Chapter 64: How Is Anyone Supposed to Live Like This?

"Who is it?" Yuan Xiangqin spoke as she walked in front of the mirror to tidy her hair.

"It's Lin You's girlfriend."

"Oh? She's back? I heard from Zhu Yan that Lin You was injured and has to stay in the hospital at the foot of the mountain for more than half a month. Why did she come back instead of staying down there to take care of him?"

Yuan Xiangqin stopped what she was doing, her expression puzzled.

"Lin You got injured?"

"Yeah, didn't you know?"

"I don't care about Lin You's matters. I'm not close to him anyway. What does his injury have to do with me?"

Li Yong snorted. He harbored quite a bit of resentment toward Lin You. Before Lin You arrived, he was the toughest man at the station, and he also had a shot at the position of Battalion Commander. But Lin You's performance was even more outstanding.

So, Li Yong couldn't help but feel bitter toward Lin You.

"You don't care? Then why did you bring up his girlfriend?"

Yuan Xiangqin furrowed her brow and looked at Li Yong. "Li Yong, you're not up to something, are you?"

Li Yong's face immediately darkened. "What nonsense are you spouting? Am I that kind of person?"

"Ha, you men are all the same—eating from your bowl while eyeing the pot," Yuan Xiangqin mimicked Li Yong's earlier tone and snorted.

"Xiangqin, ever since we got married, you should know better than anyone how I've treated you. If you don't believe me, I can swear—"

Yuan Xiangqin cut him off. "Alright, I know you're not that kind of person. It's getting late, I need to go prepare my lessons at school. If you have nothing to do during the day, weed the plot in the backyard."

Watching Yuan Xiangqin sashay away, Li Yong felt a tickle of longing inside. With a heavy sigh, he went to the back room, picked up the hoe, and headed to the backyard.

Meanwhile, after her morning run, Xia Yancheng returned home to find all three children already up. Lin Hongzhe was holding a bowl, feeding pancakes to his little sister.

Lin Hongzhuo, his face and mouth shiny with oil, saw Xia Yancheng walk in and immediately put down his bowl to run over. "Aunt Xia, these sweet pancakes you made are just too delicious!"

"Hey, where do you think you're wiping those greasy hands?"

Seeing Lin Hongzhuo reach for her with his oil-covered hands, Xia Yancheng quickly took two steps back. She'd only brought this one tracksuit with her, and oil stains were notoriously hard to wash out.

Lin Hongzhuo giggled and wiped his hands on his own jacket, which promptly displayed two fresh little handprints.

Xia Yancheng could only shake her head. She might as well have let the little fellow wipe them on herself—tracksuits were easier to wash than jackets, after all.

Clearly, she needed to set aside some time to teach the boy about hygiene.

"There's still corn porridge in the pot. Each of you has to eat a bowl. A little coarse grain is good for digestion."

"Got it, Aunt Xia," Lin Hongzhuo replied, though he was already helping himself to another piece of sweet pancake, biting into it heartily. "By the way, Aunt Xia, do you have time tomorrow morning?"

"Did you get into trouble at school again?"

Xia Yancheng walked to the washbasin, poured in half a basin of hot water, and started to wash her face.

Lin Hongzhuo pouted. "I did not! The school is having a parent-teacher meeting."

"A parent-teacher meeting? What time tomorrow morning?"

As she spoke, Xia Yancheng wrung out the towel and hung it up, then went into the kitchen, ladled half a bowl of corn porridge, and walked over to Lin Nuannuan. "Xiao Zhe, go eat your breakfast. I'll take care of your sister."

"Nine in the morning," Lin Hongzhuo chimed in.

"Nine o'clock is fine, I'll be there. Xiao Zhe, do you have a parent-teacher meeting too?" Xia Yancheng rubbed his head and turned to Lin Hongzhe.

The boy nodded coolly. "Yes."

"Is it also at nine?"

As Xia Yancheng asked, she scooped up a spoonful of corn porridge, blew on it, and held it to Lin Nuannuan's lips. The little girl opened her mouth and ate it in one bite. "Sister, I want more."

"No, mine is at ten. Our grades have separate meetings."

Lin Hongzhe seized a sweet pancake and took a big bite. Having watched his brother eat earlier, he was already craving, but he'd been busy feeding his sister.

"That's good. If they were at the same time, I really wouldn't be able to make it. I'll be there on time tomorrow."

"Yay!" Lin Hongzhuo jumped up in delight.

Seeing his excitement, Xia Yancheng couldn't help but laugh herself. "Alright, hurry up and eat. After breakfast, off to school! If you're late again, your teacher Yuan will call me in."

At the mention of Yuan Xiangqin, Lin Hongzhuo's face fell. "Aunt, could you not mention Teacher Yuan when I'm in a good mood?"

"What is it, did you get scolded again?" Xia Yancheng flicked the boy's forehead playfully, feigning annoyance.

"No, it's just that ever since you went to school last time, I feel like she's been extra strict with me. She calls on me in class all the time, and if I answer wrong, she makes me write lines as punishment."

"Writing lines? That's actually good for you. At least you'll remember the things you didn't know, and next time she asks, you'll get it right."

Xia Yancheng had no objection to this kind of punishment. It was just like the book of mistakes she made for the kids—do the wrong problems a few times, and they'd remember them.

With Xia Yancheng's words, Lin Hongzhuo could only close his mouth. He still remembered that night when he was made to write lines; if he said anything more, Aunt Xia might get "happy" and make him copy even more.

Once the two boys left for school, Xia Yancheng finally had time to get on with her own work.

She went to the backyard to check on the piglets. In just a few days, Spark had grown a bit bigger. When he saw Xia Yancheng coming, he wagged his tail in delight.

"Xia girl, feeding the pigs?"

Wang Guilan arrived at the vegetable patch in the backyard, hoe in hand.

"Aunt Wang, what are you planting?"

As she poured the mixed bran into the pig trough, Xia Yancheng asked.

"Some rapeseed and potatoes. Spring is just around the corner, and rapeseed grows quickly. It won't be long before we can eat it. The vegetables grown up here taste much better than those from the foot of the mountain."

"Really? Then I'll plant some too."

"I have extra seeds. If you want them, just come get some. I also have eggplant and string beans at home. Take whatever you like."

Wang Guilan smiled as she dug a little hole with her hoe and dropped in some seeds.

"Thank you, Aunt Wang. I won't be polite then."

"Silly girl, no need to stand on ceremony with me."

After feeding the pigs, Xia Yancheng went to dump the rest of the bran in the chicken coop. The chicks she'd bought down the mountain had grown a lot.

"Xia, when these chickens start laying eggs, give me a few. I'll use the heated brick bed at home to hatch some chicks of my own."

"Hatch chicks on a brick bed?"

This was the first time Xia Yancheng had heard of such a thing, so she was curious.

"Sure! I forgot, your family down south doesn't have brick beds."

Xia Yancheng's eyes lit up. "Aunt Wang, teach me how to do it when the time comes. I want to hatch some chicks too, and then we can take them to the foot of the mountain to sell—we'll make a good profit!"

"That sounds wonderful," Wang Guilan laughed, slapping her thigh.

Just as the two women were chatting happily, a man in a police uniform walked over. "Excuse me, are you Comrade Xia Yancheng?"