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Wang Jingyu was a bit annoyed. Today, he was hanging out with his friends Qin Lang and Luo Su. Originally, they were all familiar friends. However, one of them was forced to bring his own cousin along. After they arrived at the homestead, this girl either disapproved of this or disapproved of that, making it difficult for them to have a good time.
Qin Lang looked at the embarrassed person and said angrily, “You said your cousin is a bit willful. When we were at the homestead, we accommodated everything. What does she want now?”
“What’s wrong with Jingyu’s house? It’s newly renovated, and the vegetables in the yard are especially delicious. Why does she find fault with everything? Wu Xianyu, let me make it clear to you. If you bring your so-called cousin to our gatherings again, don’t blame us for turning our backs on you. We won’t play with you,” complained Luo Su.
Wu Xianyu, looking frustrated, said, “Do you think I want to bring her? If I don’t bring her, she talks bad about me in front of my parents, saying I go to brothels to drink flower wine. The worst part is, my parents believe it all. What should I do?”
“What else can I do besides bringing her here?” Wu Xianyu retorted.
Wu Xianyu’s cousin, Tong Shuangshuang, with red eyes, stared at them and said, “I will tell my aunt that you all bullied me.”
Wang Jinhe frowned, looking at Tong Shuangshuang with a speechless expression. Didn’t this girl realize that her cousin was about to lose his temper?
Moreover, if she didn’t like such a place, why did she insist on coming to the homestead?
Su Yu came out of the kitchen with seasoning in hand, surprised to see Wang Jingyu and the others back so early. “Jingyu, why are you back so soon?”
Wang Jingyu sighed and said, “It’s a long story.”
“You came just in time. Xiao He has already started preparing the ingredients. We can start grilling as soon as the meat is marinated a bit more,” Su Yu pointed to the barbecue table and the marinating meat nearby.
Wang Jingyu led the group over to take a look at the table, and they all seemed a bit curious. “What is this?” asked Luo Su.
“It’s a barbecue table, used for grilling meat. You’ll do it yourselves later,” Wang Jinhe explained briefly.
Upon hearing that they would be grilling the meat themselves, Luo Su and the others became very interested. They had never tried cooking their own food, so coming to Jingyu’s house this time was a kind of experience and challenge.
“Great, we…”
“Why great? Why should we do it ourselves? Guests should be served. Isn’t it your job to grill the meat for us?” Qin Lang was interrupted by Tong Shuangshuang before he could finish his sentence.
Wu Xianyu glanced at Tong Shuangshuang, truly not understanding why his parents treated her so well. What’s good about someone like her?
“Cousin, let’s go back, okay? I don’t want to eat this. It looks disgusting. These farmers, even if they have some money, can’t change their poor and shabby appearance,” Tong Shuangshuang said with a disdainful expression.
When Tong Shuangshuang made this remark, she didn’t care about the presence of others. Her voice was loud enough for everyone in the house to hear. Xiao Bao and Xiao Zhi looked at her with inflated expressions.
“Uncle, did she go to our estate to pick fruits?” asked Xiao Bao.
As soon as this was mentioned, Wang Jingyu’s expression turned extremely unpleasant. “She destroyed over a hundred bunches of grapes.”
Thinking about those semi-ripe grapes she had picked, Wang Jingyu felt a pang of pain. If he had taken them out to sell, he could have made a good amount of money.
Wu Xianyu was now so embarrassed that he wished he could find a hole to crawl into. This was too humiliating.
Today, he had lost all face in front of his friends, all thanks to Tong Shuangshuang.
“Anything else?”
“She also picked various fruits and ate a bite before throwing them away. Even though the fruits were delicious, she insisted on saying they were terrible. What can I do?” Wang Jingyu explained.
“Compensate according to the market value,” Su Yu said bluntly, looking at Tong Shuangshuang. “One bunch of grapes weighs at least three kilograms. Let’s count it as a hundred bunches, totaling three hundred kilograms. I usually buy good grapes outside for one or two silver coins per kilogram. After all, it’s a rare commodity. Your family should have some money, more or less. You know the price. We won’t even consider the other wasted fruits. In total, compensate us with three hundred taels. You can choose to give us a silver note, or if you don’t mind the trouble, we’ll accept three hundred taels of silver coins.”
Su Yu’s words left everyone in silence, their eyes filled with astonishment.
When they were still figuring out what to say, Su Yu spoke again, “If you had come to play and picked fruits to eat normally, we wouldn’t mind. But wasting them like this, we won’t tolerate.”
“I’ll take responsibility for the money,” Wu Xianyu said with a wry smile. They were right; the grape variety was excellent, and in previous years, they had paid around one or two silver coins for the same type. Sometimes the price was even higher. They could only afford a small amount for a taste. Tong Shuangshuang had ruined so many, and it was only natural for them to be upset.
And there were other fruits as well.
Thinking about the looks people gave him and Tong Shuangshuang when they left the homestead, he felt uneasy even now.
After returning home today, he must clarify things with his parents. He didn’t want to bring someone like her out anymore; it was too embarrassing.
Su Yu looked at Wu Xianyu coldly. “Did you do this?”
“No,” Wu Xianyu shook his head subconsciously.
“Since it wasn’t you, why are you compensating?” Su Yu said disdainfully. “Oh, by the way, Miss Tong, you don’t have to accompany us. If I ask the county magistrate to help us collect this money, the one who’ll feel embarrassed might be you. What do you think?”
Su Yu’s words were like seizing the snake’s weakest point. For a young lady, if the county magistrate really came to demand money, her reputation would be irreparably damaged, and the prospects of marriage would be grim.
Tong Shuangshuang couldn’t refute a word and could only reluctantly take out the money. “I want to go home.”
“Wu Xianyu, I’ll make sure to tell Auntie that you helped outsiders bully me.” With that, she ran off.
Wu Xianyu looked at Wang Jingyu with a wry smile. “Jingyu, I’m really sorry for ruining everyone’s mood today. I’ll treat everyone next time we go out. I’ll head back now; I must talk to my parents and let them know that I’ve had enough of someone like her.”
“Sure, after you go back, talk to your mother. If you don’t make things clear with her now, it will only bring you trouble later. You should think it through,” Wang Jingyu advised, concerned.
Wu Xianyu had a good character and personality, with no issues at all, except for his eccentric cousin.
“Agreed.”
After the unpleasant person left, Luo Su muttered, “Thank goodness I don’t have a cousin like that. I’d go crazy. I really feel sorry for him.”
“Xianyu is already feeling terrible, and you’re here enjoying the misfortune. Come over and help quickly.”