Chapter 16: Be Careful, They Won’t Visit You When You’re Old

When I got home, it was just in time for dinner.

“Go wash your hands and eat,” Wang Fengmei called out to me.

“Okay, thanks, Mom.”

I put down the bucket and washed my hands with Erni, then went into the kitchen.

As soon as I walked in, I pulled Erni to sit next to me.

Sure enough, as soon as the food was ready, Yaohu started whining about wanting white porridge.

I didn’t have any good feelings about this selfish and spoiled brat.

Why should he get what he wants while others have to give in?

Don’t others want to eat white porridge too?

Seeing that Liu Zhaodi was about to take Erni’s porridge away, I reached out and pressed down on it.

“Sister-in-law, isn’t this a bit unfair? They say both palms and backs of the hand are flesh, isn’t your daughter also from your belly?”

As soon as I finished speaking, before Liu Zhaodi could say anything, Erni pulled at my clothes under the table.

Turning my head, I met a pair of eyes filled with fear and pleading.

“What’s the point of feeding this dead girl so well? When she grows up, she’ll be someone else’s.”

Liu Zhaodi didn’t care.

In her eyes, only Yaohu was the one who could take care of her in her old age.

Naturally, she had to take better care of him.

“That’s true, but how do you know you won’t rely on your daughter when you’re old? Haven’t you seen the deaf old woman in the team?”

Hearing this, Liu Zhaodi’s face changed.

The deaf old woman had five sons and one daughter. When she got old, none of her sons could be relied upon.

If it wasn’t for her daughter, she would have died long ago.

Although her daughter didn’t marry well, her son-in-law had no parents and was a good man. He directly took her in to take care of her.

Who in the team didn’t admire that?

If it wasn’t for her daughter, she would have frozen to death last winter.

Even so, she didn’t like her daughter when she was young.

She did all the dirty and tiring work.

“If you can eat, eat. If you can’t, get out.”

Suddenly, Qin Sheng slammed his chopsticks on the table with a “bang”.

Liu Zhaodi couldn’t help but flinch, she meekly retracted her hand, not daring to say a word.

Yaohu seemed to sense the wrong atmosphere and didn’t dare to make a fuss anymore.

He hung his head and ate his porridge listlessly.

The atmosphere at the table was a bit strange, Erni was so scared that she didn’t dare to pick up her bowl.

I patted her back to comfort her.

“Eat quickly.”

Erni looked at her dad, then at her third aunt, and finally lowered her head and started eating quickly.

“Jiaojiao is right, both palms and backs of the hand are flesh, don’t be so excessive, be careful they won’t visit you when you’re old.”

Wang Fengmei took a bite of porridge and said slowly.

Her voice was neither loud nor soft, but no one dared to make a sound.

The atmosphere became even more oppressive.

Only me and the children seemed unaffected, eating our food one bite at a time.

Just then, a familiar footstep came from the door.

“Third son is back? Come eat.” Wang Fengmei greeted with a smile.

The atmosphere finally relaxed.

Qin Chao also greeted, the children followed suit, all calling out to their third uncle to eat.

Only I, as if I hadn’t seen him, continued to eat my food.

After a pause, Qin Shuo walked over to the only empty seat.

With a natural cold machine beside him, I couldn’t help but frown.

Suddenly, the pumpkin in my mouth seemed tasteless.

The couple didn’t speak, each eating their own food.

How could Wang Fengmei not see the silent conflict?

But she couldn’t do anything about it, she sighed, buried her head in her own food, and didn’t bother with them anymore.

Dinner was simple, still sweet potato porridge, one green vegetable, and one pumpkin.

Even so, this food was already better than many people in the team.

After having an egg and a string of grasshoppers in the afternoon, and now a bowl of porridge, this was the first time I felt full since coming here.

I washed my bowl clean and quickly took the bucket to take a bath.

I was afraid that I would have to wait in line if I was late.

But there was a little tail behind me, wherever I went, she followed me.

Even when I was taking a bath, she was waiting outside.

This wasn’t the first time someone had relied on me so wholeheartedly, but I still felt a strange taste in my heart.

As if I saw myself when I was young.

After taking a bath and coming out, I saw the little figure squatting by the wall. I said, “Do you want to take a bath?”

Hearing this, Erni nodded.

“Go get your clothes, Third Aunt will get you some water.”

As soon as the little girl heard this, she ran back to the house to find her clothes.

I carried the bucket towards the kitchen.

Before I even entered the door, I met Ding Xiujing. Her face was a bit complicated.

Finally, she said sourly, “You like children so much, why don’t you have one yourself?”

I：……

Forget it, I can’t even take care of myself, ten years later, I don’t know where I’ll be.

Having a child would be a crime, wouldn’t it?

“Children aren’t something you can just pinch out, how do I know when she’ll come?”

I said jokingly.

But a feeling of sadness welled up in my heart.

Thinking about my own fate, that I couldn’t even control my own life, I felt both ridiculous and sad.

I just wanted to let loose in this stolen time.

I prayed that the system wouldn’t come back so soon.

I prayed silently, then went into the kitchen to get water.

Erni was indeed a mature and sensible child, she washed her hair and took a bath by herself, without needing any help.

The two of us, big and small, washed our hair and sat side by side at the entrance, letting the wind blow our hair.

The yard was still bustling with activity.

But the two of us were a world of our own, both blending into the yard and yet seeming to be isolated from it.

This contradictory sense of detachment made Qin Shuo frown.

He paused, retracted his gaze, and turned back into the house.

After our hair was dry, it was completely dark.

The sky was full of stars, even the Milky Way was so clear.

“Erni, look, there’s a shooting star.”

The brilliant light streaked across the sky, leaving a long tail.

I was excited.

After growing up, I could no longer see such a dazzling night sky.

Erni was also excited, the two of us sat by the entrance, foolishly waiting for the shooting stars to streak across the sky.

Every time we saw one, we would get excited.

After watching the shooting stars, we looked for the Big Dipper in the sky.

The evening breeze was gentle, carrying the sound of frogs, and I actually felt that this kind of life was quite comfortable.

When we each went back to our rooms, the whole world seemed to have fallen asleep.

Everything was quiet.

I groped my way towards the house, I was very careful this time after falling last time.

I carefully stepped over the threshold and then cautiously moved towards the bed.

But I accidentally kicked a stool on the way, I couldn’t help but gasp softly.

In this silent room, the soft sound was particularly clear.

The man lying on the bed, dressed, his eyes accurately found the clumsy figure.

He saw her stumbling towards the bed.

Seeing that she was about to fall on him, Qin Shuo moved out of the way without a sound.

I reached the bedside safely.

I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

As soon as I climbed onto the bed, I felt a warm body.

I：……