Northeast: My Absurd Woman

Chapter 204 A Man Who Knows How to Play Games

Zhao Xiulan's change of behavior surprised Zhang Shuhua, who wondered what she was up to.

"Fifth Uncle, it's not that you have to go, but Changguang can't get away. If you don't go, I, an outsider, won't be able to report the case."

Guan Lin grabbed Zhang Kaiju, who dared not speak out in anger, and tried to open the door to leave.

Then they heard the sound of a donkey cart being pushed open and entering the yard.

"Three people came back: Wu Ni and Du Qiu brought the old man back."

Hearing the sound of donkey hooves, Yang Deshan peered out the window and excitedly turned back to tell the people inside.

The three people entered the house, and everyone inside was so shocked that they couldn't close their mouths.

"Auntie, why are you up so late?"

The first thing Zhang Changyao did upon entering the room was to comfort Zhang Shuhua, who was staring blankly at him, tears streaming down her face.

"Changyao, what happened to you? You got beaten up like this, is buying popcorn a crime?"

Zhang Shuhua placed Xiao Wenda at the foot of the kang (a heated brick bed) and crawled to the edge of the kang using both hands and feet.

Holding Zhang Changyao's arm, she looked at the injuries on his head and neck.

"Wait, Wu Ni, Du Qiu, why are you two doing this too?"

"You guys got into a fight together? How many people were on the other side?"

Zhang Shuhua looked at Du Qiu and Yang Wuni and asked them worriedly.

Zhang Changyao, looking aggrieved, recounted how Yang Wuni and Du Qiu had beaten him up like that, and everyone in the room immediately burst into laughter.

"Changyao, you can't blame Wuni and Duqiu for this. If I saw you lying there with your head up and your butt sticking out by the woods, I'd beat you up too," Guan Lin said, speaking up for Yang Wuni after he'd had his fill of laughter.

"Third Uncle, how could the donkey cart have abandoned you? Shouldn't you be riding on it?"

Guan Yutian didn't get the joke and asked Zhang Changyao in a serious tone.

"Huh? Yutian, I... I went to buy something, and when I came back I didn't see the donkey cart."

"Didn't the donkey cart have vegetables and dumplings? I... I was thinking of buying something nice to eat, but I didn't expect..."

Zhang Changyao stammered, trying to come up with a seemingly reasonable excuse for himself.

"Oh! By the way, I've steamed the vegetables and dumplings in the bucket."

After a long night of running around, whoever's hungry should grab a bite before going home.

Zhao Xiulan, who was watching from the side, finished speaking and turned around to fetch the dining table.

Zhao Xiulan placed the dishes and dumplings on the table, and everyone was too embarrassed to touch them first, seeing this unusual food.

"Try it all, there's sweet and sour pork, braised pork slices, and steamed dumplings with donkey meat filling." Zhang Changyao distributed chopsticks to everyone.

The two famous dishes, steamed until soft and fluffy with a white sheen, exuded an enticing aroma.

"Let me try it and see if it's good?" Guan Yutian couldn't resist picking up a piece and stuffing it into his mouth, chewing it vigorously.

"Auntie, you should try some too. Uncle, you should eat some too. It's delicious." Zhang Changyao offered them to everyone one by one.

Everyone finished eating, their eyes shining, chewing the food in their mouths, reluctant to swallow.

"Liao Zhi, have a small piece to try, it won't hurt."

Zhang Changyao picked up a piece of braised pork and was about to feed it to Liao Zhi.

"Zhang Changyao, I won't eat it. Don't try to feed me. I can't enjoy the taste of sweet and sour pork steamed in a pot."

After Liao Zhi finished speaking, he shut his mouth tightly, as if afraid that Zhang Changyao would stuff something into his mouth.

"Liao Zhi, you're really unlucky. You're complaining about such delicious food."

Guan Yutian hadn't had enough, so he used the excuse of talking about Liao Zhi to pick up another piece of sweet and sour pork and stuff it into his mouth.

"Changyao, how much money have you made selling popcorn?"

I reckon this dish and dumplings must cost at least ten yuan.

Guan Lin put down his chopsticks, smacked his lips, and looked on with envy.

"Second brother, I didn't... I didn't spend any money. It was someone else... someone else treated me, but I couldn't bear to eat it."

Zhang Changyao looked at Yang Wuni, afraid that she would blame him for wasting money.

"Changyao, you're really popular! Who invited you? Why did they invite you? Are you a relative?"

After wiping the grease off his lips, Zhang Changguang was even more envious and wanted to find out more.

"Brother, they're not relatives of ours, you don't know them, and they're not asking me for help."

Zhang Changyao's words became increasingly blatant, and he blushed so much that he dared not lift his head.

"Giving you food won't shut you up. You're asking all sorts of questions, are you interrogating a criminal?"

Zhang Shuhua noticed Zhang Changyao's unease and quickly reprimanded Guan Lin and Zhang Changguang.

For the first time ever, Yang Wuni didn't eat any of it, and instead divided the rest into three portions.

One portion was to be taken back by Zhang Changguang for Guiye and Guibao to eat.

Du Qiu was to take a portion back to Hou Jiu; the poor child had never tasted anything good.

The other portion was stuffed into Zhang Shuhua's hand, so she could take it back for Xiao Douzi to eat.

People dispersed, leaving only a few family members in the house.

"Zhang Changyao, show me the money you made from selling popcorn."

Seeing that there were no outsiders in the room, Yang Wuni sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and stared at Zhang Changyao.

Zhang Changyao took all the money he had earned out of his pocket and placed it next to Yang Wuni's legs.

"Zhang Changyao, you really didn't waste your money on vegetables and dumplings, did you?" Yang Wuni counted the money and looked at Zhang Changyao with a smile.

"Son-in-law, someone's treating you to all this good food, are they trying to make a quick buck for us?"

Yang Deshan moved the silver needles on Liao Zhi's body and asked a question with suspicion.

"Uncle, what can I do if someone asks me for a favor? I just ran into an old classmate and gave them a ride..."

Zhang Changyao realized he had let something slip and quickly shut his mouth.

"Zhang Changyao, you should understand the saying, 'He who eats another's food is bound to him, and he who takes another's money is bound to him.'"

There are some people you should avoid contact with, to avoid being unable to repay the favor later.

A lone man and a lone woman, in the dead of night, feeling sorrow and longing, could easily slip up and regret it forever.

Don't think you're the only smart one; the most cunning people in this world are all in shady ways.

"By then, your family will be destroyed, your wife and children will be torn apart, and it will be too late for regrets!"

Liao Zhi used words that Yang Deshan and Yang Wuni couldn't understand to enlighten Zhang Changyao.

"Liao Zhi, nothing's wrong. I've remembered what you said."

Zhang Changyao responded to Liao Zhi, and the two spoke with unspoken understanding.

"Zhang Changyao, I don't care who treats you to dinner, you have to treat them back when we're rich."

No matter how poor we are, we can't owe people favors and let them look down on us.

Yang Wuni, who had straightened the money, was beaming with joy.

Yang Deshan was so focused on removing the needles from Liao Zhi that he didn't pay attention to Liao Zhi and Zhang Changyao's rambling conversation.

Yang Wuni was too lazy to listen to Liao Zhi and Zhang Changyao's ramblings; they were too literary to understand.

The two returned to the east room. The east was already turning white, and the rooster stretched its neck to wake people up.

"Zhang Changyao, does your head still hurt? Your neck is bleeding. Let me smear some soot from the bottom of a pot on it."

Looking at Zhang Changyao, who was disheveled and in a sorry state, Yang Wuni couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Wu Ni, I want to 'one, two, one' with you. I'm afraid Du Qiu will kick my thing and break it."

Zhang Changyao remembered Miao Yu saying that her thing didn't work, and worried that he and Yang Wuni should try it.

"It's already dawn, and even Uncle is up heating the kang (a traditional heated brick bed). Have you really gone mad because of some shock?"