Chapter 68: Mother and Son Think alike

“Mother, are you cold?”

Zhuang Zhuang saw Xiaoguo shivering and thought that she was cold. He rubbed her arms vigorously with his small hands.

“Have an early night. You can sew tomorrow.”

Qin Anming also saw Xiaoguo shivering and got worried.

“It’s okay. It’s not cold.”

Xiaoguo was indeed fine, but she suddenly shivered for no reason. Perhaps someone was talking about her.

Rubbing her eyes, Xiaoguo put down the needle and thread in her hands and spread out the half-sewn garments on the table. She looked closely to see where the threads were asymmetrical.

Qin Anming took a look, and saw that the clothes were made for him. He was overjoyed. They looked really good.

“Hurry up and get some rest,”

Qin Anming said to Xiaoguo.

“Then you guys should stop studying too. It’s getting late. Rest early.”

Xiaoguo watched as the two of them continued reading in high spirits. She could not help but remind them as well.

It was really getting late, so the three of them packed up their things and returned to their rooms with a candle each.

While Qin Anming was recuperating, he saw Zhuang Zhuang studying every day. He could not help but watch him from the side. As he watched, his interest was piqued. Hence, Zhuang Zhuang became his teacher and taught him what he had learned.

By now, Qin Anming had learned a lot of words. Zhuang Zhuang, on the other hand, had finished learning the Thousand Character Classic, and was starting on the Disciple Rules.

After more than a month under the care of Xiaoguo, Qin Anming’s body was much stronger than before. He did not feel tired even after working for an entire day.

After his body recovered, he quickly went to work in the fields. He said that he had gotten tired of lying down for so long.

When he reached the fields, he seemed to have an endless supply of energy. He worked with his back bent, weeding the fields. Soon, the weeds in the two fields were cleared. Xiaoguo didn’t have to do much.

When the two of them were walking home with their hoes, they became the envy of other women, who were still working hard in the fields.

Li Zhaodi gritted her teeth in hatred. When Xiaoguo walked past her, she even gave her a sarcastic look.

Xiaoguo wasn’t angry. She let Qin Anming leave first and followed behind him. She said something to Li Zhaodi slowly. When Li Zhaodi heard it, she was so angry that her skull almost split open.

Qin Anming asked Xiaoguo curiously what she had said to make that woman so angry.

Xiaoguo chuckled and didn’t tell him the truth. She told him that she didn’t say much. It was just that Li Zhaodi was always getting angry over nothing.

Actually, she really didn’t say anything. She had just touched a raw nerve.

So what if her man was an official now? He still couldn’t come back. No matter how rich she was, she still had to go to the fields to weed. And there were endless weeds to clear. She would never finish clearing them.

Remembering her expression, Xiaoguo couldn’t stop herself from laughing again.

After hearing Xiaoguo’s words, Qin Anming nodded in agreement.

He also knew Li Zhaodi. When he was in Qin Manor, before Xiaoguo and Li Zhaodi got married, Li Zhaodi would always come to their house to look for him. Every time she came, she would apply heavy makeup. It was a scary sight. Every time he saw her, she would behave oddly too.

Xiaoguo didn’t know about that. If she did, she would definitely laugh to death. Li Zhaodi’s shy expressions and actions were weird behavior in Qin Anming’s eyes. Hahahaha.

On the way home, they passed by Mrs. Yang’s house. Xiaoguo and Qin Anming stopped in their tracks when they saw Mrs. Yang, who was still busy clearing weeds in the fields.

“Brother, are you tired?”

Qin Anming knew what Xiaoguo meant when he saw her expression.

“I’m not tired. Let’s go!”

Xiaoguo chuckled and walked towards Mrs. Yang with her hoe.

“Sister-in-law! How is your progress?”

Xiaoguo asked from afar. Mrs. Yang turned around when she heard them. When she saw that it was the two of them, she quickly shouted, “No need, no need! It’s almost done! Go back and rest early when you’re done.”

Xiaoguo didn’t listen to her. She and Qin Anming followed the traces of the hoe and came to two rows of seedlings. They started working from that spot.

When Mrs. Yang saw this, she stopped protesting against their help and picked up her speed. She wanted to do more so that Xiaoguo and Qin Anming could do less.

With their help, Mrs. Yang’s plot was done very quickly. The three of them were sweating profusely as they carried their hoes and walked home happily.

Li Zhaodi was so tired that she was drenched in sweat. She wiped her sweat with her sleeve and narrowed her eyes at the three of them. She spat in their direction. What was so great about that?!

There was no more work to be done in the fields. Xiaoguo planned to go with Qin Anming to the mountains the next day. They would cut trees and come back to build a cowshed.

When she got home, Zhuang Zhuang was still playing outside with the cows. There was no one at home, so Xiaoguo went to prepare lunch.

Qin Anming brought three big duck eggs into the house and placed them in the basket that was already full.

“There are a lot of duck eggs.”

Xiaoguo saw that it was true. She had been cooking eggs every morning. To think that they couldn’t consume the eggs fast enough to keep up with the speed that the eggs were being laid.

Xiaoguo asked Qin Anming to pass her two duck eggs. For lunch, she would be making noodles, stir-fried tomatoes with eggs, and eggplant with diced pork.

When lunch was ready, Qin Anming laid the table. Xiaoguo went to wash her hands. Upon seeing that Zhuang Zhuang was not back yet, she prepared to go out and look for him.

As soon as she reached the door, she saw Zhuang Zhuang walking towards the house with two cows.

Xiaoguo called out to Zhuang Zhuang loudly. When Zhuang Zhuang heard her, he quickened his pace and Xiaoguo went forward to welcome him.

“Mother!”

“Why are you back so late today?”

Xiaoguo reached out for the cows and saw that Zhuang Zhuang was holding something in his arms.

Xiaoguo looked at it curiously. Suddenly, the fabric moved and there were howling sounds coming from it.

Xiaoguo was shocked. Zhuang Zhuang quickly covered it up and looked up at her with an innocent smile.

Xiaoguo did not buy it. She called out Zhuang Zhuang’s name threateningly, “Jiang Qingwen?”

Zhuang Zhuang quickly stopped smiling and revealed what was in his arms.

Xiaoguo snorted and looked down. It was two puppy dogs.

“Where did you get this?”

“In the pit by the river, with a big dog, but it was dead.”

Listening to Zhuang Zhuang’s description, Xiaoguo realized that the big dog was the puppies’ mother, but she was dead. From Zhuang Zhuang’s description, she guessed that the mother dog had starved to death. It made sense. In today’s world, people don’t even have enough to eat, let alone dogs.

Zhuang Zhuang was confused when he saw that Xiaoguo didn’t seem angry.

“Mother, aren’t you going to scold me?”

Xiaoguo was amused by Zhuang Zhuang’s words. “Why should I scold you?”

“At that time, Xiaohu was also there. He said that if he were to bring the puppies back, his mother would definitely scold him.”

Zhuang Zhuang imitated the voice of Xiaohu, and it made Xiaoguo laugh.

“I won’t scold you, I am even going to praise you!”

Zhuang Zhuang was curious why Xiaoguo said that.

“Because I think Zhuang Zhuang is kind. You must have brought them back because you were afraid that they would starve to death outside, right?”

Zhuang Zhuang nodded vigorously in agreement.

Xiaoguo added, “If my son is so kind, why would I scold him?”

“But Brother Xiaohu said…”

“That’s because some people have to take care of their families’ living needs. They can’t afford to take care of other animals. This is the reason why Xiaohu’s mother won’t let him bring them back.”

Seeing that Zhuang Zhuang understood her words, Xiaoguo continued, “Another reason why I didn’t scold you was because I can afford to feed them. That’s why I let them stay.”

Zhuang Zhuang nodded, indicating that he understood.

“Thank you, Mother!”

Xiaoguo tapped his little nose and looked down at the two puppies. They were fat and chubby and their little teeth had grown out. They should be about a month old. She wouldn’t have to worry about what to feed them.

Seeing that it was a little difficult for Zhuang Zhuang to carry the two of them, she squatted down and took a puppy from his arms. When the puppy was transferred into Xiaoguo’s arms, it even called out to her with a few barks.

Seeing that the puppies were still quite energetic, Xiaoguo couldn’t help but feel a little sad for the dead female dog that had given birth to them.

She wanted to ask Zhuang Zhuang where the dead dog was. She was intending to bury it herself later. But when Zhuang Zhuang heard that, he stretched out his hands for Xiaoguo to see.

Every fingernail on Zhuang Zhuang’s chubby hands was covered in black mud.

“Mother, I just buried it.”

Xiaoguo looked. It was true.

“Mother and son truly think alike!”