The three little ones were playing crazily. They didn't come back with Su Ergou. Su Ergou wanted to catch those children, but the three little ones were running like the wind!
Su Ergou only had two hands. And just after he caught Dahu and Ergou, Xiaohu slipped away.
Catched Xiaohu back and Dahu ran away.
When he was holding Dahu under his arms, Erhu stuck out his tongue 'lue lue lue' teasing Su Ergou again and escaped.
Su Ergou was flustered, he didn't know what he should do.
The villagers who had just enjoyed the view of a pair of father-in-law and son-in-law making a fool of themselves in the field, and once again they were lucky enough to witness the youngest bully of the Su family being turned around by the three little cuties.
"Oh, dear… hahaha…"
The stomachs of the villagers hurted because of laughing too much.
When did Su Ergou, who had always followed behind his father and acted domineering, get so embarrassed?
How silly!
Hahahahaha!
Su Xiaoxiao didn't know the farce between Su Ergou and the three little ones. After reading the list to her, Wei Ting suddenly lost his temper and went back to the house with a cold face.
"I really spoiled you too much." Su Xiaoxiao curled her lips and went to the kitchen to wash the vegetables.
There was not much firewood, so she decided to go to the mountain to pick up some firewood.
It was dark in the morning, and she usually would walk from the main road. But at this time, there was enough light. So she simply took the narrow path behind the kitchen and walked up the mountain from behind Old Su's house.
Su Jinniang had already gone home and was sitting in the backyard picking vegetables. From the kitchen, the conversation between her mother Mrs. Fang, her second aunt Mrs. Yang, and Mrs. Zhou could be heard.
Mrs. Zhou lived next door to the old Su's family house. Whenever she had something to do or not, she would come over to sit down.
"Fang jie ah, which family is Jinniang going to get married to? Has it been decided yet?"
It was Mrs. Zhou's voice.
Mrs. Fang said, "Not yet."
Mrs. Zhou wondered, "Why hasn't it been decided? Jinniang is already sixteen!"
In the rural area, the girl in the family who was 15 years old reached the marriageable age. And many of them had already married at the age of 14 or 15. As for the girl who was already at the age of 16 but still remained undecided, it was not many.
The second aunt Mrs. Yang said, "Don't worry, it's not like Jinniang can't get married."
"No matter how good a girl is, it's really hard to get married if she gets older!" said Mrs. Zhou, "You guys cannot be too picky, and delay Jianniang."
Mrs. Fang just smiled.
Mrs. Zhou was gossiping and said, "There are a lot of marriage proposals, right? I see that the matchmakers have been sneaking into your house every day. Who are they? Da Zhuzi from Old Luo's family! He must be one of them!"
Da Zhuzi, Li Zheng's nephew, was a down-to-earth and hardworking young man. If it wasn't because Mrs. Zhou's daughter was still too young, she would have wanted Da Zhuzi to be her son-in-law.
"Is there one from the town? The one who sells wine in Yangliu Village, his daughter is married to someone from the town! Even she who is far worse than Jinniang can marry to someone from the town, then Jinniang—"
Before Mrs. Zhou finished speaking, she was interrupted by Mrs. Fang's cold voice: "That kind of behavior of hers, my Jinniang can't do it! Jinniang has always been disciplined, so she won't seduce a man who has a marriage engagement!"
Originally, the son of the yuanwailang* already had a fiancée, but their engagement was messed up by the wine seller's daughter.
*yuanwailang (员外郎) : is one of the official positions in Ancient China. It originally refers to the Langguan (offical position in ancient china) who is located outside the front.
Mrs. Fang added: "There are also marriage proposals from the town, but Jinniang's grandfather wants to choose a scholar for the son-in-law."
Mrs. Zhou laughed and said, "That's right, Jinniang should marry a scholar! Unlike Su Pangya, so what if she finds a handsome husband? He doesn't even know a single word, and is still learning how to farm with the Old Li's family!"
Su Jinniang remembered the time when Wei Ting read a letter for Su Xiaoxiao. That man… was clearly literate.
After gossiping for a while, Mrs. Zhou left. Su Jinniang washed the vegetables and brought them into the kitchen.
"Is it snowing? Jinniang, close the door." Mrs. Fang, who was cooking, said to Su Jinniang.
Su Jinniang silently went to close the back door of the kitchen, and met Su Xiaoxiao who was passing by.
Su Jinniang's eyes fell on her big colorful cotton-padded jacket and closed the door coldly.
Su Xiaoxiao looked down at her clothes.
Well, she forgot to buy the new clothes.
There was light snow falling from the sky. Su Xiaoxiao didn't go too far. She picked up a bundle of firewood and hurried back.
Su Ergou finally caught the three little ones back, and he became so tired that he kept gasping for the air.
The three little ones were still full of energy, so they went to the kitchen to find their mother.
"Mom, Dahu is hungry."
"Erhu is also hungry."
"Xiaofu, Xiaofu is the most hungry!"
Xiaohu lifted up his clothes and patted dry his small belly.
Su Xiaoxiao gently poked his small watermelon-like belly: "Aiyaah, you are really hungry!"
Xiaohu nodded his head: "Mm-hmm!"
Su Xiaoxiao chuckled.
Dahu and Erhu also wanted their bellies to be poked. Su Xiaoxiao couldn't laugh or cry, and poked them one by one without favoring one over another.
Su Xiaoxiao made a hot pot with corn keel soup tonight. The soup was not spicy, but the dipping sauce was spicy.
She clapped her hands and said, "It's done!"
At this moment, there was a heavy knock from outside the door.
"Su Pangya! You come out for me!"
"What's the matter? Why are you shouting?"
Su Cheng pulled the door with a cold face, and the blizzard outside the door rushed directly towards his face, pouring snow into Su Cheng's neck.
Su Cheng quickly pulled his collar.
When the door opened, Mrs. Wan, who was standing at the door, raised her fist and rushed up.
Su Cheng moved sideways, making her pounce on the air.
"Mom!"
Mrs. Wan's daughter-in-law turned pale because of shock, and glanced at the bully Su Cheng. Seeing that Su Cheng had no intention of doing anything to her, she boldly went into the house and helped Mrs. Wan who had fallen to the ground.
"Mom, are you all right?" she asked worriedly.
Mrs. Wan shouted loudly: "Where is Su Pangya? You get her out! Get her out!"
Su Cheng frowned and asked, "Why are you looking for my daughter?"
"Dad."
Su Xiaoxiao came out of the kitchen.
When Mrs. Wan saw her, she was behaving like a crazy beast. She pushed away her daughter-in-law who was supporting her, and swung the chair on the ground and threw it at Su Xiaoxiao!
Su Cheng was behind Mrs. Wan. And it was too late to grab the chair.
Just as Su Xiaoxiao stepped over the threshold with one foot, there were three little ones behind her, so she couldn't hide.
She was holding a hot pot in her hand, so she couldn't catch or block it with her hands.
Seeing that the chair was about to hit her, the door of the small east room suddenly opened, Wei Ting stepped out and was about to slam it down with his palm.
Su Xiaoxiao: "The chair costs money!"
Wei Ting gritted his teeth and grabbed the chair firmly with his hands instead.
Su Xiaoxiao let out a long sigh of relief: "Fortunately, fortunately. The chair is really very expensive."
Wei Ting: "…"
"Surname Wan! Just what is the matter with you!" Su Cheng stepped up and stood in front of Mrs. Wan and said viciously, "Are you fucking crazy! How dare you attack my daughter! Don't think that just because you are a woman and laozi* won't beat you?!"
*Laozi (老子) : I / me (used arrogantly or jocularly)
"Mom! Mom!"
Mrs. Wan's daughter-in-law hurriedly pulled her mother-in-law aside.
There was so much noise that the villagers came to watch the fun again.
"What's the matter with this?"
"I don't know ah."
"Who's in the house?"
"Wang Laizi's mother and his wife."
Wang Laizi was the man who was messing around with Mrs. Wu on the ox cart that day, and was kicked off the ox cart by Su Xiaoxiao.
When Mrs. Wan saw that many of the villagers had come, she ran out and threw herself to the ground. She beat her chest and cried out: "My son ah— my miserable son ah— this murderous Su family— give back my son's life ah—."
Wang Laizi's wife also cried sadly.
Mrs. He said: "What do you mean by giving back your son's life? Aunt Wan, please explain it clearly to everyone."
Mrs. Wan cried and said, "Su Pangya killed my son—"
What?
Su Pangya killed Wang Laizi?
Everyone was shocked when they heard the news.
Although the Su family was domineering, they never killed anyone. How could this be—
Su Cheng walked out of the room and said, "Surnamed Wan! You can't talk nonsense and slander people! When did my daughter kill your son?"
Mrs. Wan pointed to Su Xiaoxiao in the room and said, "I'm not talking nonsense! It was your daughter who killed my son!"
Su Xiaoxiao walked out calmly and said, "You said I killed him, then do you have any evidence?"
Mrs. Wan was extremely agitated: "My son has no grievances or enmities towards anyone, and he only had some bad relationships with you! If it wasn't you who killed him, then who else?"
Su Cheng said impatiently, "When did my daughter have a bad relationship with your son?"
Mrs. Wan pointed at Su Xiaoxiao and said sadly and indignantly, "A few days ago, she kicked my son off the ox cart!"
Su Xiaoxiao nodded and said, "Well, there is such a thing, but so what? Don't you think that it's too far-fetched to conclude that I am the murderer just based on this alone?"
Mrs. Wan was so agitated that she panted heavily, "It's you who say it by yourself… You don't like to see my son!"
Su Xiaoxiao said: "I did say that."
Mrs. Wan cried to the crowd, "Listen, folks! She admitted it! She didn't like my son and wouldn't even let him sit on the ox cart!"
"The reason why I didn't let your son ride an ox cart is—" Su Xiaoxiao stopped in the middle of her words.
"Because of what? Tell me! You can't tell, right! You think my son is not pleasing to the eye, so you killed him! You are so cruel!"
Mrs. Wan cried so loudly that her voice became hoarse.
The way everyone looked at Su Pangya changed. No one was killed in the past, so it didn't mean that it wouldn't happen now, right?
What's more, their family was the biggest bully in the whole village. If it wasn't Su Fat-ya who killed him, could it be someone else?
"To even do something like killing someone, what a bad thing!"
"How could such a bad person happen to be in our village?"
"Poor Wang Laizi."
Wang Laizi was not a good person, with some bad habits. But after all, it was a human life.
It was fine to get thrown out, but it was a little too much to be killed.
No one wanted to live in the same village with a murderer.
At this moment, another villager said, "The Su's family originally did not belong to our village! It's from Yangliu Village next door! In my opinion, in addition to reporting this matter to the government, we have to drive their family back to Yangliu Village!"
It would be great if they could get rid of these bullies!
Li Zheng quickly arrived with Old Li Tou.
After listening to it for a while, the two of them almost understood what was going on.
Old Li Tou persuaded, "Please be calm, everyone. Daya is not that kind of person! She won't kill people!"
"Old Li Tou! Why did you help Su Daya talk? Did she bribe you?"
"Without bribing him, how could it be possible for him to let his wife teach the Su's family how to farm?"
"That's right, the old Li's family and the Su's family have gotten really close for the last few days!"
"Old Li Tou, what benefits did she give you? Wang Laizi is a life! Don't cover up for the murderer!"
When Old Li Tou heard these hurtful words, he became furious and pointed to those people, and said, "I don't know whether it was a murderer or not! I only know that… if it weren't for Daya that day, then all of your New Year goods would have been taken away by the bastards in the town!"
Old Li Tou told the story of Su Xiaoxiao's fierce fight with Zhang Dao in detail.
Su Cheng said, "That's right! The Su family offended Zhang Dao because of this matter, and we even went to the medical clinic to have a fight with Zhang Dao! My hands were all hurt!"
Everyone looked at each other.
There were a lot of New Year goods that day. And if it was really true, then they would owe Su Pangya a big favor.
Mrs. Wan gritted her teeth and said, "You guys are siding up with her! Naturally, you would help her talk! Besides you guys, who else has seen that gang in the town! It's not up to you to say that!"
Everyone: It seemed to make some sense.
Then Mrs. Wan continued, "Just what kind of virtue Su Pangya has? It was already good for her to not blackmail the villagers money, and you said that she will help the villagers, would she do that? Old Li Tou, you have got the benefit by yourself! Just don't drag the whole village into the water!"
Old Li Tou anxiously said, "Everything I say is true! If there is even half a lie, then let me… let me be struck by lightning, and could not get a good death!"
As soon as this heavy oath came out, everyone became silent.
In fact, they were well aware of what kind of person Old Li Tou was. Otherwise, they wouldn't feel relieved to let Old Li Tou buy the New Year goods for them.
It was because the incident happened so suddenly and it had something to do with Su Pangya that they became suspicious.
But Old Li Tou made such a threatening oath—
Could it be that they really blame Su Pangya wrongly?
Mrs. Wan was so angry and said, "So, so what if she really helped you to get things back? It is also true that she has a grudge against my son! Old Li Tou! You were also there that day! It's your ox cart! You tell everyone personally, did she really kick my son down?"
"This…" Old Li Tou couldn't deny it.
"Aunt Wan."
"Mrs. Wu squeezed in from behind the villagers. She squeezed her sleeves tightly and said with a pale face, 'I was there that day too. Daya kicked your son off the ox cart was because—'"
Su Xiaoxiao interrupted her coldly, "Surnamed Wu! Since when is it your turn to talk so much about me, Su Daya?"
"Daya!" Mrs. Wu looked at Su Xiaoxiao with her reddened eyes. She understood that Su Daya was intentional. Su Daya prevented her from telling the truth because she was worried that her (Mrs. Wu) reputation would be damaged and she would be criticized in the future.
But she couldn't just watch Su Daya being slandered as a murderer.
She didn't believe Su Daya was that kind of person.
Su Xiaoxiao walked directly in front of Mrs. Wan, against the cold wind and snow, she looked down at Mrs. Wan: "What kind of virtue your son has, you know it well. How many people hate him and want to beat him to death, you yourself also often scold him! Saying that if you had known that you gave birth to such a useless son, you might as well have drowned him in the river—"
Mrs. Wan shouted, "I'm his mother! How could it be possible for me to kill my own son?"
Su Xiaoxiao spread out her hands and said: "Then who knows?"
"You—" Mrs. Wan leaned back in anger!
Su Xiaoxiao looked at Mrs. Wan and said, "You keep saying that I am the murderer. So let me ask you, when did your son die? Who found it? What was the murder weapon? And who really saw me killing him with his own eyes?"
Mrs. Wan said, "He… he was discovered by Qiniang… and, also discovered by Chunya… at the back door of my house… the body was still warm when it just snowed!"
Su Xiaoxiao had been observing Mrs. Wan's expression, Mrs. Wan did not lie.
Li Zheng opened his mouth and said, "Su Daya, where were you when it just snowed?"
Su Xiaoxiao said, "I'm on my way to the back mountain to collect firewood."
Li Zheng asked, "Can someone testify for you?"
Su Xiaoxiao's gaze glanced over the crowd, and landed on Su Jinniang who was the outermost.
"Mom, let's go back, there's nothing to look at." Su Jinniang held Mrs. Fang's arm and said to Fang.
"Wait a minute!" Su Xiaoxiao spoke, while staring at Su Jinniang without blinking. "Li Zheng, I think I know who the murderer is."
"Who?" Li Zheng asked.
Su Xiaoxiao said solemnly, "When I went to the back of the mountain to collect firewood, I heard Wang Laizi say that the girl from the Old Su family is really beautiful, if he can touch her, then he would not have any regret in this life! I suspect that Wang Laizi was trying to tease Su Jinniang, but was killed by Su Jinniang by mistake!"
What?
Everyone was surprised!
Su Jinniang frowned.
Mrs. Fang turned around and said, "Su Pangya! Don't accuse my daughter! Wang Laizi wouldn't dare to tease my daughter! My daughter didn't kill Wang Laizi either! Jinniang hasn't gone out since she came back from the field and has been working at home all the time! Our whole family can testify!"
Su Xiaoxiao folded her arms and said calmly, "You are a family, so of course you will testify for her."
Very good, the words they used to refute Su Pangya just now were used by Su Pangya on Su Jinniang in the same way.
They didn't believe that Su Jinniang would kill people, but Mrs. Wan didn't jump out to refute it. Could it be… there was really some inside story?
The reason why Mrs. Wan was silent was because his son really desired Su Jinniang—
Mrs. Zhou snorted, "How could a woman kill Wang Laizi? You think everyone is like you, a big fat woman with brute force!"
Su Cheng fiercely said: "What did you say? Who is the big fat woman?! Believe it or not, laozi* will beat you!"
*Laozi (老子) : I / me (used arrogantly or jocularly)
Mrs. Zhou shrank back.
Su Xiaoxiao said, "Then it means that she has an accomplice!"
Su Jinniang clenched her finger and opened her mouth, "You guys stop arguing! When Wang Laizi had an accident, I was helping in the kitchen at home. My mother said it was snowing, so she asked me to close the back door of the kitchen. Su Daya, didn't you see it?"
Mrs. Fang hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, yes! I asked Jinniang to close the door!"
Su Xiaoxiao looked like she just realized it suddenly and said, "Oh, that person is you ah, It was snowing, so I didn't see it clearly. I thought It was your older sister Yuniang."
Mrs. Wang said: "Yuniang is at her husband's house! She's going to give birth soon, her body is heavy, so she can't come back at all!"
This was something that the villagers knew.
Su Jinniang said to Li Zheng, "With Su Daya testifying for me, then it means I have cleared the suspicion, right?"
"Of course it is." Li Zheng nodded. "So, both of you were near your house at that time, and the murderer was neither you nor Su Daya."
Mrs. Wan howled out again, "Then, who killed my son?"
"This question.….." Su Xiaoxiao's eyes glanced and fell on Chun Ya, Mrs. Wan's daughter-in-law. "Why don't you ask your daughter-in-law?"
Chun Ya's body trembled.
Su Xiaoxiao looked at her with a faint smile on her face and said, "Chun Ya, it was you who told your mother-in-law that I had a grudge against Wang Laizi, right? I went to the back mountain to collect firewood by myself just now, and you also saw it too, right?"
Mrs. Wan said: "Su Pangya! What are you trying to say?!"
Su Xiaoxiao said: "Aunt Wan, your daughter-in-law is responsible for your son's death! She deliberately picked a time when no one could testify for me, so she is free to put the blame on me! It's just that a person's plan is not as good as God's plan. Su Jinniang saw me when she went to close her kitchen's back door."
"What Daya said is right!" Su Cheng always trusted his fat daughter without any doubt, "Surnamed Wan, the one who discovered the body was your daughter-in-law, and it was still warm when she found it. Maybe it was her who just killed your son!"
Mrs. Wan suddenly looked at Chun Ya!
Chun Ya's face became deathly pale, and she hurriedly waved her hands: "Mom… no… it's not me… I didn't kill Dacai… I swear… I didn't…"
Wang Laizi, named Wang Dacai.
She said she didn't kill him, but her cold sweat clearly showed a guilty conscience.
Su Xiaoxiao took a deep look at her and said, "Even if you didn't kill him, you should know who the murderer is."
Mrs. Wan grabbed Chun Ya's arm tightly and said, "Say it! Who is the murderer! You tell me! Tell me quickly—"
Chun Ya was pinched to the point of tears and said, "I can't say…"
"Tell me quickly ah! Just who had killed my son—"
"That's right, Chun Ya, you can just say it, right? Don't take the blame for others."
"Chun Ya, don't be silly. Just say it, it's your man who died. This is a blood feud."
"Are you afraid because you have some shady relationship with the murderer? Otherwise, why did that person kill your man, and you still keep your mouth shut for him?"
From the initial good words of persuasion, the villagers gradually began to have malicious speculations.
It wasn't their fault to think like that, it was because Chun Ya's behavior was too abnormal.
Mrs. Wan's heart also began to doubt, then she twisted Chun Ya's arm fiercely: "Say! Which wild man is it!"
Chun Ya shed tears like rain, but she just refused to tell who the murderer was.
Su Xiaoxiao looked into the distance and said, "Stop fighting, the murderer is coming."
The murderer?
Everyone looked over the direction that Su Xiaoxiao indicated.
They saw that the little bully of the Su family was chasing a man who was tied up tightly (wuhuadabang), braved the wind and snow, and walked towards this side.
-Wuhuadabang (五花大绑) : to bind a person's upper body, with arms tied behind the back and rope looped around the neck; truss up tightly.
The two men were followed by the three small bullies.
The man walked slowly, and Su Ergou showed his bully nature. He kicked his ass and said, "Have you not eaten? Walk faster!"
The three small bullies picked up the little whip made by their uncle!
Dahu said fiercely: "Go quickly!"
Erhu said fiercely: "if you still don't go, I will smack you!"
"Xiaohu waved the little whip angrily and said: 'Qiu (chou)* you!'"
*Chou (抽) : means smack or beating or whipping. Xiaohu wanted to say 'chou', but he is still small so he still couldn't say it clearly, and it became 'qiu'.
Only when they got closer, the crowd recognized the man who had been tied up.
"Wang Laizi?" Mrs. He exclaimed in surprise.
Aunt Liu: "Aahh— The corpse coming to life ah—"
The crowd scattered in a sudden!
Aunt Liu jumped three feet and jumped behind Su Cheng.
Unexpectedly, Su Cheng also dodged behind his fat daughter.
Aunt Liu who hid alone: "…"
Su Xiaoxiao: "Dad, are you afraid of ghosts?"
Su Cheng: "No, Dad is worried about you. Don't worry, Dad will always be your most solid backing!"
Su Xiaoxiao: "…"
Su Ergou sighed, "What are you hiding from? Wang Laizi is not dead!"
The villagers looked at each other one by one.
Only the mother, Mrs. Wan, came to her son in a daze and raised her hand to touch his face, saying, "Warm… It's warm… there's breath… this, just what is going on? Obviously there was no breath just a moment ago…"
Su Ergou snorted, "Hold it!"
Mrs. Wan grabbed his wrist and said, "The pulse… it's also there, I couldn't feel it just now."
Su Ergou casually threw a small iron ball onto the ground and said, "If you hold this thing under your armpit, you can temporarily lose the pulse. It's just a small trick!"
The villagers take a long sigh of relief, all is good if it wasn't a corpse coming to life…
Just What happened with Wang Laizi ah? Obviously he was living well, why did he pretend to be dead and frame it to others?
couldn't distinguish between right and wrong, regardless of the reason, she had made big enough trouble to lose her face, right?
Everyone forgot that they also wanted to drive the Su family out of the village just now.
Li Zheng asked seriously, "Wang Dachai, why did you do this?"
Wang Laizi was silent.
Li Zheng said seriously , "Everyone can go! Wang Dacai, Mrs. Wan, Chunya, all of you need to come to my house!"
This was a separate trial of their family.
The crowd didn't disperse, they hurried to Li Zheng's house to watch the fun.
Su Cheng also went, he was going to beat up that bastard! Although he had already been beaten by Su Ergou.
Su Ergou came to Su Xiaoxiao with a smile and said, "Jie, did I look handsome just now?"
Su Xiaoxiao: "Who taught you?"
Su Ergou: ".…..Brother-in-law."
Wei Ting hadn't been out from the main room for a long time, she thought he was indifferent to her affairs and went back to the room to rest, but she didn't expect—
Su Xiaoxiao: "How does he know that Wang Laizi is not dead?"
Su Ergou: "I don't know, I only discovered it when I went there! My brother-in-law said that he was going to the crime scene and searched the corpse to find clues!"
That guy, Wei Ting, was a lot smarter and more thoughtful than she thought.
Su Xiaoxiao looked around and asked, "Just where is he?"
Su Ergou pointed back and said, "Behind you, my brother-in-law is walking slowly. He's afraid that you might run into trouble. So he let me bring Wang Laizi over first."
Wei Ting's injuries had not completely healed, and he still needed to lie in bed to recuperate. Occasionally, he would walk around, doing some activities, but he could only take a few steps slowly with the crutch.
When he went to Wang Laizi's house, he walked a bit hastily, so his leg suddenly became swollen.
On the way home, the snow was getting heavier and heavier.
When Su Xiaoxiao found him, he was sitting on a big rock under the old locust tree, leaning sideways with his crutch.
Usually, this stone was a place where many villagers chat and gossip. Su Xiaoxiao's never felt anything special about it. But when he sat on it tonight, she became absent-minded and felt that it seemed like there were some artistic conceptions from it.
He had broad shoulders and narrow waist, a tall and upright figure, and long legs. His jet-black hair bun was a little messy from the snowstorm, brushing against his handsome jade-like cheeks. His appearance was absolutely beautiful.
"Really, he looked like an alluring evil spirit."
Su Xiaoxiao muttered and walked forward.
"Why are you sitting here?"
Wei Ting said lightly, "Looking at the scenery?"
Su Xiaoxiao: "…"
Su Xiaoxiao sat down beside him.
Wei Ting gave her a strange glance and said, "What are you doing?"
Su Xiaoxiao looked at the dark night scene and said, "Looking at the scenery ah."
"You're not cold?" Wei Ting asked.
Su Xiaoxiao spread out her hand and said, "I am fat, have a thick fat body, so I'm not afraid of cold. You are asking me like that, is it because you are cold?"
Wei Ting snorted and didn't answer.
Su Xiaoxiao touched his hands.
Wei Ting frowned and said, "What are you doing?"
Su Xiaoxiao said, "Your hands are freezing like this, why don't you go back? Let's go! If you continue to sit down here, you will become a popsicle!"
As she got up, she went to get Wei Ting's crutch, and unexpectedly found that the crutch was broken.
"You…" She was stunned for a moment and then looked at his legs. "Did you fall?"
"No." Wei Ting said with an expressionless face,
Su Xiaoxiao squatted down, lifted his left trouser leg, looked at his bloody knee, and said, "And you still said that you didn't fall!"
The wound on his left calf was extremely deep. Although its surface has sutured well, it would still take some time for him to fully recover.
Not to mention that the calf had not healed yet, and the knee had been scrapped again.
"Don't sit here, let's go back and apply the medicine." Su Xiaoxiao stood up, she put away the broken crutch with one hand, and stretched out the other hand in front of him.
Seeing that Wei Ting didn't move, she shook her little chubby hand and said, "You just injured your leg. Don't expect me to carry you, ok? I'm a delicate girl! How can I carry you, such a big man?"
Wei Ting gave her a complicated look.
In the end, Wei Ting was still supported by her hands. The two of them walked home step by step in the snowstorm.
After walking a few steps, Su Xiaoxiao said, "Okay la, I take back what I said just now, I'm a fat girl with a weight of 200 catties, and I won't be crushed because of your weight. So don't be afraid to lean more on me."
Excessive pressure on your injured leg would make the injury worse.
Wei Ting hesitated for a moment and leaned slightly on her.
Su Xiaoxiao thought of tonight's incident and made a slight cough. She said arrogantly, "Actually, even if you don't help me today, I still can get away. After all, I have found an alibi for myself."
Wei Ting snorted and said, "Who said I helped you? The one I helped is Ergou. So don't be too sentimental."
Su Xiaoxiao said, "Hehe, who is being too sentimental? Ergou is my younger brother, and does he need your help?"
Wei Ting said lightly, "He called me brother-in-law.'"
Su Xiaoxiao said, "He calls you brother-in-law, and you become his brother-in-law? Then If I call you husband, are you my husband?"
Wei Ting said: "Then it depends on how you call it."
Su Xiaoxiao stopped for a moment, she looked deeply at him, and smiled, "Hubby~"
Wei Ting: "…it's so unpleasant to hear."
Just like a basin of cold water that was poured down, Su Xiaoxiao's face instantly darkened.
The two of them continued to walk forward. As they passed the Old Su's house, they met Su Jinniang, who came out to pour water.
Su Jinniang looked at the two of them who were walking in the snowstorm. She suddenly opened her mouth and called out to Su Xiaoxiao.
"Su Daya!"
She put down the tub and quickly walked up to the two of them.
Su Xiaoxiao looked at her without knowing why: "What's up?"
In her impression, she didn't have any friendship with Su Jinniang, beside the fact that
Su Jinniang looked down on her. And all the people Su Xiaoxiao liked, all tried to court Su Jinniang.
Su Jinniang's expression was a bit nervous. She deliberately didn't look at Wei Ting, but stared at Su Xiaoxiao and said, "Why did you just slander me? There is nothing between me and Wang Laizi! Are you deliberately trying to ruin my reputation? When did I offend you?"
The anger of her was a little bit too much ah.
Su Xiaoxiao smiled slightly and said, "If I didn't say that, would you be willing to stand up and testify for me?"
Su Jinniang's breath paused for a moment, and she glanced at Wei Ting from the corner of her eye: "I… Of course I will."
Su Xiaoxiao sneered and said, "Su Jinniang, do you think I'm blind? Li Zheng just asked who could prove my innocence, and you immediately wanted to drag your mother away. How can you say this?"
Su Jinniang flatly denied, "I didn't drag my mother away!"
Su Xiaoxiao had nothing to say and looked up at the sky: "Your mouth is on your body. So you can say however you like."
Su Jinniang's face looked disappointed and said, "Su Daya, you have been jealous of me since you were a child and always opposed me at every turn. But I really never expected that you would use this kind of method to retaliate against me!"
Su Xiaoxiao looked at her puzzled and said, "No, Su Jinniang, just what's going on with you today?"
Su Jinniang lowered her eyes and said, "Forget it, justice and injustice are at the people's heart. What you have done, you know it by yourself. That's all I want to say. I just hope that you don't continue to do stupid things in the future!"
After she said that, she turned around and left without any hesitation.
A gust of cold wind blew by, bringing a faint fragrance of rouge from her body.
After walking about three steps, she turned around and looked up and down at Su Xiaoxiao.
"In addition, don't learn how to dress like me in the future."
After she finished saying that, this time she really left.
Su Jinniang must be sick, right?
Exposing her shortcomings in front of Wei Ting?
"What's wrong with her?!"
Su Xiaoxiao patted the snow on her body and raised her eyes to see that Wei Ting was looking at herself for a moment without blinking.
She arrogantly said: "What are you looking at? Isn't it just a few clothes? She can wear it, I can't wear it?"
"You seem to have become thinner," Wei Ting said.
Su Xiaoxiao was startled: "Huh?"
Wei Ting pointed to her cuff and said, 'It was tight here before. When you changed my medicine, there was a red mark because too tight.'"
Su Xiaoxiao blinked and said, "You are observing me so closely, huh?"
Wei Ting sneered, "I'm on guard against you, if you are hiding concealed weapons!"
When a woman was praised for being thinner, her mood would definitely fly high. So she didn't care about Wei Ting's bad words to her.
Su Xiaoxiao lowered her head and touched her belly. "When you say that, it seems like I feel that my clothes are not so tight. Wei Ting, I'm really thinner!"
She raised her eyes to look at him, her eyes were shining brightly, and a smile of joy from the bottom of her heart flashed through her eyes.
Wei Ting looked away and said lightly, "It's just a little thinner than before, and it's still—'"
Su Xiaoxiao said fiercely, "Hold back the last two words for me.
"Why did you go there?"
In the Old Su family's house, Mrs. Fang had just come out of her own room and ran into Su Jinniang who was closing the door.
Su Jinniang pointed to the wooden basin in her hand and said, "To pour water."
"Did you put face powder?" Mrs. Fang smelled the fragrance of rouge on her daughter's body.
Su Jinniang lowered her eyebrows and said, "No, my ears are freezing. So I rubbed some vanishing cream on them."
Mrs. Fang nodded and hummed, then she said, "I seemed to hear you talking to someone just now."
Su Jinniang said, "I met Su Daya and said a few words."
Mrs. Fang unhappily said, "What did you say to her? She had just framed you tonight."
Su Jinniang turned silent.
Mrs. Fang pondered and said, "Is it really because she's a married woman now? I see that Su Pangya is not the same as before, she somehow became smarter. Based on what she had said to Mrs. Wan tonight, she seems pretty eloquent… I heard that she even went to town to do business."
Su Jinniang whispered, "What kind of business can she do? Mom, don't just listen and believe in random rumors."
Then Mrs. Fang said, "Really! Someone saw her go to town with Ergou in the morning, and come back with big bags and small bags at noon. If she didn't earn some money, then how could she be able to buy those rice grains and meat? And recently, they haven't gone to the village to extort money."
Su Jinniang put the wooden basin against the wall and said, "Isn't there still the bride price that was returned by the He family? That money should be enough for them to squander for a while. Just wait until they have squandered all of it, they will definitely go around extorting money again like before."
Mrs. Fang felt that her daughter's words were reasonable, and sighed, "Aiyaah, what a sin! How did our village get this family of scourges?"
—
In the Su family, the three little ones were standing under the porch, and looking in the direction of Wang Laizi's house.
No matter how Su Ergou coaxed them, he couldn't coax them to get inside.
The sky became dark and the snow became heavier.
When Su Xiaoxiao and Wei Ting arrived home, what they saw were the three statues of little snowmen with anxious expressions.
Wei Ting's hard-hearted heart suddenly softened.
These few brats, they weren't raised in vain.
As he was about to walk towards them, he saw the three of them running over and pouncing on Su Xiaoxiao in unison.
Dahu and Erhu, each of them held one of her hands. Xiaohu was a step slower, he wanted to pull her clothes but he couldn't pull it. Instead, he hugged Su Xiaoxiao's leg with his hands and feet, and became like a small chain on her leg.
The corner of Wei Ting's mouth twitched.
These damned brats.…..
Father Su hasn't come back yet, so Su Xiaoxiao let the three children eat dinner first.
She went to the small east room to treat Wei Ting's wound.
Those strange medicines for wounds, Wei Ting had already become familiar with them, so he didn't find them weird.
As soon as she started doing treatments, it seemed as if she had changed her personality, just like a different person. She lost her usual bad temper and improper behavior, she became serious and cautious.
Su Xiaoxiao straightened up, took off her gloves, and warned, "There is no need for stitches, but the old injury has not healed yet, and you added a new one. Your left calf is swollen again. You don't need me to remind you to pay more attention to rest, right?"
"En." Wei Ting responded indifferently.
After a while, seeing that she was not leaving, he asked, "Is there anything else?"
While packing up the iodine and cotton swabs, Su Xiaoxiao casually said, "It's just…. that Su Jinniang, she is the prettiest girl of our village… Although I was only a little bit uglier than her, I still need to remind you that you are my nominal husband now. Don't give me a green hat*, and don't even have the intention to cheat on me. Otherwise, I will be very humiliated."
*Wearing green hat : is an expression that Chinese use when a woman cheats on her husband or boyfriend, because the phrase sounds similar to the word for cuckold.
Wei Ting looked at this chubby peacock in front of him who was pretending to be proud, and the corner of his lips hooked: "En, She is prettier than you."
Su Xiaoxiao threw the pillow over!
Scumbag!
Seeing the flustered and angry appearance of her, it truly made Wei Ting in a happy mood.
What did he mean she was prettier?
He didn't even look at her at all.
In the hall.
After eating, the three little ones slid down their chairs and looked innocently at Su Ergou who was looking after them.
"Uncle, I miss yeye*," Dahu said.
*Yeye (爷爷) : paternal grandfather, a honorific title for a man of the same generation and age as one's grandfather.
Su Ergou said, "My father will be back in a while."
"Yeye."
"Want Yeye."
"Yeye."
Su Ergou: "Such a heavy snow, you guys won't be able to go out. And my older sister won't let you guys go out."
"Yeye." The three little ones were so aggrieved that they were about to cry.
Su Ergou surrendered and said, "Okay, okay, I will go call him, I will go call him and get him back, okay?"
After Su Ergou went out, the three little ones immediately came to Su Xiaoxiao's room with their little pillows in their arms.
Su Xiaoxiao was sorting out her first aid kit bag.
"Mom, Dahu is sleepy."
"Dahu is also sleepy."
"Xiaofu… Xiaofu… is the sleepiest!"
In hunger was also you who was the most hungry, and in sleepiness was also you who was sleepiest.
Su Xiaoxiao laughed and said, "If you're sleepy, then just go to sleep."
Dahu pointed to Su Cheng's room and said, "Yeye, is not here."
Erhu pointed to Ergou's room and said, "Uncle, is also not here"
"So dark ah!" Xiaohu's frightened expression was extremely exaggerated.
They all had gone out, and didn't know when they would come back.
Su Xiaoxiao sighed while holding her forehead, then she pulled open the quilt. "Fine, all come up."
The three little ones climbed onto bed, obediently lay down on the bed, and fell asleep contentedly.
About half an hour later, the father and son returned back covered with snow.
Su Xiaoxiao quickly stepped forward and patted the snow on the two of them, "Have you asked clearly? What did Wang Laizi say?"
"Close the door," Father Su told Su Ergou.
"Ei." Su Ergou inserted the door latch with his almost frozen fingers.
Father Su came to the brazier and talked about Wang Laizi while he was warming himself by the fire.
"It was Zhang Dao who did it."
It turned out that all of this was Zhang Dao's idea.
After Zhang Dao was dealt with by the three bullies of the Su family, he had always held a grudge, but he didn't have the courage to come and provoke them. Then he happened to meet Wang Laizi who came to gamble in the gambling house.
How much money could Wang Laizi have in his hand? Just three or two rounds and he lost all of his money.
Zhang Dao lent him some silver, and in return, he would do something for Zhang Dao.
At first, Wang Laizi didn't dare to offend the bullies of the Su family. But for one reason, he owed Zhang Dao money, and Zhang Dao threatened to cut his hand if he dared to disobey him.
For the second reason, Zhang Dao told him that the Fifth Master of the Capital would cover them both. Even if they were found out, the Su family would not dare to do anything to them.
According to the plan, Wang Laizi pretended to be dead and made a scene, forcing the villagers in the village to send Su Pangya to the Yamen*.
*Yamen : government office in feudal China.
Zhang Dao had an acquaintance in the Yamen. In that time, Su Xiaoxiao would meet her tragic end.
Even if Wang Laizi miraculously woke up a few days later, Su Xiaoxiao would have been tortured into an inhuman condition inside the prison long before.
Had to say, this trick was really insidious!
If it were not for Su Xiaoxiao and Wei Ting's timely and quick-witted resolution, the consequences would have been unthinkable!
Father Su and Su Ergou beat up Wang Laizi so badly that he was only left with hanging half-alive. Whether he lives or not, they just leave it to fate. Since he dared to do such wicked things, then he didn't deserve to live a good life!
As for Zhang Dao—
Su Ergou gritted his teeth and said, "I will kill him tomorrow!"
"What are you waiting for tomorrow?" Su Cheng furiously took the weapon. He took Su Ergou with him and braved the snowstorm to rush to the town overnight.
He dared to plot against his daughter like this, even if he had to give up his life to take down Zhang Dao, he had to kill that bastard!
"Surnamed Zhang, you come out for laozi*!"
*Laozi (老子) : I / me (used arrogantly or jocularly)
Su Cheng kicked Zhang Dao's door open.
The courtyard was empty.
"Fuck! We let him get away!"
In the following days, Su Cheng would search Zhang Dao and keep watch at his place everyday.
He was wondering if Zhang Dao was scared out of his wits and never dared to go back to the town.
Su Xiaoxiao's business was booming, and her wife's cakes had gained a little reputation in the street. One hundred cakes a day were not enough to sell. Su Xiaoxiao didn't increase the quantity, but added two kinds of new snacks, the chestnut cake and egg yolk pastry.
Every time she opened the stall, it would be sold out in less than an hour.
Shopkeeper Sun had come to see her several times to buy her recipe, but Su Xiaoxiao didn't agree.
The orders from the academy also kept increasing, and her business of pot-stewed dishes were also the same.
Her pricing was not cheap, but it was all sold out. Because the pot-stewed dishes tasted so good, even the butcher's own pork business had also prospered a lot through it.
"This is for today," Luo Dazhuang handed two strings of copper coins to Su Xiaoxiao.
Su Xiaoxiao checked the money and handed it to Su Ergou to keep it.
Luo Dazhuang said, "These are the last few days of business, the market will close soon, and it won't open until the 15th day of the first month of the next year."
The atmosphere of celebrating the New Year was much stronger in this lifetime. Basically, the shops and stalls began to close in the middle of the twelfth lunar month, and the latest would not exceed the Lunar New Year.
"After finishing the business for these days, I will come back on the 16th day of the first lunar month." She said to Luo Dazhuang.
Luo Dazhuang originally wanted to say that he might not necessarily open on the 16th day of the first lunar month. But when he saw the little chubby girl's expectant eyes, he swallowed the words again.
".….. Okay la." Luo Dazhuang seemed to pick up a piece of pork belly casually, "There are not many customers at the market anymore, and probably most of them won't be able to be sold. So you can take it back."
This was the high quality of pork shoulder meat. And it was not even noon right now, so how could it be possible for it to not be sold?
-Pork Shoulder Meat / Plum Blossom Meat: The fat and thin criss-cross, it looks like plum blossoms in full bloom, so it is very beautiful, hence the name. The plum meat occupies only a small part of each pig, about five or six catties, and the lean meat part accounts for a large proportion, but there will be several thin fat interlaced in the middle, and the taste is delicate and tender. Doesn't taste greasy, even if you accidentally cook it for a long time, the meat is still delicious.
Su Xiaoxiao saw through it and didn't say anything. She accepted the pork meat and handed him a pack of snacks.
She didn't give it as a return gift for the pork shoulder meat, because she had prepared it early in the morning.
The relationship between people was very mysterious. Some people cooperate because of benefits, while others cooperate because of their compatibility attitude for each other.
"I will go first," Su Xiaoxiao said goodbye to him.
Luo Dazhuang opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something, and finally he decided to call her out: "That.….. if I didn't choose to share the profit with you, what price would you sell it to me?"
"Hmm…" Su Xiaoxiao thought about it carefully, "It should be five wen less per catty than the current selling price."
"Is this the lowest price you? Just five wen less?"
Most of her pot-stewed dishes sold for 40 wen a catty, with the share profit 20:80 percent, he could get 8 wen for a catty.
The cheapest big meat was also 30 wen a catty, and he could get 6 wen. No matter what, it was more than 5 wen.
Luo Dazhuang was very happy and thankful: "Fortunately, I chose to share the profit!"
Su Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "Yeah, you're very smart."
No, it was not that Luo Dazhuang was smart.
It was Su Xiaoxiao who gave him a white lie.
Her real price was only half of the selling price. The reason why Su Xiaoxiao didn't tell him that was because it wouldn't help, and it would only increase his regret.
After all, it was impossible for her to change the way of cooperation with him in the short term.
Making people regret might breed a momentary feeling of satisfaction, but it was not beneficial for cooperation.
If he had the emotions that he should not have, then the differences and conflicts would inevitably occur over time.
Seeing that the business was good now, he wants a reassurance that he would not regret, so she gave him this reassurance.
Medical consultation fees (2)
Su Xiaoxiao collected the bill and finally went to the academy.
After a period of contact, Su Xiaoxiao had already learned from the man surname Xiang, and she called him Young Master Xiang.
"The rales in the lungs have disappeared, and it's recovering well." Su Xiaoxiao took the stethoscope off her ear. "There's no need for injections anymore, just take the medicine instead."
It was impossible to hide the infusion, after all, he couldn't be unconscious every time.
He also asked Su Xiaoxiao what kind of medical skill this was. And Su Xiaoxiao only said that it was passed down by her ancestor's sect, so it was inconvenient to say more.
The world was so big, there were always eminent hermits.
Whether he believed it or not, she said so anyway.
Fortunately after that, he never questioned her medical skills again.
Young Master Xiang smiled warmly and said, "This time, it's really thanks to Miss Su. If it weren't for Miss Su's excellent medical skills, I'm afraid it would have been a disaster."
Su Xiaoke said politely, "It won't, God will bless good people."
Young Master Xiang said, "Is Miss Su still coming here tomorrow?"
Su Xiaoxiao said, "I won't come here tomorrow. I will write you a prescription, and I will come back in three days for the reexamination."
He didn't need to take medicine anymore, but instead switched to traditional Chinese medicine for relieving asthma and cough; rehabilitating blood and energy; warming and strengthening the body, and the healing effect was even better.
"I see.….." Young Master Xiang sighed regretfully.
"What's wrong?"
"Three days later.….. I don't know if I will still be in Xinghua Town."
"Are you leaving?" Su Xiaoxiao asked.
Young Master Xiang was silent.
Su Xiaoxiao thought for a while and nodded her head, "Oh right, when I listen to your accent, you don't seem to be a local person."
Young Master Xiang said, "To be honest, I'm from the capital."
Jing Yi who was at the door frowned, he didn't quite agree with his cousin revealing where he came from.
Su Xiaoxiao slightly widened her almond eyes and said, "The capital city ah, I have grown up so much, and I still have never been there yet. What is the capital city like?"
Young Master Xiang smiled lightly and said, "It's big and prosperous, with many shops and wide streets. There are interesting people and things, and there is also the darkness of society."
Su Xiaoxiao thought thoughtfully and said, "It sounds like a complicated place."
Young Master Xiang looked at the little chubby girl beside him tenderly and said, "Miss Su, are you interested in going to the capital?"
Jing Yi's handsome brow furrowed even tighter.
What did big cousin mean? Could it be that he wanted to take her back to the capital?
Su Xiaoxiao shook her head and said, "Not now."
She was still in the stage of solving the problem of food and clothing, how could she have money to go to the Imperial City?
"The capital city must be very far away, right? With your current physical condition, it's not suitable for you to be tired on a long journey. If possible, I hope you fully recover first before you go."
This was a big truth. His body foundation was weaker than an ordinary people, not to mention that his pneumonia was not a minor illness.
Young Master Xiang smiled and said, "Since Miss Su has said so, then I will stay a little longer."
Jing Yi outside the door looked complicated.
"This is the best way." Su Xiaoxiao handed him a prescription. "According to this prescription, go to Doctor Fu's house in Chunliu Lane to get the medicine. His medical materials are good quality and cost-effective, fair in price, and without deception."
"Okay." Young Master Xiang unfolded the handwriting on it and looked, "Miss Su… did you write this prescription yourself?"
Su Xiaoxiao said seriously, "Of course I'm the one who wrote it! Why? Do you think I can't write?"
Young Master Xiang smiled and said, "No, it's Miss Su who writes well. I can't help but be amazed for a moment."
Su Xiaoxiao secretly curled her lips, only that rascal was capable of this.
Young Master Xiang said, "Chang Ping, go and get the medical consultation fee."
"Yes." Chang Ping answered.
He didn't like Su Xiaoxiao so he glared at her as he walked.
Su Xiaoxiao was completely indifferent towards this insignificant servant.
Su Xiaoxiao looked at Young Master Xiang and said, "You are quite nice to talk to, unlike your ice-cube-faced younger brother, who is as bad tempered as my… a person I know. That person always has a cold face, like he owes money to others."
Jing Yi's face turned black, like charcoal.