Finally maintaining a safe distance, Xu Ruantang breathed a sigh of relief. "Didn't you see everything? Why are you still asking?"
"What about at home?"
“At home, I naturally have to put on a certain act. You should know that my family favors boys over girls. If you knew I was strong, I would have to do all the work.”
Xu Ruantang answered matter-of-factly, then covered her mouth and yawned. Her doe-like eyes instantly welled up with tears, making them even brighter.
"Go to sleep." Chen Ji turned around to get the blanket, intending to make up the bed for Xu Ruantang.
Xu Ruantang felt something was off. She paced around the room before suddenly asking, "Do you know who spread the word that you can't have children?"
Chen Ji paused in his work, without turning his head, and said, "I don't know."
“It’s Chen Lei!” Xu Ruantang said with certainty.
I thought Chen Ji would be angry, or at least respond.
To everyone's surprise, he said casually, "Go upstairs to sleep."
"Oh." Xu Ruantang had already stepped one foot onto the kang (heated brick bed), but then pulled it back. "Wow!"
"What's wrong now?"
"Where is Xu Hanli?!"
Chen Ji: "......"
After the two left the house, Chen Ji quickly found Xu Hanli curled up in a ball next to Xu Ruantang's newly developed vegetable garden.
Chen Ji didn't drink the honey water, not because he knew it contained sleeping potion, but because Xu Hanli drank it all himself.
He had been drinking alcohol and taking sleeping pills, and he had just been hit on the head by Chen Lei, so he was still not in his right mind.
After checking him over and confirming that he was fine and just asleep, Xu Ruantang tried to lift him up.
"Don't move, I'll do it."
Xu Ruantang reached out her hand, but Chen Ji stopped her, so she could only awkwardly withdraw it.
“You’re still injured. I’ll lift your leg, and you can lift your body,” Xu Ruantang sincerely suggested.
Chen Ji carried Xu Hanli directly to the back seat of the military jeep, and Xu Ruantang, following his instructions, brought out a quilt.
"Is it really okay to let him sleep here?"
The seats in this car are hard and uncomfortable; you'd feel like your bones were going to fall apart after sleeping in them all night.
Besides, Xu Hanli is so fair-skinned and delicate; what if someone picks him up...?
Chen Ji took the blanket and covered him with it, his voice cold and deep: "It's nothing."
During training, it's fine to sleep on the ground and be covered by the sky; there's no need to be so fussy.
This was a really exhausting day, and Xu Ruantang fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The experiences she had day after day were so fantastical that she kept having nightmares at night, sometimes being chased by someone, sometimes falling from a great height after misstepping.
Then I turned over and finally stopped dreaming. When I opened my eyes again, it was bright daylight.
Xu Ruantang stretched comfortably, and after washing up, she went into the kitchen and found that lunch had been left out.
"Chen Ji, it's past lunchtime already?!"
Xu Ruantang walked out of the kitchen with a look of astonishment and asked the two people outside, one big and one small.
"Yes, I've saved lunch for you."
While eating, Xu Ruantang was shocked by Chen Ji's composure in the face of adversity.
In her memory, the older generation rarely slept in so late. Every time she was on vacation at home, she would be woken up by her grandmother's nagging.
Either they say skipping breakfast is bad for her stomach, or they lament that someone so lazy would never want her, and that she'd be sent back home after marriage.
After lunch, Xu Ruantang found a pair of scissors and began pruning the wildflowers she had picked the day before in the yard.
Where is Xu Hanli?
"I'm going back."
"Didn't he want rose cakes? Did you bring them for him?"
"Um."
After arranging the flowers, Xu Ruantang had just stood up when there was a knock on the courtyard gate.
"Xiao Chen, I'm Secretary Yao. May I come in?"
It was Yao Guoqiang's voice, a far cry from his imposing manner yesterday; today his tone was full of flattery.
Xu Ruantang subconsciously looked at Chen Ji, whose face remained unchanged, his poker face still poker.
"Come in."
The courtyard gate was pushed open, and Yao Guoqiang was followed by Yao Yulan. After they came in, Aunt Wang brought Wang Jian in as well.
The group carried a lot of things in large and small bags. Yao Yulan looked dejected, while Wang Jian was too guilty to look up. His originally sharp-faced and monkey-like face was now swollen.
Aunt Wang looked very upset. After everyone left last night, she slapped Wang Jian several times without any mercy.
Those slaps were delivered with all my might, and my hands started to go numb afterward. I sat on the ground and kept crying.
Aunt Wang raised Wang Jian all by herself, which was no easy feat. The thought that her only son was such a person made her wish she could just die with Wang Jian.
But since the matter had already happened, it had to be dealt with. Early in the morning, she went to the Yao family to propose marriage. After the two families agreed on the wedding arrangements, she hurriedly bought things and went to the Chen family to apologize.
They bumped into Yao Guoqiang, who was bringing Yao Yulan, outside the door. The two parents exchanged a glance, both feeling extremely embarrassed.
Anyone with eyes can see the truth of what happened yesterday.
Yao Guoqiang spoke up in time, preventing both families' children from being taken away by the police. But ultimately, it was Chen Ji and his wife who were willing to let them off the hook, so they had to come and express their gratitude.
"Xiao Chen, Xiao Xu."
Aunt Wang greeted us first, her smile more like a grimace than a genuine cry.
Xu Ruantang brought out stools for the two elders, saying, "Secretary Yao, Aunt Wang, please sit down and talk things over."
"Okay, okay, thank you, Xiao Xu."
The two were flattered and accepted the stools.
For the first time today, Yao Yulan was unusually well-behaved. She stood behind Yao Guoqiang without saying a word, her face blank.
Perhaps the die is cast, and no amount of struggling will change anything, especially since Yao Guoqiang has already given up on her. If she continues to make trouble, her situation will only get worse.
Compared to going to jail or becoming a nun in the mountains, marrying into her own village is the best outcome for her.
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