“Oh? Why is that?” Nan Quanyou thought it must be because yesterday’s incident had offended Lin Qiaoyun somehow.
“Mother said not to. There is no why,” Fuguo replied.
Nan Quanyou then took a piece of fried dough stick from his room and came to Fuguo: “Your mother only said not to find me, but she didn’t say I couldn’t find you, right? Here, have this dough stick.”
Seeing Fuguo’s conflicted face, Nan Quanyou moved a bit closer: “This dough stick smells great. If you don’t eat it, should I give it to Little Buguo?”
Little Buguo often took things from Fuguo. Fuguo didn’t like him. Fuguo eyes the dough stick for a moment before finally accepting it, his mouth watering: “Thank you, Uncle Nan.”
“What’s there to thank? There are more in my room, go grab them.”
“Alright,” Fuguo, being a child he was, and one used to playing around here, didn’t understand the concept of restraint, so he immediately followed Nan Quanyou back into his room.
However, while Fuguo was enjoying his dough stick at Nan Quanyou’s home, Lin Qiaoyun returned. Lin Qiaoyun unconsciously looked over Nan Quanyou’s place whenever she came back—to see him or whether Fuguo was around—and there she saw Fuguo in Nan Quanyou’s house once again.
“Fuguo!” Lin Qiaoyun called out in a stern tone.
Fuguo hurriedly responded: “Mother, you’re back?”
“e home now!” Lin Qiaoyun ordered in a low voice. Clearly, she was angry.
Only then did Fuguo remember the instructions Lin Qiaoyun gave him in the morning. He was startled and immediately dashed out of Nan Quanyou’s house without saying a word.
With Fuguo’s departure, Nan Quanyou once again found himself alone in his empty house. Without Nan Feng’s pany as he was at work for the afternoon, Nan Quanyou couldn’t find any interest in anything.
The sounds of chopping vegetables echoed from outside the courtyard. Nan Quanyou closed the door tightly and peered out through the gap to see what was happening.
For the first time, he took a detailed look at Lin Qiaoyun.
She was cutting Chinese Cabbage, dressed in a lotus-pink coarse cloth jacket and black linen trousers. Her figure was charming and slender. While chopping, her head was bowed low so that her fringe covered her eyes slightly. She wore a pair of small bead earrings, undoubtedly made from imitation pearls, yet they enhanced the fairness and rosiness of her plexion.
When Nan Quanyou thought of Nan Feng’s suggestion to have a child in the future, he felt his face flushed red.
Just then Lin Qiaoyun suddenly looked up towards Nan Quanyou’s house. Startled, Nan Quanyou instinctively recoiled, almost falling backwards, before realizing she couldn’t actually see him and there was no need for him to feel nervous.
Resuming with his peeping, Nan Quanyou noticed that Lin Qiaoyun had begun to stir-fry the vegetables while Fuguo was adding oil and salt by her side. Lin Qiaoyun often exchanged some words with Fuguo. Even though she was inherently shy, there would always be a hint of smile on her face when talking to Fuguo.
As Nan Quanyou imagined, when they returned to Daping Village in the future, she would be doing chores in the yard while he worked in the fields. Their family of four, possibly five, would exist in harmony and full of happiness. Such days would undoubtedly be better than his current solitary existence.
Regret started to creep into his heart. Why did he reject their proposal outright when they came to him with the proposition yesterday?
It was only then that he opened the door. Seeing this, Fuguo, about to greet him, was stopped by a stern look from Lin Qiaoyun. Fuguo didn’t know what had occurred, but he knew he had to obey his mother.
Nan Quanyou also started cooking.
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