Chapter 78 The Uninvited Guest in the East Chamber (Seeking Bookmarks)

  "Ying'er, who is this little comrade? Isn't he your boyfriend?"

  "Hey, Auntie Li, I think so too. Look at these big and small packages, they seem to match our daughter's style. Could it be that the new son-in-law is visiting for the first time?"

  "Little comrade, what's your surname, where do you live, and what do your parents do for work?"

  …….

  ……

  The old men had just dispersed, and the old women had gathered around again, pulling Xue Xiang to ask questions in a disorderly manner. They asked him until he was sweating profusely and his eyes were dazed. At this moment, the relationship between neighbors was indeed harmonious, not to mention those living in the same courtyard. The saying "distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors" was most suitable for this occasion. Xue Xiang also knew that they had no ill intentions, wasn't match-making and pulling strings their profession and hobby? It's just that their enthusiasm was too much, forcing Xue Xiang to retreat repeatedly until he reached the edge of a Chinese fir tree, where he finally stopped.

  Liu Ying'er was also asked by familiar big girls and young wives, her face blushing with shame, and she couldn't help but scold Xue Xiang in her heart: Who told you to come without warning, and take the initiative to touch me? You came just fine, can't you come quietly? What are you showing off about, making everyone in the courtyard know, aren't you ashamed? For a moment, Liu Ying'er's mind was in disarray, she lowered her head, her face red, and let others ask questions without saying a word.

  Xue Xiang also knew that this was not the way to go, and from a distance, he saw that Liu Ying'er's face didn't look good. He too became flustered. "You say your meal is ready, why don't you go eat? What are you all doing here causing trouble?" He responded casually to the crowd's inquiries while thinking of an escape plan. But no matter how clever he was, for the time being, he had no way out, and there was nothing he could do about these fanatical middle-aged women. Just as he was at a loss, a stout man rushed into the encircled area.

  "It smells so good, what kind of candy do you have in your bag? Can you give Dabao one?" A chubby man with a large build, around 21 or 22 years old, wearing loose white shorts and a red vest, with an innocent face that didn't match his age at all, rushed into the circle and pushed away the crowd, pointing at Xue's hand-held hemp bag, looking at Xue with a serious expression.

  Xue Xiangyi listened to him call himself Da Bao, and looking at his age and demeanor, he knew that he must be Liu Dabao, the elder brother of Liu Yinger. He hastily put down the hemp package on his right hand, opened the one on his left hand, grabbed a piece of chocolate and handed it to him: "Da Bao, here's some chocolate, take it and eat."

  Dabao took it over, tore open one and put it in his mouth, shouting: "So sweet, so sweet, oh oh, sweeter than sugar."

  The dolls around looked at Da Bao with joy, and their eyes were fixed on Xue Xiang's hemp bag, which was bursting with stars. The younger ones couldn't resist the temptation and shouted "Want to eat sugar, want to eat sugar". Xue Xiang beckoned them to come over, and the dolls had been eyeing him eagerly, drooling at the mouth. Now that they got his summons, they didn't stand on ceremony, and swarmed over in a rush, instantly breaking through the circle of aunties.

  The dolls stood in a circle around Xue Xiang, three layers inside and three layers outside. Xue Xiang rummaged through the hemp bag and pulled out all kinds of chocolates, candies, and cookies, scattering them everywhere. The dolls had never seen so many delicious treats before, including the legendary chocolate. They were overjoyed, calling out in delight as they scattered to grab the treats, thinking that this big brother who played with a shuttlecock was the most lovable person in the world.

  He treated the children, and Xue Xiang would not neglect the adults. He had prepared for this in advance. Xue Xiang pulled out two packs of Feicui from his hemp bag and handed one to each of the old masters. The old masters of Dajian Yard naturally declined repeatedly, knowing that Feicui was a high-end cigarette, with a price of over a dollar per pack, which was more than what many people earned in a day's wages. How could they accept such a gift on their first meeting? Xue Xiang had a solution - he directly stuffed the cigarettes into their bosoms and turned to leave, only then did he scatter the cigarettes.

  The old masters had a way to deal with them, but the women were not to be trusted. They shouted and scolded, "We want Liu Ying'er to teach him a lesson, this heavy male and light female disease can't be tolerated." Xue Xiang was at a loss for how to deal with these female comrades, and could only grab various snacks from his bag to shut their mouths, before he could finally calm down.

  Liu Ying'er couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy as she watched Xue Xiang busy himself to the point of sweating profusely. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was distracted by smoking and chatting, she quietly slipped over to Xue Xiang's side and whispered: "How did you know I lived here? You came over without even saying hello, and I wasn't prepared at all." As she spoke, Liu Ying'er surreptitiously handed Xue Xiang a handkerchief, not daring to wipe his sweat for him in front of everyone.

  Xue Xiang took the handkerchief but didn't wipe his sweat, secretly stuffing it into his pants pocket, which earned him a withering look from Liu Yuan'er. In the early autumn season, the heat was still intense, and Xue Xiang worried that the half piece of pork in the other hemp bag would be spoiled, so he quickly untied the opening of the bag. "Is that house your home? There's still a lot of meat inside, I'm afraid it'll spoil, so I'll move it into your house for you."

  Liu Ying'er was about to speak, but someone preempted her.

  "Ying'er, who is this?" The speaker was a woman in her fifties, with a hoarse voice and a sorrowful expression. Her hair had turned white prematurely, and she wore a coarse linen robe with many patches on it. Her old cloth shoes were worn out, with frayed edges. She stood timidly beside Liu Ying'er, carefully sizing up Xue Xiang.

  "Mom, this is... a colleague of mine from the hospital. He was passing by our house today and dropped in to say hello." Liu Yinger lied.

  When he heard Liu Yinger calling her mother, Xue didn't understand that the old lady in front of him was his future mother-in-law. When he heard Liu Yinger making up nonsense in front of him, he couldn't help but laugh to himself: You're also afraid, and you can actually make things up, fortunately I'm not wearing my military uniform today, otherwise I'd like to see how you spin this around.

  "Ah, Mrs., my name is Xue Xiang, I'm a friend of Liu Ying'er. Don't listen to her joking, I specifically came to visit you." Xue Xiang wouldn't just go along with what she said, at most not explaining the issue of their working relationship. But since Liu Ying'er made it seem like he was dropping by casually, he didn't want that. Wouldn't that make them just acquaintances? He still wanted to curry favor with his future mother-in-law, how could they become close if they were just acquaintances? Besides, he had bought two big bags of gifts, would a casual friend who just dropped by be so generous? Should he take everything back himself? No way.

  "Hurry up and go inside, you silly girl! You've got a guest here and you don't even know to invite them in. Just letting them stand under the sun like this is so inappropriate." Mrs. Liu lightly poked Liu Ying'er's temple with her index finger, smiling as she welcomed Xue Xiang.

  "This is going in, this is going in. The neighbors are so enthusiastic." Xue Xiang responded to Liu Mama while sneaking a glance at Liu Yue'er with his eyes.

  Liu Ying'er saw Xue Xiang's cautious and meticulous appearance, "Pfft" a sound, laughed out loud, feeling sweet in her heart.

  Xue Xiang had just picked up the hemp bag and was about to follow Liu Ying'er home when Da Bao rushed over again: "Candy, I've finished eating the candy, I want more." After speaking, he grabbed hold of the hemp bag in Xue Xiang's hand and wouldn't let go.

  Xue put down the hemp bag, just waiting for him to take it, but Da Bao opened the other side of the hemp bag filled with meat: "Meat, wow, so much meat, let's eat meat, let's eat meat..."

  Dabao didn't want the sugar anymore, and ran wildly around the courtyard, shouting as he went. Everyone's curiosity was piqued, and they stared from a distance at the hemp sack Dabao had just opened, wondering: Could it be that the sack is full of meat? Then they thought again: That's impossible, such a large sack could hold at least 100 catties, who would give someone so much meat as a gift? Besides, no one could afford to give such a gift.

  Liu Ying'er also stared at Xue Xiang in surprise, Xue Xiang smiled at her and took out half a piece of pork, "Ying'er, this is for mother to nourish her body, not for you."

  "Ah!"

  Wow!

  "My goodness!"

  A burst of exclamation rose, the scene before one's eyes was too shocking, this little scoundrel actually sent half a pig to the Swallow family! Looking at the thickness of this half pig, it must be over 100 catties, how much money and meat coupons did he spend?! The crowd was shocked, staring blankly at the half pig that shone dazzlingly in the sunlight, even the little kid who was making a fuss about wanting candy from his parents couldn't help but drool at the sight of the pork.

  "Comrade Xue, is this pork...is it a gift for our family?" Mrs. Liu's face was filled with incredulity, her mind almost unable to wrap around it.

  Although it's not as severe as the natural disasters three years ago, when people would fight to the death over a single cabbage. However, material goods are still extremely scarce, with each person only getting a few catties of meat coupons per month. Many families save up their meat coupons all year round just to have enough for Chinese New Year, and some families who are really struggling can't even afford to buy meat, so they sell their coupons on the black market for cash. There are many people who haven't eaten meat in years. That's why when Xue brought over 100 catties of meat as a gift, it shocked everyone.

  "Ah, it's for you, madam. I heard from the young lady that you've been working hard to support your family, so I thought of giving you some nourishment." Anyway, it's just flattering the future mother-in-law, no matter how cheesy it is.

  "This...this won't do, how can this be okay, Xue, Comrade Xue, I don't want this, it's too valuable, what if your family finds out, what will they say about me..." Mrs. Liu seemed to have been frightened and was speaking incoherently, on the one hand saying she couldn't accept it, on the other hand saying it was too expensive.

  Xue Xiang smiled wryly in his heart, repeatedly making eye contact with Liu Ying'er, who glared at him and turned her head away, ignoring him. The surrounding neighbors watched the two exchange glances, and they all knew that the young man and Ying'er had hit it off. After a short period of interaction, everyone had a good impression of Xue Xiang, thinking that not only was he handsome, but also polite and courteous, definitely a good person's child, and they were all happy for Liu Ying'er.

  Xue Xiang called out to Liu Ying'er, who was watching Da Bao jumping around happily in the courtyard. Suddenly, an idea struck him, "Da Bao, come here quickly."

  Dabao was thinking about having meat to eat, when he heard someone calling him. He turned his head and saw that it was the kind person who had given him sugar to eat. He hurriedly ran forward: "What do you want Dabao for? Are you going to roast meat for Dabao to eat?" His round face was filled with seriousness and naivety.

  "Yes, Dabao, I wanted to give this meat to your family, but unfortunately your sister didn't want it. What can we do? Then Dabao won't be able to eat the meat." Xue Xiang didn't dare offend his mother-in-law, so he could only shift the blame to Liu Ying'er, which was also a way of choosing the lesser of two evils.

  It seems that I still have to open my mouth, the effect of opening my mouth today is not bad, comrades must continue to keep it up! Jiangnan thanks you here.