Thinking it wouldn't be appropriate to let them sleep directly on the kang (heated brick bed), I found a small basket woven from corn husks in my storage space, moved them inside, and placed it in the corner of the kang. Only then did I feel at ease closing the door and instructing Juanjuan and Fengfeng not to mess with the cubs.
As if they understood, Juanjuan and Fengfeng stopped scratching at the door and stood guard at the entrance, motionless.
At this moment, in the village chief's house, a room full of people were discussing the five truckloads of supplies from yesterday.
"Village chief, Wang Pozi's family has struck it rich! That son-in-law who moved in with his wife's family bought so many things, he's really wealthy."
The village chief puffed on his cigarette, glanced at Zhang Dashan across from him, and didn't say anything.
Zhang Dashan also had a somber face, and like him, he silently smoked, filling the room with smoke, like a fairyland.
Everyone chimed in, and most of those who spoke were members of the Ji clan.
They were jealous of Wang Po's family, but dared not provoke them, so they could only grumble at the village chief's house.
Someone came up with an idea and said, "Clan leader, why don't we adopt my second son to the Wang family?"
Upon hearing this, some villagers were displeased: "Your son is as stupid as a pig, all he does is cry with snot running down his face. Wang is a clean person, she would definitely look down on him."
"Tch, he's still young, he'll be fine when he grows up."
“Then it would be better to give my eldest son to Wang Shi. He can work and has a sweet tongue. She has money and can support my eldest son’s education. With money to support him, our Ji clan will also produce scholars.”
They were all scheming against Wang Shi, hoping to benefit from her success. Seeing that Wang Po's family was getting better and better, they all wanted a piece of the pie.
After finishing his cigarette, the village chief tapped his pipe and let out a soft hum.
“If you’re not afraid of getting burned, then go ahead. I’m definitely scared.”
The room fell silent instantly, but some of the bolder people said, "We're not going to harm her. Let's talk to her calmly about it. If she's willing, she can be adopted; if not, that's fine. It's not like she'll be burned."
"That's right, we're doing this for her own good. If her husband knew that she was adopted by a member of our Ji clan, he could rest in peace in the afterlife. If she adopted an outsider, would she have the face to face her husband in the afterlife?"
"Alright, I've already told Wang about this. She hates you all. Who told you to always bully her? Now that she's doing well, she's cutting off all contact with her clansmen and even considering severing ties. She even brought up the adoption issue. Give up on that idea."
"Well, we can't just watch her eat big meals every day while we starve."
"Hmph, so what? If we touch her, we'll be in trouble. It's weird."
Everyone turned their attention to Zhang Dashan: "I've heard that an official with integrity can suppress all evil. Tingyu will be taking the imperial examination after the New Year. Is he sure he'll pass with a degree of Xiucai?"
Zhang Dashan smiled smugly: "He said he's confident he'll pass the high school entrance exam next year and will do his best to take it."
"That's good. Once your second son passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar, he'll be able to talk to officials and get a job in the county government. Then we can find some excuse to make Wang give in. We absolutely cannot let her take in an orphan to support her in her old age. We should keep the wealth within the family, don't you think?"
Zhang Dashan snorted: "We'll talk about it later. I don't want anything to happen to my son. This is a matter for your Ji family."
"No, that girl sees your family as enemies. If you don't get rid of her soon, what if... right?"
"We'll talk about it later. You guys chat, I'm going home."
Zhang Dashan didn't want to talk to these ignorant villagers anymore. And they wouldn't even allow people to adopt outsiders? Is that any of your business?
They acted as if Wang had a vast fortune, but they couldn't see it at all. Wang was very poor. If it weren't for that woman and her live-in son-in-law, Wang Po wouldn't have been living such a good life.
They're all clueless and meddling in other people's business. If this really escalates to the point of involving the government, even the Ji clan won't stand a chance.
People who haven't read books are terrifying; he disdained to sit down any longer.
Winter is coming. Although the Zhang family has built a brick house and has some money, their son has married into a wealthy family. He wants to see if he can bring back anything.
They couldn't possibly let him come back empty-handed from a family like that.
As dusk fell, Xiao Nan finished cooking. The two chatted in the kitchen when they heard a commotion in the backyard. With a thud, Juanjuan and Fengfeng immediately wagged their tails and ran off.
Xiao Nan smiled: "They didn't make a sound, so it must be because my husband has returned."
The two stood at the kitchen doorway, watching Meng Fei, who looked travel-worn, carrying a basket on his back and another in his hand.
"Are you anxious?"
"Okay, go back to your room and change your clothes. Dinner is ready, come to the kitchen to eat."
"Okay, come right away."
He put the basket inside the house, went straight out, brushed the snow off his clothes, and went into the kitchen.
"Sit down quickly, your wife made fish ball soup and also your favorite meat-filled sesame flatbread."
Meng Fei chuckled, picked up the soup and took a big gulp: "Mmm, this soup is really fresh, no fishy smell, not bad."
Xiao Nan handed her the pancake, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."
“It’s not hard work, just think of it as martial arts training. I bought you a lot of books, and when I saw some hawthorn berries for sale, I bought some too.”
"Red fruit?"
"It's the sour one, the kind sold on the street, the bright red ones strung together."
"Candied hawthorn?" the old woman asked.
"This should be it."
Xiao Nan raised an eyebrow, his cheeks involuntarily flushing with embarrassment.
"What else did you buy? I see there are two big baskets."
The three of them ate and chatted.
"Hehe, I bought clothes for the three of us for the New Year. If the village is snowed in here, we won't be able to get out. I didn't like the clothes in town, so I bought them directly in the city."
The old woman smiled and said, "Xiao Fei is so thoughtful."
"So I have no heart?"
"You have one too, ha, ha!"
Meng Fei reached into his pocket and took out two red cloth bags, placing them on the table and saying, "Here, one for each of you."
The old woman reached out and opened them, and when she saw that they were jade bracelets, she covered her mouth in surprise.
Xiao Nan smiled and asked, "Why did you buy this?"
Meng Fei's face hardened: "Hmph, that Qian woman is always showing off in the village, saying that her daughter-in-law bought her a jade bracelet. I've seen it, and the quality is not good at all. I think the Fang family tricked her. She's still happy about it. We have one too. Wear it and let them see that we have one, and it's better than hers."
Xiao Nan couldn't help but almost spit out his food.
"More useful than this?"
"If it works, I can't let her feel comfortable. I'll only be happy if she's uncomfortable. Put it on, put it on right now!"
"We're all farmers, it's inconvenient for us to wear jade. What if we break it?"
The old woman lovingly touched the jade bracelet. She couldn't believe that in her lifetime she would not only wear a silver bracelet but also a jade one. She carefully wrapped the cloth bag and pushed it to Meng Fei.
"It's too valuable, I dare not wear it."
Meng Fei picked up one of them and put it on Xiao Nan's wrist: "This color is brighter, it suits you, and Grandma can wear that one."
His words carried an unquestionable tone, so the old woman had no choice but to put it on, constantly stroking it as if afraid of touching it even slightly.
Xiao Nan's gaze moved to the bracelet. It was jade; she knew about it, having often watched videos explaining how to distinguish between real and fake jade.
The more translucent the jade, the more valuable it is; the bracelet she's wearing is worth at least a thousand taels.
The old woman's bracelet must be worth several hundred taels of silver. Seeing through it but not saying anything, Xiao Nan smiled at Meng Fei: "Thank you, husband. Since you have such a kind intention, I will wear it every day and stroll around in front of the Zhang family's gate whenever I have nothing to do."
"Yeah, blind her and make her come out and show off."
"Haha."
Meng Fei's words pleased her greatly, and she couldn't help but feel happy, so she handed him another pancake.
"Come on, eat more. There's no limit to how much you can eat tonight."
"Okay! I'm really hungry after this round trip. I ate out for lunch, but it wasn't good and I wasn't full."
He chattered on and on with Xiao Nan, which warmed her heart. She felt that this was home, unlike the relatives in her previous life, whose words always carried a flattering tone.
Perhaps, at that moment, Xiao Nan's fate was already decided.
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