Village Belle is Trying to Cause Trouble Again Chapter 23
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Proofed by The Buddha
Chapter 23: Not Only Did I Roll Up My Sleeves, But I Also Rolled Up My Trouser Legs
Well, he had good judgment!
Su Tao stuck out her tongue at Zheng Duoyin, then pulled Xie Yuntang and said in a justified manner, "Milksop, let’s go home!"
"Yuntang, I want to play with you." Zhou Sheng wanted to play with Xie Yuntang. He looked timidly at Su Tao before following them.
"Me too." Zheng Duoyin also followed.
The other children wanted to follow them too.
Su Tao couldn't be bothered with them. She just wanted to take Xie Yuntang home successfully.
When they passed by a spacious plot of grass, there were many butterflies. The children became playful. Zheng Duoyin ran all over the grass to catch them. The butterflies and some small flying insects were flying everywhere.
After catching for a long time, he still failed to catch any. This hindered Su Tao from going home. Su Tao became a little impatient. Just when she was about to call Milksop fiercely to go home, she saw him looking on forlornly, as if he wanted to catch a butterfly too.
Su Tao, "..."
What could an eight-year-old child like if not this?
Since she usually bullied him, she decided to satisfy him for once. She handed him his school bag, and went to catch a butterfly as Xie Yuntang watched cluelessly.
She caught one quickly. She held the butterfly’s wing, and handed it to Xie Yuntang. She said smugly, "Here you go!"
Xie Yuntang's eyes lit up. He stretched out his hands to hold the butterfly, and said happily, "Thank you..." Sister Taozi.
"Stop being long-winded. Let’s hurry and go back."
Mrs. Xie-Qin was making dumplings when Su Tao left the house. Su Tao became a little anxious at the thought of that.
She wanted to eat dumplings.
"Su Tao, I want one too." When Zheng Duoyin saw that Xie Yuntang had a butterfly, he looked at Su Tao timidly.
Su Tao rolled her eyes at him angrily. How rude of him. He was not Milksop. Did she look like she had nothing better to do?
"You want one? Catch it yourself."
Zheng Duoyin's eyes reddened. "Su Tao, you’re being a bully..."
Why did she catch a butterfly for Yuntang, but refused to do so for him...
"I don't have time to bully you." Su Tao couldn’t be bothered to chat with them. Their long-windedness would only affect her pace of eating the dumplings.
When they arrived at the door of the house, Su Tao grabbed Xie Yuntang's school bag and then motioned for Xie Yuntang to go in first. Xie Yuntang was confused, but he still went in first obediently.
"Yuntang, you’re back. Why did you come back a little late today?" Mrs. Xie-Qin came out with water and handed it to the two children.
Xie Yuntang couldn’t take the water because his hands were covering the butterfly. His eyes were slightly crinkled up as he said delightfully, "Mom, Sister Taozi caught a butterfly for me. This is the first time I caught a butterfly. It's so beautiful."
Hearing that, Mrs. Xie-Qin was stunned for a moment. She glanced at his hand, smiled a little, and said dotingly, "Give it to me. I’ll hold it for you."
They made the right choice in getting Su Tao to be Yuntang’s companion. Yuntang had begun to have fun.
"Give it to me." Su Tao quickly grabbed the butterfly from Xie Yuntang's hand and found a basket in the yard to cover it.
Then, she looked longingly at the dumplings on the table, which were so delicious that she gulped several times.
Mrs. Xie-Qin naturally noticed it, but didn't think it was a big deal. She said with a smile, "Go and wash your hands before eating."
Su Tao nodded obediently, and quickly went to the kitchen to fetch the water. She was sensible enough to let Xie Yuntang wash his hands first.
When she saw that he was taking a long time to wash his hands over and over again, she was worried that the dumplings might become soft if he kept washing his hands. She hurriedly knelt down and said sweetly, "Brother Yuntang, let me wash your hands for you. I’ll wash them very clean."
Without waiting for his consent, she poured water on his hands and washed them quickly. Then, she also washed her hands quickly.
When she saw Milksop standing there without moving, she glared at him secretly. "Brother Yuntang, you don't have to wait for me. Go and eat now."
If his mother wasn’t here, she would have pinched him.
He was fumbling around, unlike a boy at all.
Xie Yuntang's face was as red as a red apple, and he said seriously, "Sister Taozi, you can't help me wash my hands. I'm a man."
"But thank you, Sister Taozi."
Su Tao was preoccupied with the dumplings and didn't pay attention to what he was talking about. She nodded obediently. "I won't wash your hands for you next time."
Mrs. Xie-Qin, who was next to them, couldn't help laughing. She gestured to them. "Come and eat now."
After eating the dumplings that she had been thinking about, Su Tao was in a cheerful mood. She couldn't help but shake her head, and said flatteringly, "Auntie Xie, the dumplings you made are so delicious. They are the best and most delicious dumplings I’ve ever eaten."
"If you like them, eat more. I’ll make them for you when I’m free." Mrs. Xie-Qin liked to cook, and she was naturally glad to know that Su Tao liked to eat.
Su Tao's attractive eyes crinkled up, and she said sweetly, "Auntie Xie, you’re so kind."
Xie Yuntang looked at Su Tao while he was eating the dumplings. There was a serious expression on his cute little face. Su Tao was not scary when she smiled.
Mrs. Xie-Qin and Xie Yuntang didn't have a big appetite. They stopped eating after eating more than a dozen. Su Tao ate more than twenty and couldn't help but hiccup when she put down her chopsticks.
She looked at Mrs. Xie-Qin awkwardly, fearing that Mrs. Xie-Qin would think she had eaten too much. However, she didn't, and her expression remained kind.
Su Tao felt relieved, and then quickly cleared the dishes. "Thank you, auntie. I'll wash them." After saying that, she took the dishes to the kitchen.
If she wasn’t allowed to do some work, she would be too embarrassed to eat more.
Mrs. Xie-Qin probably saw that she was feeling awkward, so she didn't say anything. She took a handkerchief and wiped the table.
Xie Yuntang went to the kitchen and saw Su Tao washing the dishes. He looked at her simply and asked curiously, "Sister Taozi, do you know how to wash the dishes?"
Su Tao was in a good mood now, so her tone was quite gentle. "I know a lot of things."
Going up the mountain to cut ragweed, feeding pigs, pulling grass, peeling tree bark...
Xie Yuntang's eyes were bright as he praised softly, "Sister Taozi, you’re so capable."
"That's right."
Su Tao was a little complacent. No one had ever praised her for being capable before. However, she soon realized that something wasn’t quite right. She was getting friendlier with Milksop.
Soon, she bared her teeth and snapped, "Go and study now!"
Xie Yuntang was startled, and took a few steps back. He glanced at her before he went obediently to study in the attic.
……
Fifteen minutes later, after Su Tao washed the dishes, she went up to the attic to fan Xie Yuntang. Mrs. Xie-Qin watched for a while and then went downstairs.
As soon as she left, Su Tao started to be lazy and fanned herself. She lay her head on the table and watched Xie Yuntang practice calligraphy. Although it was traditional Chinese characters, she could understand the words roughly.
Xie Yuntang's handwriting was neat and elegant, which was somewhat contrary to his timid image.
After watching for a while, she yawned. Perhaps because she was sleepy after eating, her eyes slowly closed and she finally fell asleep.
Xie Yuntang naturally noticed that she was asleep, and his movements became lighter. After a while, he put down his brush and took a sip of water.
Seeing the sweat on Su Tao's forehead, he hesitated and picked up the fan to fan her.
Mrs. Xie-Qin downstairs had no idea that her son had ended up fanning the person whom she hired to fan him.
"Woof, woof, woof..."
Suddenly, someone's dog barked. Su Tao was startled and lifted her head suddenly. Then, she snapped out of her shock, and let out a long breath. She almost thought that she was about to be beaten again.
When she saw Xie Yuntang holding the fan, she subconsciously thought that he had snatched it. She took it and fanned it several times. "Milksop, how dare you grab the fan from me!" she said, reaching out to pinch him.
Xie Yuntang covered his face in pain, but he wasn’t angry. He said softly, "I didn't grab it. I saw you were hot, so I fanned you."
Su Tao was a little guilty, "..."
Why was he so kind?
Then, she straightened her back and glared at him fiercely. "Who wants you to fan me? You’re not allowed to fan me in the future, or treat me well."
"If you dare to be nice to me, I’ll bully you even more! If you’re bad to me, I won't bully you."
Xie Yuntang was a little confused at her sudden outburst. He asked, "Why can't I be nice to you?"
She was sick, and he wanted to take care of her.
"There’s no reason!" Su Tao stood up and tugged at her collar, before rolling up her sleeves. It was so hot.
But she was content at the thought that Su Zhi, that fool, was still peeling tree bark under the sun.
Xie Yuntang quickly turned his head and said nervously, "Sister Taozi, you can't roll up your sleeves."
Since he didn’t allow her to roll them up, she would insist on rolling them up!
Su Tao bent down and lifted her trouser legs playfully. She ran to him and waved her legs in front of him. She said in a taunting way, "I just wanted to roll up my sleeves. Not only did I roll up my sleeves, but I also rolled up my trouser legs!"