Chapter 70

“But it’s okay that I’m still young, Auntie. You can wait for me, and when I grow up, I’ll marry you.” 

Little He even mimicked his sister Ranran’s soft and squeaky voice, sweetly asking, “Auntie, you’ll wait for me, right?” 

Tang Yunling was so amused she burst into giggles. 

She tapped He Yunqi on the forehead with her finger, pretending to scold him playfully. 

“No way I’d marry you! Yesterday, you said I’m only the second prettiest in the Xiangyang Brigade, a bit worse than your aunt-in-law.” 

“I’m not even the prettiest in your eyes—why should I marry a fickle little turnip like you?” 

He Yunqi sighed dramatically. “Auntie, how can you not understand me?” 

“Little Qi is so heartbroken!” 

“But, you see, when you’re under someone’s roof, you have to bow your head.” 

He looked around, acting as though he feared someone might overhear, then whispered in a conspiratorial tone, “I’ll let you in on a secret: around here, my little aunt-in-law is the boss. If I don’t say she’s the prettiest, my uncle will kick us out of the brigade health station.” 

“He gets so mad when we compete with him for her.” 

With a serious expression and exaggerated caution, He Yunqi leaned closer to Tang Yunling, speaking in a hushed voice. 

“Auntie, my little aunt-in-law is indeed very pretty, but actually, you’re just a tiny bit prettier.” 

“In Little Qi’s heart, you’re the most beautiful!” 

He Ting had practically raised his nephew and knew exactly what kind of troublemaker he was. 

The kid’s tricks were obvious to He Ting. Just watching his nephew’s lip movements and seeing Tang Yunling’s earlier sadness replaced by laughter, he could easily guess what the little rascal was saying: something about how she was the most beautiful in his eyes. 

After all, back in the capital, his nephew’s mom and sister-in-law loved pulling this kind of stunt. 

Even Zhou Yanfeng was stunned by He Yunqi’s performance! 

He Ting shot Zhou Yanfeng a glance that clearly said, *Learned anything yet?* 

“Bring the stuff,” He Ting said. 

“What?” 

Zhou Yanfeng stood there blankly, not following. 

He Ting was losing hope for him. 

Tang Yunling, now cheered up by the little rascal, was no longer the same clingy figure bothering his WeiWei. In He Ting’s eyes, his nephew He Yunqi was the bigger threat. 

The kid stuck to him and WeiWei like glue, never giving them a moment’s peace, not even at night. 

Compared to He Yunqi, Zhou Yanfeng didn’t even come close. 

He Ting gave Zhou Yanfeng a disdainful look. 

“Weren’t you asking me for advice?” 

“Oh!” Zhou Yanfeng finally snapped out of it.

“Oh!” 

Zhou Yanfeng finally came to his senses and quickly handed the bag of items to He Ting. 

He Ting casually carried the bag into the house and tossed it to Tang Yunling. “Zhou Yanfeng bought this specifically to cheer you up. He went all the way to the county to get it. Open it and take a look.” 

“For me?” 

Tang Yunling looked skeptical, as if she couldn’t believe Zhou Yanfeng would be so thoughtful. 

Caught off guard by He Ting’s directness, Tang Yunling glanced at Zhou Yanfeng, whose ears were burning red. 

“Don’t flatter yourself!” 

Zhou Yanfeng rubbed his hands together awkwardly, trying to cover his embarrassment with a cocky demeanor. 

“My family sent a package, so I went to the county to pick it up. I just bought these on the side.” 

“You know me—I’m not short on money.” 

“You got dumped, so I figured I’d pity you a little.” 

Though Tang Yunling maintained an expression that doubted Zhou Yanfeng’s kindness, a soft light flickered briefly in her eyes. 

As she opened the package, she even gave him a look, as if to say, *You’re a real stand-up guy.* 

But as soon as she heard the word *dumped*, her mood snapped. She leapt up with a start and kicked at Zhou Yanfeng. 

“Zhou Yanfeng, what did you just say?” 

“Say it again if you dare!” 

“You’re infuriating me!” 

“Aaaaah, I’m going to kill you!” 

Tang Yunling tackled Zhou Yanfeng to the ground, straddling him as she unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks. 

Meanwhile, this turned into a golden opportunity for He Yunqi and He Yunran. 

The two little troublemakers grabbed candy and chocolate from the package, stuffing their mouths as they gleefully watched the spectacle. 

“Wow! Auntie is so fierce!” 

“Whoa! Is Auntie riding a tiger?” 

“Go, Auntie, go!” 

Chewing on candy, He Yunran clapped her hands excitedly, while He Yunqi, ever the instigator, amped things up. 

“Auntie, go for the weak spots! Hit his face—make his nose crooked!” 

“Auntie, attack his legs!” 

“Auntie, put more strength into it!” 

He Ting: “…”

He Ting: “…” 

Whenever Tang Yunling and Zhou Yanfeng got involved with each other, things quickly spiraled out of control. Especially with two little instigators cheering from the sidelines. 

In the end, it was He Ting who couldn’t bear to see Zhou Yanfeng beaten too badly. He grabbed the candy-munching, cheerleading He Yunqi and dragged him out of the clinic. 

“Let me go! Let me go! I need to grab some more candy and chocolate to share with the Little Tangs!” 

“I want to give the Little Tangs candy and become their boss!” 

He Ting gave the squirming little rascal a solid smack on the rear, and He Yunqi immediately quieted down. Sliding off him like a defeated kitten, he followed He Ting to the Tang family home, trailing behind like a little tail. 

Stuffing his pockets with candy, He Yunqi thought his dream of becoming the Little Tangs’ boss was just within reach. 

But before he could even pull out the candy, He Ting handed him over to Tang Yuanyang. 

“This little rascal will go to school with you tomorrow. Cousin, I’ll leave him in your capable hands.” 

The Little Tangs were gathered around the table practicing writing, furiously winking at He Yunqi to signal danger. 

Realizing the situation was bad, He Yunqi tried to crawl under the table to escape, but Tang Yuanyang caught him by the back of his collar. 

“We’re all brothers; no need for formalities,” Tang Yuanyang said, grinning. 

“You said he’s already had some basic education back in the capital, knows arithmetic, and can read. That’s good enough. I’ll take him to school tomorrow. For today, he’ll stay here and practice writing with his brothers.” 

“School is about to start, so he needs to focus.” 

Tang Yuanyang waved He Ting off. “Go work on building your house. Leave Yunqi to me; don’t worry.” 

He Yunqi had not only inherited his mother’s sweet-talking nature but also his uncle’s soldierly alertness. 

Since the two little rascals had arrived at Xiangyang Brigade, He Ting had tried several times to sneak his wife, Weiwei, out late at night. But every time there was the slightest movement, He Yunqi was the first to wake up. 

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the little rascal was a stumbling block in their marital bliss. 

Now that He Ting had finally handed the “stumbling block” over to Tang Yuanyang, it felt as though he’d cleared a major obstacle out of the way. He was in such a good mood that he started humming a tune from a movie he’d watched as he took a shortcut past the Yin family’s house. 

Yin Zhihuo’s house was in a slightly secluded spot, and other than those taking a shortcut to the clinic, no one usually passed by at this time. 

As He Ting approached the Yin house, he thought he saw a shadow dart inside. 

The last he knew, Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua had attacked Shen Guixiang and her son, and the pair had been sent to the commune. Lu Jiaojiao had also been taken to the commune hospital for treatment. 

The whole family had been severely injured and should still be recuperating in the commune hospital, far from Xiangyang Brigade. 

So who had just slipped into the Yin house? 

As He Ting got closer, he noticed the Yin house’s front door was tightly shut, showing no signs of anyone coming or going. 

But he was certain he had seen a figure dash inside. That shadow looked strangely familiar too. 

Was it possible, in broad daylight, that he had seen a ghost?