Chapter Twenty: Zhao's Thoughts

  On a summer morning, there was still a hint of coolness in the air, and the sun had just barely risen when the Chen family's gate creaked open with a "squeak". Ruihao, who had just slipped out, looked back to see a pair of eyes staring at him. "You?" "It's you" they exclaimed simultaneously, followed by an awkward silence.

  Xie Mei walked into Ruihao and lowered her voice to ask, "How did you come out so early?" "Second brother also said that I came out too early, how about you?" The two looked at each other and tacitly pointed in the direction of Li Zheng's house.

  No wonder they were dragon and phoenix twins born from the same mother, just thinking of leaving but didn't expect the wicker gate to creak again, the two quickly hid their bodies behind a big tree, just hiding well when they saw their older brother also coming out of the door, after going out he carefully closed the door.

  Rui Xuan hadn't taken two steps before he found someone waiting for him ahead, "I thought it was Xi He coming out, didn't expect big brother to be so impatient, who was it that advised me not to rush into things last night?" Rui Hao said with a smile.

  "Ahem" Rui Xuan cleared his throat awkwardly, "Nothing's going on, I'm just worried about you guys. Let's hurry up and go, or else when Mother wakes up and finds us not at home, we'll be in trouble." Upon closer inspection, there was still a faint flush on Rui Xuan's face.

  The two siblings thought about it and decided to leave early and come back early, so as not to be scolded by their mother when she returns. The younger brother called out to his older brother, "Let's go, big brother! Let's see if that beast is dead or not. Hopefully it's not dead yet, I haven't had a chance to properly deal with it."

  "Alright, since that's the case, let's hurry up then." After saying that, he walked ahead first. Ruihao, who was a bit careless, discovered that although his brother seemed calm, why were his footsteps a bit hurried? Haha, must be because big bro is guilty.

  Thinking of this, he happily caught up with them, leaving behind a misty and joyful Xi Mei. Her two brothers were acting strange today, she shook her head and didn't think about it anymore, then followed the footsteps of the two people.

  At this time, the village was still quiet, and there were only a few old men on the small road who went to collect crops in the field. Xi Mei and several others passed by greeting them along the way, and finally arrived at the entrance of Lǐ Zhèng's house. The three looked around and found that since Lǐ Zhèng's house was located at the village entrance and he wasn't very popular, there weren't even any neighbors nearby to ask for information.

  Just as Zheng was worried, Ruihao saw a big tree here, with dense branches and half of them stretching into his house. He patted his brother's shoulder, "Brother, I'll climb the tree to take a look, you help me hold the wind down there, if I throw stones in and the dog doesn't die, it will definitely bark, that proves our family's things are not poisonous."

  Rui Xuan knew this was quite a risk, but he had no choice as he really wasn't good at climbing trees. He nodded in agreement, "Be careful yourself and move quietly so you don't wake anyone up." "En, I know, brother, I'm going up now."

  He had just finished speaking when he lightly jumped up, his hands grasping the big tree and his feet clamping tightly as he quickly climbed upwards. Before long, he was up there. After Ruihao climbed up, he looked around in all directions, then made a downward motion with his hand. A small stone was tossed up, weighing heavily in his grasp. He glanced at the black dog lying not far from the woodshed, narrowed his eyes, and fiercely threw the stone at the dog's head.

  When the dog's barking sound came, Ruihao simultaneously said "run quickly" to the tree below, and he himself quickly slid down from the tree. The dog's barking sound behind him grew louder and louder. Although the siblings ran in a flustered manner, they were exceptionally happy in their hearts. This proved that the thing was not poisonous. Although it couldn't be sold now, at least there was still some hope.

  The dog's barking grew louder and successfully woke up the Zheng family. Zhou Dazhuang put on his clothes, kicked the dog hard, "Damn it, you're howling so early in the morning, don't you know I was sleeping soundly? If you make another sound, be careful or I'll cook you."

  Ignoring the poor whining of the black dog, she spat and turned back into the house to continue sleeping. However, Rui Xuan and the other two ran for a while before realizing no one was chasing them. Xi Mei stopped first, panting heavily as she said, "I can't run anymore, there's no one chasing us from behind, let's take a break."

  Rui Xuan cautiously looked back and saw that no one was chasing after them, then he put his mind at ease. Several people didn't care if the ground was dirty or not, they just sat down with a thud. Rui Hao was even more exaggerated, he lifted up his clothes to use as a fan and started blowing air.

  "Brother, Xi Mei, you didn't see the black dog's expression just now. When I threw that stone, it immediately woke up and barked for half a day without seeing me anywhere. This time I'm really relieved." Xi Mei added, "Yes, yes, when you threw the stone, I was afraid it was a dead dog. Luckily, our thing called 'pine flower egg' can be eaten. Who knows, maybe we can even sell it in the future."

  After resting for a while, several people slowly headed home.

  Just as they arrived at the gate, they saw Zhao's wife sweeping the yard with a broom. Seeing them come in, she first looked behind them and asked "How is it? Is the dog dead?"

  "Sister, how did you know we went to see the dog?" Rui Xuan was about to cover his second brother's mouth, but unexpectedly, she had already exposed it. "You two came out of my belly, what do you think I don't know? Stop being mysterious and quickly tell me how it went!"

  Although Zhao's expression was very calm, the urgency between his eyebrows still made the children discover it. Xi Mei joked: "Guess again, is it dead?"

  As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao's family gave him a white eye. "Hurry up and say it, or else be careful of the 'family law' serving you." Seeing that his mother was really getting impatient, Ruihao said, "Mother, that dog is fine, nothing happened, this time we can eat with peace of mind."

  Others woke up to find that the dog was actually still alive, and it was right under their noses. They couldn't help but admire the three's bravery. Xi He stared with sparkling eyes and said: "Second brother is so amazing! Did you use a lot of force to hit it? Was it in a lot of pain? Was it very satisfying? Second brother, tell me..."

  Once the Pandora's box was opened, no one could stop it. A few people who were not on good terms with each other slipped away, leaving only Ruihao, who wanted to leave but couldn't. Who made him boast so much earlier?

  Zhao's family is running out of everything, and with several kids still growing, they can't afford to stop eating. It'll be another two months before the grain comes in, and she really doesn't have the face to go borrow money again. Looks like she needs to think of another way to make some cash, but it's not easy, is it? That one valuable thing she accidentally made can't be sold, it's really enough to worry someone to death.

  Sister Xi saw her mother's expression and knew what she was thinking, wanting to remind her but afraid of being suspected. Since the salted duck eggs couldn't be sold for the time being, they might as well sell some other small eats. Her mother and aunt were skilled at making things, plus her own "reminder", with several men helping out, they wouldn't be overwhelmed by the workload.

  After making up her mind, she slowly walked to her mother and said, "Mom, I want to try a pickled egg. Others have eaten it before, can't I just try some?" Her spoiled expression reappeared.

  Zhao was interrupted by Xi Mei's voice, looked down at her little daughter's delicate face and flower-like smile, and suddenly felt that no matter how hard she worked for the children, it was all worth it. She stroked Xi Mei's small braid and said gently: "Let's eat well, let's all eat, and let Father and Mother also taste the good things our daughter has made."

  "Girl, you're so good." Left two shiny lip prints on Zhao's face. Made Zhao cry and laugh at the same time.

  Finally, under the expectation of several siblings, it arrived at noon. Zhao saw the children busy in the yard and shook his head helplessly.

  Xihe saw Zhao's head shake and curiously asked Xi Mei beside her, "Second sister, what does mother mean by shaking her head just now?" Xi Mei replied impatiently, "What do you care about mother shaking her head? What's most important is that we can eat it." Seeing San's suddenly enlightened expression, Xi Mei smiled unkindly.

  Feeling two gazes around her, Xi Mei smiled and ran to find her mother with a burst of energy from her legs.

  As soon as she entered the kitchen, she saw her mother holding three pine eggs with a confused expression. Ah, yes, her mother didn't know how to cut them yet. So Xi Mei stepped forward and handed over the thread she had just pulled out from her clothes "Mother, use this". Zhao Shi took it but was still at a loss, so she could only step forward and demonstrate for Zhao Shi.

  "It's done like this, and it's fine." After her mother finished preparing the tea eggs, she didn't need to do anything else. Zhao's mother quickly put them in a small dish, added salt, soy sauce, vinegar, chopped scallions, garlic, heated the oil, poured it over the garlic with a sizzling sound, and finally drizzled some chili oil on top.

  Can't help but say that Zhao is really good at cooking, with a few quick movements she finished making the cold mixed soybean sprouts and eggs, then saw her turn around and stir-fry two dishes. Then instructed Xi Mei and them to bring the table and eat.