The Spirited Daughter-in-law and the Mountain Man

Her gaze shifted, and she found herself meeting Xiao Qinghe’s eyes from the secondary bedroom.

She paused for a moment.

His eyes were calm like water, his expression serene and gentle.

From his expression, she couldn’t discern his thoughts.

It was evident that he had been watching the events in the courtyard. She awkwardly smiled, feeling guilty, “Well…” Should she tell him that she wasn’t intentionally seducing his second brother? Nevermind, less said, the better.

“I’m going to check if dinner is ready.” She gave a forced laugh and quickly walked into the kitchen.

“Dinner’s ready, stinky old woman. Time to eat.” Xiao Yuchuan brought the food to the table, filled a bowl of rice, and picked up some vegetables before heading towards the secondary bedroom.

When he returned after delivering the food to Fourth Brother, he found Su Qingyue already wolfing down her food at the table. “Can’t you eat slower? What would you do if you choked?”

He had spoken from behind her, and only after realized, “I completely forgot that you can’t hear.”

He sat across from her and picked up his rice bowl, continually piling stir-fried meat into her bowl. “Stinky old woman, is the meat Dad cooked delicious?”

She obliged him, “I can swallow it.”

There was only a big bowl of fried pork for a dish.

She’d eat a piece of meat with a large mouthful of rice, trying to save some vegetables.

Xiao Yishan, now in clean clothes, sat down on the desk beside her. “Yue’er, eat more vegetables. ”

“Second Brother, let’s eat.” She swallowed the food in her mouth. “I was so starving to the point of back to chest that I didn’t wait for you, and I started eating. You’re not upset, are you?”

“Of course not.” He doted on her with a glance and also filled her bowl with fried pork.

She said, “You both don’t have to serve me vegetables, I can eat by myself.”

Xiao Yishan knew she was rejecting him, it had been the same last time. Could she still not accept him as her husband?

He quietly began eating.

Xiao Yuchuan, halfway through the meal, put down his bowl and chopsticks and went to the secondary bedroom. He returned with an empty bowl and fetched rice from the pot in front of the stove, “It’s strange, Fourth Brother usually only eats one bowl of rice. Why is he eating two bowls tonight?”

“Isn’t Fourth Brother eating more a good thing?” Xiao Yishan didn’t think much

of it.

Yuchuan said, “I wish Fourth Brother would eat more too, but tonight he seemed to have a poor appetite. I’m afraid the extra bowl might choke him. He told me when I brought him dinner earlier that he wanted to eat two bowls tonight, so I decided to bring him another one after he finished the first.”

Su Qingyue just remembered that she had entered the secondary bedroom earlier but didn’t say anything to Xiao Qinghe – only told him to eat an extra bowl of rice for dinner. She didn’t expect the boy to be so obedient.

She suddenly felt embarrassed, “Since he can choke it down, let him choke on another bowl.”

Xiao Yuchuan eyed Su Qingyue curiously, “Wife, did you have anything to do with this?”

“Having him eat a bit more won’t kill him,” she said, unconcerned. “What’s it to you if I said so?”

“It’s nothing.” Xiao Yuchuan took the second prepared bowl of rice and brought it back to the secondary bedroom.

As dinner was almost over, someone knocked on the wicker gate outside. Xiao Yuchuan walked to the kitchen doorway and saw, “Li Gui? What are you doing here?”

“I have something to discuss; may I come in?” Li Gui stood with his hands behind his back at the wicker gate.

Xiao Yuchuan observed his stance, which resembled that of a scholar. The man had indeed studied for a few years and snorted, “Just reach over from outside and unlatch the gate’s door bolt.”

Li Gui, from the outside, stretched his hand past the approximately chest-high wicker gate, unbolted the door from outside, and walked towards the Xiao Family’s kitchen. ‘You are having dinner..”