Chapter 94: So Sensible It Hurts to Watch

Unfortunately, Xu Wansui was utterly convinced that the little child was easy to bully without a father around—so he struck with no mercy.

“What started it all?” Jiang Aiguo pressed on. He thought to himself, even if it was just a scuffle between children, there had to be some kind of reason behind it.

“At first, they were just talking,” the child said softly. “Something about how Baobei had become much more obedient lately. Then for some reason, they started fighting.”

“I was just nearby looking for wild vegetables and herbs, when they suddenly dragged me in and gave me a beating.”

“It seemed like Xu Wansui suffered a loss in the fight with Baobei, so he turned his anger on me and took it out on me instead.”

The more the little bun spoke, the softer his voice became.

It was clear that even just recalling what had happened still filled him with fear.

Jiang Aiguo had more or less understood the full picture now—from beginning to end.

All that was left was to ask Baobei how he remembered it. After that, they could finally draw a proper conclusion.

“You all go ahead, I’ll make a trip to Lu Guofu’s house,” Jiang Aiguo said.

“Secretary Jiang, it’s getting late. Why don’t you stay and have a meal before you go?” Gu Zhi quickly stepped forward when she saw Jiang Aiguo about to leave, hoping he would stay for dinner.

“No, I need to get to the bottom of this quickly so I can stand up for that mother and child,” Jiang Aiguo waved her off and turned to leave.

Su Niannian, along with Mother Gu and Gu Nan, walked him out.

Zhou Daniu stood in the courtyard. Jiang Aiguo made a hand gesture indicating it was time to go, and Zhou Daniu nodded and followed him out.

When they reached the gate, Zhou Daniu suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned back and quickly walked over to Su Niannian.

“Brother Zhou, is there something else?” Su Niannian asked, puzzled.

“Ahem.” Zhou Daniu cleared his throat, glanced at Gu Nan, then lowered his voice and said to Su Niannian, “If Gu Nan ever bullies you, you’ve got to tell me or my mother. We’ll stand by you.”

Hearing that, the corners of Su Niannian’s lips curled into a smile, and she gave a gentle nod.

“Thank you, Brother Zhou. And please thank Auntie Zhou for me too,” Su Niannian said with genuine warmth in her smile.

The Zhou family… they really were quite kind.

Zhou Daniu nodded, gave Gu Nan another glance, and then quickly walked away.

In truth, Zhou Daniu knew full well he couldn’t win in a fight against Gu Nan. But if Gu Nan really dared to bully Su Niannian, the educated youth, then even if he couldn’t win, Zhou Daniu felt he’d still have to stand up.

After all, if it hadn’t been for Su Niannian, their Zhou family would be in mourning right now.

The son they had cherished for so many years—if they had really lost him, it would have been a devastating blow to the whole Zhou family.

Gu Nan had sharp hearing. Even though Zhou Daniu had spoken in a low voice, he still caught every word.

“The Zhou family really is decent—they know how to be grateful,” Gu Nan said softly as he walked over to Su Niannian’s side.

“Mhm, but he was overthinking it. My man would never bully me.” The smile on Su Niannian’s face deepened.

Gu Nan smiled too—because Su Niannian had said her man!

He was already her man!

Gu Nan couldn’t hold back the smile tugging at the corners of his lips, no matter how hard he tried.

By now, it was already dusk. The golden sunlight slanted into the courtyard, spilling across Su Niannian’s figure.

His little miss—she seemed to shine with a radiant glow.

She was stunningly beautiful, and perhaps it was that very golden light that made her seem a little mysterious in Gu Nan’s eyes.

He knew Su Niannian carried many secrets.

Deep down, he was curious too—but as long as she didn’t bring them up on her own, Gu Nan had no intention of asking.

He just wanted to protect her well.

To be there the moment she needed support, the moment she needed him.

That was enough.

Song Zhaodi stood not far away, wearing a knowing smile. These two really did look like a perfect match.

Moreover, in the gaze they exchanged, there was a clear and genuine affection.

It was evident that they truly liked and were attracted to each other.

At first, Song Zhaodi had been a little worried about Su Niannian and Gu Nan being together.

Now that she looked at it, there really was something quite fitting about them.

Inside the house, after sending off Jiang Aiguo, Gu Zhi returned to the main room.

At that moment, Widow Wu was bent over, helping Baozi put on his shoes.

“What are you doing?” Gu Zhi yanked the bent-over Widow Wu upright.

“I’ll take Baozi home. You all should be having dinner soon, so we won’t stay and disturb you.” In this era, no family was particularly wealthy, so it was uncommon to go to someone else’s house for a meal.

Widow Wu didn’t want to delay the Gu family’s dinner, which was why she planned to take Baozi and leave.

“It’s already this late. You won’t have time to cook if you go back now, so just stay and have a bite,” Gu Zhi said kindly.

“Niannian brought over a particularly plump old hen today. I’ve already stewed it—stay and have some with us,” Gu Zhi said with concern in her voice. She had always felt deeply for Widow Wu and little Baozi.

There was no man in their home, and everything fell on Widow Wu’s shoulders. Baozi was still so young. On top of that, both of them weren’t in the best of health right now. If they stayed for dinner, Widow Wu wouldn’t have to worry about rushing home to cook.

“No, no, we couldn’t,” Widow Wu said quickly, her head shaking like a rattle drum the moment she heard about the stewed hen.

“Just stay,” Gu Zhi urged warmly. “Oh, right—when I was at the hospital this afternoon, I asked them to set aside some meat buns for Baozi. I’ll heat them up for him in a bit.”

The moment Baozi heard the words meat buns, his eyes lit up like sparkling clear water.

He looked completely thrilled. Despite being named Baozi; he had never actually eaten a meat bun before.

Back when his father was still around, they had eaten buns a few times, but they were always vegetarian. When Gu Nan killed those two wild boars recently, their family had received some of the meat, but most of it had been turned into preserved pork.

They had only kept a small bit of fresh meat, mixing it with a generous amount of cabbage to make the buns.
He still remembered—though there was only a hint of meat, the cabbage buns had been elevated to a whole new level. That flavor… it was simply amazing.

“Mom…” Baozi called out softly to Widow Wu, as if asking, Can I really have a meat bun?

Widow Wu instinctively wanted to refuse. But when she saw the eager, hopeful look in Baozi’s eyes, the words of refusal caught in her throat—she just couldn’t bring herself to say them.

“Then hurry up and thank Su Niannian.”

“Thank you! Can I call you Sister Niannian too, just like Ningning does?” Baozi looked at Su Niannian with a face full of hopeful anticipation.

“Of course you can.”

Su Niannian reached into the bag she always carried with her and took out a wax paper parcel—inside were two meat buns.

Baozi’s eyes lit up with excitement, and he instinctively reached out to take them, but halfway through, he hesitated and pulled his hand back.

He didn’t dare…

Such a thoughtful child—it made Su Niannian’s heart ache with tenderness.

She gently pushed the wax paper parcel into Baozi’s hands.

Only then did he truly feel the soft warmth of the buns in his palms. The snowy white dough, filled with savory meat—at least, that’s what he imagined.

He picked one up and instinctively moved to take a bite, but then he paused. Thinking of his mother, he turned his hand and held the bun out to her instead.

“You eat it, Mama. You had two already at the county hospital,” Widow Wu said with a gentle smile, pushing the bun back into her son’s hands.

She wasn’t about to take a single bite from him.