Village Belle Chapter 120
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 120 Sister Taozi Was Getting Prettier
Not many people came to Xie Yuntang's birthday; only Xie Yuntang's paternal grandparents came. However, there were a lot of things, filling up an entire carriage, including food, clothes, books, and some jewelry.
Most of them were prepared in two sets. It was obvious that one set was for Su Tao.
Su Tao was naturally elated. She greeted them great-grandfather and great-grandmother in a sweet way, which made Xie Gongyou and Mrs. Xie-Zhu smile. They liked her very much.
Xie Yuntang was also happy. He had been talking to Su Tao non-stop since morning. He followed her wherever she went, calling her "Sister Taozi" all the time.
When it was almost noon, Mrs. Xie-Qin asked Xie Qing to call Su Fu and others to come over for lunch.
Lin Sanzhu didn't know it was Xie Yuntang's birthday until she arrived. She felt a little embarrassed that she came empty-handed.
Lin Sanzhu quietly pulled Su Tao to a corner, and complained in a low voice, "Wretched girl, why didn't you tell me that it’s Yuntang’s birthday? I came here empty-handed. How embarrassing."
"Even if I told you, you couldn't bring anything. At most, you would only bring a basket of vegetables." Su Tao didn't know that the Xie family was going to invite Su Fu and the others over. It was pointless even if they knew. She knew what they had at home.
The only valuable things were the chicks.
But Lin Sanzhu wouldn’t be willing to give them away as gift.
Lin Sanzhu was speechless. "..."
Her wretched daughter was right. They had nothing at home. She had just started making shoes for Yuntang and couldn't give them to him right away.
She touched her nose, feeling a little embarrassed. "What should I do?"
"Don't worry, Auntie Xie and the others won't say anything. If you're worried, just bring a basket of vegetables this afternoon as a token of your appreciation."
Su Tao patted her shoulder and signaled her not to worry, as the Xie family was indeed not short of things. Maybe they wouldn't even find any use for the things she gave them.
It seemed that was all she could do.
Afterwards, Lin Sanzhu followed Mrs. Xie-Qin to the kitchen to help. Mrs. Xie-Qin knew that Lin Sanzhu was embarrassed, so she asked her to help. The two chatted and laughed, still able to find topics to talk about.
There were a lot of dishes today. Xie Gongyou brought a big pot of stewed squab, and the aroma of it made one’s mouth water.
Su Tao gulped, subconsciously moved closer to Xie Yuntang, and whispered, "Milksop, remember to scoop me some soup later.
Xie Yuntang was half a head taller than her, and when he lowered his head slightly, he could see her eyelashes blinking like a palm-leaf fan.
Sister Taozi was getting prettier.
"Okay."
Just as they were about to start eating, a carriage suddenly arrived at the door. Mrs. Xie-Qin and the others were stunned for a moment. She walked to the door and took a look. She was a little surprised, "Dad, Mom, why are you here?"
The people who came were Mrs. Xie-Qin's parents, Qin Xu, Mrs. Qin-Jin, and a little boy named Qin Yu who was about five or six years old.
He was the youngest grandson of the Qin family, and also the most favored one.
Xie Gongyou and Xie Zhu quickly stood up and greeted, "In-laws."
Qin Xu responded casually and explained, "The carriage broke down on the road, otherwise we would have arrived long ago."
"Dad, why didn't you tell me you were coming? I could have asked Daqing to pick you up." Mrs. Xie-Qin held Qin Yu’s hand and motioned for them to come into the house and sit down.
Qin Xu smiled and said nonchalantly, "There’s no need to pick us up. It's not like we don’t have a carriage."
Then he looked at Xie Yuntang with a joyful expression, and said, "Yuntang, come and let me look at you. I’ve long said I'd come to see you, but things have been busy at the mansion."
He didn't ask about why Xie Yuntang was bald. Obviously, he already knew.
"Grandpa, Grandma," Xie Yuntang walked over and called out politely.
Su Tao discovered that Xie Yuntang wasn’t very close to his maternal grandparents, but that was normal since they seldom met.
Mrs. Qin-Jin smiled and said, "Yuntang has grown taller and more handsome. Yu'er, come and call Yuntang cousin."
Qin Yu called out obediently, "Cousin Yuntang."
"Cousin," Xie Yuntang responded.
Originally the table could seat ten people, and it was just enough for them to sit if they squeezed together, but now that three more people had come, it was no longer possible.
Lin Sanzhu and Su Fu quickly made room for them. Xie Qing waved his hand, signaling them not to get up. "Brother Su, Sister Su, just sit down. We'll just need a few more stools."
The table was big enough to accommodate more stools.
Su Tao was sensible enough to give up the stools for her and Xie Yuntang, and finally sat next to Lin Sanzhu, with Xie Yuntang next to her.
Xie Gongyou, the oldest in the family, greeted them with a smile, "In-law, tuck in. After you finish, we'll have a game of chess. "
Qin Xu nodded. "Okay."
At this time, Qin Yu, who was sitting next to Mrs. Qin-Jin, said, "Grandma, I want to eat chicken drumstick."
Mrs. Qin-Jin lovingly picked a chicken drumstick for him. At that moment, Xie Yuntang reached out his chopsticks to grab the other chicken drumstick and placed it in Su Tao's bowl. "Sister Taozi, you eat it."
His maternal grandmother always liked to give all the delicious food to his cousin.
He didn’t like to eat chicken drumsticks before, but now Sister Taozi liked them, so he couldn’t let his cousin have all.
Meeting Mrs. Qin-Jin's gaze, Su Tao touched the tip of her nose, but eventually buried her head in eating without feeling embarrassed.
After the meal, Su Tao felt that Xie Yuntang didn't quite like Mrs. Qin-Jin. She pulled him back to the bedroom and whispered, "Milksop, don't you like your maternal grandfather and his family? "
Xie Yuntang shook his head. "It's not that I don't like them, but I don't like them as much as I like my paternal grandparents."
His maternal grandparents were pretty nice to him, but not as nice as to his cousins. He saw his maternal grandmother glare at him.
It was clearly his cousin’s own fault that he fell down, but he blamed Xie Yuntang.
His maternal grandmother didn't even ask him about it, and although she didn't blame him later, he felt wronged.
He didn't tell his parents, nor did he tell anyone else.
Seeing that he was unwilling to talk about it, Su Tao stopped asking and pinched his face. "Let's go and catch crabs this afternoon. It's warm today."
Xie Yuntang nodded happily. "Okay."
At this time, footsteps were heard. The two turned their heads and saw Qin Yu in blue clothes.
After looking at the two of them, he looked at other things in the room, and finally pointed at the horse-shaped inkstone on Xie Yuntang's desk and said, "Brother Yuntang, that horse is so beautiful. I want it."
Su Tao, "..."
This kid was even more shameless than her. At least she wouldn't ask people for things as soon as she entered a room.
If it were any other kid, she would have hit him on the head long ago.
Xie Yuntang pursed his lips, shook his head and refused, "No, this is the inkstone my father gave me."
"I want it, Cousin Yuntang, I want it," Qin Yu said a few words and then rolled on the ground, starting to bawl loudly.
Su Tao, "..."
If there was no one around, it would be hard to explain.
He was even more annoying than Su Zhi.
No, Su Zhi was relatively more adorable.
Soon, Mrs. Qin-Jin and others came in. Mrs. Qin-Jin picked Qin Yu up and coaxed him, "What's wrong, Yu'er?"
"I want the horse, but Cousin Yuntang won't give it to me, boo hoo..." Qin Yu pointed at the inkstone that Xie Yuntang had.
Mrs. Xie-Qin knew that the inkstone was expensive, and that Xie Qing had someone buy it from far away for Yuntang to study. She frowned and said, "Yu'er, that’s an inkstone. You don't need it."
"I want the horse, I want the horse..." Qin Yu was only five years old and refused to listen.
