Chapter 11: I’ll go home and wash my clothes first

She didn’t call him, but when she did, he turned his small body to face her. His foot slipped, and with a splash, he fell into the water.

“Xiaochao!”

The riverbank was full of hard rocks. Hu Yao was afraid he would hit his head, so she instinctively dropped the clothes in her hand and ran over to pull him up, ignoring her wet shoes.

Jiang Xiaochao was soaking wet, his hair was dripping. Before Hu Yao could reach him, he raised his head, wrinkled his face, and coughed out two mouthfuls of water: “Pfft!…”

“Ugh!”

The next second, he covered his forehead with a pout, looking at Hu Yao with a hint of grievance.

Hu Yao rushed over too quickly and tripped, bumping him back into the water with a thud. His forehead hit the edge of the riverbank, and a small bump appeared.

Hu Yao met his small gaze, feeling inexplicably guilty and ashamed. She quickly pulled him up, not caring if his wet body would soak her clothes.

“I’m sorry, Xiaochao, I didn’t mean to.” Hu Yao looked at the red bump on his forehead, feeling even more guilty. She gently blew on it.

Jiang Xiaochao’s forehead was hurt, and it did hurt, but he had been raised tough since birth. Although it hurt, he was a little teary-eyed, but he didn’t cry.

Seeing Hu Yao still comforting him, he didn’t mind anymore.

“I’m okay!” He patted his chest with his small hand.

“Alright, alright, come up quickly and let’s go home and put some medicine on Xiaochao.” Lin Zhaodi watched them, mother and son, by the riverbank, and couldn’t help but find it funny. They went out to wash clothes, and ended up getting washed into the river themselves.

Now, Hu Yao’s forehead wound hadn’t healed, and Jiang Xiaochao had bumped his head in the same spot.

Hu Yao searched the house and found that Jiang Han had quite a bit of medicinal wine stored away. She found a bottle of ordinary wine that she recognized and changed his clothes. He sat obediently on a small stool waiting for her to apply the medicine.

Hu Yao’s younger brother, Hu Yaoguo, was six years younger than her. He was a bully at home, domineering and arrogant. Hu Guifen treated him like the apple of her eye, and he had bullied Hu Yao a lot when they were younger. Even if he got hurt, or scraped his skin, he would make a big fuss.

A child like Jiang Xiaochao, who didn’t say a word after being hurt, was truly exceptionally well-behaved.

He looked a little pitiful, especially when he stared at Hu Yao with his red bump on his forehead.

“Yaoyao, what are we eating today?”

He didn’t care about the bump on his head at all. After Hu Yao finished applying the medicine, he followed her like a little shadow, stepping on a small stool to help her hang the clothes. After they were done, he followed her to the kitchen.

“How about I make potato pancakes for you?”

His small figure swayed beside her, full of energy. Hu Yao’s heart softened.

“The black ones?” Jiang Xiaochao asked, frowning.

“What?” Hu Yao didn’t hear what he said and continued washing the mud off the potatoes.

Jiang Xiaochao shook his head and didn’t ask further. He had eaten two meals with Hu Yao and already trusted her cooking skills. He was looking forward to it, and he thought she should be able to make it better than his father.

Jiang Han didn’t have any cooking skills at all. When he was alone, he mostly ate out and rarely cooked at home. His skills were very poor.

If he was at home, they usually ate grilled food, just grilled and sprinkled with salt.

…

Hu Yao’s potato pancakes were indeed delicious. She also steamed the last two eggs left in the house for Jiang Xiaochao.

Mother and son happily finished their lunch. Before washing the dishes, Hu Yao took the remaining potato pancakes to the next door for Lin Zhaodi.

This morning, the Li family was quiet. Hu Yao didn’t hear Li Pozi’s nasty scolding.

She walked into the Li family with the potato pancakes and saw Lin Zhaodi pinching Li Pozi’s chin and feeding her.

Li Pozi was tied to a chair, her expression was far from yesterday’s arrogance. Her face was smeared with rice paste, indicating that Lin Zhaodi wasn’t feeding her gently.

The marks from Hu Yao’s pinch on her neck were still there. Now, she looked at Hu Yao and Lin Zhaodi as if they were ghosts.

“Xiao Yao, you’re here.” Lin Zhaodi put down the bowl and greeted her.

Hu Yao pretended not to see Li Pozi’s angry, vicious, yet fearful expression. She put down the pancakes and chatted with Lin Zhaodi for a while.

“Sister, Sister-in-law!!”

Just as Hu Yao was about to leave, Li Zhuangzhi crawled out from the side room. He was pale and gasping for breath, but his voice was still loud.

Hu Yao was startled, and she looked over.

“Sister-in-law, call the police, call the police for me!!” Li Zhuangzhi pointed at Lin Zhaodi with a gloomy face and shouted, “Arrest this vicious woman and send her to jail!”

“Look at Han Ge’s face, help my sister-in-law!”

Li Zhuangzhi’s legs were covered in dried blood, which looked shocking.

Lin Zhaodi stood still, her eyes flashed, and she quietly waited for Hu Yao’s reaction.

“Xiaochao called me, I’ll go home and wash my clothes first.” Hu Yao took two steps back, still pretending not to hear anything. She quickened her pace as she went back.

Before she left the Li family, Li Pozi’s angry scolding came from behind.

“Why are you still begging this bitch? These two sluts are in cahoots!”

“Our Li family doesn’t know what we did to marry such a wife!”

“She wants to kill us and take our lives! Lin Zhaodi, you poisonous woman! You murderous slut!”

Li Pozi screamed and shouted, but the Li family lived at the very end of the village, at the foot of the mountain, and the closest neighbor was the Jiang family.

Because Li Pozi had scolded Lin Zhaodi a lot in the past, and the words were always the same, the villagers would come to watch the show at first, but after a while, they found it boring.

So even if they heard it now, they pretended not to hear it.

The sharp scolding stopped when Hu Yao returned home.

Hu Yao carefully changed her medicine in front of the mirror. This was the only mirror in the Jiang family, and it had a crack in it.

She thought for a moment and then scattered memories flashed by.

It seemed she had been pestering Jiang Han to buy it, and he had scolded her, calling her nosy. Then, she didn’t know which time it was, but she threw a mirror at him. He had a fierce, menacing smile on his face, especially when he looked at her with those vicious, dangerous eyes.

Coming back to her senses, Hu Yao’s hands trembled as she hastily put the mirror away.

Jiang Xiaochao was leaning against her legs, drowsy. When Hu Yao finished applying the medicine, he raised his small hand and yawned sleepily, his watery eyes becoming blurry.

“Xiaochao, go take a nap.” Hu Yao gently stroked his soft hair.

“Yaoyao doesn’t call me Chaochao anymore.” Jiang Xiaochao mumbled sleepily, his white, chubby cheeks deformed against her leg. His baby voice seemed to carry a hint of dissatisfaction and grievance.

Children are very sensitive. He had already noticed in the past two days that Hu Yao had changed, but no matter what, he liked her. However, she didn’t call him as affectionately as before.

Hu Yao was startled. It was just a name, but seeing his small, wronged expression because of this, she curved her lips and agreed: “Chaochao, be good, go to sleep.”