Cheng Yaoyao was right. Before we finished dinner, there was already a commotion next door.
The gate of the Xie family's courtyard was slammed, and Auntie Yingui shouted, "Xie Zhao, Xie Zhao, come here quickly!"
The table was filled with steaming food, but they were only halfway through. Xie Zhao put down his chopsticks and was about to stand up, but Cheng Yaoyao said, "Ignore them!"
Xie Zhao said, "I'll be back soon."
Cheng Yaoyao glared at him. Xie Zhao didn't dare to move and looked at Grandma Xie.
Cheng Yaoyao said angrily: "I cooked so many dishes, how dare you leave without finishing them!"
Grandma Xie advised, "Yaoyao, please let Zhao go. Today is a festival, and we can't disturb Aunt Yingui's family."
After hearing this, Cheng Yaoyao thought about it and then agreed.
Xie Zhao took his coat and flashlight and went out, closing the gate. The noise from next door continued, causing Xun Xun and other dogs to bark, which was so abrupt and harsh in the usually quiet village.
Thanks to the greenhouse vegetables this year, every household in Tianshui Village can celebrate a happy holiday. At this time, we heard the sound of many doors opening, and everyone gathered at the door to watch the excitement.
The food was steaming on the table, but everyone's attention was diverted to the next room.
Grandma Xie scooped a bowl of soup for Cheng Yaoyao and said, "Yaoyao, your stepmother and her friends have always been like this... Can't your father control them?"
"The situation is very complicated and cannot be explained in a few words."
Cheng Yaoyao recalled the memories of the original owner. Cheng Nuonuo was always shady. The original owner had a hot temper. Whenever there was a conflict between the two sisters, Cheng Zheng always thought it was Cheng Yaoyao's fault. The original owner was often misunderstood and criticized by Cheng's father. Over time, she was unwilling to even explain.
Han Yin patted her shoulder sympathetically: "Seeing is believing. Now I completely understand why you don't want to go back to Shanghai."
It wasn't that she didn't want to go back. Cheng Yaoyao was about to explain, but Grandma Xie and the others looked at her with sympathy and heartache, so she could only sigh and reveal a look of resentment.
Xie Zhao didn't come back until late at night. Cheng Yaoyao had finished his bath and was lying down when he woke up when he heard Xie Zhao fetching water in the yard, and the sound of his baby's barking.
Cheng Yaoyao, wearing her nightgown and slippers, poked her head into the yard and asked, "Xie Zhao?"
The moonlight was like water. Xie Zhao stood in the courtyard with his upper body naked, taking a shower. His broad shoulders and tight waist made the wet muscles more distinct.
He came over after hearing the voice: "...I'm taking a shower."
Cheng Yaoyao covered his eyes with his hands and looked at him through his fingers.
Xie Zhao had no choice but to wipe the water stains on his hair and body, put on a vest, and first carried Kunkun back to the nest before walking over and hugging Cheng Yaoyao.
Cheng Yaoyao was carried back to the room by Xie Zhao, who hugged his neck and asked, "Why did you come back so late?"
Xie Zhao said: "I went to the health center."
Cheng Yaoyao casually sniffed the scent on Xie Zhao's neck. The cool water vapor and soap smell mixed with Xie Zhao's unique hot breath was quite pleasant. "What happened to Cheng Nonuo?"
"It's uncle who's injured." Xie Zhao noticed the body of the person in his arms stiffened, and hurriedly smoothed it out: "Nothing serious, just a plate hit his forehead, scratched a little, and his glasses are broken."
Cheng Yaoyao raised her head, anger in her charming peach blossom eyes: "Why did he get hurt for no reason? Was it Cheng Nonuo who did it?"
Xie Zhao nodded and said, "My uncle and his family may need to stay for a few more days."
"The Shen family didn't agree to the marriage, right?" Cheng Yaoyao was still furious, "So Cheng Nonuo attacked my dad? Is she crazy?"
Xie Zhao whispered to Cheng Yaoyao and didn't say much. Cheng Zheng was a man who valued his reputation and was very protective of his shortcomings. Xie Zhao sent him to the health center for examination and bandaging, but Cheng Zheng didn't reveal how he got injured.
Even if Cheng Zheng didn't say it, no secret could be kept in the village. The next day, everyone in the village knew that Cheng Nonuo had injured his father.
This matter was caused by the egg.
It is said that Auntie Ying Gui took the five yuan given by Cheng Yaoyao, plus the two yuan given by Cheng Zheng, which was a huge sum of extra income for a rural family.
Aunt Yingui went to her parents' home happily, took 40 eggs, picked some cucumbers and tomatoes, and brought them home in a basket, pretending that they were bought from the Xie family. But Wei Shuying didn't even say a word of gratitude, but snatched them away, counted them several times in front of her, and took them back home.
After a while, she went to the kitchen to borrow fire to cook brown sugar eggs. Auntie Yingui was cooking, so she had to take out the steamed bacon from the pot and give it to her.
Wei Shuying steamed a bowl of brown sugar stewed eggs and happened to run into Cheng Zheng and Shen's mother coming back one after another. She happily went up to them, called Shen's mother "mother-in-law", and even brought up the matter of the bride price.
Not only did Shen's mother look unhappy, Cheng Zheng also lost his dignity and shouted, "She won't marry your daughter! Are you still dreaming?"
"What did you say?!" Wei Shuying grabbed Shen's mother and said, "Do you want to deny your guilt?!"
Shen's mother had been a government official's wife for decades and had always been pampered. She had never met such a shrew before, so she immediately started a quarrel with Wei Shuying. While they were quarreling, there was another noise in the east room.
Cheng Zheng rushed into the room and saw Cheng Nuonuo lying on the ground, with fresh fruits, vegetables and rice dumplings scattered all over the floor and dark red liquid slowly flowing on the ground.
Cheng Zheng took a closer look and realized that it was brown sugar water.
Aunt Yingui and Shen's mother, who had just entered the room, came over to take a look and were shocked by Cheng Nonuo's appearance at the moment.
Wei Shuying yelled, "You're crazy! You little bitch, these are all good stuff!"
Cheng Nonuo shouted at her angrily: "These are not the Xie family's things, they are not the Xie family's!"
Auntie Yingui felt a little guilty and said hurriedly, "Why isn't it from the Xie family? I brought it from the Xie family this afternoon! This egg and brown sugar is available in every household, how could you tell it's not right?"
Wei Shuying also grabbed Auntie Yingui and said, "We gave you money to buy it. Did you embezzle it? I knew Yaoyao would not give anything to Nuonuo!"
Auntie Yingui got anxious when she heard this, and took out the money and notes from her pocket: "I didn't take a single cent from you! Yaoyao gave me this brown sugar personally, and she also gave me five yuan, asking me to cook some delicious food for you! The two yuan you gave me is not enough to buy anything! Don't you just want to ask for something for free because you know Xie Zhao will definitely not take your money?"
Wei Shuying's face turned pale with anxiety: "You...you are talking nonsense!"
Cheng Zheng was stunned, looking at the five yuan and brown sugar: "You mean, Yaoyao subsidized us privately? Why didn't she tell me?"
Auntie Yingui rolled her eyes at him and was very angry: "Can't you see that? Cheng Zhiqing is afraid that if she takes things from the Xie family, the Xie family will look down on her! That's why she gave me money in private and asked me to take eggs from my own home to give to you!"
Cheng Zheng was in mixed emotions and could not speak for a long time.
Cheng Nuonuo's skinny face turned red and became more distorted: "It's really not the Xie family's egg! Cheng Yaoyao is afraid that I will take advantage of her, afraid of Ling... She did it on purpose, she did it on purpose!"
Cheng Zheng frowned, but seeing Cheng Nonuo's miserable state, he still tried to persuade her kindly: "Nonuo, aren't all eggs and brown sugar the same? You get up first."
A plate flew towards him and hit him directly in the face. Cheng Zheng felt a sharp pain on his forehead, his glasses were broken, and everything in front of him became bizarre.
He squinted one eye to barely see Cheng Nonuo's expression, which was extremely frightening, and her voice was hoarse and weird, which was completely different from the well-behaved and docile little girl in his memory.
…
When Auntie Yingui got to this point, she was shocked: "Cheng Nuonuo's voice was so shrill and her face was so red, it was really scary! I saw her eyes were wide open, I'm afraid there is something wrong here."
Auntie Yingui pointed to her head. Others echoed: "It's very stimulating for a woman to encounter such a thing."
"So the Shen family is denying their responsibility now?"
Auntie Yin Gui said, "Hey, if it were you, would you admit it?"
"Bah! My son will never get involved with a woman like that!"
"Stop talking about it. Stop talking about it."
Seeing Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Zhao coming towards them, the women changed the subject and greeted her with a smile: "Cheng Zhiqing and Xie Zhao are going to the city again? Oh, and they brought the puppy with them too?"
Cheng Yaoyao was holding Hun Hun, and Xie Zhao was carrying a few bags of things, and they looked like they had just returned from the city. Cheng Yaoyao smiled and nodded: "I bought some things and took the puppy to the city to see my mother."
Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Zhao took Xun Xun back to the fertilizer factory today. Xun Xun rolled into the female dog's arms and acted cute. Cheng Yaoyao was originally worried that it would not come back, but when it was time for dinner, the little fat dog grabbed Xie Zhao's trouser legs and wanted to hug him. It was so happy to come back.
Auntie Yingui called Cheng Yaoyao over and said, "Come here, let me see. The puppy is getting fatter and fatter."
The little fat dog, Xuntun, was one month old. He was chubby and had drooping ears. Everyone who saw him wanted to tease him. Xuntun was pinched on the ears and face. He whimpered and cried, and hid in Cheng Yaoyao's arms with his tail tucked in.
The women laughed so hard: "This puppy has the wrong name. It's so timid. How is it going to look after the house in the future?"
Cheng Yaoyao defended him and said, "He'll be fierce when he grows up."
As everyone was talking and laughing, Xie Zhao walked into Auntie Yingui's house carrying some things. When he came out again, he had nothing in his hands and called Cheng Yaoyao to go home. Cheng Yaoyao put Xun Xun down on the ground, and the fat little dog followed the two of them home happily on his short legs.
"Tsk tsk, what did Xie Zhao give to his father-in-law again?"
"There is nothing to say about Cheng Zhiqing's daughter."
Sister Yingui is an insider: "If you have a stepmother, you will have a stepfather. This saying is true. These days, Xie Zhao has been sending food and things to the Cheng family every day, but the Cheng couple has never visited the Xie family once, and the stepmother has been saying bad things about the Xie family every day."
Cheng Yaoyao, who had been eavesdropping at the door, said, "You didn't give those things away for nothing. Now they are all saying good things about you."
Xie Zhao's eyes flashed with a smile, and he opened his arms to her: "Don't pout, come here."
Cheng Yaoyao snorted, raised his chin and walked away. When he passed by Xie Zhao, he was grabbed: "Stingy guy. I gave you the gift because of you. After all, he is your father. There is no need to give people something to talk about."
Cheng Yaoyao was picked up horizontally and looked nervously towards the kitchen.
Xie Zhao said: "Grandma and Xiao Fei went to Bashang Village."
Cheng Yaoyao finally breathed a sigh of relief, leaning comfortably in his arms, and continued with the previous topic: "I think you want to please your father-in-law."
"By the way." Xie Zhao admitted frankly.
"By the way, when are they going to go back?" Cheng Yaoyao rested his forehead on Xie Zhao's shoulder and frowned in annoyance.
Xie Zhao said: "It's still early."
The negotiations between Cheng Zheng and the Shen family were not smooth.
Shen's father did not come back, but only sent his secretary to accompany Shen's mother to handle the matter. This secretary is a smart person, Cheng Zheng and Wei Shuying are no match for the Shen family. Moreover, Cheng Zheng's research project in Shanghai is at a critical juncture, and the Shen family's procrastination can make him helpless.
Besides, Cheng Zheng was an old-fashioned intellectual who cared most about his reputation. Since the Shen family refused to marry his daughter, he could do nothing but talk about reason until his face turned red and his neck became thick. Wei Shuying was willing to make trouble, but she was alone and weak, so it was useless.
The two families spent every day in the brigade office, and the brigade leader and the branch secretary were so worried that they had a headache when they saw them, and they dragged Xie Zhao to help. Wei Shuying suddenly had an idea and wanted to ask the strong Xie Zhao to help. Fortunately, Cheng Zheng still had some rationality and stopped her directly.
Cheng Yaoyao was speechless for a long time after learning about this, and warned Xie Zhao not to meddle in the affairs of the Cheng family. Even grandmother Xie said that this family was confused and it was better to stay out of it.
These days, Cheng Zheng and his family of three live next door to Xie's house, but they have never met Cheng Yaoyao. Xie Zhao only sends some food over from time to time, but never stays.
Thinking of this, Cheng Yaoyao couldn't help laughing: "Have the bowl of snails and the salad been delivered?"
The food she asked Xie Zhao to deliver was all cold and spicy, and Cheng Nuonuo, who had just given birth, was not allowed to touch a single bite of it. However, she was so thoughtful that the villagers were speechless.
This was a little trick played secretly from Grandma Xie, so Xie Zhao naturally wouldn't expose it. He just kissed her cheek and said, "Little devil."
Cheng Yaoyao smiled slyly and complacently, which made Xie Zhao's heart move, as if he had been pricked by a kitten's paw. Cheng Nuonuo deserved to be killed a hundred times for the evil things he had done to her, but she was so complacent after a small revenge.
It was rare that Grandma Xie was not at home, so only Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Zhao were left in the huge house. The afternoon was long, and Xie Zhao suggested going back to the house for a nap. Cheng Yaoyao recalled the last time they were alone together, and said that he was not sleepy at all and just wanted to stay in the yard.
Jianjian had been lying on the wall, basking in the sun and taking a nap, and would not come down no matter how he called him. Cheng Yaoyao woke up the sleepy Jianjian, and held its two front paws to teach it to cross the bench. Jianjian drooped its eyelids and let Cheng Yaoyao torment it, but once he let go, it turned soft and fluffy into a pool.
"Scare you to get up!"
Xie Zhao pleaded for Xun Xun: "Let it sleep. It must be tired from going to the city today."
Cheng Yaoyao had no choice but to let go of the fat dog and ran to the vegetable garden to water the chickens. She also added water to the chicken food bowl. She didn't have to avoid Xie Zhao, she raised her fingertips and the spiritual spring water continued to flow into the food bowl.
After everything was done, Cheng Yaoyao couldn't dawdle any longer. Xie Zhao was still clinging to her, pestering her like a big dog: "Sister, let's go back to the room."
Cheng Yaoyao blushed: "I won't reply! Can you please think of something serious?"
Xie Zhao continued seriously: "Go back to your room and review."
"..." Cheng Yaoyao was about to catch his breath and rushed to Xie Zhao to grab him, but was picked up by Xie Zhao.
Cheng Yaoyao pleaded, and said in a low voice: "Put me down! Stop making trouble, it's very hot..."
The sound of speaking was swallowed between lips and teeth.
Suddenly, Jianjian jumped up with a "meow", and the sound of something heavy falling came from next door.
Cheng Yaoyao froze for a moment, and saw Jianjian hunching his back towards the wall and breathing heavily. The pumpkin vine on the wall was shaking and a piece of it was torn off.
Cheng Yaoyao was startled and looked at Xie Zhao: "Who is it?"
Seeing the coldness flashing in Xie Zhao's eyes, she also reacted. She had lived in Xie's house for so long, and Auntie Yin Gui's family were all decent people, and had never done such a thing as climbing over the wall. Moreover, it was working hours now, Auntie Yin Gui's family was not at home, Cheng Zheng and his wife and Shen's mother were also in the team at the moment, so naturally only that one person would climb over the wall.
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