Chapter 1666 - 1609: Group Favorite Novel Counterpart 39

Yang Baozhu bumped into Anning on her way out.

She was leaving early in the morning, just as Anning was heading out too, and they passed each other in silence.

Neither said a word, one walked east, the other west, passing by without a sound.

When Anning got home, she said to An Xian, "Did Yang Baozhu go to the Provincial City?"

"How did you know?"

An Xian was cooking at the time, and her hand paused when she heard the question. "Who told you from the Yang Family?"

Anning shook her head, "I just bumped into her, I guessed she was going to the Provincial City."

"Oh." An Xian responded, "It’s good that she’s gone, life will be quieter from now on."

Anning smiled lightly.

Anning went back into the room, and Xiao Yuan was writing something. Seeing Anning, he raised an eyebrow, "Did you drive her away?"

Anning sat on the bed, a faint smile on her face, "I didn’t drive her away, she chose her path, she can’t blame me."

Indeed, Yang Baozhu’s current situation was all calculated by Anning.

Anning always had a bad feeling about Yang Baozhu.

She could sense that Yang Baozhu’s thoughts were dark, not a good person, and when she thought about some things, Anning made some guesses.

Of course, she couldn’t harm someone just because of a guess.

Anning didn’t harm Yang Baozhu; she merely set up a situation, a test of human nature. Even so, Yang Baozhu acted exactly as Anning had expected.

Now, An Xian’s reputation was restored, while Yang Baozhu had become the laziest girl in Xiaxi Village.

In this scheme, Anning hadn’t done anything wrong or spoken a single bad word, so she didn’t get any blame. Instead, the villagers praised her, and when they mentioned the Fourth Son of the Pei Family, they would give a thumbs up, "This girl is good, open-minded, honest and warm-hearted."

The reputation of the Pei Family was much restored, while the Yang Family gradually became a laughing stock.

"What do you think, what is Yang Baozhu doing in the Provincial City?"

After a while, Anning asked Xiao Yuan.

Xiao Yuan placed the written material into a drawer, "What else could she do, naturally looking for someone to rely on."

Anning’s eyes narrowed slightly, "Got it."

Xiao Yuan stood up with a laugh and pulled Anning outside, "Hungry, let’s go eat."

After breakfast, Xiao Po came cycling over.

As soon as he got off the bike, he said to Xiao Yuan, "Uncle asked me to let you know, Brother Feng is getting married on the eighteenth of the lunar month, so you should go back early to help."

"Got it."

Xiao Yuan smiled and invited Xiao Po, "Have you eaten? If not, come have some food."

Xiao Po shook his head, rubbed his hands and went into the house, "I’ve eaten, you guys eat, I’ll warm up inside."

It was already mid-December, and another batch of vegetables had grown in the Pei Family’s fields.

Since the New Year was approaching, the vegetable prices had increased a bit.

Of course, this second batch wasn’t as plentiful as the first, but the Pei Family wasn’t aiming to make as much this time, just anything extra would be a bonus, and they didn’t expect to earn much this round.

A few vegetable vendors had come recently.

Every day after breakfast, the Pei family was out in the fields, spending their day picking, packing, and helping load the goods onto trucks. It was tiring, but they made a good amount of money.

By the sixteenth of the lunar month, they had finally sold most of the vegetables, making a small profit again.

They sold a few kinds of leafy greens, as well as tomatoes and cucumbers, which added an income of around three hundred thousand yuan to the Pei Family.

Of course, this wasn’t the end of it, as they would have another batch to sell after the New Year.

Especially things like leeks that could be quickly harvested again, by the time the winter stock of cabbage was nearly finished, any remaining was either dried out or started to spoil. This was a time when fresh vegetables were scarce, both in the city and the countryside, so their homegrown crops would have no trouble selling.

So after selling the vegetables, the Pei Family didn’t rest. They couldn’t afford to shop for New Year’s goods yet, spending each day in the fields tending to the crops. Anning had also prepared nutrient liquid, spraying some every day, hoping to grow more vegetables for the New Year.

Once Xiao Yuan finished selling the vegetables, he prepared to go back to the Xiao Family.

He didn’t return empty-handed, bringing with him some less aesthetically pleasing vegetables from the Pei Family, along with some seeds, peanuts, and fruits.

When he got home, Xiao Yuan parked his bicycle in the courtyard and carried the items inside.

As soon as he entered the house, he was hit by a cloud of smoke.

The room was full of people, each of the men puffing on cigarettes, creating an atmosphere that looked like a fantasy land at first glance.

Xiao Yuan coughed a few times, "Dad, where should I put these?"

Xiao Daguang got up and took the items from Xiao Yuan’s hands into the side room.

Xiao Yuan didn’t sit in the room; he was nearly in tears from the smoke.

While Xiao Daguang put things away, Xiao Yuan greeted the elders in the room and went off to another room.

The main hall was filled with men, while the women sat in the east room.

As Xiao Yuan entered, he greeted Zhong Liumei, "Mom, I’m back."

Zhong Liumei responded coolly, "Back is back."

The village women sitting around Zhong Liumei joked with Xiao Yuan, "The Third is back. What’s the deal? Your brother’s getting married. When will we eat your wedding noodles?"

Xiao Yuan chuckled, "Soon, soon, just busy now, no time for a wedding. Wait until next year. Next spring, the Pei Family will be building a new house, that takes time. The house should be finished by next summer or fall, latest by fall or winter for the wedding."

"So you’re planning to settle down at your father-in-law’s place?"

A woman teased Xiao Yuan, "Did your father-in-law promise to build you a new house?"

Xiao Yuan sat down, "I have no choice, when we divided the family, my parents left me with nothing. If I don’t live with my father-in-law, what can I do? Besides, my in-laws are good to me, I eat well, dress well at the Pei Family, and next year there will be a new house, why shouldn’t I stay?"

That’s true. For a young man with nothing, finding a piece of land to build a house is no small matter. Even if he works hard, it would take years to save enough for land and construction. After a few years, he’d be older, and finding a wife would be difficult.

Now his father-in-law has a ready house, and they provide food and shelter, only a fool wouldn’t stay.

"Well, yes, your father-in-law doesn’t have a son, you can help uphold their household, that must make him happy too."

Zhong Liumei’s face grew colder, "Where’s Anning? Why didn’t she come?"

Xiao Yuan didn’t lose his smile at all, "Busy at home, there’s no time for Anning to come over. She’ll come for the formal day after tomorrow to pay respects."

"No matter how busy, she should come over."

Zhong Liumei started to voice her discontent, "Your brother’s wedding is a big deal, isn’t it wrong for her not to come over. All the work at home, and she doesn’t come to lend a hand."

Xiao Yuan immediately pulled a face, "Mom, Anning and I aren’t married. Our family’s affairs are ours, what’s it got to do with her? Her coming to pay respects is already very decent, and now you expect her to rush over to do work at our place? There’s no logic in this. I’ve never heard of a brother’s girlfriend being asked to do work for the elder brother’s wedding."

The women sitting nearby saw the mother and son about to argue, and quickly pulled Xiao Yuan aside, "Sister-in-law, Yuanzi is right, in our Xiao Family, there’s no logic in having the Pei daughter coming to help with the wedding chores. Our family has plenty of hands, so why trouble an outsider? If you want a daughter-in-law to work, wait until Fengzi’s wife comes in, or have Yuanzi get married and then have his wife take care of you, the mother-in-law, for a few days."

"I have no such fortune." Zhong Liumei turned her face away, not looking at Xiao Yuan.

Just then someone outside called, "Is this Leizi’s partner? Come in, come in, sit inside."

Hearing this, a smile appeared on Zhong Liumei’s face, and she hurriedly got off the brick bed and headed outside.

"Here comes our Leizi’s girlfriend, see how polite she is."

That was a jab at Anning’s lack of manners.

Xiao Yuan’s mouth curved into a slight smile, "Indeed, she is polite, Mom, make sure to treat her well."

Having said this, he got up and walked out.

Just as Xiao Lei’s girlfriend came in, she brushed past Xiao Yuan.

Xiao Yuan caught a glimpse of her face and was momentarily stunned, then shook his head and quickly strode to the courtyard.