Village Belle Chapter 150
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 150: Yuntang, Do You Like Sister?
Thinking of this, she packed the raspberries into a bowl and put it in the cupboard. "Mom, don't let anyone eat my raspberries. I'm going to give them to Xie Yuntang later."
"Okay. By the way, should we call Yuntang over?"
Lin Sanzhu and Su Fu originally planned to invite the Xie family for dinner that night and prepare a good meal.
Thinking that Xie Yuntang was studying, Su Tao shook her head. "Didn't we agree on tonight? Don't bother to invite him for lunch, otherwise Zheng Duoyin will feel uncomfortable eating here."
"Alright then, we'll kill a chicken and stew it tonight." Lin Sanzhu nodded.
Just as she mentioned Xie Yuntang, Su Tao came out of the kitchen and saw Xie Yuntang come in, carrying a lot of things.
"Why are you here? Didn't Auntie Xie tell you?"
Xie Yuntang paused when he saw Zheng Duoyin, feeling a strange tightness in his chest, but still said gently, "She did. Sister Taozi, this is your birthday gift."
He paused, then asked, "Why is Duoyin here?"
Hearing this, Su Tao pulled him aside to talk, whispering, "He helped me recruit two students, so I'm treating him to a meal."
Xie Yuntang felt a little better, looking directly at her. "Sister Taozi, why didn't you invite me for your birthday?"
She invited Duoyin but not him.
"I was planning to invite you guys to dinner tonight. The chicken hadn’t even been killed yet. If Zheng Duoyin hadn't come, I would have eaten at your house."
The sun was a bit strong now, and Su Tao pulled him into the main hall, asking, "Are you going to eat at my house? Or go home?"
Xie Yuntang put down the things without hesitation. "I’ll eat at your house. I'll celebrate your birthday with you."
"Okay then. What did you buy for me? Didn't you already give me a gift yesterday?"
Su Tao was about to open a gift when she sat down, but quickly stopped because Su Zhi and Su Dou were watching her intently.
She raised her hand and slapped them lightly, then said, "There's none for you." After saying that, she took the things back into her room.
Then she called out in the kitchen’s direction, "Mom, Xie Yuntang is here. Cook more dishes."
Lin Sanzhu in the kitchen heard this and quickly responded, "Take care of Yuntang and Duoyin."
"Okay."
Su Tao replied, then, remembering something, she ran back into the kitchen and quickly brought out the bowl of raspberries for Xie Yuntang.
She smiled and said, "I originally wanted to eat them and take the rest to you, but I didn't expect you to come. They're quite delicious."
"Thank you, Sister Taozi."
Xie Yuntang's eyes were filled with joy. Sister Taozi still thought of him.
Zheng Duoyin stood in the yard, feigning displeasure, and yelled, "Big Sister, you're biased! You give food to Yuntang but not to me!"
"Even if I gave them to you, you wouldn't want them."
Su Tao wasn't lying. Most of the village kids were tired of these things. Only Xie Yuntang rarely ate them, so it was something new for him.
Zheng Duoyin laughed twice, then said to Xie Yuntang, "Yuntang, I knew you'd come."
Su Tao pouted, "You're not a mind reader."
"Of course I am. You're always together," Zheng Duoyin said, as if he knew everything.
Xie Yuntang, who was eating two raspberries nearby, saw Zheng Duoyin chopping wood and suddenly said, "Sister Taozi, let me help you chop."
If it were anyone else, Su Tao would have let him do it, but she was a little surprised that it was Xie Yuntang. Thinking he wanted to try it out, she said, "No, your hands will get sore."
Zheng Duoyin nodded in agreement. "Yuntang, your hands are more suited for studying than chopping wood. When my dad taught me how to chop wood, it hurt so much."
"I'll try," Xie Yuntang insisted.
Su Tao tugged at him, worried. "Don't try, you might cut your foot."
"I won’t, Sister Taozi," Xie Yuntang said seriously.
He wanted Sister Taozi to know that he could do anything Zheng Duoyin could do for her.
So she shouldn't play with Zheng Duoyin.
Su Tao couldn't dissuade him. "Then try it. What's so fun about chopping wood? Be careful, don't cut your foot."
To be honest, in her mind, Xie Yuntang was like a child who couldn't do anything.
Even after he grew up, he was still delicate.
She wasn’t worried about Zheng Duoyin, who was used to labor work.
Xie Yuntang put down the raspberries, rolled up his sleeves, and took the axe from Zheng Duoyin’s hand. Su Tao watched worriedly from the side.
"Milksop, maybe you shouldn't try."
"It's alright, Sister Taozi, I can do it."
Xie Yuntang raised his axe. Despite his gentle appearance, he had considerable strength. With one swing, he cleaved two thick logs in two, which clattered to the ground.
This completely overturned Su Tao's impression of him. She was stunned. When did Milksop become so strong?
"Yuntang, you're really strong. I'm having trouble chopping them," Zheng Duoyin praised somewhat absentmindedly.
Xie Yuntang didn't look at him, but glanced at Su Tao, a hint of nervousness flashing in his eyes. "Sister Taozi, I can do it."
Su Tao snapped out of her daze, gave him a thumbs up, and said with a smile, "Milksop, I didn't realize you were so strong."
Xie Yuntang blushed slightly, then picked up the firewood and continued chopping. The more Su Tao looked at him, the more she felt that Milksop was a good family man.
When Su Fu returned, he saw Xie Yuntang chopping firewood and quickly stopped him. "Yuntang, enough chopping. Let me do it."
"Uncle Su, I'm doing fine."
Xie Yuntang picked up the firewood from the ground and carried it to the woodpile.
Su Fu wasn't about to let him work. "Yuntang, go to the main hall and rest. Taozi, tell Yuntang to stop working."
Su Tao also felt it was about time, and without further ado, pulled Xie Yuntang into the main hall. "I'll go get you some water to wash your hands." After saying that, she ran to the kitchen.
Zheng Duoyin sat next to Xie Yuntang, looking at him again and again, scratching his head, and finally whispered, "Yuntang, do you have romantic feelings for Big Sister?"
He noticed that Xie Yuntang's gaze was fixed on Su Tao.
Xie Yuntang was stunned for a moment, but didn't look away when he met his gaze, and nodded seriously, "Yes."
He paused for a moment. "What about you?"
He could sense that Zheng Duoyin's feelings for Sister Taozi were different from Zhou Sheng's.
Zheng Duoyin remained silent. He couldn't quite articulate his feelings for Su Tao. He only knew that when his mother mentioned Su Tao as a marriage candidate to him, he was somewhat taken aback, but not repulsed.
On the contrary, he felt a little happy.
Compared to Xie Yuntang's resolve, Zheng Duoyin hesitated.
At this moment, Su Tao came in with water. "You two wash up."
Seeing Zheng Duoyin hanging his head and not speaking, she patted his shoulder. "Don't doze off. It's almost time to eat."
Zheng Duoyin snapped out of his daze, stared at her for a few moments, and inexplicably thought of Xie Yuntang's words. His face quickly turned bright red, and he hurriedly washed his hands. "Okay."
His movements were somewhat rough, like he was in a battle. Su Tao rolled her eyes at him and said irritably, "Are you being chased by a ghost?"
Zheng Duoyin nodded hastily. Su Tao, "..."
She said, "Have you gone crazy from working?"
Zheng Duoyin, "..."
…………
At dinner, Lin Sanzhu, Su Fu, Su Zhi, Su Dou, Xie Yuntang, and Zheng Duoyin each sat in their respective seats.
Su Tao ladled out a bowl of rice gruel, glanced at it, and instinctively sat down next to Xie Yuntang, exclaiming, "Let’s tuck in, let’s tuck in! I'm starving!"
Zheng Duoyin glanced at the two of them, picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, and began shoveling rice into his mouth.
Yuntang liked Big Sister. Even if he liked her, he definitely had no chance.
Xie Yuntang ladled a bowl of soup for Su Tao. "Sister Taozi, have some soup first."
"Mmm." Su Tao accepted it matter-of-factly.
Lin Sanzhu's eyes darted back and forth between Xie Yuntang and Zheng Duoyin, quickly shaking her head inwardly.
Zheng Duoyin was efficient at work, but not considerate.
He wouldn’t do.
