Li Gui tried to recall if she knew anyone called Qiao Yu but she was unable to. There were too many people in Qiao Zhuang’s family. When she left, some of them were still young children.
“What’s your name?” Li Gui did not manage to recall anything.
“Qiao Yu! My name is Qiao Yu!” Qiao Yu said excitedly.
“Ah… You’re Qiao Zhuang’s number six, right? I remember that the sixth child is a daughter.” Li Gui recalled carefully and finally remembered the number of children that Qiao Zhuang had.
“Yes, yes, yes! Sister-in-law, it’s good that you still remember me!” Qiao Yu said.
Li Gui did not know why Qiao Yu was here, so she could only greet her with a smile and asked, “What’s the matter? Are you looking for Qiao Mei?”
“No, no, no, I’m here to look for you, sister-in-law.” When Qiao Yu heard Qiao Mei’s name, she was so frightened that she hurriedly waved her hand to clear the air.
“Then did… Did my children do something wrong?” Li Gui asked carefully.
“Ah! No, no! It’s like this… I… Sister-in-law, can you give me some food? I haven’t eaten for a few days,” Qiao Yu said.
Looking at the skinny Qiao Yu, Li Gui could not bear to reject her. However, she still had two growing boys at home, who had adult appetites, as well as two girls. She had so many mouths to feed at home. If she were to let Qiao Yu share their food, then what about the children’s share. However, when Li Gui saw Qiao Yu’s pleading look, she hesitated.
“Sister-in-law! I beg you! My father and the rest won’t give me food! I can only beg you! I haven’t eaten for a few days! I beg you!” Qiao Yu immediately knelt in front of Li Gui and cried out for help.
Li Gui was so alarmed that she hurriedly helped Qiao Yu up and said, “Don’t be like this! You! Sigh… come in.”
“Aye, aye! Yes! Thank you, sister-in-law! Thank you, sister-in-law!” Qiao Yu hurriedly stood up when she heard this and ran into the house without even cleaning the dust off her legs.
Zhang Miao looked at Li Gui and Qiao Yu from the doorway. Before she could dodge to one side, she was knocked down by Qiao Yu who had rushed in. When Li Gui saw this, she ran in and helped her child up. She patted her all over and asked, “Miao Miao, how are you? Are you alright!”
“Mom… I… I’m fine… Who is she?” Zhang Miao was not one of those spoiled children who would cry after falling down. She brushed off the soil on her hands and took it in her stride.
As Li Gui watched Qiao Yu wolfing down the food, she did not know what to say. She brought her child to another room and decided to wait for Qiao Yu to finish eating before they had their meal.
Qiao Yu looked at the big bowl full of steamed buns and immediately reached out to take two and wolfed them down. She did not care whether Li Gui’s family had eaten or not, she only cared about filling her own stomach. In the end, she ate four to five steamed buns in a row before stopping, and even took four more and held them in her lap. In the end, there was only one bun left in the bowl.
Qiao Yu thought about it and decided that there was no point in leaving just one, so she took the last one as well. Afraid that Li Gui would turn hostile, Qiao Yu left immediately after she finished eating. As she walked off, she was still chewing a bun as she said, “Sister-in-law! I’m… I’m leaving! There’s no need to send me off!”
As soon as she left the house, she bumped into Zhang Wei and his younger siblings who were on the way home. They did not manage to find much today and only brought back two baskets of wild vegetables. Qiao Yu’s eyes lit up when she saw them. Buns with stuffing made from these vegetables must be delicious. She decided that she would come back tomorrow.
Zhang Wei stared at Qiao Yu curiously and only went in after she left. After instructing Zhang Qin and Zhang Chao to sort out the vegetables in the courtyard, he went into the house to look for Li Gui.
“Mom? Mom! Where are you!” Zhang Wei shouted.
“Elder brother!”
“Xiao Wei! I’m here!”
The mother and child answered in unison.
Looking at Li Gui’s sad expression, Zhang Wei guessed that the woman must have come to bully his mother. Zhang Wei asked patiently, “Mom, what’s wrong? Who was that person from just now?”
Li Gui did not know how to explain it. Besides, Zhang Wei was still young, only 10 years old. It was better not to let the child know of such things, so she decided not to tell him.