People in the alley: A woman dressed as a man shouldn't be foolishly filial, Zhuang Chaoying

When they returned from their grandparents' house, the sunlight had softened, casting long shadows on the two of them.

The two waded into the courtyard and saw Wang Yong talking to Engineer Lin.

Wang Yong looked anxious. "Engineer Lin, please have mercy and open the water outlet."

The two stood on a stool, separated by a wall.

Lin Gong remained expressionless. "You have to repair the hole, and you'll need cement to repair it. Cement is hard to come by these days, so I'll just open the drain outlet."

Wang Yong nodded quickly. "Okay, okay, Engineer Lin, I'll go get the cement right away. You must keep your word."

Lin Wufeng got off the stool, looked at Zhuang Chaoying, and smiled. "Sister Ling, why is Teacher Zhuang back so soon?"

Zhuang Chaoying smiled. "I came back because nothing happened."

Zhuang Chaoying called out from the yard, "Xiaoting, Tunan, Mom and Dad are home! Let's go home!"

Xiaoting and Tunan heard their father's voice and ran to the door.

Zhuang Chaoying picked up the two children and kissed them repeatedly on the face. "Thank you for watching over Tu Nan and Xiao Ting. Now we're going home."

Dongzhe leaned against Lin Wufeng, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Tu Nan. "Brother Tu Nan, do you want to play a little longer?"

Tu Nan shook his head, looking like a little adult: "No, I need to go home and do my homework."

Hiding behind the courtyard wall, Wang Yong pouted and muttered under his breath, "Troublemakers, a whole family of troublemakers. I didn't expect Teacher Zhuang to go astray too. It's true what they say, you become like those you associate with. This is going to be tough!"

A moment later, Lin Dongzhe came back wearing rubber boots, which made a clattering sound on the ground. "Brother Tu Nan, let's go get some water."

"Okay, I'll come right away."

Tu Nan was wearing Huang Ling's rubber shoes, which were a bit too big for him, making him wobble as he walked.

He carried the bucket and walked with Dongzhe towards the water room.

Fill the container with water.

"Dongzhe, wait here for me, I'm going to the restroom."

Tu Nan put the bucket on the ground and ran to the toilet in a flash.

Dong Zhe nodded, his eyes fixed on the water in the bucket.

“Our yard was flooded. The uncle next door made a hole in the wall, and my dad and Uncle Zhuang blocked the drain in our yard. Both yards were flooded.”

At this moment, Lin Dongzhe stood in the water room, gesturing wildly as he spoke, his face beaming with pride and excitement.

The old neighbor looked at Lin Dongzhe with a broad smile, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Dongzhe, was it really your father and Teacher Zhuang who blocked the road together?"

Lin Dongzhe nodded. "Uncle Zhuang said, 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.' My dad said, 'To fight against heaven and earth is to have endless fun!'"

"Hahaha! This little Dongzhe."

The old man next door couldn't stop smiling, and everyone around was amused by Lin Dongzhe's words.

Tu Nan, carrying a bucket of water, jogged over. "Alright, Dong Zhe, stop talking and let's go."

The two little ones carried buckets of water into the yard, and the water in the buckets swayed with their steps, spilling some onto the ground.

The middle-aged woman in the floral cotton-padded jacket said loudly as she filled the water container, "Slow down, slow down, you're carrying so much water, Dongzhe."

The older woman smiled and shook her head, a smile that held a mixture of helplessness and indulgence. "That Dongzhe, he talks too much!"

"Troublemakers, a whole family of troublemakers!"

You guys don't know, but Wang Yong went to complain to Section Chief Lu of the Housing Management Department. I happened to be there too and overheard him saying that Section Chief Lu couldn't do anything about it.

A troublemaker is brave, a troublemaker man is resourceful, a troublemaker is like a tiger with wings, and a troublemaker's son can also cooperate. This family of troublemakers is not to be trifled with.

"Anyone who lives with a troublemaker will become a troublemaker themselves! Look at Teacher Zhuang, how kind he used to be. Ever since he moved into this courtyard, he's changed. Now it's a courtyard full of troublemakers."

Those around him nodded in agreement and whispered among themselves.

Wang Yong received approval and went to get cement that afternoon to block up the wall.

He kept muttering to himself as he worked. "Pah, troublemakers, they're all no good!"

His hands didn't stop moving; he slowly filled the holes in the wall with cement.

The rain stopped.

Zhuang Chaoying was helping his children with their homework inside the house. He sat at the desk, patiently explaining difficult problems to them.

Huang Ling took the washed clothes out to hang them to dry in the yard.

Then I saw Song Ying in the courtyard.

Huang Ling, holding a clothes hanger, smiled and said, "Song Ying, children look more energetic when they're dressed neatly. Should we dress Dongzhe up a bit?"

Song Ying helped Huang Ling hang up her clothes, her movements swift and efficient. "He's already very energetic, Sister Ling. If he gets any more energetic, I'll go crazy and become incredibly mischievous."

"There were many children at the wedding, but Dongzhe's pants had a hole in them."

Song Ying replied nonchalantly, "It's normal for it to be broken."

Huang Ling compared the size of the hole. "Dong Zhe has a hole in his butt, it's quite big, you can even see the words on his butt. Let's help patch it up."

Song Ying smiled. "Sister Ling, you don't know, I patched it up for him, but he tore it again. He's always sliding down the slope, so let him be."

She spread her hands, looking like she couldn't do anything about the child.

“I have a sewing machine. Bring me the pants and I’ll mend them for him.”

Song Ying was stunned for a moment, then realized what she meant, and her eyes flashed with surprise. "That's great, Sister Ling, Dongzhe has another torn one, could you help him mend it?"

Huang Ling nodded. "Alright, bring them all here."

Seeing that there was nothing he needed to do and that the children did their homework on their own without his help, Zhuang Chaoying decided to go and cook.

He hummed a little tune as he walked into the kitchen, squatted down, lit a fire, added some coal briquettes, tore a page from Tu Nan's notebook, and lit it with a match.

But why can't this earthen stove be lit? The flames just start to rise and then go out again.

He frowned and tore off another sheet.

Until Tu Nan, clutching her notebook and looking at him with a wronged expression, said, "Dad, if you tear it any more, it'll be all gone. Maybe we should wait for Mom to come back and cook."

Huang Ling, having finished hanging up the clothes, didn't see Chao Ying. "Tu Nan, where did Daddy go?"

Tu Nan looked up. "Mom, you'd better go check. Dad said he was going to cook for us, but he tore my homework in half and still couldn't get the fire going."

Huang Ling hurried to the kitchen, and as soon as she entered, she saw Chao Ying squatting in front of the earthen stove, holding matches and trying to start a fire. Her face was covered in soot, like a cat with a black mark on it.

"Super Hero!"

Zhuang Chaoying heard someone call her, looked up, her face smudged with black and white patches, and beads of sweat on her forehead. "Ah Ling, why is it so hard to start this fire?"

Seeing Zhuang Chaoying's face covered in soot, Huang Ling burst out laughing. "Haha! Haha!" She laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Hahahahaha!"

Tu Nan and Xiao Ting ran over and saw their mother laughing so hard she was doubled over. Then, seeing their father squatting on the ground looking like he had just come out of a coal mine, they also burst into laughter.

Zhuang Chaoying stood up as she looked at the mother and her two children laughing heartily. "What are you laughing at?"

Xiaoting was very perceptive and quickly ran to get a towel, handing it to her mother.