Mr. and Mrs. Xu were known for their honesty. Having four daughters, who were taunted as bringing an end to the Xu Family lineage, never weighed heavily on their hearts. They rely hoped for the happiness of their daughters. Other relatives would remind them that they could always find soone to take Xu Jingjing as a husband into the family, but both elders imdiately shook their heads, clearly unwilling to trouble any of their daughters.
"Mom, Dad, I'm back," Xu Xiuxiu said, pushing open the door while carrying two live fishes.
In the courtyard, Xu Xiuxiu's younger sister, Xu Jingjing, was sitting under a pear tree enjoying the cool breeze. The teenage girl was fanning herself with a paper fan when she saw Xu Xiuxiu enter and pursed her lips, "Dad, Mom, my elder sister is back. Co out quickly to greet her, she even brought you two big fishes!" It was obvious that the little girl was not very pleased with her elder sister.
"Xiuxiu is here! Hurry, co inside and cool off, the sun outside is scorching!" Mrs. Xu, who was fanning herself with a banana leaf fan in the main hall, rushed out when she heard her youngest daughter's shouts and imdiately broke into a broad smile upon seeing her third daughter.
"Mom, I brought you two fishes, they're still alive, you should hurry and put them in a basin," Xu Xiuxiu, with one arm cradling the sleeping little Chen Guang and one arm carrying the fish, quickly urged, looking very tired.
"Why did you bring two fishes back? What will your in-laws think?" Being a daughter-in-law wasn't as carefree as being a daughter. Bringing things back to her parents' house required careful consideration. If the in-laws were easy-going, bringing more was not a problem, but if they were difficult, they might complain about good items being taken back to her parents' house, showing a lack of discretion.
"It's fine, I also brought a fish to my mother-in-law yesterday," She had already cleared it with Song's Mother Liu Shuxiang, otherwise she wouldn't dare to bring fish so openly back to her parents' house.
Mrs. Xu, reassured by what she heard, nodded her head, then briskly found a large basin to fill with water, putting the two fishes into it.
As soon as the fishes touched the water, they excitedly splashed around. "Xiuxiu, where did you buy these fish, they are so fresh, and you've carried them all this way and they're still alive." From Song Family Village to Xu Village was at least twenty minutes, and given the scorching sun, it was remarkable that the fish were still alive!
"Yeah! It's hot and stifling, and the stream in our village is shallow. I just happened to co across these fishes while they were out for a swim." Xu Xiuxiu wasn't surprised that the fish were still alive, having fed them Space Spring Water the day before. She nodded her head, then carried little Chen Guang towards the main house. The journey had indeed taken a toll on her, and she feared that she might drop the little one on the ground at any mont.
"Mom, Chen Guang is asleep. I'll lay him down in my room for a bit." Though married, her room was still kept for her in her parents' house, so Xu Xiuxiu didn't need to ask and just headed there automatically.
"Go ahead! Be gentle so you don't wake him. I just aired your quilt yesterday!" Mrs. Xu called happily after her daughter, proud of her foresight.
Xu Xiuxiu gently placed Song Chengguang on the bed, carefully relaxing her stiff arms, then walked back to the main house.
In the spacious main house, Mr. Xu Qinglian, the Xu Family's father, was repairing so old furniture. A seasoned carpenter, he repaired the furniture so skillfully that it was hard to find any traces of nd. Mr. Xu was wholly focused on the stool he was nding until Xu Xiuxiu walked in; only then did he put down his hamr and looked up to rest for a mont.
"Xiuxiu, I carved a toy for Chen Guang. Take a look," Mr. Xu boasted, pulling out a finely polished wooden toy pistol from behind, "I made sure to sand it very smooth, Chen Guang won't get any splinters playing with this."
In those days, children didn't have many toys, and though Mr. Xu had once carved little tigers and lions for his four daughters, his wife always complained that those toys weren't suitable for girls and gradually, Mr. Xu gave up the idea of carving toys for his daughters. However, he truly adored his grandson, Song Chengguang. Thus, he secretly carved a small handgun without telling his wife.
"It's beautiful, thank you, Dad," Xu Xiuxiu said sincerely as she examined the small handgun.
"If you like it, I'll carve so other little items for Chengguang when I have ti," Mr. Xu said, imdiately laughing heartily as he saw his daughter genuinely liked it.
Xu Xiuxiu nodded, then turned to go to the kitchen to help Mrs. Xu.
Xu Xiuxiu had her al at the Xu Family's house at noon and decided to go back to the village in the evening. It took nearly forty minutes to get ho as she walked and stopped along the way carrying Chengguang. By then, the sun had already set, but the scorching temperature hadn't decreased much. For Xu Xiuxiu, who was accustod to air conditioning in the modern era, the sumr here was undoubtedly a tornt.
There wasn't much entertainnt in the countryside, and since the village had only recently gotten electricity, everyone was accustod to going to bed early and rising early, not willing to stay up late needlessly. It was barely past ten o'clock, and apart from the occasional barking of a local dog, the village was mostly silent.
Song Chengguang, still young, had curled up in Xu Xiuxiu's arms and drifted off to sleep after dinner, occasionally smacking his lips sweetly in his sleep—adorable indeed.
Xu Xiuxiu fanned themselves with a Ji Gong banana-leaf fan while also becoming increasingly drowsy.
Creak... Cre-eak...
Faintly, Xu Xiuxiu thought she heard the sound of the yard gate moving.
The wooden gate, due to lack of maintenance, always made noises when opened or closed. Xu Xiuxiu had long thought about replacing that wooden gate but didn't know how to broach the subject with Mrs. Song. After all, in the countryside, the front gate was a crucial part of a house and wouldn't be replaced unless absolutely necessary.
But she thought she had just faintly heard the noise of the wooden gate moving—had she heard wrong? Not willing to take any chances, Xu Xiuxiu listened intently, soon truly sensing the barely audible sound of footsteps slowly approaching the door. Using the clear moonlight outside, she saw a shadow flicker past the window, her heart jumping to her throat and instantly waking her up completely. Readaheadandgetupdatesat*.
With her heart pounding nonstop, Xu Xiuxiu broke out in a cold sweat, her palms also soaked, yet she gritted her teeth, quietly got out of bed, put on her shoes, and grabbed a baseball bat from her space before she gathered the courage to slowly approach the door.
Staring intently at the door, Xu Xiuxiu felt as if soone was standing outside, the person now lightly pushing against the door from outside, to no avail. This was probably due to Xu Xiuxiu's habit of being cautious—every night before she went to bed, she would lock the door and check it several tis to ensure it was secure. Just when she thought the other party would give up, a small tal strip slipped through the door crack.
The thief was clearly well-prepared! Damn it!
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