Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

"What's the matter?"

Zhao Youde puffed on his pipe, his eyes casually sweeping over a few yellow cattle that were eating and drinking their fill and wagging their tails as they passed by him slowly.

Seeing that in just a few days, the cows were clean and shiny by Song Guanwen, he nodded with satisfaction and then turned his gaze to Song Guanwen, who was obviously much whiter.

Seeing the satisfaction in Zhao Youde's eyes, Song Guanwen pursed his lips. Instead of beating around the bush with him, he lowered his voice and stated his purpose directly.

"Is it because Lin Zhiqing asked you to do this job that I can take it?"

"What did you say?!"

As if he had not expected Song Guanwen to suddenly ask this question, Zhao Youde was startled and trembled. The burning tobacco in the pipe was shaken by him, and a few drops of tobacco suddenly floated out and fell on the back of his hand, burning him and making him shiver.

"Don't worry, I don't mean anything else. I just want to confirm with you."

Seeing Zhao Youde's reaction, Song Guanwen had no idea what was wrong. From the moment this task fell on his shoulders, he realized something was wrong.

He was aloof in nature, not as pleasant as Li Bin, nor as honest and hardworking as Zhang Jianguo. He did not seek credit for the tasks assigned to him, but only wanted to complete them without making mistakes. Therefore, he was not very popular in the educated youth site and the village.

As a capable man who was good at farm work, Zhao Youde could not stand the educated youths being lazy and idle, and he had no intention of being gentle with women.

He couldn't stay in the sun for too long, and had been lying in bed for more than ten days due to his injury. He was prepared to be scolded by Zhao Youde and then be treated like an animal for the rest of his life.

But this person acted out of character. Not only did he not say a harsh word to him, but like an uncle who cares about the younger generation, he arranged an easy job for him that was almost a "pie in the sky" for him.

There must be something wrong when things are abnormal. Song Guanwen claims to be a cold-hearted person, so naturally he would not believe the nonsense he said, "Your aunt feels sorry for you that you can't bask in the sun."

He was still puzzled as to why this task fell on him, but in the blink of an eye, he ran into Lin Xi, who was obviously hiding something.

This fool thought she was acting very well, but she didn't know that as soon as she told a lie, she would unconsciously tug at the corners of her clothes and start stuttering.

What was Song Guanwen thinking when he realized that it was Lin Xi who asked for this job for him?

There was no surprise, no unexpected event, but a sense of relief from the bottom of my heart that "it's as I expected".

Only someone as foolish as her would secretly hide the peach cake and put it in his palm when she was obviously extremely afraid of him.

That's why, even when she had just recovered from a serious illness, she was still worried about his dizziness if he didn't eat sugar.

She hadn't just rolled around in the mud, so where did the mud come from that would take her half a day to wash her hands? She was just trying to confirm whether Zhao Youde had really arranged the job of herding cattle for him as she wished.

Song Guanwen couldn't help but recall the scene of her squatting by the ditch that day, wearing a short green cloth jacket and surrounded by grass and trees.

When the wind blows, is it the clothes that move, or the grass and trees? Or perhaps, is it his heart that moves?

How could I not be moved? Someone who lost his mother at a young age, lived under the care of his stepmother and father, and was treated coldly because of his unpleasant personality.

Compared with his younger siblings who are favored by his stepmother and father, Song Guanwen, who thinks he has seen through everything and no longer cares about these things, is actually a selfish person who desires favoritism more than anyone else.

It is not about treating everyone equally, nor is it about treating everyone the same. Rather, it is about being unique and unconditionally chosen.

The warm peach cakes, like rock sugar that could sweeten one's heart, the gently swaying cattail leaf fan, and the wildflowers that had long since dried up on the windowsill were such trivial things that could be forgotten in a blink of an eye, but Song Guanwen took them out and chewed them over and over in his heart.

It seemed that only in this way could he find a little comfort from the loneliness that almost overwhelmed him, and use it to console himself - he was not useless, he was also worthy of being cared about, and being... liked?

"Tsk——"

Zhao Youde's somewhat irritated sigh interrupted Song Guanwen's thoughts. He took two deep puffs of his pipe, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and looked at Song Guanwen awkwardly.

"Didn't that girl ask me to keep it a secret from you? Why did she tell you herself?"

Seeing that he had misunderstood, Song Guanwen hurriedly explained: "She didn't tell me, I guessed it myself."

"Really?" Zhao Youde's brows were furrowed so tightly that they could kill a mosquito, and his dark face was full of suspicion.

"Really? Otherwise, why would I bother to come to you to inquire about this matter?" Seeing that he didn't believe it, Song Guanwen lowered his voice and spoke sincerely.

"She's just too young to understand these things. She clearly asked for the job on my behalf, but she still had to bypass me and give you something as a tribute. It really troubles you too much."

"I came to see you today for no other reason than to ask you to give me some advice on what she has given to you and Auntie on my behalf. This way, I can have a better idea of what she has done and make it up to her in the future..."

Zhao Youde was originally a little annoyed because he suddenly asked him about the gift-giving. As the team leader, he always dealt with the matter rather than the person, and did not like to engage in those empty things such as gift-giving and making connections.

The reason why he could accept Lin Xi's gift this time was because his second daughter-in-law was finally pregnant after three years of marriage. His second daughter-in-law was diligent and capable, and was filial to him and his wife, but she was a little weak.

After three years of marriage, she finally got pregnant. When she went to the town to see the doctor, she was told that she was malnourished and needed to eat more good foods to nourish her body, preferably eggs, chicken, and malted milk.

But eggs and chicken are easy to find, but malted milk, a rare item that even city dwellers may not be able to buy, is hard to come by. Therefore, Lin Xi's gift was really timely and thoughtful.

Besides, she gave the gift not to ask for something that would embarrass Zhao Youde, but because it was a job of herding cattle that she was going to give away anyway. Even if he gave it to Song Guanwen, no one else could find anything wrong with it.

With the right time, place and people, Zhao Youde, who never accepted gifts, was naturally shaken. So he gritted his teeth and agreed.

Of course, he was not such a greedy person. He only accepted the can of malted milk and asked Lin Xi to take back the cigarettes and brown sugar. However, she refused to accept them, saying that it was a thank you gift for him and his wife treating Song Guanwen's injury. If she didn't accept it, she would not leave.

Zhao Youde then accepted the things with a red face, and felt quite embarrassed as he asked someone to carry a basket of cherries back.

But he didn't understand why Lin Xi asked him to hide it from Song Guanwen. In response, Lin Xi just smiled shyly.

"Didn't the great leader say that we should learn from Comrade Xi Jinping and do good deeds without leaving a name behind?"