country bumpkin

Yun Ya didn't answer, but just blinked her innocent eyes at Kong Xiujuan.

Seeing Yun Ya's expression, Kong Xiujuan assumed the child was daydreaming and hadn't heard her question. So she asked again.

This time, Yunya spoke up, saying, "I was in such a hurry that I forgot to tell you. Didn't I have my third aunt call and tell you?"

Kong Xiujuan glared at her and said, "Your third aunt called, but the old lady at the shop was too busy to remember and only came to deliver the message in the evening."

Yunya said innocently, "She forgot to send a message, it's not my fault. I called as soon as I got to my aunt's house."

Kong Xiujuan suppressed her temper and said, "I won't hold it against you this time. If you want to go somewhere in the future, just tell me in advance. It's not like I'm stopping you from going."

Yun Ya thought to herself, [It was because you hit me that I ran away, and now you're blaming me.]

She verbally agreed, saying, "I understand."

Yunya isn't stupid; she knows when to show weakness, or she'll get beaten up again.

After Kong Xiujuan finished talking about this matter, she brought up Yunya's impolite behavior.

“There are so many older women and aunties in the yard. Why don’t you greet them when you come back? That’s very impolite.”

Yun Ya didn't argue back, replying, "In my haste, I forgot what to call them. I was afraid of calling them by the wrong name, so I didn't greet them. It would be so embarrassing to call someone by the wrong name!"

Kong Xiujuan explained, "It's okay if you call someone by the wrong name. As long as you greet them, even if you call them by the wrong name, they will be happy and praise you for being polite."

Yunya didn't believe it, but she still chimed in, "Oh, I know, I won't do it again."

Kong Xiujuan felt that Yunya was a little different this time. She was more sensible than before and no longer argued back.

She said she would go out to do housework after teaching, and Yunya lowered her head to continue doing her homework.

At this time, Sun Limei was playing at a classmate's house and hadn't returned yet. She was with Chu Yiping's daughter, Wang Shuting, doing her homework and chatting.

Sun Limei stayed at her house until dinnertime before returning home. The first thing she did upon arriving home was to go to the kitchen to see if the food was ready.

As soon as Sun Limei entered the kitchen, she smelled the aroma of food. Her eyes lit up when she saw stewed meat with bean sprouts and mixed tomatoes with sugar in a pot.

Kong Xiujuan was setting the table with dishes when she saw Sun Limei come in. She said, "You little rascal, you're only coming back now. Wash your hands and get ready to eat."

Sun Limei smiled and agreed, then ran to wash her hands. By the time she finished washing her hands and returned to the table, Yun Ya had already put down her pen and come over.

The family sat around the dining table and began to eat. While happily eating the small pieces of meat inside the bean sprouts, Sun Limei said indistinctly, "I had so much fun at Shuting's house today. We even discussed our homework together."

Kong Xiujuan smiled and said, "That's good, but don't stay out too late in the future, and remember to go home early."

Yunya ate her meal silently, thinking to herself that she couldn't always stay at home; she could go out and have fun with her classmates occasionally.

The meal was lively and enjoyable. After the meal, Yunya took the initiative to help clear the dishes. Kong Xiujuan saw her actions and a long-lost smile appeared on her face.

After washing the dishes, Yunya went back to her bedroom to continue her homework, which was almost finished.

Sun Limei had finished all her homework. She took her younger brother to the living room to watch TV.

Kong Xiujuan and the children had just finished eating when Sun Zitao returned.

When he got back, he first tied up the donkey and then pulled the flatbed cart into the yard.

Kong Xiujuan poured him water and told him to wash his hands and face. Then she went to the kitchen, took out the individually served dishes, heated them up, and brought them to the table in the living room.

Sun Zitao chatted with Kong Xiujuan while eating.

Sun Limei was sitting in the living room when she heard her father gossiping, and she looked over curiously.

She turned the TV volume down a few notches and secretly listened to her father gossiping.

Sun Zitao spoke up: "Xiujuan, do you know? Hu Jinhua's family has come to visit?"

Kong Xiujuan asked, "Who from her family came?"

Sun Zitao said mysteriously, "Guess?" Kong Xiujuan, too lazy to think, answered directly, "It wouldn't be her mother coming in person, would it!"

Sun Zitao smiled slyly, "Oh, my wife is so smart, she guessed right."

Kong Xiujuan didn't particularly like the Hu family, so she felt no qualms about listening to their gossip; in fact, she was quite happy!

Her excitement left Sun Zitao completely bewildered. He asked, "What's wrong? Why are you reacting so strongly?"

Kong Xiujuan glared at him and said, "Hu Jinhua isn't a good person either. It's good that their family is in chaos!"

Sun Zitao continued to recount some of the events that occurred that afternoon.

The story goes like this: Hu Jinhua's mother came to introduce a wife to her eldest grandson.

Deng Yifei has been out of prison for a year. Because his younger sister has amnesia and has forgotten those things, his mother, Hu Jinhua, forbids him from mentioning the past in front of his sister, Deng Yiyao. Therefore, he has given up on taking revenge on Kong Xiufang.

Deng Yifei has been out for so long, but he still doesn't do anything productive. He just wanders around the streets all day, either stealing things or teasing cats and dogs.

Kong Xiujuan curled her lip after hearing the news, "With someone like him, he's trying to find a wife? What girl would want him? If she did, she'd be blind."

Sun Zitao continued, "His mother is not giving up and is asking around to find a match. Today, his mother came first, and the woman came in the afternoon. I heard that her family is quite well-off, but she is a bit fat."

Kong Xiujuan, who was listening intently, couldn't help but ask, "What was Deng Yifei's reaction when he saw that girl?"

Sun Zitao slapped his thigh. "At first, he was quite happy, chatting and laughing with the girl. He was even thinking it was a good thing, finding a long-term meal ticket. But later, when he heard that the girl's family required him to live at her house after marriage and to find a proper job and hand over all his salary, Deng Yifei's face immediately changed. He refused no matter what and left on the spot, leaving the girl and his mother standing there."

Kong Xiujuan laughed so hard she almost fell over. "He really brought this on himself. He thought he was so great."

Sun Zitao laughed along, thinking that Deng Yifei was truly hopeless.

Sun Zitao sighed again, "That Hu Jinhua is something else. She doesn't even know what kind of person her own son is, yet she still causes trouble everywhere."

The family chatted and laughed, treating Deng Yifei's farce as mere fodder for conversation, before returning to their rooms to rest and prepare for the next day.

Yunya had already finished her homework in her bedroom and put it all in her schoolbag.

I went to the toilet in the yard and came back to prepare for bed.

My older sister, Sun Limei, was already lying in bed, asleep.

Yunya had just lay down when she was feeling drowsy but couldn't fall asleep. She could hear even the slightest noise outside.

A cricket chirped incessantly in the weeds in the corner of the yard, its calls like a lullaby lulling Yunya into a dream.