Chapter 11: Introduction, White Lotus

Chu Sangning naturally nodded in agreement. She wanted to stay in the kitchen to help, but was stopped by Lin Xiuzhi.

"Auntie, let me help you."

"No, no, I can do it myself. You follow Pan An and sit in the yard. It's cooler there."

Lin Xiuzhi pushed Chu Sangning to the door and shouted, "Pan'an, get your sister Chu a stool, put it in the yard, and take out the glutinous rice fruit we had before."

Nowadays, every household is not rich, so the Jiang family took out a pound of grain to exchange for glutinous rice fruit for their children. The fruit is long yellow and sticky.

Chu Sangning was really reluctant to refuse the kindness, but Aunt Lin was too enthusiastic. She not only stuffed the food into her hands, but also stuffed it into her arms when she saw that Chu Sangning couldn't take it.

"Don't be fake, kid. Eat and don't be polite to me."

Chu Sangning nodded, and arranged to sit together with Jiang Pan, waiting until smoke started coming out of the Jiang family's chimney and the adults who had worked in the fields returned.

Pan Wenlan couldn't help but laugh when she saw Chu Sangning. She covered her mouth and laughed: "Chu Zhiqing, what's wrong with you?"

Chu Sangning really couldn't eat anymore, so he stuffed the glutinous rice cake into Jiang Panan's mouth. The two of them ate so much that their masks of pain came out.

"Okay, wash up, and let's eat."

Lin Xiuzhi came out of the kitchen, wearing an apron around her waist, and called out to Sang Ning in a friendly manner, "Let's go, dinner is ready."

After Chu Sangning had eaten and drunk her fill at Jiang's house, Lin Xiuzhi held her back and refused to let her go. Everyone in the main room left in dismay, leaving only Lin Xiuzhi, Pan Wenlan and Chu Sangning.

Even Jiang Panan was taken away by his father with an excuse.

"Auntie, is there anything I can help you with?" Chu Sangning could see that Auntie Lin was troubled, so she was the first to ask.

Since Chu Sangning had already spoken, Lin Xiuzhi felt that she should save face and ask for her little brat.

"Sang Ning, I just want to ask you, do you have a partner?"

"Ah?" Chu Sangning was confused for a moment, and shook his head subconsciously: "No."

"That's good, that's good." Lin Xiuzhi let out a long sigh and carefully leaned over to ask, "Then do you have any requirements for finding a partner?"

"Yeah, she's good-looking." Chu Sangning was a face lover, and he immediately said, "She's hard-working and down-to-earth."

With every word she spoke, the corners of Lin Xiuzhi's mouth gradually turned up. Each of these characteristics was particularly consistent with her son. They were simply a perfect match.

Unlike other mothers-in-law who want to find a daughter-in-law with a big butt and good fertility, Lin Xiuzhi thinks that a daughter-in-law should be good-looking and gentle.

Looking for a wife with a big butt and good at giving birth is like looking for an animal. What's the difference?

So when her old Jiang family's daughter-in-law, Pan Wenlan, who was an educated youth from the countryside, fell in love with her son, Lin Xiuzhi happily set off two strings of firecrackers.

Chu Sangning hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively: "Auntie, do you want to introduce someone to me?"

"Oh, nothing, I just...I just asked casually."

Lin Xiuzhi had a crush on Chu Sangning, but she was an educated youth and her parents were not around. If she made the decision, it would easily affect the girl's reputation.

Why not just wait until your youngest son comes home to visit, and then arrange for the two children to meet. If they are attracted to each other, that would be great. If not, then the two children are not destined to be together.

Lin Xiuzhi thought so in her heart. She looked at the sky outside. It was so dark that she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. She frowned and said worriedly, "Wenlan, it's getting dark. You should take our kerosene lamp and send Sang Ning back. Be careful on the way."

"No, no, Auntie. I can go back by myself." Chu Sangning waved her hands, refusing Pan Wenlan's offer to take her home. When there was no one around, she took out a small flashlight from the notebook and slowly walked back.

The area around the Youth Institute was quiet. Chu Sangning took back the flashlight and just as he opened the door, he suddenly shouted coldly, "Who?"

All he heard was a "duang" sound from the other side of the wall, like someone falling. When Chu Sangning went to see, there was nothing there. Following the faint moonlight, he saw only two black footprints on the wall.

Wu Guangqian came out with his clothes on and saw Chu Sangning standing by the wall. He asked curiously, "Chu Zhiqing, why haven't you rested yet?"

Chu Sangning raised his chin to signal Wu Guangqian to look for himself. Wu Guangqian squinted his eyes and looked for a long time. He found the footprints on the wall and cursed in a low voice with a dark face: "Damn it, a dog can't change its nature."

"What do you mean?" Chu Sangning asked.

Wu Guangqian explained with a grim expression: "Last night when I went to the toilet, I was half groggy in the middle of the night and felt something was happening. Then I saw a pair of hands and a pair of eyes hanging on the wall. It might be a man."

No one would be happy if they were seen naked by a man. Wu Guangqian gritted his teeth when he talked about it. If he knew who had peeped at him when he went to the toilet, he would drag that person in front of the captain.

Worried that Chu Sangning might be scared being alone in the room, Wu Guangqian slowed down his tone and comforted her softly, "It's okay. Just be careful when you get up at night. If anything happens, just shout. We're all in the room anyway."

Chu Sangning nodded and motioned Wu Guangqian to go back and rest first.

"Okay, we still have to go to work, you should also make sure to rest."

Chu Sangning carefully looked at the footprints on the wall. They were large, and belonged to a man, but he didn't know who they were.

The next morning, Chu Sangning cooked some porridge and went to work. Halfway through the journey, it suddenly started to rain heavily, so everyone had to go back together.

He Yueyang looked at the cloth shoes on her feet with annoyance. They were the only pair of shoes she had, and they were soaked. She cursed, "God is so blind. It didn't rain earlier or later, but at this time."

"Stop talking, everyone, go back and change your clothes quickly, or you'll catch a cold."

Although it is cool after a rain in summer, it is easy for the cold air to enter the body. If you are not in good health, you may easily catch a fever or a cold.

Chu Sangning also went back to the room to change clothes. Just as she changed, someone knocked on the door twice. Zhao Jiayun said softly, "Chu Zhiqing, if you have changed your clothes, come and have a bowl of hot water to avoid catching a cold."

"No, I can cook it myself." Chu Sangning refused.

There was plenty of ginger tea in her space. If she really went out to drink it with them, Zhao Jiayun's lackeys might say something insinuating about her.

The smile on Zhao Jiayun's face faded. Standing in front of Chu Sangning's door, he said aggrievedly: "Chu Zhiqing, do you have any misunderstandings about me? I don't know where I did wrong. If I did anything wrong, can you forgive me?"

Chu Sangning in the room ignored her. He boiled some water in a small pot, made a bag of ginger tea, and sat leisurely on the edge of the bed, watching Zhao Jiayun awkwardly performing a one-man show by herself.