194 Unexpected Visitor
As soon as Xiaoguo entered the village, she saw groups of villagers walking towards a certain direction.
Xiaoguo frowned and avoided them. What had happened this time? Could it be Li Zhaodi again?
The villagers did not notice Xiaoguo at first. They were all rushing to watch the show. But later on, someone spotted Xiaoguo, and then everyone eventually saw her.
They all stopped and made way for her donkey cart.
!!
Xiaoguo looked at their strange expressions and was a little confused. However, seeing that they were making way for her, she did not hesitate and continued moving ahead.
Some people in the crowd were pointing at Xiaoguo and whispering to each other. Xiaoguo could hear them murmuring, but their voices were too soft so she couldn’t hear them no matter how hard she tried. In the end, she gave up trying. She didn’t do anything in the first place, so she wasn’t concerned about people pointing fingers at her.
But gradually, Xiaoguo began to feel uneasy. Why were those people still following behind her donkey cart at a leisurely pace? Xiaoguo stole a glance. Was the meat on her cart too conspicuous?
But Xiaoguo immediately refuted that thought. If that was the reason, they wouldn’t be pointing at her and Zhuang Zhuang.
Feeling a little uncomfortable, she silently sped up.
But when the people behind realized that Xiaoguo had picked up speed, they also sped up, as if they were trying to catch up with her.
Xiaoguo was even more puzzled. This was the direction of her house. Why were these people still following her? She couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Hence, she hugged Zhuang Zhuang tightly and continued to speed up. Since two legs were no match against four legs, Xiaoguo managed to throw some distance between them.
But soon, she frowned again. Why was there still a bunch of people waiting at the front of her house door?
Xiaoguo narrowed her eyes and looked harder. There were horses among them. She wondered if Su Changsheng had come to collect the goods. But that shouldn’t be the case. He said that he would come the day after tomorrow.
“Who could that be?”
Xiaoguo couldn’t figure out what was going on, so she could only continue moving forward. No matter what it was, she wouldn’t go looking for trouble, but if trouble comes, she wouldn’t be too bothered by it either. She would take things as they come
“She’s coming, she’s coming.”
A small voice sounded from the crowd. Those who were crowding around the door immediately dispersed.
Wearing a frown on her face, Xiaoguo stopped the donkey cart as the villagers watched.
A tall figure in the crowd was standing with his back to Xiaoguo. His hands were still fiddling with the door lock. When Xiaoguo saw this, she got angry. It turned out that the crowd was watching a thief pick her door lock. Shouldn’t they be helping to chase away the thief instead of watching from the side. And it was the entire village looking on at that!
The dogs in the courtyard were barking. At this moment, everyone was looking curiously at Xiaoguo and the man. At the same time, they were busy whispering to one another.
Xiaoguo got out of the car and got Zhuang Zhuang to watch over the stuff on the cart. Then, she walked aggressively towards the man and stopped about three meters behind him. However, the closer she got, the more familiar the figure looked. She did not think too much about it as she was filled with rage at the moment. She harnessed all the energy within her body and shouted, “Hey!”
The man was startled by the sudden loud voice. The person he had been longing for had come up behind him. He slowly turned around and said pitifully, “Guo, the door is locked. I can’t get in.”
!!!
“Why are you back?!”
Xiaoguo’s eyes widened. The anger she had felt earlier was instantly replaced by joy. She was wondering why he looked so familiar. So it was actually Jiang Danhe.
Zhuang Zhuang, who was on the donkey cart, stood up when he heard the voice. He looked past the crowd and saw a familiar person. “Father!”
“Hey, Zhuang Zhuang!”
Xiaoguo went to open the door while Jiang Danhe drove. The three of them ignored the curious villagers gathered around them.
At this moment, the three of them were very happy. However, they did not wish to be watched like monkeys. So they went home first and closed the door.
Jiang Danhe parked the donkey cart and took his time to look around the courtyard.
If not for the fact that the house had not changed, he would have wondered if this was his previous home.
The green vegetables in the vegetable plot, the cows in the livestock shed, the chickens and ducks, and the puppies at home. These were all new additions in his house. How should he put it? He felt tempted to stay in this place forever..
“Why did you suddenly come back?”
Xiaoguo closed the door behind her, shutting out the gazes of the curious onlookers. She reached out and pulled Jiang Danhe into the house. Zhuang Zhuang skipped along behind her and asked excitedly, “That’s right. Why is Father back today?”
Jiang Danhe stopped looking around the house as he held Xiaoguo’s hands tightly and glanced at Zhuang Zhuang. “The matter in Feng City has been resolved. Since I still have time, I decided to come back to see you. I missed you both.”
The words were directed at both of them, but his eyes were on Xiaoguo. There was clearly a deeper meaning behind his words.
“…Nonsense. We’ve only been apart for a few days.”
Xiaoguo felt a little embarrassed and blushed. What was he talking about in front of Zhuang Zhuang? “Let go. I’ll get you some water.”
She gestured at his hands that were still holding on to her. Feeling embarrassed, Jiang Danhe secretly squeezed her hand before letting go.
Xiaoguo quickly went to get him a glass of water. After letting go of Xiaoguo, he now had time to pick up Zhuang Zhuang, who had been begging for a hug.
“Oh my dear son. You’ve gained a lot of weight.”
Jiang Danhe hugged his fair, chubby, clean, and sweet-smelling son. He was content. Whoever was carrying this baby would love him to bits.
“Haha, Father’s beard is so prickly.”
Zhuang Zhuang laughed and avoided Jiang Danhe’s kiss on his face. It was itchy and prickly.
When Jiang Danhe heard his words, he touched his own face. As he was in a rush to get back, he had neglected to groom himself. He hesitated slightly in his heart. I must be grimy and dirty. Would Xiaoguo be appalled by his appearance?
“Have some water.”
“Okay.” Jiang Danhe picked up the cup and gulped down the water. He was extremely thirsty. He did not have much water along the way, and his body was already dehydrated.
Xiaoguo looked at his lips, which were peeling from the lack of water. Her heart ached for him. He must have not taken much rest during the journey.
Jiang Danhe put down his glass happily and Xiaoguo helped to refill it. “Don’t drink so much water. We’ll be eating soon.”
Jiang Danhe nodded and touched his stomach. He was indeed hungry. After rushing all the way here, he had arrived earlier than intended. But he didn’t expect to find the door locked.
“Have you been waiting long outside the door?”
Seeing that Jiang Danhe had quenched his thirst, Xiaoguo finally had the chance to ask him.
“I didn’t wait long.” Jiang Danhe lied a little so that Xiaoguo wouldn’t worry. “I just arrived not long ago. You came back shortly after I arrived.”
“Nonsense,” said Xiaoguo, instantly recognizing the lie.
“…” Jiang Danhe scratched his head helplessly. “Actually, I’ve been waiting for a while.”
“Why didn’t you go to Mrs. Yang’s house and ask? Or you could have rested at her place.”
Xiaoguo’s heart was aching for him. “Has Jiang Danhe’s brain stopped working?”
“…” Jiang Danhe was a little hesitant, he looked like had done something bad. “Actually, I went, but Auntie Yang fainted when she saw me.”
“… Mrs. Yang’s mother-in-law?”
“I haven’t told them that you’re still alive.” But she can’t possibly faint. Did she think that she would see a ghost in broad daylight?
Jiang Danhe touched his cheek and said in embarrassment, “It was too awkward for me to stay, so I came out to see if I could pry open the door myself, but…”
“I’m sure you won’t be able to pry it open. I got a blacksmith to make the lock specially for me. There’s only one in the whole wide world. It would be very difficult to break it.” Xiaoguo was feeling a little smug. She was a woman with a child at home, so she had to be safe.
“That’s true. You’re amazing.”
The two of them chatted for a while more. Xiaoguo briefly explained to Jiang Danhe why she was not at home and what she had done.
“Guo, you’re amazing.”
Jiang Danhe couldn’t help but praise her. She had actually made 150 taels of silver so easily. “Looks like I’ll have to depend on you in future.”
Jiang Danhe said shamelessly. Xiaoguo nodded and pretended to speak like a man. “Yes, you can depend on me.”
With that, the three of them burst out laughing.