Chapter 23: Jiao Jiao, Give Me a Candy

Xu Mo felt aggrieved. Was he really that unreliable?

Liu Xiaolan did not believe a single word of his nonsense.

“If you didn’t bully her, then why did it take you an entire hour to deliver a meal? Do you know how much can be done in an hour? You can do anything in that time!”

Xu Mo: “……” What kind of nonsense was his mother saying?

“Mother, stop talking nonsense. She didn’t know how to apply medicine, so I was just helping her, which delayed me.”

Shen Mo’s face remained expressionless.

The willow branch in her hand was quietly tucked behind the door.

“Mother, call Big Brother and the others to come eat!”

Liu Xiaolan actually understood Xu Mo’s character quite well.

She had just wanted to give him a small warning.

She feared he might do something inappropriate before marriage.

If that happened, both his and Jiao Jiao’s reputations would be ruined.

“Old Third, you are usually steady-minded, and I don’t want to interfere too much. But remember this—before marriage, you must not act recklessly.”

“Mm, I understand.”

After reprimanding Xu Mo, Liu Xiaolan turned toward the courtyard and called out: “Everyone, come eat!”

At the dining table, each person had two coarse grain steamed cornmeal buns in their bowl.

There were also some wild vegetables.

“Grandmother, I smelled meat just now! Why isn’t there any meat?”

Li Ermei’s youngest son, Xu Sanjin, looked at his grandmother with wide, hopeful eyes.

Li Ermei had given birth to three sons.

The eldest, Xu Yijin, was eight years old this year.

The second, Xu Erjin, was seven.

The youngest, Xu Sanjin, was six.

Coincidentally, the eldest sister-in-law, Zhou Ying, had three daughters.

The eldest, Xu Panpan, was eight years old.

The second, Xu Wangwang, was seven.

The youngest, Xu Dengdeng, was six.

Liu Xiaolan rolled her eyes at Xu Sanjin.

“Who eats meat every day? With the little work points your father earns, you should be grateful you’re not starving.”

Li Ermei tugged at Sanjin’s arm. “Eat your food and stop talking.”

Sanjin pouted but quietly resumed nibbling on his steamed cornmeal bun.

In the family, Grandmother was the fiercest, and everyone was afraid of her.

The rest of the family also ate their meals in silence.

At this moment, Liu Xiaolan spoke up.

“Today, the captain picked an auspicious date for Old Third and Jiao Jiao. By the end of the month, the two of them can get married.”

Everyone immediately looked up at Xu Mo.

Xu Sanjin, never one to fear death, blurted out: “People in the village say Third Uncle is marrying a vixen spirit. What does a vixen spirit look like? Is it a little fox?”

Li Ermei smacked her foolish son on the head.

“Eat your food! Even a steamed cornmeal bun can’t keep your mouth shut.”

Sanjin was once again glared at by both his grandmother and Third Uncle, so he obediently kept his head down and continued eating.

Liu Xiaolan went on: “Since Old Third is getting married, naturally, you all need to move out of his room. I don’t need to say more about this. Eldest and Second’s families, you’ve been occupying Old Third’s bedroom. There’s only one month left, so start packing up.

I still have to prepare things for Old Third’s wedding.”

Xu Mo did not say anything.

Back then, he had moved out voluntarily.

The house had only one room, and it wasn’t big.

Both his eldest and second brothers were already married with children.

Living together was too cramped.

So, he had willingly moved into the rundown house in the backyard.

But now, things were different—he was getting married, too. That dilapidated house would be too much of a grievance for Shen Jiaojiao.

Though the earthen house wasn’t much better, it was still an improvement over the wind-leaking shack in the back.

Naturally, the house had to be taken back.

Eldest brother, Xu Zhengyang, nodded. “Alright, we’ll start moving tomorrow.”

Second brother, Xu Fugu, looked up from his bowl. “I’ll move tomorrow, too.”

Second sister-in-law, Li Ermei, had no objections either.

She was fierce, but she disliked taking advantage of others even more.

However, the eldest daughter-in-law was in a bit of a dilemma.

Zhou Ying glanced cautiously at her mother-in-law.

“Mother, I’m pregnant again. If we move back, how will we even fit in there?”

“That’s your problem. Did I hold a knife to your neck and force you to sleep with Eldest? If you can’t control yourself, then you have to deal with the consequences.”

“But… didn’t I do this to give you a grandson?”

“You’re giving me a grandson? What, am I supposed to rely on him to take care of me in my old age? Give me a break! I’d be grateful if you all don’t tear me apart while I’m still alive.”

Liu Xiaolan had been working all day and was utterly exhausted.

She had to manage everything inside and outside the house, and it was truly overwhelming.

“That’s it. Eat your food.”

She shoveled a few bites of rice into her mouth and then returned to her bedroom.

After Xu Mo left, Shen Jiaojiao had been lying in bed resting.

Even though she hadn’t done much work today, she had moved around quite a bit, which left her feeling tired.

She quickly fell asleep.

The Next Day

As usual, Shen Jiaojiao went to work in the fields in the morning and evening.

However, the tasks assigned to her were relatively easy—things like weeding and picking up stray wheat stalks.

Almost every time she worked, Xu Meili would come to help.

And not just Xu Meili—she always brought her little helpers along.

She rounded up all three of the Xu family’s boys and all three of the girls.

Like today, when they were gathering wheat stalks.

Xu Meili had brought the children along, each carrying a bag, helping out in the fields.

At last, Xu Sanjin got to see the so-called “fox spirit” in person.

He stared at Shen Jiaojiao the entire time.

So this was what a fox spirit looked like? She was so beautiful!

Shen Jiaojiao noticed the little boy staring at her and took out a few pieces of candy, handing them to him and the other children to share.

In an instant, Sanjin was in awe of Shen Jiaojiao.

During this time, Fang Qinghe had come looking for Shen Jiaojiao several times.

Each time, he was chased away by the little ones.

Ever since the incident at Yanggu Field, Fang Qinghe hadn’t been able to get close to Shen Jiaojiao.

This drove him mad with anxiety.

If he didn’t make a move soon, Shen Jiaojiao would really end up marrying Xu Mo.

Meanwhile, Ye Huan had been utterly exhausted lately.

In the past, when she was close to Shen Jiaojiao, she had benefited from her and never had to do any labor.

But now, she had to work in the fields with the educated youths every day, and she was nearly at her breaking point.

To make things worse, she was on her period.

Hers always lasted seven days, and the flow was particularly heavy. If she wasn’t careful, she would stain her pants.

The physical discomfort, combined with the hard labor, made her irritable beyond measure.

At this moment, she was in the field, covered in dust, struggling to cut wheat.

Meanwhile, Shen Jiaojiao was leisurely picking up stray wheat stalks behind her.

Not only that, but she also had so many little helpers assisting her.

Just watching them made Ye Huan furious.

What annoyed her even more was seeing them eating White Rabbit Creamy Candy.

She hadn’t had White Rabbit Candy in so long.

Back when she was still on good terms with Shen Jiaojiao, she had all the candy she could eat.

Without thinking, Ye Huan walked up to Shen Jiaojiao.

“Jiaojiao, give me one too.”

Shen Jiaojiao was completely taken aback by Ye Huan’s shamelessness.

After everything she had said to cut ties, Ye Huan still had the nerve to come asking for candy?

Shen Jiaojiao couldn’t even be bothered to respond.

“Move. You’re in my way.”

“Jiaojiao, I’ve already humbled myself so much. How long are you going to keep this up?”

“You’re really annoying, Ye Huan.” Shen Jiaojiao was starting to lose her temper.

At that moment, Xu Meili stood in front of Shen Jiaojiao with the six little ones lined up beside her.

She puffed up her chest and shouted at Ye Huan: “My sister-in-law told you to move. Didn’t you hear her?”