to die so that she could live with dignity and not be implicated in the great turmoil.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. No matter how strong Yu Lingling usually pretended to be, she was still a young girl. She could no longer hold back and cried bitterly while hugging Cheng Ying.
"Sister, sob sob sob... Thank you... I'm so sad. They all bully me. They say my parents are bad elements, that I'm a bastard without parents. My parents are teachers at school and they are very kind to every student, but when the Cultural Revolution came, the students they used to teach tortured them to death!"
After my parents died, those people wouldn't let me and my grandfather go. They would often block my door, throw feces and swill at my house, and some male classmates, along with their older brothers, even took off my clothes...
My uncles and aunts also tried every trick in the book to deceive and bully me. They wanted me to give them the money my parents left for me and my grandfather, and they even tried to coax me into transferring our house to them, saying that as long as I gave them the money and the house, they would raise me..."
Yu Lingling recounted to Cheng Ying all the grievances she had suffered over the years, one by one.
She has endured too much pain at her age, and she has nowhere to vent and cry. Now she has met someone who is willing to protect her, and this person is a retired female soldier she can trust. She subconsciously tells him about her pain, just to seek comfort.
"These beasts deserve to die!" Cheng Ying listened patiently to Yu Lingling's account of her ordeal, her eyes filled with gloom.
Of course she knew that Yu Lingling's family was in a very bad situation during those ten years of turmoil, but that was the fault of the times, not their family's fault, and certainly not a reason for others to torment them to death.
When Cheng Ying heard that Yu Lingling had been molested by a group of young boys but dared not speak out or tell Old Yu, and could only cry silently at home, Cheng Ying felt a burning anger in her heart, wishing she could destroy all those little beasts.
Of course she couldn't do that. This is a society governed by law, and any illegal or disorderly conduct will be punished accordingly.
She calmly inquired about some details from Yu Lingling and learned that Yu Lingling had fought back desperately and prevented those people from succeeding and taking the final step. She breathed a sigh of relief, gently patted Yu Lingling's back to comfort her, and pondered in her heart how to deal with those beasts who had bullied Yu Lingling.
After being comforted by Cheng Ying, Yu Lingling felt much better. She chatted with Cheng Ying for a while, and before leaving, she said to Cheng Ying, "Sister, yesterday afternoon a soldier uncle in military uniform came to see you. He said he was your boyfriend. He gave me some candy and told me to go to the guesthouse next to the commune to inform him after I saw you go home. I don't know him, and I've never heard you mention having a boyfriend. I didn't take his candy or agree to his request. I just told him you weren't home, and I felt I should tell you about this."
“You did a good job, Lingling. If a stranger offers you candy, even if it's a soldier in uniform, you can't accept it or eat it without an adult present. The person might be a bad guy in disguise. If you eat his candy, he might kidnap you and sell you to some remote mountain village to be someone's wife.”
Cheng Ying touched Yu Lingling's somewhat dry and yellow hair, took out five yuan from her pocket, and stuffed it into her hand. "Take this money and buy some candy and snacks for you and your grandfather. If you ever crave something in the future, just tell me, and I'll buy it for you and cook it for you if I'm home."
Yu Lingling's tears, which had just subsided, welled up again. With red eyes, she shook her head and said, "Sister, I can't take your money. My family is actually well-off. My parents set up a savings account for me, and the money is kept in that account."
Her grandfather kept that document, intending to save the money in it for her dowry. He had never touched the money in the document.
Her grandfather usually does odd jobs to earn a meager living to support himself and his granddaughter. This is why Yu Lingling is petite and looks several years younger than other children her age.
Because the little money her grandfather earned was only enough to feed the two of them half full, there was no extra money or food to buy good food, let alone candy, snacks, or other treats.
Although Yu Lingling really wanted to eat candy, the various teachings and good upbringing her parents gave her when she was young made it impossible for her to accept money and snacks from others with a clear conscience, and she would always subconsciously refuse.
Cheng Ying's kindness made her feel a long-lost warmth, and she couldn't help but cry for this warmth, which was second only to the warmth given to her by her parents and grandfather.
"Take it, then take it." Cheng Ying stuffed the money into her hand. "You're my sister, it's only natural for an older sister to give her younger sister money to use and let her buy some nice things. When I was little, if I had a dime, I would give five dime to my sister to spend, or buy candy and share it with her. You're no exception. Besides, while I was away, you always helped me clean the house, keeping it spotless, and you took good care of Xiao Hei, preventing any thieves from stealing my things. Consider this my payment for your labor. If you don't accept it, how can I entrust the house to you with peace of mind?"
Tears welled up in Yu Lingling's eyes, but she smiled and clutched the five-yuan note tightly in her hand. She sincerely called Cheng Ying "sister," thanked her, and then turned and left the yard.
After she left, Cheng Ying closed the door and returned to the master bedroom on the left, where she lived, and lay down on the bed to sleep.
After returning from Pucang Village, she traveled overnight and took a day and a half to get back to the town. She was exhausted both mentally and physically.
She slept in the same room with Cheng Xue yesterday, and Cheng Xue talked to her for most of the night. She didn't get much sleep, and Wan Shuhui woke her up early this morning for breakfast. She was so sleepy.
Cheng Ying was taking advantage of this rare break and wanted to get a good night's sleep.
She was sleeping in bed, while Big Yellow and Little Black were fighting silently in the room.
Strangely enough, the black cat, which has a strong sense of territory over this courtyard, only glanced at Da Huang lazily when it saw Cheng Ying bring Da Huang into the courtyard, and did not chase Da Huang out of the courtyard.
Xiao Hei probably understood that the dog belonged to the new owner of the house, and it couldn't drive Da Huang away.
But when Dahuang saw Xiaohei, it was very excited. Like all dogs, when it saw a cat, it couldn't help but want to tease it, to act mischievously, to go near the cat, to rub against it, and to play with it.
Most cats are aloof and don't like to play with dogs. They find it annoying when dogs run around, bite them, or scratch them. They will often wave their paws and give the dogs a few "bang bang" punches until they submit and dare not run or jump near them anymore.
When Dahuang entered the yard, it ran to Xiaohei's side, licked Xiaohei's dark fur enthusiastically, nuzzled Xiaohei's belly, and gently nibbled its neck, wanting to play with it. Xiaohei was already fed up with Dahuang.
Cheng Ying was sleeping in bed at this moment. The courtyard, which had been quiet for many years, was finally inhabited.
The new owner is still sleeping in the room where Xiao Hei's old owner used to live. Although the room has been repainted and all the furniture has been replaced with new ones, the house has finally welcomed a new owner. The new owner's bedding is soft and looks very comfortable. After Cheng Ying falls asleep, Xiao Hei jumps onto the bed, wanting to sleep next to the new owner.
As a result, Da Huang was oblivious to the situation. When it saw Xiao Hei jump onto the bed and sleep next to its owner, Da Huang was afraid that it would disturb the little master. So it went to the bedside, grabbed Xiao Hei by the scruff of its neck, and tried to carry Xiao Hei away.
Little Black fought back, swatting Big Yellow's paw back and hissing softly, warning it to stay away.
Big Yellow, in pain, let go of Little Black and stubbornly tried to paw at Little Black with its paws.
Xiao Hei waved its paws again, punching Da Huang in the face several times, making Da Huang feel terrible. Da Huang didn't make a sound or bite Xiao Hei, but just pawed at Xiao Hei.
A cat and a dog were playing around in Cheng Ying's room, oblivious to the world around them. Cheng Ying heard their noise but didn't stop them. She let them play as they pleased and then peacefully fell asleep.
She woke up again to a series of urgent knocks on the door.
Cheng Ying opened her eyes. It was still bright outside. She looked at her watch and saw that it was exactly noon. She had only slept for three hours. She wondered who was knocking on her door at lunchtime, and why they were knocking on the front door near East Street.
Cheng Ying got up and saw Xiao Hei sleeping on her bed, at the foot of her feet, and immediately let out a strange "Eh".
Logically speaking, felines that haven't been raised from kittens shouldn't easily become attached to new owners, nor should they grow close to them. It takes a long time of raising and living with them before they accept a new owner.
The black cat was unusually affectionate towards her, which made her feel strange.
Seeing her get up, Xiao Hei opened its thin green cat eyes, meowed at her, yawned, lazily got up, arched its body, stretched out its legs, stretched its waist, walked up to her, and rubbed its cheek against her, behaving very affectionately.
Cheng Ying rubbed her face against its shiny black fur with delight, saying, "Little Black, how can you be so cute?"
The knocking on the front door continued, and Big Yellow squatted at the front door, barking incessantly, clearly indicating that the person knocking was a stranger.
At this point, she could guess who it was without even thinking.
She ignored the people outside, slowly got up, folded the quilt, slowly went to the toilet, strolled to the kitchen, lit a fire, and cooked a bowl of soup noodles.
After the new house was renovated, Wan Shuhui commissioned a famous carpenter from Qingshui Village to make all the new furniture, which cost a lot of money. She was also worried that her daughter would starve to death, so she bought all the necessary necessities for the house, including firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. In the kitchen's five-drawer cupboard, there were three bundles of noodles weighing five jin each, which represented more than a year's worth of refined grain for the whole family. She bought them all for Cheng Ying, just in case Cheng Ying went hungry.
Hearing the noise inside, the person outside couldn't help but shout, "Cheng Ying, I know you're in there. Open the door, let's have a good talk."
Cheng Ying finished her large bowl of noodles without saying a word, even drinking the soup clean. She thought to herself that eating noodles without some green vegetables, scallions, or kimchi just didn't taste quite right.
Before she left, Wan Shuhui asked her to bring back some vegetables grown in her family's private plot. She thought it was too much trouble to bring them. She would bring vegetables today, but she would be leaving again tomorrow and wouldn't be back for three days. By then, the vegetables would have already wilted and gone bad. She thought it would be better to just cook something simple for herself or simply ride her bicycle back to the village for a meal. The journey wasn't far; it would only take about half an hour to get back to her hometown by bicycle. Why bother bringing vegetables?
Now she regrets it a little. Whether in her past life or this life, she loves to eat noodles and similar foods. Every time she eats noodles, she always adds some green vegetables, scallions, homemade pickled vegetables, and various kinds of stir-fried meat sauce. Only then does she find the noodles refreshing, fragrant, and delicious.
Without these things, she's not very interested in eating.
She carried the bowl to the kitchen, washed it, and thought about how a flower bed had been built along the wall in the backyard. The flower bed was overgrown with weeds, and it was a waste to leave it empty. She decided to take advantage of her free time today to clear the weeds from the backyard.
She'll go to the town's agricultural sales department later to buy some seasonal vegetable seeds, sow them in the flower bed, and plant some scallions. Before long, they'll grow, and she'll have vegetables to eat when she's resting at home after finishing her mail delivery.
She acted immediately, walking to the backyard and starting to pull weeds from the flowerbeds under the backyard wall.
Xiao Hei followed behind her, occasionally jumping into the flower bed to catch the various insects that jumped out when she was pulling weeds.
The continuous knocking, barking of dogs, and the person knocking on the door repeatedly calling for Cheng Ying to open it finally attracted the attention of the neighbors.
Many elderly people gathered at the front gate of Cheng Ying's house, asking the person knocking on the door what was going on.
When the person knocking on the door said that his girlfriend lived inside, everyone was surprised. An old lady couldn't help but shout, "Xiao Cheng, Xiao Cheng, are you home? If you are home, open the door! It's not good to have a soldier knocking on your door all the time."
"Xiao Cheng is back? Wasn't she supposed to have fallen off Ayi Mountain and was recovering badly in the Miao village?" People outside were talking about it.
"That's true, but my eldest niece saw her return to the post office with her mailbag yesterday. She seemed fine; she shouldn't have been seriously injured," someone chimed in.
"So is this soldier really Xiao Cheng's boyfriend? I heard Cheng Jiantong and his wife say that their eldest daughter doesn't have a boyfriend, and her mother even asked me to keep an eye out for some good young men for her."
"Who knows? But this soldier looks handsome and is wearing an officer's uniform, so he probably won't lie."
......
The front yard was in an uproar, and even Old Yu and Yu Lingling, who lived in the alley in the back yard, heard the commotion and went to the front yard to find out what was going on.
Hearing the faint whispers from the front yard, Cheng Ying rolled her eyes impatiently. She was certain that it was Wei Muchen knocking on the door.
She originally thought that, given Wei Muchen's domineering and shameless personality, once he knew she was at home, and after knocking on the door for a while and she didn't come out, he would completely lose patience, climb over the wall, and come in to question her.
Unexpectedly, he has changed his ways and is now so patiently knocking on the door, using his military uniform, the curiosity of the neighbors watching the spectacle, and their comments to force her to open the door and confront him face to face.
Cheng Ying snorted, grabbed a handful of freshly pulled weeds covered in mud, strode to the front yard, opened the gate, and threw the weeds at the face of the tall, military-green figure standing in the middle. Without any politeness, she said, "Who's barking in front of my house? Oh, it's my dog!"
Big Yellow cooperated and barked once.
The noisy group of people at the entrance immediately fell silent.
Standing in the crowd, Yu Lingling saw several well-known gossipy women from the neighborhood standing in front of the door, looking utterly defeated. Then she saw the man in military uniform with his face covered in mud and a tuft of green weeds on his head, and she couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Hearing her laughter, someone snapped out of their daze and criticized Cheng Ying, "Little Cheng, a soldier came to your door looking for you. You were home, why didn't you open the door sooner? He kept calling out to you from the doorway."
"Yeah, why can't you just talk to people properly? Why do you throw mud in their face right away? You've gone too far."
The two people speaking were quite good-looking, but their eyes and expressions were full of calculation.
Cheng Ying immediately recognized the two as Yu Lingling's cousin and aunt, and sneered, "What? Aunt Xu, you feel sorry for this person? If you feel sorry for him, take him back to your house to live. Don't try to morally blackmail me! This is my house. I can open the door whenever I want, and nobody can tell me what to do."
A woman in her forties named Xu Yuezhen was furious. "Cheng Ying, how dare you talk like that! Don't think that just because you took over your father's postman job and you're a government employee, you can't do anything to me just because you used some tricks to get Uncle Yu's old house."
"Oh, so you know I'm a government cadre," Cheng Ying said with a forced smile. "I bought this house from Grandpa Yu legitimately! The street director, the commune head, and the secretary can all vouch for me! If you have any doubts, go ask the commune secretary. Don't come here spreading rumors and gossip about me! If I hear even a single bad rumor about my house purchase from anyone else, I'll rip your tongue out!"
You've probably already heard how I dealt with my cousin's affairs. Now I've bought Grandpa Yu's old house. This house belongs to the Cheng family, not the Yu family. Yu Lingling is my adopted sister, and we've registered her with the neighborhood office. I know perfectly well what you and your husband did to Lingling and her parents in the past.
I'm the kind of person who holds grudges and seeks revenge. You and your husband had better get out of my house while I'm in a good mood, or I can't guarantee what I might do to you two.
Xu Yuezhen's expression changed, and she felt a tightness in her chest, as if a breath was stuck in her throat. She glared fiercely at Yu Lingling, who was standing in the crowd.
What a shameless bastard who can't keep a secret! He dares to say anything to outsiders. He must be tired of living!
Yu Lingling was so frightened that she hid behind Old Yu. After her parents passed away, Xu Yuezhen had used many tricks to coax and deceive her into saving money for her parents.
If she didn't give her money, Xu Yuezhen would beat her, specifically targeting places she couldn't be seen in, and forbade her to tell anyone. She had been afraid of Xu Yuezhen since she was very young.
Seeing Xu Yuezhen's distorted expression, Old Yu reached out and shielded Yu Lingling behind him, glaring back at Xu Yuezhen.
He was about to speak when he started coughing. His cough sounded like a rusty windmill. He was panting heavily, his body was bent over, his face was red and his veins were bulging, but his complexion was as pale as paper.
"Grandpa, are you alright...?" Yu Lingling, disregarding her fear, reached out and gently patted Old Yu's back with concern.
"I'm fine..." Old Yu stubbornly straightened up, suppressing his cough, and looked directly into the eyes of Xu Yuezhen and her husband.
He knew what the couple was thinking. They couldn't wait for him to die so they could seize his son and daughter-in-law's property and real estate, and leave Yu Lingling with nothing.
He certainly couldn't do as they wished!
He looked at Cheng Ying, who was standing at the entrance of his old family home. Today she was wearing a simple dark blue, diagonally-buttoned, Republic-era style short-sleeved top and matching trousers, with neat, ear-length short hair.
Although Cheng Ying wasn't wearing a military uniform, you could still tell that she stood up straight, her hands were strong and slender, and her beautiful face had a sharp and ruthless aura in her eyes. She looked sharp and assertive, but at the same time, she gave people a very reliable feeling.
Looking at Cheng Ying, Old Yu's worries about his impending death and the lack of anyone to care for his granddaughter vanished. He smiled at Cheng Ying, then turned and gently patted Yu Lingling's back, saying, "Let's go home. Your sister Ying can handle things. Don't be afraid of or bother with those unimportant people; Ying will take care of them for you."
Yu Lingling was worried that Cheng Ying might have encountered some trouble and might need her help, so she came to check on her.
Now that Old Yu had said that, she was a little confused, but she obediently followed him.
After Xu Yuezhen and her husband saw them leave, they knew that Cheng Ying was no pushover. After all, Qingqu Town was only so big, and any major events that happened in the villages closer to the town would spread throughout the entire town.
They knew what had happened to the Cheng family and that Cheng Ying was a complete madwoman, so they didn't dare to really confront her. After discussing it, the couple slunk away.
The surroundings quieted down. Wei Muchen stood in front of Cheng Ying, looking at the woman he had been longing for day and night, and asked with a pained expression, "Cheng Ying, what's wrong with you? Why are you doing this to me?"
Weeds and dirt still clung to his face, making him look somewhat comical, but they couldn't hide Wei Muchen's handsome features, which were as sharp as if carved by a knife.
He had long, deep-set eyes, a high and straight nose, thin lips, and a slender chin. He wore a crisp military uniform, was tall and strong, and had a slender figure. With such a face, not only did the people around him think he was incredibly handsome, but even Cheng Ying was mesmerized by his appearance.
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