Coincidentally, at this moment, Qiao Mei returned with Zhang Qin and Zhang Miao from their outing to pick mushrooms and dig up wild vegetables. The two children were originally very happy and had run home to show Li Gui their harvest, but as soon as they entered the house, they were stunned and the small baskets in their hands fell to the ground. They did not dare to retreat nor move forward to approach Zhang Cong.
“Eh? Why are you…” Qiao Mei felt curious about their strange behavior, then she saw Li Gui lying on the ground as soon as she entered. The two children also seemed to be very afraid of the man.
“Who are you!” Qiao Mei hugged the two children and looked at this man that she had never seen before.
Zhang Cong turned around and saw a beautiful girl standing at the entrance of the courtyard with his two younger sisters beside her. This was probably Li Gui’s daughter, Qiao Mei. Wasn’t she supposed to be a fatty who weighed more than 200 pounds, and was dark and ugly like a black bear spirit. The person in front of him did not fit this description at all. She had milky smooth skin, a slender figure, and a beautiful face with red lips, pearly white teeth and a sweet voice. Even when she was angry, she looked like she was throwing a charming little tantrum.
“Oh! I’m Zhang Cong. Are you Qiao Mei?” Like his father, Zhang Cong liked beautiful women. He did not expect to see such a beautiful young woman in this remote village, and she was so much prettier than Sun Yan.
Qiao Mei lowered her head and asked Zhang Qin and Zhang Miao, “Who is this?”
“It’s… it’s my big brother,” Zhang Qin said softly.
He looked to be in his twenties, so it was likely not Zhang Wei, but the ignorant and incompetent Zhang Cong. At this moment, Li Gui slowly got up. Her nervousness about the wellbeing of her children made her forget that she was injured. She could only remember that she had to protect her children. Furthermore, Qiao Mei was pregnant and nothing must happen to her.
“Go, dry the mushrooms before entering the house.” Qiao Mei patted the two children’s shoulders. If there was going to be a fight later, she did not want them to get hurt. Zhang Qin and Zhang Miao picked up the baskets on the ground and put back the mushrooms that had dropped out. The two children walked along the side of the fence, not daring to go near Zhang Cong.
Zhang Qin brought her sister, Zhang Miao, into the house first and told her not to make a sound while she carefully laid out the mushrooms to dry outside. From time to time, she would use her peripheral vision to see if Zhang Cong was coming towards her.
“Why are you here to look for my mother?” Qiao Mei actually already knew what he was here for.
“Ah… I came to see if Auntie Zhang is doing well here and if she lacks anything. I’m here to visit her.” Zhang Cong smiled awkwardly.
Qiao Mei looked at Zhang Cong mockingly and sneered, “But you came empty-handed. Is this how you visit someone?”
Zhang Cong was caught in speechless surprise and he turned around to look at Li Gui. His gaze was not fierce, but rather to size her up.
Li Gui knew that something was wrong when she saw Zhang Cong’s gaze and quickly said, “It’s fine, it’s fine! I don’t lack anything! Don’t come again!”
Zhang Cong did not expect Li Gui to have such a trick up her sleeve. This young woman was beautiful and had a sharp tongue. Yet Old Madam Zhang had always said that she was a “Black Bear Spirit” who weighed more than 200 pounds and was greedy and lazy!
The two of them had probably teamed up to cook up this scheme so that he would not take a fancy to Qiao Mei. If he had known that Qiao Mei was so beautiful, then Sun Yan would never have been in the picture!
Old Madam Zhang would have felt so grievous about this unjust accusation. It was really a disaster that befell her out of the blue as Old Madam Zhang did not even know that Qiao Mei had already become as beautiful as a flower.
“I… left in a hurry and did not have time!”
Zhang Cong took two steps forward and slowly approached Qiao Mei. “Oh dear, is the thing that you’re carrying heavy, let me help you!”
When Li Gui saw Zhang Cong walking towards Qiao Mei, she hurriedly limped over to stop him. Zhang Cong pushed Li Gui away and thought to himself, “What an obstructive old thing. I’m looking at the little beauty, don’t cause trouble for me.”
Seeing Li Gui fall to the ground, Qiao Mei frowned. Zhang Qin quickly ran over to help Li Gui up and pulled her away from Zhang Cong. At this moment, Zhang Cong was not in the mood to look at them. His attention was all on Qiao Mei, especially her curvaceous figure and beautiful face.
Seeing that he was about to get close to Qiao Mei, Zhang Cong said fawningly, “Younger sis, you must be exhausted. Come, let me help you carry the basket. There’s no need to be so formal with your big brother.” As he reached out, his hands veered towards Qiao Mei’s chest instead of the shoulder strap of the carrying pole holding the baskets.