Village Belle Chapter 128
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 128: Milksop, The Unparalleled Sweet Guy
The night before the results were announced, the Xie family knew Xie Yuntang's ranking—second place, meaning he qualified for the provincial examination.
A young scholar.
Su Tao knew Xie Yuntang was capable from the time he topped the county examination, but she was still happy for him.
She kept calling him "young scholar," making Xie Yuntang's face turn red, and he almost tripped and fell.
The next morning, the village chief came to inquire. When he learned that Xie Yuntang had passed, his face was all smiles. The village had produced a scholar, which was a great joy.
In less than an hour, everyone in the village knew that Xie Yuntang had become a young scholar, and they were filled with envy.
A few were even jealous.
The Xie family wasn’t only rich, but now their son was also promising. If he became a high-ranking official in the future, how prestigious would that be?
Families with children sent their kids to play with Xie Yuntang, hoping they would benefit from his success.
Many families considered sending their children to school, both boys and girls.
After finishing school at noon, Xie Yuntang was surrounded by a group of children as soon as he stepped out the door.
"Brother Yuntang."
"Little Brother Yuntang."
"Let's play together, I'll take you to catch birds."
Su Tao widened her eyes when she was pushed to the side. Previously, there was only Wei Yan, but now there were so many "love rivals."
Then she forcefully pushed them away, grabbed Xie Yuntang's hand, and fiercely threatened, "Get out of my way! If anyone comes any closer, see those stones over there? I'll hit you on the head with those!"
No one could snatch Milksop from her.
"Make way, we want to go home."
Xie Yuntang, afraid of being pushed around again, held her hand tightly and then pulled her through the crowd.
The children were frightened by Su Tao and didn't chase after them for a moment.
Zheng Duoyin made a face at them. "Yuntang won't play with you, he only plays with Su Tao."
After saying that, he ran off. "Big Sister, Yuntang, wait for me. I want to go with you."
The men and women on the road saw Xie Yuntang and called out with smiles. Su Tao tsked inwardly. Being educated was better than being rich.
She tugged at Xie Yuntang's sleeve and winked. "Little scholar, don't forget to take care of me when you become an official!"
The young scholar's fair face flushed instantly, making him look incredibly handsome. He nodded shyly. "Sister Taozi, I’ll take care of you from now on."
Whether he became an official or not, he would take care of Sister Taozi.
Su Tao flashed her already fully grown front teeth, her beautiful eyes crinkling. "That's more like it." She patted his shoulder with satisfaction as she spoke.
The two of them had a habit of going to Su Tao's house after finishing school.
Lin Sanzhu had already heard about Xie Yuntang’s results and couldn't stop smiling when she saw him. "Yuntang, congratulations! I knew you were destined for high office, great wealth and honor!"
Su Tao, "..."
She couldn't help but roll her eyes. That sounded like a fortune teller's words.
She blinked. "Mom, what kind of fate do I have?"
Lin Sanzhu, "..."
She glared at Su Tao, annoyed. "What fate? A miserable one!"
Su Tao, "..."
Watching the two bicker, Xie Yuntang's eyes crinkled, and he obediently thanked Lin Sanzhu, "Thank you, Auntie Su."
"No need to thank me. Why don’t you have lunch here today? I’ll fry some dough twists for you." Lin Sanzhu pulled him towards the main room, treating him like her own son.
Su Tao didn't want to eat at home. She quickly grabbed Milksop's other hand. "Mom, you fry the dough twists. We'll come over after we finish eating. Auntie Xie told us to go back for lunch."
Xie Yuntang, who had been following Lin Sanzhu, immediately stopped.
Lin Sanzhu hadn't expected Su Tao to grab Xie Yuntang, and she stumbled slightly. She glared at Su Tao, then quickly smiled at Xie Yuntang. "Yuntang, come over after lunch then."
She was getting fonder of Xie Yuntang. It was just a pity that her daughter couldn't marry into the Xie family.
If she could, she would burn incense for Guanyin Bodhisattva every day.
Luckily, Su Tao didn't know what she was thinking, otherwise she would think Lin Sanzhu was out of her mind.
After leaving the Su family’s house, Su Tao complained to Xie Yuntang about Lin Sanzhu, "My mother talks so much. If you don't like it, just let it go in one ear and out the other. Every time she speaks, I only listen to the last sentence, do you know why?"
Xie Yuntang shook his head, puzzled. Su Tao laughed and said, "The first part is all swearing."
Xie Yuntang smiled too, then looked at the puddle in the distance. It had rained at night, and the road was flooded. He squatted down. "Sister Taozi, let me carry you across."
Su Tao nodded without hesitation and climbed onto his back. Milksop was quite sturdy.
She tilted her head to look at his straight nose and casually asked, "Milksop, am I heavy?"
"No, you’re not. Sister Taozi, you need to eat more." Xie Yuntang carefully landed his feet. He could fall, but Sister Taozi couldn’t.
Su Tao knew she wasn’t light, but she was still happy that he said that. She shamelessly said, "Then buy me more food."
"Okay." Xie Yuntang nodded without hesitation.
After crossing the puddle, Su Tao got down. Now they were very close to the Xie family's house. She sniffed the air and exclaimed excitedly, "Auntie Xie is making braised pork. Milksop, hurry!"
She then dashed off, her red cap almost falling off her head.
Her hair was like a boy's buzz cut. Xie Yuntang wasn't ugly, but she was ugly like a tomboy, so she reluctantly wore the red cap.
Today's lunch was better than expected: braised pork, chestnut chicken, braised chicken drumsticks, stir-fried meat, and two or three kinds of vegetables.
Su Tao exclaimed, "Wow!" and ran into the kitchen to get a bowl, saying softly, "Auntie Xie, are any guests coming?"
"No, the villagers brought a lot of things this morning. They perish easily in this hot weather, so I cooked a bit more. Eat more later."
Mrs. Xie-Qin took the waistband, adjusted Su Tao's cap, and said, "I made two caps for you and Yuntang. Try them on later and see if they fit."
"Thank you, Auntie Xie! You're so kind, you’re the best auntie in the world!" Su Tao freely lavished her sweet words.
Children with sweet words were always endearing.
Just then, Xie Yuntang ran in, calling out happily, "Mom!"
Mrs. Xie-Qin looked at the cap on his head, smiled, and told him to change it, but he wouldn't listen, insisting that Sister Taozi was wearing the same cap.
"Wash your hands and eat."
Xie Yuntang scooped water to wash his hands, then obediently helped Su Tao carry the bowls out, with Su Tao following behind him with chopsticks.
Xie Qing came down from the attic and asked Xie Yuntang during the meal, "Yuntang, several families in the village brought some things this morning. What would you like to reciprocate with?"
Xie Qing and his wife usually let Xie Yuntang make his own decisions.
They guided him along, and didn’t keep a tight rein on him.
Xie Yuntang picked up a piece of braised pork for Su Tao, then thought seriously for a moment before saying, "Dad, can we collect twenty percent less grain this year?"
That way, Su Tao's family could have more grain. He had previously suggested to his father that Su Tao's family give less grain.
But his father said that Su Tao's family would be envied and ostracized.
Su Tao's eyes widened slightly. If each family gave 20 percent less grain, that would amount to dozens of taels of silver for the entire village.
Milksop was an unparalleled sweet guy!
So this wretched system was truly a piece of trash.
