Chapter 17

“I don’t care whether she likes it or not.” Chu Sangning rolled his eyes and waved his hands like he was shooing away a fly, “Don’t disturb me while I’m working.”

The sound of the two people talking attracted the scorekeeper. Seeing that Zhao Jiayun was staying somewhere else, the scorekeeper’s rough voice suddenly came: “Hey, who are you? Why aren’t you working? What are you doing?”

The flies left and Chu Sangning breathed a sigh of relief. The whole morning had passed with difficulty. Chu Sangning had never done anything before and was an hour slower than others. In the end, Lin Xiuzhi helped him with some work and he was able to go home in time for lunch.

After arriving home, Jiang Panan saw Chu Sangning and ran up to her like a clingy puppy, “Sister, this is for you.”

He took out half a biscuit from his pocket and held it in front of Chu Sangning. Before Chu Sangning took it, Pan Wenlan was wiping the child’s hands with a towel and was happy to see the biscuit.

“Where did you get these cookies?”

“Someone else gave it to me.”

Pan Wenlan then asked: “Who gave it to you?”

“That’s the person who exchanged jobs with my sister today.”

Things given by He Yueyang? Where would she get these things? Chu Sangning frowned slightly. If He Yueyang had biscuits, he wouldn’t have said that he was so hungry on the first day he came and asked for food from her.

Unless… unless this cookie isn’t hers.

“What did I tell you? You are not allowed to ask for other people’s things.” Pan Wenlan was teaching her son while holding his hand. No matter how poor a person is, he should not ask others for things.

Jiang Panan was scolded by her mother for no reason. Her big eyes flickered and suddenly turned red. She nodded aggrievedly, “Mom, I didn’t ask for it. She gave it to me.”

Seeing that Jiang Panan was about to cry, Chu Sangning stepped forward to take the biscuits, signaled to Pan Wenlan, and then took Jiang Panan to his room.

Jiang Panan cried like a kitten. Chu Sangning asked her to wipe her eyes with a handkerchief. “Don’t cry, or your eyes will be swollen soon.”

“Sister, I didn’t. I didn’t ask for it.” Jiang Pan’an pursed his lips in grievance and said with sobs.

“Okay, sister gets it, but next time if she gives you something, don’t accept it.” Chu Sangning didn’t understand He Yueyang’s intention and was afraid that there was something wrong with the cookies.

He Yueyang had no idea that the cookies he had given to Jiang Panan had been thrown away by Chu Sangning. He was still secretly rejoicing that he was so generous. If the Jiang family knew about this, they would definitely regret not choosing him.

On the way home from work, He Yueyang couldn’t hide the smile on his face until he saw a little girl. He Yueyang cursed in a low voice: “God of plague, it’s really bad luck for me.”

She took a few quick steps, and the little girl put her fingers in her mouth, drooling, and followed He Yueyang like a follower who couldn’t be shaken off.

Last night, He Yueyang moved to a fellow villager’s house. Since she didn’t have enough to eat at night, she hid in the house and secretly ate a piece of biscuit.

It turned out that the girl had a keen nose and she discovered it. In order not to alarm others, He Yueyang reluctantly broke off a small piece and gave it to the girl. Who knew that the girl would rely on him?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. If he could rely on her once, he could rely on her countless times. She turned around impatiently, staring at the girl with a scrutinizing look, glaring at her fiercely, “Don’t follow me.”

He Yueyang seemed to be getting a little impatient with being pestered, and he pushed the girl in an impulsive manner, “Get out of the way, it’s good enough that I gave it to you, and you still dare to rely on me.”

The girl sat down on the ground, her nose felt sore, and she tilted her head back and started crying loudly.

He Yueyang was afraid that others would see him, so he quickly strode away. The girl stared at He Yueyang’s back, blinked hard, howled twice, then came to her senses and stood up slowly.

After returning home, He Yueyang walked towards his room without even raising his head and without even saying hello.

“Mom, why do we want the educated youth to come to our house? She does nothing and still wants us to serve her.” The old lady’s daughter-in-law was a hot-tempered person. She put down the broom in her hand, rolled up her sleeves and was about to argue with He Yueyang.

The old lady was wearing patched clothes and smiled nonchalantly, “The educated youth are well-educated, which can be regarded as accumulating good fortune for our little girl.”

When the woman heard her mother-in-law talking about her daughter, Xiaoya, she suddenly fell silent.

Xiaoya is the concern of her family because she was not well-nourished during her pregnancy and something unexpected happened during the delivery. Xiaoya is different from other children. She only knows how to eat, drink, defecate and urinate. She is already four or five years old and still cannot speak.

The woman felt guilty every time she thought about it, but her mother-in-law and her husband never complained and took care of Xiaoya wholeheartedly.

Otherwise, like other families in the village, little girls would have to go out to work at the age of four or five.

When He Yueyang heard the conversation between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law at the door, he suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that the little girl was a fool. No wonder he had never heard her speak.

As for what happened just now, I’m not afraid that the little girl will complain. After all, she can’t even speak, so what kind of complaint can she make?

He Yueyang felt relieved. He didn’t care about the nervous look on the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law’s faces when they saw Xiao Ya covered in dirt. When it was time to eat, he pretended nothing had happened and walked out, as if nothing had happened.

Zhao Jiayun worked like a slave in the Luo family, like a free babysitter. In order to win the favor of Luo Yiping’s mother, Zhao Jiayun spent a lot of money.

Not only did she take out the sausages that she was reluctant to eat, she also washed the dishes and swept the floor on weekdays. Her submissive appearance made Luo Yiping’s mother even more proud.

He told everyone he found a good educated youth.

But whether this was good or not was just her one-sided opinion. Everyone just smiled and said nothing. Zhao Jiayun actually took Luo Yiping’s mother’s compliment as recognition.

She showed off in front of Chu Sangning time and again, which made Chu Sangning think she was a psychopath.

Even Lin Xiuzhi and Pan Wenlan privately told Chu Sangning to stay away from Zhao Jiayun.

“I think this girl has a bit of a mental disorder. Stay away from her.”

“Okay, Auntie, don’t worry, I won’t let her bully me.” Chu Sangning clenched his fists and spoke softly.

Time passed day by day, until one day it rained and Chu Sangning didn’t go to work. He was sleeping in the house when suddenly a cry was heard from the yard.

She hurried out, “Auntie, what’s wrong with you?”

Lin Xiuzhi held a piece of paper in her hand and cried so hard that she almost fainted.

Pan Wenlan, who was standing by, supported her mother-in-law and comforted her in a low voice, “Mom, don’t worry. You just scared yourself. I’ll go to the county town tomorrow to ask, okay?”

Only after her mother-in-law’s mood improved a little did Pan Wenlan find time to explain to Chu Sangning.

“As you know, my brother-in-law is serving in the army.” Pan Wenlan glanced into the room and spoke slowly in a low voice, “There has been no news for a long time. Who would have thought that someone would suddenly deliver a letter today.”