CH 81

Xu Qing’s speed was very fast. After several trips up and down, pretty much all the fruits in the tree were picked.

He took the half-packed basket and turned to look over at the group of monkey children who were still laughing and jumping. Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com. For them, the fun of picking cherries was greater than the quantity picked.

With a smile on his face, Xu Qing picked up the basket and headed towards the wild cherry tree nearby. As he was filling up the basket with cherries, the little leader came running over.

“Brother Xu, I’m done over there, let me help you!”

Xu Qing glanced at the basket beneath the tree and then looked up at the boy’s flushed face. “Alright, there are a few cherries that are out of my reach. You seem to be skilled at climbing trees, could you help me get them?” he asked the boy.

The cherry tree was not too tall, so he was not worried about any accidents.

Upon hearing Xu Qing’s request, the boy patted his chest proudly and said, “Of course, I’m the best tree climber among all the children in our village. My grandfather even said so.” However, because he often climbed trees, he also frequently received beatings from his grandfather.

“Alright, just be careful,” said Xu Qing as he took a few steps back from the tree, creating some space for the boy. Since the boy had offered to help, Xu Qing didn’t want to interfere too much and allowed the boy to take charge of the situation. The boy was filled with excitement at the opportunity to showcase his skills.

With the additional help, it didn’t take long for the two to pick all the ripe cherries. Xu Qing placed the picked cherries into the basket.

“Since you helped me today, can I invite you to my house for a glass of water?” Xu Qing asked, lowering his head slightly and looking at the boy.

The little boy scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed, and said, “Can I buy a jar of pickled vegetables from you? But I only have four coppers with me.” He and his brother were fond of the pickled vegetables sold at Xu Qing’s shop. The two jars of pickled vegetables that Deng Ama had just purchased from Xu Qing’s shop had been quickly devoured.

Xu Qing was a bit surprised by the boy’s request. He looked down at the basket of wild cherries and then raised his head to reply to the boy, who looked a bit uneasy. “Of course, you helped me today, didn’t you? And you seem to really enjoy the goods sold at my shop. That makes me happy too,” said Xu Qing, with a smile on his face.

Upon hearing Xu Qing’s words, the boy’s anxious expression disappeared, and he flashed a smile, revealing his little white teeth to Xu Qing.

Since the boy’s group of friends had already gone home, Xu Qing offered to accompany him down the mountain. As they arrived at Xu Qing’s house, the boy seemed a bit hesitant to enter.

“Come in,” Xu Qing urged the boy, who was a little embarrassed to go in, with a warm smile.

The boy shook his head, took out a neatly folded cloth from his pocket, and unfolded it in front of Xu Qing, revealing four coppers inside. He handed the money over to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing accepted the money without saying much and patted the boy’s head with one hand. He then proceeded to open the courtyard door and gestured for the boy to come in.

Upon entering the house, Li Changfeng was seen walking back and forth in the main room while holding Tuan Tuan. As soon as he saw Xu Qing and the boy, he greeted them, “You’re back! Wow, you picked so many cherries!” Li Changfeng expressed his astonishment as he gazed at the basket positioned behind Xu Qing.

Xu Qing shrugged off Li Changfeng’s reaction and proceeded to set the basket down. He then leaned in and gave a kiss to the slumbering Tuan Tuan, who was being cradled in Li Changfeng’s arms.

Only then he replied to Li Changfeng, “This isn’t much. Once you’ve sampled the cherry wine that’s brewing, you won’t think it’s too little.”

Afterwards, Xu Qing went inside the shop and retrieved two jars of pickled vegetables. He then made his way over to the entrance where the young boy was waiting for him.

The boy was taken aback by the sight of the two jars of pickled vegetables in Xu Qing’s hands, but he only accepted one of them.

Xu Qing halted the boy who was about to depart and insisted, “Don’t be in such a hurry to leave. This is my way of expressing gratitude for your help today.”

“I don’t want it,” said the boy, blushing. “It didn’t take long for me to help you. You’ve already lost a copper from this one jar. I can’t take another one.”

Xu Qing persisted and pressed the jar into the boy’s hand. When the boy attempted to give it back to him, Xu Qing said, “I didn’t give you this additional jar for no reason. If you don’t mind, could you still pick cherries for me tomorrow and the day after?”

The boy’s eyes gleamed with excitement at the offer of being able to collect wild cherries for two more days in exchange for his favorite pickles. Even though he wasn’t particularly fond of eating wild cherries, he had been feeling bored and had joined in with the other children to pick the berries for amusement. He had given all the fruit he had gathered to the group, keeping only a small amount to take back to his younger brother.

“Sure, I’ll pick them for you first thing in the morning. Don’t hand over the jar to me just yet. You can give it to me once I’m finished picking the cherries,” the boy agreed eagerly. He clutched the jar of pickled vegetables tightly in his arms and dashed off home, overjoyed with his newfound task.

Xu Qing looked at the jar that was stuffed into his arm by the boy, then looked at the back of the boy who was already far away, shook his head helplessly, turned to lock the courtyard door, and went back to the main room.

“Why did you bring it back?” Li Changfeng had just put the sleeping Tuan Tuan in the room, and as soon as he came out, he saw Xu Qing holding a jar of pickled vegetables.

“It was meant for the boy from the Deng family, but he refused it. He insisted on picking cherries for me first before accepting it,” Xu Qing explained, setting the jar of pickled vegetables aside. He planned on giving it to the boy when he returned with the cherries the following day.

Li Changfeng took a moment to ponder before asking, “Is that the eldest grandson of the Deng family?” He was aware of the situation with the Deng family, specifically how the boy’s mother had passed away due to excessive bleeding during childbirth.

Now, the only remaining family members were the boy’s grandfather, Deng Ama, the boy himself, and his four or five-year-old younger brother.

“Yes, it was the boy who came to notify us the village meeting about Luo Jiao. I thought that child was very clever, so I went with the flow and asked him to pick cherries for me for two days, and I would give him a gift in return, such as this jar of pickles.”

Xu Qing let out a small sigh, feeling a sense of empathy for the boy who grew up without a mother. Having lost his own parents at a young age, Xu Qing had a special sensitivity towards children who grew up without parents.

“That’s fine. Children nowadays are very sensible. Let’s go. Don’t think too much. I’ll wash the cherries for you.” Li Changfeng patted Xu Qing on the shoulder and said. He thought Xu Qing was thinking of his parents.

The boy worked diligently and assisted Xu Qing with picking cherries for the following two days. On the second day, Xu Qing handed the pickled vegetables that he had kept for the boy to take home, “Here, you can take it now!”

“Thank you, Brother Xu. If you need help with anything in the future, just let me know, and I’ll gladly assist you. You can reward me with another jar of these pickles,” said the boy gratefully as he received the jar from Xu Qing.

“Brother Xu, goodbye, I’m going back!”

Li Changfeng greeted Xu Qing as he walked in and exclaimed with a smile, “Now that the cherries are all picked, I’m really looking forward to trying out your cherry wine when it’s ready.”

Xu Qing confidently boasted, “Just wait and see how amazing this uncle’s brewing skills are.”

Suddenly, a familiar voice interrupted, “What wine are you talking about?”

Xu Qing warmly welcomed the person behind the voice, “Uncle Xie, please come in and have a seat. I’m making a fruit wine, and I promise to share a pot with you when it’s ready.” Quickly grabbing a stool, Xu Qing offered it to Uncle Xie.

Uncle Xie sat down nonchalantly and spoke loudly, “As long as there’s wine and meat, I’m happy. I don’t really care about anything else.”

Li Changfeng chuckled at this and remarked, “I think most men can relate to that sentiment.”

Uncle Xie shook his head gravely and replied, “Not necessarily. Take me, for example. I love wine and meat, but you, Li Changfeng, only eat meat and don’t drink wine.”

“Hahahaha, Uncle Xie, what you said is really funny.”

Xu Qing didn’t even crack a smile when he heard Uncle Xie’s comment, while Li Changfeng looked at him with a helpless expression: Don’t you know best whether I am a man or not?

After the trio chatted and laughed, Uncle Xie revealed the reason for his visit to Xu Qing and Li Changfeng: “I met your eldest brother in town today and he asked me to tell you to come back tomorrow.” Uncle Xie and Xie Ama went to town to check on Xie Yu, who was pregnant, out of concern for his well-being.

Xu Qing and Li Changfeng looked at each other, what happened at the Li’s?

With that being said, the couple went to the Li family early the next morning.

Li Changfeng had informed Xu Qing the previous night that they should not get involved in any issues concerning the Li family. He felt that since he now belonged to the Xu family, he had neither the right nor the qualification to interfere in the Li family’s affairs.

At the entrance of Li’s courtyard, Xu Qing and Li Changfeng were halted as they arrived.

“Second brother, second brother-in-law, wait up!”

Turning around, the couple saw Wang Lei and Li Xiao’er approaching on a bull cart.

Li Xiao’er inquired, “Did eldest brother ask you to come back?” Meanwhile, Wang Lei respectfully greeted the two. Xu Qing and Li Changfeng looked at Li Xiao’er and Wang Lei, and Xu Qing asked, “Were you also asked to come back by eldest brother?”

Li Xiao’er nodded, and Wang Lei continued to say, “It was the eldest brother who came to our shop and said that Xiao’er must come back. Seeing the expression on his face, it seemed that something has happened.”

“Okay, let’s all go in. You’ll know what’s going on when you go in. Afterwards, no matter what the family says, don’t interrupt and listen first.” Li Changfeng took the lead and told everyone to go in together.

Eldest Li’s oldest son, Da Niu, was fetching water by the well. When he saw Li Changfeng and theothers came in, he hurriedly called out, “Second uncle, second uncle in-law, aunt, uncle.”

Li Xiao’er looked at the yard and saw that there was no one there but only Da Niu. He walked towards his nephew and said in a low voice, “Where are your father and the others? And your grandmother?”

Da Niu’s face tightened, and he also said in a low voice: “In the main room. Aunt, they want to split up!”

Split up? When Li Changfeng and Xu Qing heard it, they understood a little in their hearts. Li Xiao’er rubbed Da Niu’s and followed Li Changfeng into the main room.

In the main room, except for the children, adults were all there.

Old man Li, who was sitting in the middle, looked at Li Changfeng and the group who came in, “Oh, they’re all here! Did the eldest tell you to come back?”

Li Ama’s face was particularly ugly now, especially when looking at Li Changfeng, “during the Chinese New Year, you didn’t even come but now you’re here to watch the joke as the family splits up?!” Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com

“What’s going on? What kind of joke are we watching?” Li Changfeng pulled Xu Qing who was holding Tuan Tuan to the side, and also motioned to Li Xiao’er and Wang Lei to sit down. Others saw this scene and said nothing.

Old man Li stood up abruptly: “What kind of joke are you watching? Isn’t it just some trouble between family members! Do you all come here to add to the trouble?!”

“Haha, what you said is not right, father. Xiao’er and I are both outsiders now. We are married to our respective partners and not in this family anymore. Any problem in this family is caused by the ones in the family.” Li Changfeng said while teasing the old man without looking at the other party’s face at all.

Xu Qing sat on the side quietly and did not speak, acting according to what Li Changfeng told him that he should talk less, otherwise, the Li family would spread fire on him.