Read Novel Full Chapter 94.2 – Back to Hometown! (II)
Chapter 94.2 – Back to Hometown! (II)
Xia Mian and Xiao Liu went to collect the freighted luggage and drove straight back to Mingxi County.
Around three or four in the afternoon, the car stopped in front of her uncle’s house. Since they had called ahead, the family was waiting. The moment the car pulled up, a young voice called out excitedly, “They’re here! They’re here!”
When Xia Mian got out holding Xiao Feng, the uncle, his wife, and their three sons all came out in a rush to greet them.
“Good, good.” Eldest Uncle Xia, seeing Xia Mian and Xiao Feng, finally relaxed, his brows easing. “Yan City sure raises people well.”
“Of course,” his wife said warmly, stepping forward to stroke Xiao Feng’s head. She studied him closely. “Our Xiao Feng has grown up so well.”
In the past two years, although Xia Mian had been busy with her studies, Xia Wenyue, Ning Shaoyun, and Ning Shaobai had all taken care of Xiao Feng. With the added companionship of Mao Huizhu and Chenchen, this boy hadn’t suffered a bit.
Compared to his once small and skinny self, he’d grown taller and was now full of baby chub. Today, dressed in a red Mickey Mouse T-shirt and shorts, he looked adorably fair and sweet.
His personality had also become much more cheerful. Smiling with crescent-shaped eyes, he softly and politely called, “Hello, Great Aunt.”
Aunt-in-law was surprised. “Xiao Feng still remembers me?”
Proudly patting his head, Xia Mian said, “He’s got a good memory—remembers everything.”
Xia Chuan didn’t believe it. He ran over and asked, “Who am I?”
Xiao Feng smiled, “Uncle Xiao Chuan.”
Xia Chuan was surprised, then pulled Qiangqiang over. “Here, look at him, then look at you, brat. Do you remember who this is?”
Qiangqiang rolled his eyes. “Third Uncle, do you wish I were stupid? We call each other every New Year, okay?”
“You’ve been saying since noon that Aunt Mian and Xiao Feng were coming back—who else could they be? Between us, who’s the real idiot here?”
“Hey!” Xia Chuan raised his hand as if to swat him.
Qiangqiang darted behind Xia Mian, made a face at his uncle, then grabbed her hand. “Aunt Mian, you’re finally back. I missed you guys so much.”
Xia Mian didn’t believe him one bit. She pinched his ear. “Missed me, or missed my food?”
Qiangqiang gave a sheepish grin. “Both. Yan City must have tons of good food. I want to eat cream cakes too.”
His father’s face turned dark, “Do you know anything besides eating? Your aunt just got back—stop pestering them. Get over here!”
“That’s right, let’s head home first,” the eldest uncle said, and Xia Mian took Xiao Feng’s hand to follow the family inside.
The three Xia brothers helped Xiao Liu unload the luggage and carry it home.
“Why is there so much?!” the eldest uncle said in surprise. “How’d you bring it all back?”
“Second Aunt prepared it all,” Xia Mian replied. “We sent the luggage by freight.”
Xia Chuan clicked his tongue. “Looks like Second Aunt’s doing pretty well.” Curious, he asked, “Did she really open a factory and become a big boss?”
His father shot him a glare. “Watch your mouth. Do you want the Mao family to come cause trouble?”
Xia Chuan stuck out his tongue. “Alright, alright, I know. Second Aunt’s probably hiding out in some far-off corner right now.”
Xia Mian asked in confusion, “The Mao family is still making trouble? I thought things were already settled?”
When Mao Zishan’s third aunt moved in next door to the Mao family, Old Lady Mao naturally found out that his entire family had run off. She made a huge scene, crying as if the sky had fallen—not because she worried about her second son’s family, but because she’d already taken the Hao family’s bride price and was afraid of repercussions.
Speaking of this, Xia Chuan scoffed loudly. “That old hag was dead set on marrying Huimei off to the Hao family. Later, when things blew up, we found out she’d taken more than thirty thousand yuan from them.”
In Mingxi County, a bride price of 6,666 yuan was already considered quite respectable. For her to take that much, there was no way she’d ever let Mao Huimei go.
Xia He shuddered a little as he spoke. “Good thing they left with you guys. Otherwise, Huimei probably wouldn’t have been able to escape.”
Xia Mian was curious. “What do you mean?”
“That woman took the bride price and split a portion between her eldest and youngest sons.” Xia He explained, not hiding his disdain for the entire Mao family, “Second Aunt and Uncle didn’t even know their daughter was being married, but the eldest and youngest got to enjoy the money first.”
Xia Chuan said gleefully, “The more they enjoyed it then, the uglier it was when they had to cough it up.”
Xia He laughed. “Exactly. Later, when Huimei couldn’t be found, the Hao family demanded the bride price back.”
“The eldest and youngest had already spent the money. The eldest bought a color TV and a refrigerator, and the youngest built a house for his son. They couldn’t pay it back, so Hao the rich man found an excuse to have them both locked up.”
Xia He went on, “Honestly, I think they were also trying to use that to force Huimei into marrying.”
If they had arrested Mao Zhishan or Xia Wenyue to force Huimei’s hand, there would have been nothing her family could have done back then. In a small, isolated place like this, such collusion between officials and businessmen was sickening.
“So how are they now?” Xia Mian asked.
“What else? The two families scraped together the money to return the bride price,” Xia Chuan said, his tone full of schadenfreude. “Not only did they have to pay it back, they also had to pay a fine to get the brothers out.”
“I heard it was three thousand per person—over six thousand in total. The Mao family really lost out big time.”
Xia Mian clapped with satisfaction, “Serves them right!”
Her uncle reminded her, “Still, don’t tell outsiders about your second aunt. The Mao family’s not in a good spot right now—if they’re pushed too far, it could mean trouble.”
“They’ve been to our house to cause trouble, haven’t they?” Xia Mian asked. She didn’t even need to guess—since Xia Wenyue and the three kids had last been seen at the Xia house, there was no way the Mao family wouldn’t have come to stir things up once they were cornered.
But in the past two years, their family had never once mentioned it.
Xia Chuan patted her head and said proudly. “You think we’re afraid of them?”
The eldest uncle said, “Our Xia family may not be the richest in Mingxi County, but we’re not nameless nobodies either. As long as we’re in the right, we’re not afraid of trouble. Tell your second aunt to rest easy.”
Xia Mian hooked her arm through his. “Uncle, you’re so cool.”
Having three sons and a mischievous grandson, Eldest Uncle Xia had never had a little girl act spoiled with him before. He froze for a second, then the usually stern lines of his face softened into a smile. “What are you saying?”
“The truth,” Xia Mian grinned. Having an elder who would stand behind you and shield you from the wind and rain gave her an incredible sense of security. “With you around, I’m not afraid of anything.”
She gave him a thumbs-up. “Totally cool.”
Her uncle chuckled helplessly.
The group chatted and laughed as they went inside. The table was already set, and the smell of food in the air made Xia Mian swallow.
Xia Hai’s wife, Li Fang, had already set out the stools. “You must be starving—sit down.”
Xia Hai took charge of Xiao Liu. Meanwhile, Qiangqiang quickly dragged Xiao Feng over to the table and slammed a beautifully polished wooden bowl down in front of him. “Xiao Feng, this bowl’s just for you.”
“Qiangqiang!” Xia Hai raised his hand, but quickly realized Xiao Feng was there. Knowing how the boy was afraid of adults berating children, he restrained himself and put his hand down again, “Couldn’t you put it down more gently? You’ll scare Xiao Feng.”
Qiangqiang had already hunched his neck in anticipation of a swat, but when his father didn’t hit him, he looked puzzled.
Then Xia Chuan reached over to pat Xiao Feng’s head. “Don’t be scared. Your brother’s just a rascal—he’s not trying to bully you.”
A lightbulb went off in Qiangqiang’s head: When little brother Xiao Feng’s around, I don’t get hit no matter what I do!
Author’s Note:
Qiangqiang: “I’m taking Xiao Feng with me to scale roofs and rip tiles off!”
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From the idiom “三天不打,上房揭瓦” (Three days without a beating, and a child will scale the roof to rip off the tiles). Chinese equivalent to the phrase “spare the rod, spoil the children.”