Chapter 42: She Must Not Be Bullied

It was unusual, but he didn’t go to the tavern today. Instead, he picked up Jiang Xiaochao, put him on his shoulders, and went to the tavern to buy wine.

“Get some peanuts to fry later.”

“…Okay.” Hu Yao watched the father and son leave, a strange and inexplicable feeling welling up in her heart.

“Mommy, I want to eat sweet peanuts! With sugar!”

Jiang Xiaochao was now used to calling her mommy.

“Okay.” Hu Yao smiled slightly.

“Don’t eat them, make them salty for me!” Jiang Han didn’t like sweets.

The father and son were not picky eaters, but their tastes differed slightly.

To avoid them arguing over a plate of peanuts, Hu Yao made both sweet and salty ones.

Song Sikai had been missing for days. He couldn’t stand Hu Yao, but after tasting her cooking, he always came over to freeload.

During dinner, Hu Yao casually asked about him.

Jiang Han’s face immediately turned dark, and he stared at her: “Why are you asking about him?”

“…I was just asking.” His dark face was inexplicably angry, and Hu Yao pursed her lips and stopped asking.

“He fell into the sea, don’t know if he’s still alive.” He said impatiently.

“…”

Song Sikai, who was transporting steel for him, sneezed repeatedly. He was blowing on the cold sea breeze, and he felt like he wasn’t getting a cold, but someone was cursing him.

“It must be that woman Hu Yao!” Song Sikai grumbled.

His dislike for Hu Yao began when she made her dog bite him, and later intensified because of Jiang Han’s favoritism towards her.

He didn’t know if someone was really cursing him, but when he got off the boat, he lost his footing and plunged headfirst into the sea.

When he climbed back up, his face was black. He cursed at anyone he saw.

The few younger brothers who followed him wanted to tell him he had seaweed on his head, but Song Sikai didn’t give them the chance.

He was gone for a long time this trip, and Jiang Han even suspected he had really fallen into the sea. He couldn’t contact him, but the others who went with him could. They told Jiang Han that Song Sikai was staying there and didn’t want to come back.

When asked why.

Oh, he was harassing a good woman.

“…”

Jiang Han was speechless for a moment, and told them to tell Song Sikai that he didn’t need to come back, he could just die there.

Hu Yao felt that Jiang Han was even more annoyed with Song Sikai than she was. Even though Song Sikai wasn’t around, Jiang Han still cursed him often.

He cursed Song Sikai, and he didn’t curse her and Jiang Xiaochao, which was a good thing.

The tavern was run by an elderly couple who helped Jiang Han manage the shop and sell wine. They were both kind and easy to get along with.

It took Hu Yao a long time to find out that Jiang Xiaochao’s name was given to him by them.

The two old people had no relatives, they depended on each other, and Jiang Han treated them with respect.

They especially liked Jiang Xiaochao, they would buy sugar cakes and save them for him when he came over, and their eyes were kind and gentle when they looked at Hu Yao.

Because they always kept delicious food for Jiang Xiaochao, he was very happy every day, and he would go there once or twice.

Hu Yao went to pick him up, and after interacting with them more often, they became familiar.

Sometimes when the shop was busy, Hu Yao would help out with selling wine.

“Xiaoyao knows so many characters.” Grandma Liu said with a surprised smile.

Grandma Liu usually collected money and kept accounts in the tavern, while Grandpa Liu served and bottled wine for customers.

Hu Yao naturally took the order sheet and started bottling wine, showing that she could read.

Grandma Liu knew her background, and it was rare for a country girl to be educated and know how to read.

Hu Yao paused, lowered her head and said softly: “I learned from the educated youth for over a year, I only know a few.”

Grandma Liu was very happy: “It’s good for a girl to know more characters, if it weren’t for the turmoil and upheaval in those years, our country would have been much better, children could have gone to school and had a good life.”

“Ahan didn’t like going to school before, his parents would always drag him there with a stick and twist his ears.” Grandma Liu talked about the past, and couldn’t help but laugh.

Grandma Liu’s daughter-in-law was good friends with Jiang Han’s mother. The Liu family was once a prominent family in the town, but later their fortunes declined, they were denounced and persecuted, and the family was scattered and sent to different places. Grandma Liu and Grandpa Liu were sent to the nearby Peach Bay Village, which was also Jiang Han’s village.

Jiang Han’s mother, because of their sisterhood, had always taken care of the two old people.

Later, she and Jiang Han’s father got seriously ill and died. Jiang Han was young, and the three of them could be said to have taken care of each other.

Later, the Liu family was rehabilitated, and only the two old people were left. After being together for such a long time, they also treated Jiang Han as their own grandson.

When Jiang Han opened up and brought Hu Yao back, they were quite happy for him. When they found out about Hu Yao’s situation, they were a little worried, but now everything was developing in a good direction, Hu Yao was doing well, and Jiang Han was not as irresponsible as he used to be, they were happy to see it.

“When Ahan’s parents were alive, he didn’t like to study, and after his parents died, the school didn’t accept him anymore. Me and your Grandpa Liu, we would spare some time to teach him, he was smarter than many children, he would understand quickly, he wasn’t stupid as the teachers often complained, he just didn’t have the heart to study before.”

“Xiaoyao, don’t think Ahan is too bad, he lost his parents when he was only seven or eight years old, he was the only one left in the family, no relatives wanted to take care of him, they even wanted to take his house, if he wasn’t a little bit ruthless, how could he survive, people eat people, there are so many things like that.”

“He’s worried about you and Xiaochao, don’t listen to the gossip, Ahan has done a lot of bad things, but he hasn’t messed around with any girls.”

“When he was a child, he told his mother that he would marry a wife with a good temper, someone who wouldn’t twist his ears.” Speaking of this, Grandma Liu recalled the past and couldn’t help but laugh again.

Jiang Han’s mother was a hot-tempered woman, even Jiang Han’s father was under her control, and Jiang Han was always having his ears twisted by her. He felt sorry for his father, so he shouted that he would never marry someone like his mother.

When Jiang Han’s mother heard about such a daughter-in-law, she laughed and said that if any well-behaved girl would marry him, their family’s ancestral grave would be smoking. She told him to be good to his wife.

Over the years, Jiang Han had indeed married a good wife and had a son, but his parents were no longer alive.

Life is full of regrets. Birth, aging, sickness, and death, the passing of loved ones, there are changes happening all the time. Grandma Liu and Grandpa Liu had lived for most of their lives, experiencing all sorts of things. Now, they had seen through it all and had let go. They only hoped for health and peace.

Hu Yao is a good girl. It’s a blessing for Jiang Han to have such a good wife.

She has a gentle and quiet personality, patient and tolerant with others. She perfectly balances Jiang Han’s hot temper.

Grandma Liu felt that she hadn’t been wrong. How could Jiang Han not love Hu Yao? Otherwise, with his temper, he wouldn’t have tolerated her for four years, especially since she had a concussion! He’s just stubborn and soft-hearted with Hu Yao. He won’t allow anyone to bully her.

He himself is always bullying people, being rough and bossy. His wife is his own, and he doesn’t know how to soften his attitude. His reputation outside is already bad, and he’s still like this. How can he not scare people?