Chapter 18: Teaching Cao Hui a Lesson

“I was standing outside, and she didn’t even look at me before pouring the foot-washing water on me.” Cao Hui said angrily. He had just showered and changed into clean clothes.

Tang Xiaoxiao walked silently to He Xiaoqian’s side. They exchanged a glance, and everything was understood without words.

“I already apologized.” He Xiaoqian looked at Liu Dong and the others with grievance. “It’s just me and Xiaoxiao here. Xiaoxiao wasn’t home, and I didn’t know Cao was here.”

“Yeah, Cao, why were you at my door?” Tang Xiaoxiao pointed at the water stains on the ground and Cao Hui.

“I, I was just taking a walk, okay?” Cao Hui naturally didn’t have a good explanation. He had heard the village head say that Tang Xiaoxiao had received a package and a remittance slip from her family.

Besides, the village had been buzzing about how Tang Xiaoxiao had been going to the city to buy meat these past few days. The Song family’s food was really good.

Although He Xiaoqian and Tang Xiaoxiao’s rooms had curtains, he still wanted to take a peek.

Liu Dong and Liu Fengjuan exchanged a glance. They knew Cao Hui’s character.

“Oh, Cao Hui, you have a habit of taking walks? I didn’t see you working hard during work hours, but you have the energy to take walks after work.” Wang Erxi rolled his eyes at him and slammed the door shut, going inside to sleep.

“Cao, you’re not wearing your work clothes. You took a walk after showering. You’re quite brave, aren’t you?” Tang Xiaoxiao looked at him, clearly not believing his words.

“Think whatever you want.” Cao Hui was obviously a little guilty, but he didn’t want to lose face.

“Anyway, it’s not enough to just apologize. He Xiaoqian, you have to pay for my clothes.”

“Pay for clothes, huh?” Tang Xiaoxiao walked towards him.

“Yes, he just admitted that she poured foot-washing water on me.” Cao Hui pointed at He Xiaoqian.

Tang Xiaoxiao quickly performed a shoulder throw, sending Cao Hui crashing to the ground.

“Ah!” A scream rang out. Cao Hui landed on the ground, right on the water stain. His light-colored shirt instantly turned black.

“Oh, Cao, why is your shirt black?”

“You, you…” Cao Hui couldn’t get up from the pain on the ground, so he could only point at Tang Xiaoxiao.

“Liu, Fengjuan, you be the judge. I’m small, but Cao weighs over a hundred pounds. Could I possibly throw him to the ground?” Tang Xiaoxiao winked at them.

“No, no way.” The two Lius, lying through their teeth, looked helpless. Although her movements had been fast, they didn’t know how she did it, but they weren’t blind!

But Cao Hui was clearly eavesdropping and then trying to extort money. They couldn’t help him. Why didn’t they go inside earlier?

Only He Xiaoqian covered her mouth, looking at Tang Xiaoxiao with admiration. She almost clapped her hands.

Cao Hui struggled to get up from the ground. Without any witnesses, even if he went to the police now, it would be useless.

He opened his mouth, just about to say something harsh, but Tang Xiaoxiao blew a fist at him, and He Xiaoqian waved the foot basin at him. He could only slink back to his room.

After he went inside, Liu Fengjuan gave Tang Xiaoxiao a thumbs-up, and Liu Dong smiled helplessly.

The farce ended, and Tang Xiaoxiao quickly took a shower.

She had gotten up too early in the morning and hadn’t taken a nap at noon, so she could fall asleep as soon as she hit the bed.

The next morning, Tang Xiaoxiao went straight up the mountain with her basket. The two children who had given her the crayfish were already waiting for her.

“Tang, Auntie Tang, this is the pigweed we gathered for you. Thank you for the candy yesterday.” The older child put a full basket of pigweed in front of Tang Xiaoxiao.

“I can’t take this from you.” If she took it, wouldn’t that be exploitation?

“If you don’t take it, we’ll return the candy to you. We can’t take it.” The younger child took the candy out of his pocket. It was a little melted because of the hot weather.

“Why don’t you eat it?” These two children were really stubborn.

“We’ll eat it if you accept our pigweed.” The older child insisted.

“What are your names?” Tang Xiaoxiao asked.

“My name is Jiang Dahe, and this is my younger brother, Jiang Xiahe.” The older child said.

“Dahe, Xiahe, this time Auntie will take your pigweed. Don’t do this again, okay? Auntie gave you candy not for your things.” She patted the two children’s heads and said with a smile.

“Okay, Auntie. Go turn in the pigweed quickly. We know you have to go take care of Uncle Jingzhi.” Dahe gestured for her to take the basket.

“How did you know?”

“My mother told me. She said Uncle Jingzhi is a good person, a hero. Auntie Tang is also a good person, she repays kindness.” Xiahe looked at her with admiration.

“You’re so good.”

After saying goodbye to the two children, Tang Xiaoxiao turned in the pigweed and recorded her work points. Then, she rode her bicycle to the city.

She went straight to the area near the hospital and went to the black market to trade a few times. She earned over thirty yuan and then left, being very cautious.

Yesterday, Song Jingzhi gave her a long-term national meat ticket. She could use it later, so she didn’t spend it.

She directly took two large pig trotters from her space and bought a dozen large meat buns from the state-owned restaurant.

It was too hot, and she didn’t feel like cooking, so she planned to eat meat buns for lunch.

Time flew by, and a month and a half passed in a blink of an eye. Xu Zeming, who had returned to Xu Shan, had already come back and started working.

His family was gone, and his home had become a pile of rubble. After taking care of his family’s affairs, he returned.

These days, Tang Xiaoxiao had been going to the black market every other day. She had earned three or four hundred yuan in total, which she was very satisfied with. That was a year’s salary for an ordinary worker.

Song Jingzhi had also visibly gained some weight thanks to her feeding. Even Song’s father and mother had become rounder.

One day, Tang Xiaoxiao cooked green bean soup and soaked it in well water for a day. She thought about sending some to Song’s father and mother.

She went to the field with a basket, but she saw Song’s mother arguing with someone.

“Zhao Cui’e, am I wrong? Your son has been back for a month, and he still can’t walk. He’s definitely not going to get better.” It turned out that Chen Fengya was arguing with Song’s mother.

“Don’t talk nonsense! Our Jingzhi was seriously injured. The doctor said he needs to recuperate for three months and then do rehabilitation.”

“Three months? I think his leg is broken and can’t be fixed. He’s disabled. I wonder which girl would dare to marry into your family. I bet that vixen educated youth is going to run away soon.” Chen Fengya became more and more outrageous.

“She’s been running to your house every day. Who knows what kind of dirty things they’re doing.”

Song’s mother could tolerate her talking about Song Jingzhi. After all, he would be able to walk eventually, which would prove everything. But when she brought Tang Xiaoxiao into it, Song’s mother couldn’t take it anymore.

These days, Song’s mother had truly treated her like her own daughter. Of course, she couldn’t let Chen Fengya ruin her reputation.

“Chen Fengya, I’ll show you what I’m capable of.” Song’s mother was about to charge at her, but the aunties who knew that these two were about to fight again held her back.