Xue Da was overjoyed. He stopped using his walking stick and refused to let the two children help him. He held the two children’s hands and led them home.
Although his steps were a little unsteady, and because of his Hunchback, he could only walk step by step. Yet with each step, one could tell how happy he was.
The older he got, the more he liked children.
Jiang Yue felt that he was very kind.
The courtyard door was open, so Xue Da didn’t need to open them.
Upon entering the courtyard, Jiang Yue saw two women in their thirties or forties. One of them was well-built and was feeding the chickens in the chicken coop with chopped vegetables. A big-faced woman with squinted eyes and an obsequious smile was following beside the strong woman. She was begging the woman to give her a chicken. The well-built woman didn’t pay attention to her at all. She looked impatient as if she was holding back and was ready to burst at any second.
When Xue Da heard that she wanted a chicken, his expression immediately turned ugly. He was just short of blowing his beard off and glaring at her.
When the two women saw Xue Da enter, they immediately turned around and called out, “Father.”
The woman who asked for the chicken cowered a little. It was clear that she was quite afraid of Xue Da.
“Hello,” Xue Yan greeted them politely.
Only then did Jiang Yue know that the well-built woman feeding the chickens was Xue Yan’s aunt, Qian Caiyu, and the woman with a big face and squinting eyes was Xue Yan’s fourth aunt, Zhang Meili.
She could also tell that Xue Yan’s voice was a lot fainter when he called Zhang Meili.
It seemed that Xue Yan didn’t like this fourth aunt, but he couldn’t address her impolitely because of his grandfather’s presence as well.
Jiang Yue knew what was going on, so she followed suit and greeted them politely, “Hello, I am Jiang Yue.”
“Good girl.” Qian Caiyu’s face was filled with kindness.
“This must be Yue Bao, she’s very cute and looks really good.” Zhang Meili saw that Xue Da was holding Jiang Yue’s hand and seemed to like her a lot. She immediately went over to try to please Xue Da, wanting to pinch Jiang Yue’s face.
Xue Da ignored her and did not allow her to pinch Jiang Yue’s face. He led Jiang Yue and Xue Yan to his room.
Zhang Meili’s hands were frozen in mid-air.
After Jiang Yue and Xue Xiao were led into Xue Da’s room, Xue Da kindly asked them to wait. Then, Xue Da went to open a box. No one knew what he was going to take, but he looked very happy.
The two of them only looked at Xue Da expectantly.
Xue Da was old and a little deaf. He couldn’t hear people talking outside if they weren’t loud enough. He was still happily looking for what he wanted, but Jiang Yue and Xue Yan could clearly hear the voices coming from outside.
“Why is father like this? I’m his daughter-in-law after all. He’s embarrassing me in front of the younger generation. Xue Dafu too, picking up one isn’t enough, he still picked up another, is he not concerned for us?”
It was Zhang Meili’s aggrieved complaint.
“Please, you must have a conscience!” Qian Caiyu had always been forthright, so she immediately bombarded her. “The child that he picked up will be raised by his own will, when has he ever dragged us down? His family has never even borrowed a single dollar from us, so stop talking nonsense!”
“I’m sorry for saying that…” Zhang Meili smiled obsequiously, her eyes narrowing even more. They looked like two short lines on her big, fierce-looking face. “But have you heard? Xue Yan won’t be going to town to study anymore. He said he wanted to be a farmer.”